Well I have! The more I go to church services, events and see how we worship and how we are at church it makes me wonder if we do the same behind closed doors when nobody is looking! When you're in that secret place where nobody is around you! Do you still worship Him the same? Do you love on Him the same?
Many at times we go on about our own business during the week not acknowledging God and not spending time with Him but on Sundays when we go to church He becomes our centre of attention or even worse we only go to Him when everything goes wrong and when we have nobody to turn to but as soon as we get back on our feet we forget Him! I've been there and the Holy Spirit revealed it to me through friendship challenges I was facing.
Lemme share a lil story with y'all!
During my three years at uni I spent so much time investing on friendships with close friends. For some of them I sacrificed time and money to make sure that they were ok. Every birthday of theirs I would go to the extent of organizing surprise birthday parties and make sure that everything went smoothly and accordingly whereas my birthdays would often be recognized but not celebrated. Saw them in their great days as well as in their bad days, had their backs as much as I could and really carried them in my heart. Never saw it as a big deal until I left university and some of the people for which I sacrificed the most I wouldn't hear from them. They would barely if not remember my birthday. I would hear that they'd be in the same city as me but yet wouldn't hear from them at all; but when I would see them in public they would act as if we were tight and always spoke and looked very excited to see me but when we would leave that occasion and go our separate ways I wouldn't hear from them until another occasion.
That deeply hurt me and I was like "God really?? How can people be so ungrateful, act like they know me in public but yet behind the scenes they never talk to me, they don't even remember my birthdays!!" then the Holy Spirit said to me that this is what many of us do to God. We stay with him when we're struggling, we fast, pray and seek Him earnestly and when things get better we don't talk to him as much but on Sundays we bawl, we cry, we lift up holy hands and act like we know Him but behind the scenes we don't even speak to Him nor do we even acknowledge Him!
This goes out to all Christians! Most especially the ones standing in the office of a minister, Praise &Worship leader, Pastors and anyone that is in the public eye.
I myself am a Praise & Worship Leader having that revelation caused me to look back at the times where I led Praise & Worship; I was worshiping a God that I knew of without knowing Him personally. And God had to use that situation in my life to make me understand how it feels! Since then I refused to be so caught up with God's work that I don't spend time with Him! Getting to know Him personally!
Luke 10:38-42 in the (NIV)says : 38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" 41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed-or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
When we look at the story of Martha and Mary, nothing in the Bible states that Mary couldn't cook or help around the house; I believe that she was as skilled as Martha but when she was in Jesus's presence she decided to stay at his feet and just pull on Him. Many of us are like Martha, busy running around from one place to the other worried about many things but the most important one which is to spend time with God in your secret place. Standing in front of people ministering in His name, leading people into a place of Praise & Worship where we ourselves have not even entered into in our secret place with Him. You might not spend two hours praying or ten hours reading the Bible but as long as you do spend time with Him daily is the most important. Knowing the Lord for myself in the past 8 years has been the greatest experience I've lived in my entire life. Being born in church and having grown up in church coming from a Christian home wasn’t enough for me! I had to get to know Him for myself. Getting to know God and feeling so close to Him is priceless! I don't always pray for two hours a day nor do I fast 21 days a month but whenever I have time and I remember I talk to God like He was a person jamming with me, letting Him know about my problems, struggles and trials, as well as acknowledging Him, thanking Him for life and worshiping Him.
God is not hard to understand nor does He hide; Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV) says: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" .When you seek him with your whole heart he's there available waiting for you, He'll stand by you like no other. Where all others fail that's where He goes beyond! Where man's understanding and wisdom finishes that where His starts!
Are you ready to be saved for real today? Take it to God in prayer and adjust your timetable! Make Him the priority. Don't only live your life speaking of, teaching about, worshiping a God that you know of, but do it worshiping speaking of and teaching about a God you PERSONALLY know! That makes the difference between Relationship with God and Religion! Matthew 15:8 (NIV) says : "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me". No more lip service! Let it become a pure heart service! After all He died for us and He gave himself up so that we can be free and walk in liberty!
Let us not only be saved in church or in front of people!! But let us be saved FOR REAL!
Make that decision today! And I can truly guarantee that your life will never remain the same!
Be and Stay Blessed always!
Love y'all
Valencia
