Daily Bible Reading: Joshua 14-15, Psalm 146-147, Jeremiah 7, Matthew 21
Ritual or Obedience
Churches across America are filled with people who go to church every Sunday. Some go through rituals such as crossing themselves, count beads, reading prayers, chanting, kneeling and rising, etc., etc. I was reminded of this when I read these verses in Jeremiah 7:2123. “Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you that it may go well with you.”
God told them he didn’t just want their sacrifices, what he really wanted was their obedience. Sacrifices were not enough. He said they might as well go ahead and eat the sacrifices themselves. That’s how meaningless they were. He didn’t want their rituals; what he wanted was their obedience because obedience demonstrates love and devotion.
The Lord wants the same thing from us. He doesn’t just want an outward show of piety by the things I mentioned above, he wants us to have a heart relationship with Him. It doesn’t do any good to go through the forms of religion and continue to live a life of deceit, dishonesty, backbiting, immorality, indulging in pornography, gambling, drunkenness, etc., etc. What God desires from us is a relationship showing that we trust him enough to obey him. II Tim. 3:5 says there will be those who have a form of godliness.
There are great rewards for obedience. An example of that is in Joshua 14:6-12 regarding Caleb. When the spies were sent out to survey the land the Lord had promised them, most brought back a bad report and caused the Israelites to not go forward as the Lord commanded, but Joshua and Caleb brought back a good report and said, “Surely we can go up and conquer the land.” Because of Israel’s disobedience, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years and that generation all died. Only Joshua and Caleb survived. (That should have been a pretty plain lesson to the Israelites, to see only 2 elderly men!!!) Now 45 years later Caleb at the age of 85 is asking to have a mountain given to him to conquer. He said he was as strong at 85 as he had been at 40. The reason for this: “I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.”
Psalm 146 and 147 contain some versus that tell how the Lord feels about those who obey him. Psa. 146:8: “The Lord loves the righteous.” Psa. 147:11: “the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”
Samuel told Saul “To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” I Sam. 15:22. The Lord would say the same thing to us today. To obey is better than rituals and programs, better than church attendance that is just a form and outward show of piety. (We should attend church but it should not be just a ritual!!) The Lord wants a relationship with you. Jesus said “If you love me you will obey what I command.” John 14:15.
Let’s have a love relationship with Jesus and receive his love and delight.
Ritual or Obedience
Churches across America are filled with people who go to church every Sunday. Some go through rituals such as crossing themselves, count beads, reading prayers, chanting, kneeling and rising, etc., etc. I was reminded of this when I read these verses in Jeremiah 7:2123. “Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you that it may go well with you.”
God told them he didn’t just want their sacrifices, what he really wanted was their obedience. Sacrifices were not enough. He said they might as well go ahead and eat the sacrifices themselves. That’s how meaningless they were. He didn’t want their rituals; what he wanted was their obedience because obedience demonstrates love and devotion.
The Lord wants the same thing from us. He doesn’t just want an outward show of piety by the things I mentioned above, he wants us to have a heart relationship with Him. It doesn’t do any good to go through the forms of religion and continue to live a life of deceit, dishonesty, backbiting, immorality, indulging in pornography, gambling, drunkenness, etc., etc. What God desires from us is a relationship showing that we trust him enough to obey him. II Tim. 3:5 says there will be those who have a form of godliness.
There are great rewards for obedience. An example of that is in Joshua 14:6-12 regarding Caleb. When the spies were sent out to survey the land the Lord had promised them, most brought back a bad report and caused the Israelites to not go forward as the Lord commanded, but Joshua and Caleb brought back a good report and said, “Surely we can go up and conquer the land.” Because of Israel’s disobedience, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years and that generation all died. Only Joshua and Caleb survived. (That should have been a pretty plain lesson to the Israelites, to see only 2 elderly men!!!) Now 45 years later Caleb at the age of 85 is asking to have a mountain given to him to conquer. He said he was as strong at 85 as he had been at 40. The reason for this: “I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.”
Psalm 146 and 147 contain some versus that tell how the Lord feels about those who obey him. Psa. 146:8: “The Lord loves the righteous.” Psa. 147:11: “the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”
Samuel told Saul “To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” I Sam. 15:22. The Lord would say the same thing to us today. To obey is better than rituals and programs, better than church attendance that is just a form and outward show of piety. (We should attend church but it should not be just a ritual!!) The Lord wants a relationship with you. Jesus said “If you love me you will obey what I command.” John 14:15.
Let’s have a love relationship with Jesus and receive his love and delight.
God is good all the time,
Naomi Brinkman
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