"Give It All To God" -x2

"There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god." (Psalms 81:9) It might take some explaining, but these two words "strange" are two totally different words. It might seem strange, but stranger yet, is what we become; that's pretty much how I see these two words spelled out plainly. It's really quite simple, and pretty much goes back to that old 'gigo' theory, you are what you eat. In other words, 'Garbage In, Garbage Out!' Or in the case of worshipping the True and Living God, 'No Power In, No Power out!' How else can we truly experience power in our lives, unless we truly believe that God has the power to change us? It is a little bit like that man who laid next to the pool of Bethesda wanting to be healed, but not enough to truly put forth the effort. Jesus asked him plainly, "Wilt thou be made whole?" The NLT has it a little more plainly spoken, saying, "Would you like to get well?" Thirty-eight years is a long time to suffer with something you don't think you can get rid of; but it kind of matters who you are looking to that is going to heal you! Okay, so maybe I can't do it; maybe I can't do what it takes to get well, but Jesus can! The question really then becomes, Would I like to get well? So, the 'strange god' in us, is that which makes us not want to be completely holy, which is what God is, HOLY! Sure, we show up to the pool, continually; but do we really want to be completely made whole? Take my life Jesus, but don't take those things that I like, those things that give me pleasure and satisfy my fleshly desires. Maybe it's not that we don't think that God has the power to change us, but it's more about the desire to be changed. Or maybe, just maybe, it's desire that we truly lack: Go big or stay at home...
""But you are my witnesses, O Israel!" says the LORD. "You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God -there never has been, and there never will be. I, yes I, and the LORD, and there is no other Savior. First I predicted your rescue, then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world. No foreign god has ever done this. You are my witnesses that I am the only God," says the LORD. "From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done."" (Isaiah 43:10-13) NLT