Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
—Isaiah 1:16-17 (KJV)
Do you find it easy to replace service to those in need with religious rituals? I know many sure seem to do so. However, God wants us not to get so caught up in talking about him and celebrating his deeds that we forget we're supposed to provide hands-on care for others. God loved us so much that he wasn't content just to send us words in a holy book; he also came to us personally as the Word incarnate in Jesus, Immanuel, God with us (John 1:1-18; Hebrews 1:1-3; Matthew 1:23). In Jesus, God cared for people face-to-face with hands-on in love (Mark 1:40-42).
Whether it is Jesus defining his ministry (Luke 4:18-19) or James talking about the kind of piety that pleases God (James 1:26-27), we must realize that true faith always involves treating others as God would treat them (1 John 3:16-18). Today's verse defines what God does and how God feels (Deuteronomy 10:16-18) by instructing us to live as his presence in our world today (John 20:19-22).
O Great God of all comfort, please open my eyes today to see those who need your love and please give me the heart to do so attentively, investing in them personally and giving my time compassionately to serve them. May Jesus' heart be seen in the work of my hands and bring glory to you, O God. Amen.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
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—Isaiah 1:16-17 (KJV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...
Do you find it easy to replace service to those in need with religious rituals? I know many sure seem to do so. However, God wants us not to get so caught up in talking about him and celebrating his deeds that we forget we're supposed to provide hands-on care for others. God loved us so much that he wasn't content just to send us words in a holy book; he also came to us personally as the Word incarnate in Jesus, Immanuel, God with us (John 1:1-18; Hebrews 1:1-3; Matthew 1:23). In Jesus, God cared for people face-to-face with hands-on in love (Mark 1:40-42).
Whether it is Jesus defining his ministry (Luke 4:18-19) or James talking about the kind of piety that pleases God (James 1:26-27), we must realize that true faith always involves treating others as God would treat them (1 John 3:16-18). Today's verse defines what God does and how God feels (Deuteronomy 10:16-18) by instructing us to live as his presence in our world today (John 20:19-22).
My Prayer...
O Great God of all comfort, please open my eyes today to see those who need your love and please give me the heart to do so attentively, investing in them personally and giving my time compassionately to serve them. May Jesus' heart be seen in the work of my hands and bring glory to you, O God. Amen.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Continue reading...
