GENUINE DEVOTION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“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? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”

“Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.”

Isaiah 58:6-9a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s devotion, we saw where the people of Israel had been engaging in counterfeit devotion toward the Lord in their religious practices. Specifically, they were going through the motions with their fasting because their behavior was ungodly and sinful, hardly indicating that they were even followers of a God who had commanded them to love others. Their opting for wickedness over righteousness resulted in God not responding to their needs until they changed their actions and began living in a way that was acceptable to Him, a way that showed genuine devotion to His will and way.

So what was acceptable to God? What kind of conduct would be pleasing to His sight and lead to His favor?

We find the answers in our continuing study of Isaiah 58. Look again at these words from God Himself:

“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? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”

“Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.”  Isaiah 58:6-9a

Note here how God expects us do the following in order to tend to the needs of those in need:

1. Work to remove injustice.

“Loose the chains of injustice.”

2. Help relieve the burdens people are under.

“Untie the cords of the yoke.”

3. Free the oppressed.

“Set the oppressed free and break every yoke.”

4. Share food with the hungry.

“Share your food with the hungry.”

5. Provide shelter for the poor.

“Provide the poor wanderer with shelter.”

6. Clothe the naked.

“When you see the naked, to clothe them.”

7. Care for everyone as family because we’re all part of God’s family.

“Not to turn away from your own flesh and blood.”

It’s quite a list, right? And do you see how all of these items have one thing in common?

They all require us to focus on someone outside of ourselves.

You see, the word of God here is calling us to a spirit of self sacrifice, to place the needs of others ahead of our own. For when we self sacrifice, we perhaps come as close as we can to being like His Son Jesus who also called us to make a difference in the lives of those who are in need. You may remember these words from our Savior:

The King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.”

“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?’”

The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.”  Matthew 25:34-40

The message is clear from our scriptures from the Old and New Testaments:

Ever seek to make a difference in the lives of those who are in need.

In the end translation, genuine devotion unto the Lord is most clearly evident when our actions model His actions so that those we help don’t see us as the source of their help but the Lord we are serving and testifying to. And in giving Him all the honor, glory, and praise, we help others to do the same, to see the Lord as the great Provider and Protector they need.

So how will we respond to this direction from the Lord?

My prayer is that we will follow the instruction found in our passage from Isaiah and do the following:

1. Let His light shine brightly through all we do.

“Your light will break forth like the dawn.”

2. Show His righteousness to everyone through our actions.

“Your righteousness will go before you.”

3. To ensure others see His glory in the aftermath of everything we do.

“The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.”

When we do these things, when we when we selflessly commit ourselves to help others, we do so knowing that God has us in His hands. For He has promised that He will answer our calls and cries, bringing us the help we need for He will always be with us, blessing us rather than forsaking us.

In other words, He will give us His genuine devotion when we give Him ours.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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