Profess and Practice

But God says to the wicked: “Why bother reciting my decrees and pretending to obey my covenant? For you refuse my discipline and treat my words like trash. When you see thieves, you approve of them, and you spend your time with adulterers. Your mouth is filled with wickedness, and your tongue is full of lies. You sit around and slander your brother— your own mother’s son. While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn’t care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you. Repent, all of you who forget me, or I will tear you apart, and no one will help you.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭50:16-22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Notice that God is speaking to those who profess and don't practice. Have you ever heard someone say "practice what you preach"? Lip service is superficial. God wants genuine, pure, heartfelt service. Religion without relationship is repulsive. You can clean up a pig, put a bow on its tail, and spray it with a fragrance but it's still a pig! Given the chance, it will return to the mud it so desires. Listen to what the Holy Spirit said to Peter: “These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.” ‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭2:17-22‬ ‭NLT‬‬ God wants a holy people. Are you religiously affiliated or gloriously transformed? There is a distinct difference between ritual and relationship, religious profession and righteous practice! Are you truly born again? If so, quit acting like a pig and start acting like a sheep. After all, when Jesus washes you, you're clean! He transforms you from a pig to a sheep!  Think about that today!