This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Stand at the gate of the Lord ’s house and there proclaim this message:
“ ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.
“ ‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.
My thoughts -
Can we worship God and not be transformed? Can we worship God yet be unwilling to do God's will? Can we worship God and also worship the things of this world that distract us from God's purpose? Can we worship God and also worship what is worthless? Can our worship be divided?
Can we worship God on Sunday morning and then go about doing whatever pleases us the other six days a week? Can we do that and feel safe? Is that what God desires from us? Is that our "get out of hell free card"? Is there no cost to discipleship? Is there no compulsion to care for the needs of the poor, the weak, and the oppressed inherent in worshipping a God that desires that from us?
What happens when we worship? What happens when we gather and sing and pray and tell of all that God does? Do we just say words? Do we just sing songs? Is our faith in any way relevant in a world that so desperately needs God? Do we have anything to offer? Does God have anything to offer through us? Are we doing anything worth doing? Are we only doing what pleases us?
What separates us from the rest of our culture? What differentiates us from anyone else? What do our actions say about our beliefs? What are we doing?
Are we serving God or just saying words? Are doing God's will or just singing songs? Are we worshipping or just paying lip service?
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