It’s a Heart Issue
Isaiah 29:13–>The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.”
We are programmed through our culture that our value, worth, belonging, etc is about a set form of actions that produce a certain kind of life where others will look and say, “they have the life.” We see this is the clothes we wear; the cars we drive, the houses we live in; even the churches we go to. We go through certain motions to produce a certain perception. Today’s verse tells me that God sees through our charade. God not only sees through our charade but God despises our charade when it comes to worship. When we make worship about certain rules, methods, empty rituals we are removing the focus of worship from God to the world’s perception of us; it is idolatry. I am reminded today that worship begins in the heart and everything must flow from my heart’s absolute desire to praise God for the gift of Jesus and the invitation into a life that is empowered by the Holy Spirit. I am guilty of worship that only comes near God with words and actions but my heart being in another place. This is a battle for me and only through God’s grace can this battle be fought. I desire to be that kind of Christian today that worships from the heart; that is close to God and allows God to mold me as God sees fit.
Lord, may you help me today to live from my hearts desire to honor and serve you. God, thank you for loving me enough to come to me in Jesus Christ and free me from myself and invite me into the most authentic life I can live. May my life today not be full of empty words and rules but may my life be grounded in your love. I pray you would mold me today and that all of my life would be seen as worship that comes from the heart. Protect me from the evil that seeks to destroy me; that seeks to take my hearts focus away from you and put it on my own evil desires. God use me today to communicate your love and continue to guide me in the creation of this new community of faith. May we be the kind of people that worship from the heart; may we never get caught in the trap of going through the motions. If we do, expose our sin and bring us back to you; restore in us the authentic worship that can only come from our hearts. Amen!
