Jeremiah 7

Day 8: Jeremiah 7:1-34

For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices,  but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you (Jeremiah 7: 22-23, NLT).

Have you ever met someone that believed that being a Christian simply means that you attend a church? A lot of people have the misconception that their salvation lies in them going to church and that’s it. The response that you typically get if you ask someone if they are saved is “yeah, I go to church!” The problem with this is that a lot of people attend church but they are not the church. I know that may sound odd to say but just follow me. When Jesus states that He is coming back for His church, His bride, first He is not referring to the four walls of a building that we sit in on a Sunday or any other day during the week; He’s referring to His people. So many people believe that they will be saved simply because they go to church yet their actions are not reflective of having a relationship with the One that they sit in church and hear or sing about. God called Judah out for running to the temple and thinking that He would not punish them simply because they were in the temple, aka attending church, yet they were completely disobedient to God (v. 4-11).

What are we saying to God when we attend church yet we continue to be disobedient? We send the message that we want to give the appearance of having a relationship when the reality is we only want to entertain the thought of religion and say we’re a part of a group. Having a relationship with God requires change; a person cannot come into the knowledge of Him and remain the same or continue to pursue sin. You can play church and fool people forever but you’re never fooling God. He still desires obedience over your church attendance. He still desires a sincere and pure heart over your church attendance. He still desires your devotion to Him over your church attendance. I’m not saying you should not go to church so do not take this out of context but it’s time out for just going to church, let’s be the church with reformed hearts that are serious about pursuing God.

What verse spoke to you the most from this chapter? Be sure to share it to encourage someone else! Tag me so that I can share it as well (IG: @angel_cheron. Twitter: @angelcheron. Facebook: Angel Cheron and add #ChangedHearts #Jeremiah)

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