They Say They are Mine

Isaiah 29:13

And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me

is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote

[repetition without any thought as to the meaning]

Once we have been a believer for some time, we become pretty good at knowing what we are supposed to do. I’m supposed to go to church, so I go every week. I’m supposed to read my Bible so I crack it open from time to time. I’m supposed to pray, so I say my prayers before bed. I’m supposed act like a good Christian should, so I do.

There is nothing wrong with consistency. It is something I am extremely passionate about. We need to seek God constantly whether we feel like it or not. It is a powerful thing to continue to follow God even when you don’t feel like it. But, we can fall into a different kind of trap. We can fall into doing everything that we know we are supposed to do and still have a heart that is far from enamored with Jesus.

The scripture above says that there are a group of people who will tell people they are believers. They would say that they love God. They even follow the Christian rules they have learned. But, this group of people’s hearts are far from God. Well if we are saying that we love God, how do we know if our hearts are far from Him?

A good indicator for me is to check my motivation behind the things that I do. Am I going to church so that I can meet up with my friends or feel like I’m doing the right thing for my kids? Or am I going to church because I genuinely want to learn more about God and the Bible and worship along with other believers to lift up Jesus? Am I more focused on what I’m and others are not supposed to be doing or more focused on what I can do to serve and love others? Do I say I love God all the while being rude and disrespectful to those created in His image?

I deeply want to love God and express my love for Him daily. I don’t want to just go through the motions and check the Christian items off my checklist every day. I want to love others passionately and serve them humbly. My worship to Him isn’t just the songs we sing at church. My worship to Him is sacrificing what I want to conform to what He wants. I don’t want to worry about how awesome people think I am. I want to help people remember how wonderful Jesus is through the life I live.

It’s not just about what my lips are saying. It’s about my heart expressing its love for Jesus. He is my motivation.

God, I pray that I never make my relationship with You a matter of performing like a Christian should. I pray that my relationship with You is allowing You to show me how much You love me, and in turn me getting to show You how much I love You. You are so good to me and I want to forever be thankful for You and smitten by You. I pray that my motivation is always my love for You.

#Christianwalk