John not only ended his first letter with a very important truth, he also ended it with a serious warning. This particular thing that John warns us about is the one thing that Israel was always in trouble over. It is the one thing that violates God's commandment to have no other gods before Him; not to worship false gods. Now, many of us may say, "But I don't worship idols! I don't have any statues that I bow before. I worship only Jesus!" Really? Let me ask us to stop and take a very close look at how we live each day. What occupies our thoughts and our time? What are our life goals? What drives us to get up in the morning? What occupies our free time, and are we constantly justifying why we don't have time to stop, pray, and spend time in God's Word? The truth of the matter is that many of us who claim to love Jesus love social media more. We love video games more. We love our hobbies more. We love our paychecks more, our careers, our toys, and a list of other things. This is not to say that we can't enjoy some of these things in moderation, and as a way to unwind and relax. However, far too often we allow these things to utterly consume our every waking moment. We say we love God and don't have idols, but we waste our time, talents, and resources on things that fulfill our selfish desires and goals; seeking to gain more and more of the world's material offerings. We put others before the Lord, and those relationships become our gods. We buy into the motto, "take care of #1", and Jesus becomes #2 or 3. The bottom line is that we need to step back and truly take an honest look at who or what are the idols in our lives. We need to dethrone those gods, and allow Jesus to take His rightful place on the throne of our lives; and allow Him to be Lord and King of our lives. That means that we may even have to dethrone ourselves or some other "special" person in our lives that we have allowed to take center stage in our lives. Remember, there is only one Lord of lords, and King of Kings, and His Name is Jesus!
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).
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