LOSE THE SUPERFICIALITY

PRAYER JOURNAL 1/5/2019

Matthew 15:8-9 These people draw near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me and in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrine the commandments of men

The New Year has dawned; we may have even written 2019 a time or two.  It never fails that along with turning a page on a calendar, a flurry of “prophetic” words are proclaimed and the coming year is declared to be “The Year of….”  Usually it is something exciting that will feed our flesh and make us say, “YESSS!”  The last one I read declared, “This will be the Year of Illumination.”  Not so bad!  I pray that God will open our understanding to His Word and His Will…but unfortunately that was not the content of the prophecy.

In the midst of all of the hope and expectation we carry into 2019, I am praying that this is THE YEAR OF LOSING SUPERFICIALITY!  It is time to “get all in” or get out.

SUPERFICIAL: Affecting only the surface; not penetrating below; concerned only with the obvious or apparent; presenting only an appearance; without substance or significance; lacking depth or solidity; shallow. (Merriam-Webster)

The Church has become SUPERFICIAL and the World is SICK AND TIRED. 

I am sick and tired…of SUPERFICIAL WORSHIP…singing songs with a fleshly message, raising our hands, swaying to the driving beat and calling that our Worship for the Week.  WORSHIP is not about the songs or the music…IT ISN’T EVEN ABOUT A CHURCH SERVICE…True Worship occurs in how we conduct our lives every minute of every day.  Do we live to glorify God or please our self?  I want to LOSE THE SUPERFICIAL WORSHIP!

I am sick and tired of SUPERFICIAL PREACHING…preaching that makes the congregation feel good about their sin and motivated to look at God as their own personal genie in a bottle; preaching that twists the Word of God to manipulate people into preferred behaviors; and definitely “Lazy Preaching.” Preaching the things that someone else has “dug” out through prayer and study because it is easier to teach a series than preach with fresh anointing the truths revealed in the Word.  I want to LOSE SUPERFICIAL PREACHING!

I am sick and tired of SUPERFICIAL CHRISTIANITY…Christianity that is merely a religion with no depth or solidity.  A Christianity that speaks the right words; knows all the correct phrases but at the heart is far from God.  A Christianity that takes the Commandments of Men and teaches them as Doctrines of God…Even a SICK WORLD can see through SUPERFICIAL CHRISTIANITY and they want no part of it.

YES, I AM PRAYING THAT THIS IS THE YEAR WE LOSE OUR SUPERFICIALITY!

And it starts with me…

I want to WORSHIP with my all my heart, soul and might.  That includes my lifestyle, the places I go, the thing I do, the choices I make and yes, even in church…letting go of the distractions, ignoring the superficiality and focusing on seeking His Presence.

I want to SPEAK, WRITE AND PREACH with veracity the words that God pours into my heart as I seek His thoughts; the truths that God reveals as I study His Word…not my thoughts or my desires or my interpretation or even the genuineness of another person’s “dugout” relationship with God…I want to lose the superficiality of preaching and hear what God’s Word is proclaiming.

I want to wear more than just the superficial title, “CHRISTIAN.”  I desire to be a TRUE FOLLOWER OF JESUS CHRIST.   I want to do more than just “speak” the right words; I want to live them. I desire the Spirit to be alive, fresh and flowing through me…a source from which a thirsty world can be refreshed.  I want to produce Fruit that will feed a hungry world and above all surrender my will that God may work through me to clothe a cold and naked world in His Righteousness.

Yes, I pray that this will be the YEAR OF LOSING SUPERFICIALITY AND EMBRACING AUTHENTICITY…

GOD’S AUTHENTICITY…THE WORLD HAS SEEN ENOUGH OF YOURS AND MINE!