“He who is
not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” (Matthew
12:30)
Marriage vows are probably one
of the most over-looked promises we tend to make in our culture. Few truly
meditate on those vows, take them very seriously, and keep their promises to
follow through with them. However, it is a sad thing that they are considered the
minority whith respects to all marriages.
Here is an example of marriage
vows from a christain wedding…”I love you ___ as I love no other.
All that I am I share with you. I take you to be my (husband/wife) through
health and sickness, through plenty and want, through joy and sorrow, now and
forever.”
When I read vows like this, I am reminded how they line up with
our commitment to the Lord when we first give Him our lives. He is ours and we
are His. We make a promise to live our life serving Him and He makes a promise
to live in us forever. We make this promise if we are healthy or sick, rich or
poor, in joy or sorrow. We take Him as our heavenly Husband and He takes us as
His bride!
How often do you hear about a husband or wife that has cheated
on the other at some point in their marriage? How often does the husband choose
to work at his job more than being a father or husband? How often does the wife
find it hard to keep control of her spending rather than what the family truly
needs? Sadly, it is far too often. It is because we choose to stop serving our
spouse and we get our thoughts on serving ourselves. The exact same thing
happens to us in our marriage with God. We forget the covenant we made with
Him…”to serve Him only”!
Today we are looking into the
fourteenth topic on the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus is teaching, which is “You cannot serve God and riches”. Matthew 6:24… “No one can serve two masters; for
either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Lets look at today’s scripture
again in comparison with a section from Matthew 6:24…“He who is not with Me is against Me”… “For
either he will hate the one and love the other”. Can you
see how black and white this is? God is saying you are My friend or My enemy,
either you love Me, or you hate Me.
C.H.
Spurgeon said…”Two opinions in the matter
of soul-religion you cannot hold. If God is God, serve Him, and do it
thoroughly. However, if this world is God, serve it, and make no profession of
religion. If you think the things of the world the best, serve them. But
remember, if the Lord is your God, you cannot have Baal, too; you must have one
thing or else the other. “No man can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). If God is served, He will be a
master. If the devil is served, it will not be long before he will be a master,
and “no man can serve two masters.” Oh! Be wise, and think not that the two can be
mingled together.”
Reflection:
An
attitude of reverence for God’s heart is very much needed here. Revelation
3:15-16 says, “I know your works, that
you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then,
because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My
mouth.” God actually wishes you to be one or the other. He hates it when we
“play church”. You cannot fool God. If you think you can get away with that,
then you are the fool. What God wants more than our good works is for us to be
real. He can work with our TRUE heart; He does not like it when we fake it.
Challenge:
Are you being REAL and TRUE with
God? Have you been “playing church”? Do you really believe that God sees all?
Do you truly believe God knows your inner secretes that nobody else can see?
Change that thought process and truly get alone with God and ask Him to help
you have a softer heart for the things He loves!
-Doug McGowan
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