Genesis Chapter 35

1 Then God said to Jacob, Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.

2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.

3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.

How can we worship the one true living God when we have idols in our hearts? People, possessions, things that take the place of God in our hearts and put him in second place? Like Jacob and his family, we need to take a good long hard look at ourselves, at our hopes and dreams, our lifestyle, our priorities.

Is there anything in our lives that takes us away from God? That we put above God in our lives? Is work our priority and God second place? Is getting that new job or promotion the thing that occupies our mind to the exclusion of all else? Are we so wrapped up in the lives of our spouses and children that we cannot see God? Are we always worrying about finances, about the bills coming in, the expenses we have to meet? What about church - do we spend more time daydreaming in church, looking around at what people are wearing, who is or isn't there, than in worship and praise? Is our worship half hearted as we keep thinking of the things we have done or need to do, or remembering past hurts and grudges?

We need to get rid of anything like that which is in our hearts, to focus our attention on God and God alone, and take the worries, the cares, the problems to Him.