Psalms 40-42
Acts 27:1-26
“The Lord says: ‘These people come near to Me with their mouth and honour Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.’” —Isaiah 29:13
Imagine a couple who are getting married and the groom calls the bride on the day of the wedding and says, “Honey, I’m so excited for our wedding day, but I was hanging out with the groomsmen last night and we decided to get another round of golf this morning. If you could tell the wedding guests to wait just a bit, we will get there as soon as we finish.” How would the bride react? Let’s assume that the bride got over the groom’s request and the couple got married. During the reception, the groom tells the bride, “You look fantastic! I’m so glad I married you! So, my groomsmen and I just got tickets to Myrtle Beach for a golf holiday together. We are flying out tomorrow morning, and we’ll be away for a couple of weeks. I’ll see you when I’m back.” Could we imagine what type of marriage and relationship this would be in a month? Definitely not a very good one.
We may find the above scenario ridiculous, but some of us reading this devotion are actually treating Jesus like that. We try to give lip service, but do not actually have a relationship with Him. We may come to church once in a while, but show up late. We have access to the Bible but do not cultivate and immerse ourselves in His Word and build a relationship with Him, whereby allowing His Holy Spirit to be active in our life. What this says about Jesus is that He is of little or no relevance.
Last summer, I (Brett McBride) was in India and I was brought to a village just outside of Kolkata. It was quite a distance and I walked through a trail to this remote area where there was a shack. This shack was held together by a bunch of stakes with a tin roof on top. When I stepped inside, there was a church gathering. Later, I learned that the people who showed up for church, many of them had to walk 2.5 hours one way to get there in 42-degree weather! As I was sitting in the church, I was struck, not only by how long the people had to walk to get there, but they were on time, waiting for the worship service to start. I also noticed that they all brought a Bible and were holding it like it was the most important thing in their life. The tattered edges of their Bible demonstrated that they took it seriously.
The church in India taught me what it means to cultivate a life where we treasure God’s Word, delight in worship and welcome the activity of the Spirit.
Almighty God, help me to cultivate a living and thriving relationship with You that is anchored in reading Your Word, delighting in worship and allowing Your Holy Spirit to work in my life. Thank You, Lord.
Acts 27:1-26
“The Lord says: ‘These people come near to Me with their mouth and honour Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.’” —Isaiah 29:13
Imagine a couple who are getting married and the groom calls the bride on the day of the wedding and says, “Honey, I’m so excited for our wedding day, but I was hanging out with the groomsmen last night and we decided to get another round of golf this morning. If you could tell the wedding guests to wait just a bit, we will get there as soon as we finish.” How would the bride react? Let’s assume that the bride got over the groom’s request and the couple got married. During the reception, the groom tells the bride, “You look fantastic! I’m so glad I married you! So, my groomsmen and I just got tickets to Myrtle Beach for a golf holiday together. We are flying out tomorrow morning, and we’ll be away for a couple of weeks. I’ll see you when I’m back.” Could we imagine what type of marriage and relationship this would be in a month? Definitely not a very good one.
We may find the above scenario ridiculous, but some of us reading this devotion are actually treating Jesus like that. We try to give lip service, but do not actually have a relationship with Him. We may come to church once in a while, but show up late. We have access to the Bible but do not cultivate and immerse ourselves in His Word and build a relationship with Him, whereby allowing His Holy Spirit to be active in our life. What this says about Jesus is that He is of little or no relevance.
Last summer, I (Brett McBride) was in India and I was brought to a village just outside of Kolkata. It was quite a distance and I walked through a trail to this remote area where there was a shack. This shack was held together by a bunch of stakes with a tin roof on top. When I stepped inside, there was a church gathering. Later, I learned that the people who showed up for church, many of them had to walk 2.5 hours one way to get there in 42-degree weather! As I was sitting in the church, I was struck, not only by how long the people had to walk to get there, but they were on time, waiting for the worship service to start. I also noticed that they all brought a Bible and were holding it like it was the most important thing in their life. The tattered edges of their Bible demonstrated that they took it seriously.
The church in India taught me what it means to cultivate a life where we treasure God’s Word, delight in worship and welcome the activity of the Spirit.
Almighty God, help me to cultivate a living and thriving relationship with You that is anchored in reading Your Word, delighting in worship and allowing Your Holy Spirit to work in my life. Thank You, Lord.
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