Makers Magazine - Spring 2024 - Flipbook - Page 7
When we come to church with a selfcentered focus, we defile the heart
of what church is about. Most of us
would never admit openly to such an
attitude. That doesn’t mean it’s not
reflected in our behavior.
WHEN WE PRIORITIZE OUR
COMFORT, PREFERENCES,
OR SATISFACTION OVER
FAITHFULNESS TO THE GOSPEL,
ENGAGEMENT IN GODLY
COMMUNITY, AND INVESTMENT
IN THE MISSION OF JESUS WE
TAKE WHAT IS ALL ABOUT GOD
AND MAKE IT ALL ABOUT US.
When we assess worship not by how
pleasing it is to God but by how
we relate to the music style or how
we feel about the song itself, we
are taking worship; the praise and
recognition of the greatness of God
and making it about us.
Listen to how we pray. Most of
our prayers are not seeking God’s
direction, seeking His transformation,
desiring to know and submit to Him.
OUR PRAYERS HAVE BECOME
Jesus give me this,
Jesus give me that.
Our prayers have become: Jesus give
me this, Jesus give me that. Don’t let
anyone I care about get sick. Make
sure all the people I know travel safe.
Where is the Kingdom in this?
If God answered all our
prayers with ‘yes’ how would
His kingdom be different? If
we are being honest, in most
cases, it wouldn’t. Our prayers
are more often trying to tap
into the power of God for our
personal good then they are
us trying to align ourselves
with the heart and character of
God. We take worship, prayer,
church, community and rather
than seeing them as something
greater than us, we try to
recraft into something that is
all about us. There’s no ‘I’ in
church.
We need a heart
change.
We are in danger. In some
ways, in more danger here then
Christians living in persecuted
countries. Not because the
threat against our lives, but
because there isn’t. The lack of
physical danger creates an evergrowing Spiritual apathy. We
take for granted God’s grace and
mercy. We feel entitled to His
freedoms and blessings. We feel
no shame living as if life is all
about us. We are not in danger
of being killed for Jesus, we are
in danger of not truly caring
about Jesus.
We take the Gospel for granted
to the point where we don’t
value it.
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