The heart of faith

I am trying to become more aware how people view faith and God.  It is my impression that there is much interest in religious things with our culture.  Saying that does not translate though to people having an intimate relationship with Creator God.  There are two verses that I am reminded of as I write this blog.  Isaiah 29:13 "The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men."   II Timothy 3:5 "having a form of godliness but denying its power.  Have nothing to do with them."  Here are a couple of observations of our present culture.  First, people's interest in religious things are mostly self centered.  With that I mean as impressions of religious things are basically self made.  A person may belong to a particular church denomination but their views of God and what they believe is driven more by their philosophy of life then it is of the their church's teachings and that of the Bible.  When that happens their faith is made up of rules taught by man rather then allowing the God of the Bible to determine how He wants to be worshiped.  That person may attend their church faithfully but often is doing so out of obligation rather then a faith that is driven by having a personal relationship with God and a desire to love God and to do life His way.  Second, within our sinful nature we like to control things.  This second observation is that we will accept or tolerate religious practices as long as I can control it and manage it so as not to disrupt my life.  It seems many in our culture are OK with religions as long as it does not interfere with what I want to do in my life.  The apostle Paul called that form of religion as denying the power of God.  God is not to be controlled as if I will do this religion thing as long as it fits my schedule and life style but I am to allow God to be God whether or not I understand or not.  The key is not whether or not God is on my side but whether or not I am on God's side.  Here are to two things you can do on a personal basis to insure that the two verses I quoted are not speaking about you.  First, make a commitment to trust God completely.  Jesus is the Savior but without making Him Lord of your life you will not be able to develop the intimacy of knowing the Creator God.  Second, begin to read and study the Bible so you can understand how God wants you to believe and how He wants you to live.  God's ways will always work when they are tried in the manner He has designed it.  Let's not just be interested in religious things but let us live such a manner that God will speak over us when we meet Him, "well done good and faithful servant, welcome into the blessings of my kingdom".
May the God of all love and mercy strengthen your heart and mind to know Him who is life.

Pastor John