Tuesday 18 Nov 2014

November 18: Isaiah 58:3-7

Key Verse: Isaiah 58:4
Indeed you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, to make your voice heard on high.

Devotion:
How many times have you asked yourself why you do the things that you do? I am not focusing on all the bad things that we get tempted into doing, the bad habits we have or the things we do once in a while… I am talking about the things that we do “for God” or “because of God”. So many religions have a whole raft of things that should be done in particular ways or at particular times and many people get caught up in just doing things instead of thinking about what they are doing.

Isaiah had the focus on fasting here where he was reminded that many people were taking fasting to a new level in that they would tell as many people as they could about how they were fasting and how drastic it was going to be and how much they were paying for it… when all this time they are lifting up themselves in bragging about how much they are going to do for God. When they come round to actually doing the fasting they are so focused on themselves that they forget about God all together.

The same can be said for some worship bands where they are so caught up in what they do and how they do it that the focus has left God and been drawn to the people and what they can do instead. We have to be very wary of what we do and why we do it because God is the one who sees inside out hearts and not the outside as the rest of the world sees.

I know that I do many things and brag about things at times, but each time I do catch myself I lift that act up to God asking for His forgiveness and try to move forward with Him. Yes there are times when I just want to carry on bragging or doing it my way because it makes me feel good, but when we think about how bad God would feel, we should not have any problem turning away from our sin and back to God!

Points to Ponder:
Do you like praise?

Are you taking praise from God?