Tag Archives: Heart

Going through the Motions of Religion

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Normally I reflect upon some daily suggested scriptures that can be found in our weekly Salt and Light bulletin at Asbury.  Today, though, in my own personal devotional time, I read a verse from Matthew 23 that really resonated with me. I wanted to talk a litte about it. Sorry for going off the board!

In Matthew 23, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees. They were the religious teachers of His day. They were the ones that thought the law and were the authorities for most people on what the law required and how a person of faith was supposed to live.

They wanted the people to keep and live by the law, because they were afraid. They remember what happened in the past when the people didn’t keep the law. We see in the Old Testament God say – if you keep the law, you will be blessed and have this land. If you don’t keep it, you will lose it.

The people didn’t keep it. They did their own thing and went their own way. And because of that, they lost the land. So, the leaders associated it, keeping law = land. Breaking law = losing land.

So, they were going to keep the law. And they added to the law their own laws as safeguards. They were’t going to take any chances.

So, when Jesus comes and does things they perceive as breaking law, like healing on the Sabbath, they go crazy. No! You can’t do that! No! Stop it! The reason they go so agree is because they were afraid. They had misplaced keeping the law for the point of faith.

And we see Jesus correct them today. Listen to what He says in Matthew 23:23-24:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

He said that they had kept parts of the law, but had missed the weightier and more important parts. Justice. Mercy. Faithfulness.

They had “right actions.” But they hadn’t given God their hearts. They were going through the motions of religion. But they had missed the point of it all.

Today, God doesn’t just want you act religious. He wants control of your heart. Because if He has your heart, He will have your actions.

Today, don’t worry about being religious. Worry about giving Him your everything. And if He has your all in all, He will have you actions. Today, don’t worry about going through the motions of religion. Today, make sure you are giving Him the faith of your heart!

And when He has that, you will have all you need!

Inside Out

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My ringtone is a song by Hillsong United called “From the Inside Out.” Every time someone calls me, it’s the song that I hear. It’s also my alarm sound for my alarm in the morning, so it’s the first thing I hear in the mornings, normally several times as I keep hitting snooze 🙂

That song is one of my favorites and it has a foundation in what we read here in Jeremiah 31:31-33.  Listen to what this text says:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

In this passage, the God is speaking through the prophet about the days that are to come. In the Old Testament, there is so much emphasis placed on the covenant. Israel is to keep it. They are to be obedient. They are to follow. They are to to obey.

Over and over in scripture, God tells the people, if you do your part, I’ll do my. (Or course we read over and over again in scripture, that God is faithful, in spite of how unfaithful the people are). But, in spite of God’s faithfulness, the people never keep the covenant. They always wander away. They always choose wrong. They always do wrong. They always choose their way instead of God’s way.

So, God says this. There will come a time when instead of giving you laws to command, I am going to write the law on your heart. Instead of it being about your actions, it will be about your heart.

Not that your actions won’t be important. Because they will. We will still have “stuff” we are supposed to be doing (loving, serving, caring, and so many others) but these things come because of the change that God has made on our heart.

We are an inside out religion. God changes our hearts. And that in turn changes our lives. We are changed from the inside out.

So, today, when the question is ask, does God have your actions, the first question asked is this. Does He have your heart?

Today, may we be obedient, from the inside out

Outside or Inside?

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In one of today’s readings, Samuel sets out to anoint a new king for Israel.  Ought to be an easy enough job.

After all, everyone knows what a king should look like. Everyone knows what a king should be like. Should be a very, very easy job.  Samuel is led by the spirit to Bethlehem, to Jessie. And, one of Jessie’s sons will be the new king of Israel.

And, they each come out. All are good-looking, tall, ideal looking kings.

Only one problem.  God has not picked any of them to be king. This bothers Samuel. Shouldn’t one of these have been king?  Don’t they fit the part?

And the Lord responds to Samuel’s doubts here in 1 Samuel 16:

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

The Lord looks at the heart. We look at the outside. We think we can judge people base off how they look. What they wear.  Their appearance.

God says, no, that’s the important thing. That’s not what matters.  What matters is what’s inside. What matters is what is in the heart. What matters is not what you think is most important.

Today, as we live our lives, will take this lesson for ourselves?

Today, will we judge folks based on the outside?  Or will we look deeper? Will we see the heart?  Will we see what really matters? Will will see what is most important.

God doesn’t judge based off appearance.  He looks at the heart.

May we not judge folks off the outward. May we look first to in the inward. And may we remember what is more important.

 

 

When No One Is Looking

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We see today in a reading from Luke, Jesus is in conflict with the Pharisees.  It seems like He’s always in conflict with these teachers from His day.

They were very religious folk, they were actually the religious leaders of His day.

They were the ones that everyone turned too. They were the ones that everyone looked to for religious leadership, for how the Law should be in interpreted, and how they should live.

This sounds great. But, here’s the problem.

They were more in love with religion than they were with God.

They were more concerned with “looking” right instead of “being” right.

They were more concerned with “looking” religious for other folks to see than in being committed to God on the inside.

That’s why we see Jesus say today:

39 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes.  I don’t know who said it originally, but I know it to be true – “Character is what we do when no one is watching.”

Are we one way in public, and another way when no one is watching? If we are not careful, we may live one way publically, and another when no one sees.

If we are not careful, we will find ourselves to be like the Pharisees, more worried about trying to appear to be religious, than actually seeking God from the inside out.

Does this mean that we should not try to live a religious life?  Or course not. We should try to glorify God with all the we do and all that we are.

But it does mean this. It needs to start on the inside.  God is most worried about our inside.  He’s most worried about heart.

Because if He has our heart, He’ll have our actions. It starts with the heart. And goes to the outside.

Today, may God have our heart.  And, when He has that, He will have our life.

Heart’s Desire

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There’s a concept in scripture that we see a several times throughout the Bible, and it’s a powerful, powerful concept.

It’s something that can provide us great hope and great peace and joy.

It’s also a concept and passage that can be looked at the wrong way and provide us some problems.

We see this concept in one of today’s readings, from Psalm 37:

4 Take delight in the Lord, *
and he shall give you your heart’s desire.

Now, that sounds awesome, doesn’t it?

My heart desires lots of chocolate today. . . .

Or an Ole Miss victory over Arkansas this weekend. . . . .

Or a new computer. . . . . .

And, didn’t the scripture just say that God will give us our heart’s desire? So, doesn’t God want to give us these things?

I’ve heard that passage read in that way before. Some of us may be tempted to read it in that way today.

But, let’s look at what it says, – take delight in God and He will give us our heart desires.

When we delight in God, when we spend time with God when we grow closer to God, He changes our hearts.

And then, because our hearts are more like His heart, He gives us what our heart desires – more of Him.

Today, God wants to great you what your heart desires, or what your heart truly needs, more time with Him.

A deeper walk with Him.

More of His grace.

More of His mercy.

God wants you to know Him more and more and more.

God wants you to fall in love with Him today.  God wants you to have what you really need –  not stuff, not more, not power, not prestige, not any thing like this.

He wants you to have more of Him.

He is where life is found.  He is what is our hearts truly need.  He is what our hearts truly desire.

And He offers Himself to us today.

May we take Him up on His offer.

What Does God Require?

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One of the questions that is asked a lot in the prophets is what does God require of His people?

Through the Old Testament, the Law is given. The people are told, you are commanded to this,  you are commanded to do that.

The Law was given and the people were told to follow.

And that’s all that God requires, right? That’s all that He wants, right?  Follow the letter of the Law and it’s all good.

We see that addressed today in Hosea:

6For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

God wanted the people to follow the Law. God wanted the people to do what He had commanded.  God wanted the people to be the people that He had called them to be.

But, it all starts first, not with following the Law. It starts with a broken heart.  It starts with a heart in love with God.  It starts with a spirit that willing to grow and be devoted to God.

God wants your actions, yes. God wants everything you do to glorify Him and serve Him.

God wants you to live for Him fully each day of your life.

But, God knows that the only way you will live for Him and follow His law is for Him to have your heart.

What does God require?  What does God want?

He wants your heart.  He wants your devotion.  He wants your spirit.

And, if He has that, He will have your actions.

May He have all of our hearts today.  And in that, He will have all of our actions.