August 28
“Turn away… from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and… honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure…” (from Isaiah 58:13)
As I was driving to church today I noticed some things… I came upon a truck hauling a boat (obviously headed to the lake), then some men riding their bikes (getting in their early morning exercise), and another older man running beside the road (really getting his exercise for the day!). And it hit me… this is the Lord’s day – a day to honor God, a day to gather with His people and worship Him.
It was pretty obvious that these other folks had different plans. Sunday was just another day off from work – another day to do what you wanted to do. Not bad things, not evil things – just (mostly pleasurable) things…
Now, I don’t know a single thing about those people. I don’t know whether they believe in God, or not. I don’t know if they have thoughts about God – or if they include Him in their daily schedules. And, really, it is not my place to judge them at all – that is not my point, here.
What really struck me was just how essential it is to honor God in my own life. How many decisions do I make throughout my day without a single thought about how my decision honors, or fails to honor, God?
It is easy to say we believe in God. It is even easy to claim that we are Christians.
But I seriously doubt that God is that intent on what we might claim to be or believe. God is supremely intent on what is in our hearts.
For us who are believers in Jesus, that means a real-world, real-time dedication to honoring God with all that we do and say. That our everyday decisions matter (not just the ones we make on Sundays). That each and every choice we make is centered in how God is honored by those choices.
Can we get real, here? If we are really honest, and really look at what we do with our choices, we would be a bit shocked at how seldom we consider the God Who is supposed to be the Lord over our lives. We tend to measure things (if we measure at all) by how something is “not that bad.” We tend to want to live our lives on moral neutral ground – relatively unconcerned about how our supposed “neutrality,” in fact, affects us so negatively. In a world that seeks to define morality by whatever is personally convenient, I wonder just how often we may do the same thing…
How different would our lives be IF we made every decision by how that choice specifically honored God. Mostly, I wonder about my own choices…
It is easy to lose sight of the fact that when we surrendered our hearts to Jesus, that was a full-time, unconditional surrender. Essentially, to truly believe in Jesus means that our life is over… and He takes over – leading us, moving us, using us to be Him in this world that He longs to touch and love.
Is it possible that our daily choices (when we fail to honor God) become a real barrier to what He desires to do in, and through, us?
We owe everything to God! The least we can do is to consider Him in every choice we make.
Prayer Focus: God, this day, make me mindful that all my choices should reflect my love and devotion to You.
TheHeartseeker's Blog 