Isaiah 29:13-15
The Lord has said: “These people
praise me with their words, but they never really think about me. They
worship me by repeating rules made up by humans.
So once again I
will do things that shock and amaze them, and I will destroy the wisdom
of those who claim to know and understand.”
You are in for trouble, if you try to hide your plans from the Lord! Or if you think what you do in the dark can’t be seen.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
“Cleanliness is next to godliness.”
“Everything happens for a reason.”
“God helps those who help themselves.”
“God wants you to be happy.”
“God will not give you more than you can handle.”
“God works in mysterious ways.”
“If you can envision and believe it, you will receive it.”
“If you work hard enough, you'll be successful.”
“Love the sinner, hate the sin.”
“Money is the root of all evil.”
“This, too, shall pass.”
“To thine own self be true.”
Would
it surprise you to learn that NONE of these phrases actually appears in
God’s Holy Word? Still, I bet you have heard at least one of these
quoted as if the words came directly from the pages of your Bible! This
is but a sampling of the ways in which we twist God’s words to suit our
own agendas. And by virtue of repetition, several of these “tenets”
have become part of the “makeup” of many a Christian’s core beliefs and
values.
While some of these phrases did have a somewhat
scriptural origin…do you see how they have been manipulated and the
meaning has changed? For instance, money is not the root of all evil…but the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10) “causes all kinds of trouble.”
Likewise,
some will take the middle section of this scripture passage where
Isaiah prophecies that God will shock, amaze, and destroy those who
disobey or twist His words to mean that everything from natural
disasters to AIDS and other diseases are God’s punishment upon us. If
you prayerfully and carefully read this passage, you will see that God
is saying that those who turn His words and commands into something that
He did not intend will be disappointed and corrected. God will not
stand for this! He will not allow His message to be tainted…and He will make things right…but not by bringing plagues and disasters!
Finally, we come to the third section of this passage, in which we are reminded that God knows everything.
So whether you talk about others in a derogatory manner in the privacy
of your own home – or with people you believe agree with your stance -
or you voice your opinions in a public venue…God knows. When you work
behind the scenes to create divisiveness toward a group of people or a
particular ideology, you are breaking Jesus’ commandment to “love one
another.” When you make up the rules as you go along and hope that God
will forgive you later…or you think that your Salvation in Jesus has
given you a “free pass” or somehow elevated you in status, you have
totally blown it!
I know I talk about this a lot. But it seems
like a large number of “Christians” today are operating in man-made
rules. They are judgmental, pious, unloving, and divisive…and they try
to justify it all in the name of Jesus. I believe that God’s heart is
breaking over this. I pray that you are not among them. But the only
way we can know if we are in God’s will and serving as genuine disciples
of Christ is to stay in constant contact with Him…to study His word
night and day, and beg God to impress upon our hearts His true
meaning…and to sift through and discard the ugliness and confusion that
the devil tries to intersperse.
Will you join me in renewing your
efforts to operate in God’s truth? Will you rekindle your love for the
words and wisdom of our Heavenly Father…and vow to operate only from
His vantage point? Are you ready to step out into the Light of Christ
and “disciple” confidently from that position? Is this the day that you
will begin?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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