Devo Post #3

Isaiah 1:13-15

Stop bringing meaningless offerings!

   Your incense is detestable to me.

New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—

   I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.

14 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.

15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,

   I hide my eyes from you;

even when you offer many prayers,

   I am not listening.

Here the prophet Isaiah talks a little about legalism, and more on disobedience. The people are doing what God has asked, but God refuses their offerings because their hearts are not in the right place. They pray and offer sacrifices to the Lord for their own gain. They also disobey God by neglecting the poor and the powerless, and fight each other within the Body.

How often does our churches and fellowships resemble this scenario. Just like in the old days people paid way too much attention on formality and presentation, like during “New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations,” we too do that as well in our church events. We try to make them most “seeker friendly” and streamlined. Our praise teams much have the best equipment, are most talented musicians out there, and only play songs that induce the most “feels” in the congregation. We fight each other over secondary theological points, and refuse to call each other brothers or sisters in Christ if their doctrine is only slightly confused.

We ought to look at each other’s hearts, and bring each other closer to God. We ought to love each other, and those God has called us to work with. We are to go out and help the poor and the powerless, as the Bible repeats this phrase throughout the Old and New Testament over a thousand times.

Hosea 4:6-7

“Because you have rejected knowledge,

   I also reject you as my priests;

because you have ignored the law of your God,

   I also will ignore your children.

7 The more priests there were,

   the more they sinned against me;

   they exchanged their glorious God for something disgraceful.

Hosea here talks about how the Israelites have forsaken God’s teachings of doing the right thing. This disobedience has led God to reject them as His. The application here, as Paul sent this to me, is that I shouldn’t forget to obey God’s commands. It isn’t legalism if I follow what the Bible teaches closely (that has to do with the heart, see devotion right after), but to not follow the Bible closely leads to rebellion and rejection of God in our life. We shouldn’t, as Christians, ever compromise on the Word, for doing so leads to (Spiritual and sometimes physical) death. You see it with Saul. You see it with Samson. You see it almost happen to Moses. You see it happen to the Israelites and those in Judah. You also see how God rewards those who do obey, like Job, Amos, and Abraham. They feared the Lord (their hearts did) and they also obeyed fully (kinda).

Let me not be afraid to stand up for my beliefs, but also never forget that I obey God because I fear and love God, not because its “the right thing to do” or for my own glory.