Read Isaiah 1
"Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways.
Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the orphans. Fight for the rights of the widows."
Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the orphans. Fight for the rights of the widows."
--
Isaiah 1:16-17
Two years have passed since I wrote the two previous posts in this series. I still feel the sting of conviction, and see the inconsistencies in my life, even as I read the words that flowed from my heart then. In some ways, I would just like to shove this topic off into some dark corner of my life to deal with later, but I long to live fully for the Lord and so I press on though I am sure to uncover things that will hurt. I set my heart on seeking the Lord, and I have turned to His Word for wisdom as I read through the book of Isaiah.
They seemed to be doing all the right things. They offered God sacrifices, burnt offerings, incense offerings, worship, prayer, gifts, and they held devout meetings. They celebrated the Sabbath and the other festivals and special days of fasting. What more could God have wanted from them? They were following His laws and checking off their lists and fulfilling all of the rituals. However, a problem remained. A problem so big that nothing that they did for God even mattered in His sight. Perhaps the people of Judah were experts at keeping the law and putting on an appearance of devotion, but they were fake. Deep down, their hearts were divided, and in the end they tried to fill their lives up with a little bit of everything. They served the LORD, but they also bowed down to idols. They brought their sin offerings to the temple, but they also worshipped created things. They sought to impress others with their devotion, but deep down they had no problem overlooking the cause of the widow and the orphan. They were set on their own dishonest gain.
You see the people of Judah somehow forgot that the LORD of Heaven's Armies was not supposed to be one small part of their life---HE WAS TO BE THEIR LIFE. They forgot that they were not just supposed to offer sacrifices and keep the Sabbath, but they had a whole new identity as God's set apart people. They forgot the words Moses had spoken years before:
"Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today" (Deuteronomy 6:4-6).
You see the people of Judah had a heart issue; they did not love God with their whole heart. Instead, their hearts were devoted to idols, wealth, self, dishonest gain, bribes, and self-righteousness. They kept the LORD of Heaven's Armies and added Him to their list of things "to do", along with all the other gods that the nations around them worshipped. They recreated God, you might say, into something fashioned in their own image, something they could handle and manage.
How sad it is to see how God's chosen people turned their backs on the One who set them apart as His own precious people. Yet as I pour over their story, my heart becomes more and more aware and convicted that theirs is not so much more different than my own. You see it is so easy to think that an idol is just some statue made from wood, stone, gold, or silver, when really the material and the appearance of the idol has nothing to do with it at all. We can make anything an idol, even the good things in our lives. So when I use the term "Destroy Our Idols" I do not mean to get rid of all the "good things" in our lives that may be taking God's place. No, instead we must uncover the heart issue, and do whatever it takes to keep the Lord as our number one priority.
The problem is that we do the same thing that the people of Judah did all those many years ago. We want God to be apart of our life, but we don't want Him to be our life. We have crafted a Christianity where we can pick and choose what things to add to the "God part". We give the Lord Sunday (and sometimes Wednesday too), and maybe we even carve out a small chunk of time each day to spend with Him, but then the rest is ours. We separate God from everything else in our lives and we think we can contain Him in the box we have crafted.
I suppose on the surface the idols of our day would perhaps be thought of as all the things that take up our time: face book, television, video games, other time consuming hobbies, our physical appearance, excessive exercise, etc. Or maybe all of the things that consume our money: cars, houses, food, clothes, decorating, etc. Or perhaps it is the ones we hold dear: children, husband, wife, parents, friends, etc. However what is the heart issue? Why do we spend exuberant amounts of time and money in these pursuits all the while neglecting our relationship with God? Should we just throw all of these things out the window so that we can be fully devoted to God?
Well, the answer is "NO" because in the end if our hearts are not right then it won't really matter what things we have, we still won't love God.
I think we must first realize what our identity is. If we have committed our lives to the Lord then Jesus is our identity---HE IS OUR LIFE! So that means that everything we do must flow back to Him in praise. We can no longer categorize our lives because Jesus is our life.
So here the challenge I have given myself, and I will also give to all who read this post too.
Keep God in every part of your life because He is your life. Look at the things you do through His eyes and that will help you see what has become "idols" in your heart. Pray, pray, pray! And search God's Word. Don't just live with an appearance of godliness---BE REAL!
Here are some questions that I am asking myself today:
How am I living my life? Who or what is my biggest priority? Am I doing all of the "right things" but forgetting to love the Lord with all of my heart, mind and strength? Am I living a life that shows God's love to widows and orphans? Am I caring for them as Christ would care for them or am I so caught up with my busy life and my busy schedule?
Lord, today I want to say "yes" to whatever you have planned for me this day. I want you to be my number one priority. I don't just want to give you this time of "devotions" in the morning, but I want to give you this entire day. I do not want to treasure the blessings you give me more than I treasure you. So please help me to honor you with my life and set you apart as number one. When I am on face book help me to encourage others and point them back to you, when I am cleaning my house help me to fill up my empty thoughts with songs of praise to you and Bible verses, when I need time to relax and rest please help me to choose a good book or movie that would point my thoughts and heart back to you and motivate me to live for you more and more, help me to seek out ways to encourage others and care for them, help me to love the "one" person you send in my life. You are my life, Lord, so I come to you seeking Your help to live each moment with You, for You, in You, and through You.
The problem is that we do the same thing that the people of Judah did all those many years ago. We want God to be apart of our life, but we don't want Him to be our life. We have crafted a Christianity where we can pick and choose what things to add to the "God part". We give the Lord Sunday (and sometimes Wednesday too), and maybe we even carve out a small chunk of time each day to spend with Him, but then the rest is ours. We separate God from everything else in our lives and we think we can contain Him in the box we have crafted.
I suppose on the surface the idols of our day would perhaps be thought of as all the things that take up our time: face book, television, video games, other time consuming hobbies, our physical appearance, excessive exercise, etc. Or maybe all of the things that consume our money: cars, houses, food, clothes, decorating, etc. Or perhaps it is the ones we hold dear: children, husband, wife, parents, friends, etc. However what is the heart issue? Why do we spend exuberant amounts of time and money in these pursuits all the while neglecting our relationship with God? Should we just throw all of these things out the window so that we can be fully devoted to God?
Well, the answer is "NO" because in the end if our hearts are not right then it won't really matter what things we have, we still won't love God.
I think we must first realize what our identity is. If we have committed our lives to the Lord then Jesus is our identity---HE IS OUR LIFE! So that means that everything we do must flow back to Him in praise. We can no longer categorize our lives because Jesus is our life.
So here the challenge I have given myself, and I will also give to all who read this post too.
Keep God in every part of your life because He is your life. Look at the things you do through His eyes and that will help you see what has become "idols" in your heart. Pray, pray, pray! And search God's Word. Don't just live with an appearance of godliness---BE REAL!
Here are some questions that I am asking myself today:
How am I living my life? Who or what is my biggest priority? Am I doing all of the "right things" but forgetting to love the Lord with all of my heart, mind and strength? Am I living a life that shows God's love to widows and orphans? Am I caring for them as Christ would care for them or am I so caught up with my busy life and my busy schedule?
Lord, today I want to say "yes" to whatever you have planned for me this day. I want you to be my number one priority. I don't just want to give you this time of "devotions" in the morning, but I want to give you this entire day. I do not want to treasure the blessings you give me more than I treasure you. So please help me to honor you with my life and set you apart as number one. When I am on face book help me to encourage others and point them back to you, when I am cleaning my house help me to fill up my empty thoughts with songs of praise to you and Bible verses, when I need time to relax and rest please help me to choose a good book or movie that would point my thoughts and heart back to you and motivate me to live for you more and more, help me to seek out ways to encourage others and care for them, help me to love the "one" person you send in my life. You are my life, Lord, so I come to you seeking Your help to live each moment with You, for You, in You, and through You.
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