I was reading a few days ago in my devotions in the book of Isaiah, chapter 1. I got to verses 12-17 … At first glance, this is kind of a tough passage of Scripture to read:
When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
I try to truly feel the impact of those words directed at me as someone who claims to be a worshiper, a fully devoted follower of the Lord. I cannot think of anything more devastating than to know that God is “hiding His eyes” from me when I pray and worship Him. I’m sure that most of us have gone through times where we feel like our prayers aren’t reaching heaven, but in this case, God is letting His people know that He is actually rejecting their prayers and acts of worship.
Why?
The activities of worship (feasts, songs, prayer, etc) are meaningless without a lifestyle of obedience. It’s true that the activities to show devotion to Yahweh in ancient Israel were somewhat different than the ways we express our worship today, but the goal is the same. We seek to be people who draw near to God and have an intimate relationship with Him. This cannot be accomplished simply by attending weekly church services or checking off a list of religious actions. Worship and prayer need to be part of a lifestyle that follows God’s commands everyday. This daily routine cannot simply be attempts to avoid sin. Rather, the entirety of our lives are His, and our days should be characterized by words, thoughts, actions, decisions, and priorities that reflect a heart that is completely submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Some days are easier than others to live this way, and it’s on the challenging days that obedience requires the most from me. My highest goal is that my life would be defined by heartfelt, authentic worship of the Lord. However, my “actions” of worship are completely hypocritical if they aren’t accompanied by daily repentance, a clean heart, obedience to God’s commands, and a faith that gets worked out in service and love toward others (vs.15-17). When my priorities are right and I’m walking in obedience to God’s word each day, my expressions of prayer and worship are natural outflows of a heart that is worshiping God through my actions, decisions, and conversations.
I want to commit myself to obey first, and then watch what happens in my prayer and worship life with Jesus.
Brent
bmills@b4church.org
No comments:
Post a Comment