Heart Check

Good morning friends...

 We're in Judges 17 this morning. And it's a quick short chapter thats easy to miss and move on quickly from. But there is a pretty big issue in the center of it all even though we may not see it right away.

      Nobody in this chapter is out there saying, I don’t believe in God or even outright rebelling against him. They’re saying His name. They’re blessing in His name. They’re trying to set things up so He’ll bless them.

                  And it’s still all wrong.

    So we meet Micah and he builds his own little setup at home. His own version of worship, his own priest, his own system. And then says,

Now I know the Lord will bless me.

    And as I read the scriptures I knew it wasn't right but it didn't seem all bad either. But they're making idols and worshiping them in Gods name. It's wrong.

     But i had to think about it through the lens of now and our own lives. How many times have we been doing something our own way and still expect God to put His hand on it and bless it. Not out of all out rebellion but just because it felt right to us or it was easier or safe and why wouldn't God bless it for us. Why, because it was our way not his Will.

     And let’s just go ahead and say the thing some people may be thinking because I thought it too... This is alot like when people say I don’t need church, I’ll just do my own thing at home. Its a slippery slope. I’m not coming for people who are healing and needed space and had to step away from the church. I get that. I really do. Church hurt is real. Disappointment is real. Sometimes you need space to breathe and let God put you back together.

   But there’s a difference between healing

and building your own version of God.

Micah wasn’t healing.

He was doing his own thing. Creating his own version of the temple in his home and twisting the things of God.

    We don’t always carve idols out of silver anymore. But we take the parts of God we like

and quietly ignore the ones that require something from us. We avoid voices that challenge us and lean into the ones that agree with us. We say we want God’s will but we don’t always want His way.

     This wasn’t about where he worshiped. It was about who was in charge of it. Because you can sit in church every Sunday and still be doing your own thing. And you can be at home for a season and still be fully surrendered to God.

     So this isn’t a finger pointing chapter It’s a heart check one. Most of Judges is. Instead of holding other accountable we should take every chapter as an opportunity to hold our own hearts accountable and make sure they're right.

   So this morning can we check ourselves and ask ourselves....

 🌟 Where am I doing what feels right instead of what God actually said?

 🌟 Where have I gotten a little too comfortable and stopped letting Him correct me?

🌟 Where have I built something and just assumed He’d bless it?

     I don’t know about you but i dont want to be out there saying, "Lord, bless this" and Him looking at it like, I never told you to build that.

Love Pastor Mandy 

Ark of Hope Ministry 

Daily reading Judges 17