Today's Bible reading is found in Matthew 15. The Pharisees and other religious leaders came to Jesus once again. But it's funny to note that they did not come to be taught or to receive spiritual guidance. They just showed up to criticize! Yet, Jesus displayed His extreme patience and His great love for even these unloving enemies. This time, they wanted to know why Jesus' disciplies did not comply with their "age-old traditions" and ceremonies. But Jesus inquired of them, "And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?"
Even today, that's exactly what we do. We love following age-old traditions that are void of any real meaning. For example, we attend church on Sunday, but there is no real joy in doing so. The faces of those at church tell the tale of better things to do or better places where they could be. We simply want to comply with something we learned from our parents. Also, just a few days ago I learned from the Barna Group that only 5% of Christian adults in America tithe as the Bible teaches. And yet we wonder why our Country is going through a recession. We wonder why so many are losing their homes. We wonder why so many businesses are going bankrupt. And the answer is because we just honor God with our lips, but not with our lives! Our hearts are far from Him and we simply go through the motions of serving Him.
Jesus taught us that it's time for us to change our attitude about worship. He is not concerned about what we say or how well we say it. He wants us to LIVE what He taught us. He does not care about lip service. He wants action! Action that leads us to bow before Him. Action that leads us to enjoy being in His house. Action that causes us to break out in song and words of praise that comes from the heart. Action that provides an example to others who will also follow our behavior.
2 comments:
I hope people will read this one. I pray that the people I know have the right attitude about Jesus at all times. I'm working on mine so pray for me.
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