“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.”
-Isaiah 1:16-17
Word of the Day
In view of the recent happenings, the Charleston Nine Shooting, the Orlando Shooting and the Dallas Shooting, many are left with a dull, aching pain which stimulates the heart to weep. As a society, for years we have been in a place of trying to reconcile how and why these things are happening in our society, but I believe these events aren’t new. Once you take a step back and think about the word of God, it is clear that “nothing is new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). In Isaiah’s day the Lord had gotten tired of his people pretending for Him. They were going through the rituals of worship and sacrifice without sincerity of heart. We can sometimes find ourselves speaking for God, serving his people, and praying to Him without truly surrendering our hearts to Him. Each time we refuse to confess our sins and repent we develop an easier will to disobey. Before we know it, we will have traveled a great distance from the Lord and become less sensitive to Holy Spirit’s leading. God’s remedy is for us to make things right with Him. We have so many privileges under our covenant of grace. First, we are instructed to “wash ourselves, make ourselves clean”. We wash ourselves by asking the Lord to show us ourselves (Psalm 139:23) and then be willing to accept what He shows us. In essence, we must desire to know what is lurking within our hearts and minds. It can become easy to ignore our sins because willful sinning creates a powerful sense of shame and justification. The shame can cause us to hide from ourselves and the justification is found in our reasoning of why. We have been commissioned to live our lives by faith (Romans 1:17), knowing there is nothing we can do to make ourselves right. Faith in God and what He has done through Christ enables us by Holy Spirit to choose His way over our own. Second, he says to “learn to do good”. This step is vital in making lasting change because it requires that we do more than say we’re sorry. The act of “learning” is fostered by the will. We must choose to act upon what we know is the right and acceptable will of God. The prophet Micah reminded Judah that God’s requirements had not changed, that he had already told them to “to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God” (6:8). The same holds true today, we must put into practice what we already know to do - no matter how it feels.
Prayer
Father, I thank you that you have an unfailing love for me, without it I would be hopeless. Today, I ask that you show me my heart, examine my mind and move on my will to walk in faith. I realize that I get into trouble when I start walking in my will rather than in faith. Holy Spirit help me to surrender to Your will and not my own. In Jesus’ name. Amen.