LEARNING DAILY

 

Isaiah 66:1-2, Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, and the earth MY footstool.  Where is the house that you will build Me?  And where is the place of MY rest?  For all these things My hand has made.  And all those things exist,” says the Lord.  “But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.”

 

There is a lot going on in the last chapter of Isaiah.  To get the full understanding of his writing I would ask you to read the entire chapter.  I preface my writing today by saying I was greatly moved during the time I took to study this chapter as I had to do a lot of reflection about my life.  Perhaps you will be led to do so as well.

 

God is not impressed in the least with any building or structure that man has built for Him.  There is no temple or church building that can compare to the heavens He has created.  The Jews glorified in the temples they built almost to say, “look at what we built to worship in”. God is unimpressed nor is He impressed with the outward worship of those giving it in these man-made temples or churches.

 

If you continue reading Isaiah 66 you will read some very disturbing verses; these are the verses that made me stop and reflect.  The next verses deal with the outward worship given by people who live the rest of the week living in their own ways and not according to God’s Word.  Isaiah, who is speaking as God directs, basically says the person who lives this way is an abomination to Him.  In the next verses Isaiah describes the hypocrisy of this in pretty strong language. The person who sacrifices the bull kills a man.  One who burns incense does it as if doing so to an idol.  God is referring to those who have a great show of worship in the temple but have “chosen their own way and their soul delights in their abominations”. 

 

God sees our worship; He sees what we do and hears what we say or sing! He demands that what we do the rest of the week match our worship in church. He does not want routine or for us to be ceremonious in our worship of Him.  Romans 12:1 tells us to, “present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God which is your reasonable service (worship)”.  Our greatest desire should be to live lives of holy worship and devotion to God!  This requires us to separate ourselves from the pattern of world.  

 

I have had to spend time reflecting on the worship I have given God.  How can I sing His praises and lift my hands in surrender in church to only find myself doing the things He detests during the rest of the time I am not in church?  The JSESB states this: “This is very apparent in the modern church, so that religious services and ceremonies, which are very beautiful to man’s judgment and which appeal to his religious feeling, are declared by God to be abominable.  The reason?  Simply because the object of faith is something other than Christ and the cross, which God will not tolerate.”

 

Isaiah did tell us the person God delights in – those who are humble in spirit, who recognize their need, and seek God’s grace in order to follow His Word with all their heart.  God does not expect perfection in any of us; no one will be perfect until they enter heaven. Only Jesus Christ has been perfect.  It is not the outward show of worship you and I need to be concerned with.  He looks on each of our hearts to see if we are submitted to His will and is in awe of Him. Each day you and I should be looking forward to hearing from God by reading His Word and seeking to apply it to our lives. 

 

I apologize for the length of this today.  I am still working through this regarding the worship I offer and what I do the rest of the week.  It is difficult to face my failures; but I’m dealing with them with His help.  Take some time to examine yourself this week.

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.  I have added Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible to be referred to from now on as JSESB