Are Our Hearts Changed, Together and Guiding us to Action?
Good Morning Friends,
Today we have an invitation to come and become clean… well at least cleaner. Today we have an invitation to live a Godly life in a corrupt world. Today we hopefully get going with a purpose to build up a loving community. With an understanding that the heart of worship is our hearts moved to action, we ask the most obvious of questions. Are Our Hearts Changed, Together and Guiding us to Action?
16Scripture: Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.18 Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Isaiah 1:16-20 (NRSV)
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9He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. 11The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. 12I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” 13But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” 14I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’
Luke 18:9-14 (NRSV)
22The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
John 17:22-23 (NRSV)
Message: In today’s scripture Isaiah implores us to quit our worship charades and religious games. Here we discover that external forms do not matter. The order of worship does not matter and the style of music does not matter. What matters is our heart. Worship that is not offered in the right motivation and with the right heart is an offense to God. God is offended by insincere, false or half-hearted worship. If we are like that we’d be better off staying home. So how’s your heart today? Is it in unity with God as Jesus prayed it would be. Is it right with God? Is your worship real today? The choice is to feast like Kings or to die like dogs. Friends, it is better to be an honest sinner in the process of sanctification than a holy fake pretending not to be a hypocrite. The trap to pretending is that we lose out on the great forgiveness.
Pray our prayers are fueled with a passion and purpose to please God. Pray we learn by doing. Pray we get clean by doing some good in a way that pleases God. Pray we realize that real worship is the act of bringing pleasure to God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 