ATM God

Just a quick blog tonight before I get back to what God is talking to me about through Chuck Holton's book.

I heard something today in church that really struck me.

Right now churches treat God like the hole in the wall. We go up, put our card in, Key in our pin number. Punch in what we want and then we walk away.

How many of us can relate to this? I know in the past I have been just as guilty as anyone else in doing this. Walking into church on a Sunday,  responding to the worship when the songs suited me, hearing a stirring sermon and having a response to that and walking out the door and forgetting the message almost as I get out of the door. 

This is the point behind the famous quote from Brennan Manning - more commonly associated with the DC Talk song - 'What if I stumble' from the Jesus Freak album

' The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him with their lifestyle, that is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.'

Its time for a change, its time that we get beyond our instantaneous society, the attitude of fast cars, fast food, instant messages etc etc. 

We need to stop the view point of what can I get out of church and change that into what can I give God, and not just on that Sunday, our relationship with Christ has to be based on open and honest dealings - Integrity was the way it was described during this evenings sermon.

And we need to start spending time in His presence, without the pretext of getting something from Him, our prayer times need to be about more than just our list of needs and demands.

We need to learn again the meaning of Psalm 46:10 

“Be still, and know that I am God;