Good morning,
Those of us who are involved in preaching or teaching and living out the truth of the Bible are faced with a real challenge these days. Actually, it’s not a new challenge, it’s just new to us who are living out our lives at this point in history. We call ourselves Christians, we talk about what the Bible says, we do our best to celebrate the important parts of our religious practices, but our impact on the world around us is weak and ignored. Thousands of years ago the Prophet Isaiah was told by God to write, "These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.(Isa.29:13) It’s confusing for us to read from one source or another about how the Gospel is sweeping the whole world, only to find ourselves surrounded by people who claim to be Christians doing things that the Bible tells us are wicked and do not look anything like the God who has given us life. God goes on to say, And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote. When Jesus was teaching here on earth he quoted this verse and added, Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God. For you ignore God's law and substitute your own tradition.”(Mark7:7,8) There is a lot of talk these days about “Fake News”, but when it comes to the reality of our situation spiritually, we find ourselves surrounded by leaders who make their living giving us “fake news” to live by and “followers of Jesus” who want things given to them that way.
The Lord had more to say to Isaiah then and to us today. What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their evil deeds in the dark! "The LORD can't see us," they say. "He doesn't know what's going on!” (Isa.29:15) It’s amazing to realize that people who have these spiritual heart issues don’t see the seriousness of twisting the meaning of God’s words. Because they are self focused, it is easy for our Enemy to convince them that what they are doing is good because of all the followers and successes that come with their approach. Whenever we come to the place of seeing success as proof of our teaching we go blind to the clear teaching of God’s Word. God’s plan is to give us His Good News that combines God’s Holiness with his love for those who have been captured by sin and rebellion. God’s guidelines for living requires that we live by faith in him through pain and sorrow, rejection and failure, loneliness and isolation, while holding on to his loving promises and his powerful right hand. He wants us to focus on obedience to him, not on our expected outcomes. The Lord added one other point when he said, How foolish can you be? He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay! Should the created thing say of the one who made it, "He didn't make me”? Does a jar ever say, "The potter who made me is stupid”?(v.16) Dear Lord, will you please help us to listen and live by your truth and not be taken in by our Enemy who tempts us with his deadly question “Did God really say . . .”(Gen.3:1)
Isaiah 29:13 And so the Lord says, "These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.
Roy Wisner
