Topic: No Half-Hearted Worship [Friday May 19, 2017]
Text: 2 Kings 17:24-41
Key Verse: “They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence” (2 Kings 17:33).
You cannot serve God halfway and expect to please Him. Jesus Christ our Lord puts it more comprehensively: “Ye cannot serve God and mammon”. Later, Apostle Paul told the Galatian brethren: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked”.
The leaders of the heathen Assyrian nation which conquered and destroyed Israel, came face to face with the harsh realities of how not to mix idol worship with worship of the true God. After God allowed them overthrow Israel because of the latter’s repeated disobedience to Him, the Assyrians sent the Israelites into exile and captivity. They then brought in the idol-serving Assyrians to settle in Israel. What followed was most disgusting.
The new inhabitants appeared to be worshipping God, but they did not give up their grip on their gods and pagan lifestyle. They added the God of Israel to their collection and pantheon of idols. In their hearts, they placed God side by side with man-made images. It provoked the anger of God, moving Him to prove His superiority as recorded in 2 Kings 17:25. It was a just recompense to whip them into line, just as God had done to discipline the erring children of Israel. We should beware not to proclaim faith in the Lord and at the same time, holding on to worldly values and sentiments not in accordance with the way of righteousness and holiness.
God cannot accommodate such dual loyalties. He must take the entire space in our hearts and lives. His Word must form the basis of our projections and perception of life. Anything short of this cannot prepare one for the Second Coming of Christ and heaven. Aspiring to receive Christ and the place of abode He has prepared for His believers demands absolute preparedness both outwardly and inwardly. There must be no room for the believer to have one leg in the world and another in the Kingdom.
Thought for the day: It is unwise and the height of folly to serve God with other “gods”.
Bible Reading in one Year: 2 Thessalonians 1-3
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
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