JUST ENOUGH for The Journey - The Church is NOT your "Good Luck Charm"

In the Old Testament, many people in Judah believed that the very existence of the Temple, served as assurance that God would protect them from their enemies and from the consequences of their sins.

Unfortunately, the times have not changed. People feel and believe that just because they come into the church on Sunday, sit through a service, sing a few songs and place their Offering (sacrifice) in the Collection Plate, that they are covered.

However, the prophet Jeremiah was told by God to preach at the Temple Gates (Church Doors). His message was simple...the people needed to change their behavior. They needed to treat one another right. They needed to live lives that reflected the Holy Character of the God that they claimed to worship in the Temple (church), because without these changes, God would not be with them regardless of how many sacrifices (how much money), the people offered.

Through Jeremiah,  God asked, "Do you regard this Temple, which bears My name, as a hiding place for criminals and in the New Testament, in the Gospel of Matthew 21:13 Jesus says, "You have made the Temple a hideout for crooks"

It's laughable to think that we who are acting/pretending to live right and for those of us who haven't changed their ways to live a Godly life and for all of us that claim safety of the church to even THINK that we are fooling God! God is not fooled folks!

You see, we have a false sense of security if we are counting on the church for protection or for it to be our "Good Luck Charm". It is far more important and beneficial to simply do the work of living right...for when we live right, we are truly covered by "The Church", which is not a building made by hands!

God is done with those of us who are playing church! Change your ways because If you dont, then you've only succeeded in fooling yourself!

For the full context of this Post, read Jeremiah 7:1-15, but the verse that I'm lifting up this morning is verse 11.

"Do you regard this temple, which bears my name, as a hiding place for criminals? I can see what’s going on here, declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 7:11 CEB)

Be changed and be blessed!