January 20
Worship in Truth
Isaiah 58
KEY VERSE: Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the
chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
-- Isaiah 58:6
Some people say they do not go to church because it is boring. And indeed
they are right. Many church services are boring and some of us pastors should
be ashamed that we conduct worship as though it were a funeral.
But those who have given up on church because it is boring to them need to
examine their own hearts! They may have the wrong reason for going to church.
They may go to church expecting to be entertained, and that is not a valid
reason.
The ancient prophet Isaiah helps us to understand that for our worship to
please God, our hearts must be in it! We do not satisfy God by "going to
church" one hour a week; what God wants is for us to worship him
constantly!
Worship that pleases God is living daily in such a way that our conduct
honors God. As Isaiah explains, fasting for fasting’s sake is useless. Fasting
does not win God’s favor. To fast for such a selfish motive is hypocrisy, the
kind that Jesus joined Isaiah in condemning (Matthew 6).
True worship is not sitting in church as though you are the "inspector
general," there to evaluate and criticize what others are doing. True
worship is bringing your life before God moment by moment and saying with
sincerity, "Here am I, Lord, send me where you need me."
Real worship is sharing God’s tender compassion for the poor, the lost, the
lame, the blind, the suffering, and saying to the Father, "Where can I
join hands with you in ministering to the needy?" Get into a life like
that and what happens on Sunday morning at eleven o’clock will become far more
exciting than you ever dreamed!