Only God.

What occupies the greatest amount of time, thinking, and emotional energy in your life?

The tough reality is that people usually judge others by their actions, and yet they judge themselves by their intentions. The result is a distance - sometimes larger, sometimes smaller - between the person you think you are and the person you actually are.

Christ-followers want Jesus to be the center of their universe, the sun around which their lives orbit. But that central place is challenged by many impostors, many false gods that draw attention and affection after their own empty promises. What is at stake is nothing less than your worship (intimacy with God).

You need to be brutally honest with yourself and consider where your mind settles when nothing else is occupying its attention Is there something that sucks up all your free time and energy? And the all-important question: Is whatever dominates your mind born of God's Kingdom? Or is it characterized by the empty and temporary shell of this world's system?

It isn't that you shouldn't enjoy simple pleasures - good music, a fun movie, eating with friends, or a really cool hobby. But, if your life is defined by those things, then you will be impotent, powerless, ineffective as a world changer.

We as authentic worshipers should keep first things first. Right? We should give the first and best of ourselves to God and His interest, and, as result, we should live in such a way as to make a Kingdom (salvation, healing, prophesying, serving, discipling, and loving...) impact upon this community.

Only God is worth your greatest loyalty. Only God deserves the praise of your life. And it is your life that will show, more than your words, who or what is your greatest love. So go ahead. Rebel against all those false gods, and go for the real adventure of worshiping God alone with all that you are and all that you do. You won't be disappointed.

I have to believe that the early church understood this concept, this truth. John 4:23-25 / Mk. 12:30