Tag: Stop Bringing meaningless offerings

Fill your heart, mind and soul

“and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,  in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Psalms 25:12  Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

Proverbs 1:7   The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 2:5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

Proverbs 15:33   The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 16:6   By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:13   The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Isaiah 50:10    Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

Acts 10:22    And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man,

Acts 13:26    “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation.

Psalms 31:19  Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!

Proverbs 1:33  but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”

Proverbs 19:23   The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.

Matthew 11:28-29  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Psalms 32:8  I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Psalms 37:23  The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;

John 3:20-21   For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

John 8:31-32  So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,  and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

The whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments. “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”  Are peoples lives, who have respect and reverence for God, different than those who do not?  What would be seen in the lives of people who respect and have reverence (fear) of God?  Would they read God’s word more? Would they give thanks more? Would they be more forgiving? Would they pray more? Are they more gentle and kind? Are they encouraging? Do they give more? Do they help more?  Do they speak words of hope, love, grace and mercy?  Do they have more inner peace?  Are they more humble?  Do they acknowledge God and His leading in their life?  Do they reach out to the unsaved? Do they talk of what God is doing in their immediate lives?  There is not a day when reading God’s word I do not see something new.  Sometimes it teaches me more about who God is, or His promises, or convicts me of an area of my life that needs to change.  Without His word I think our soul easily drifts and falls away from being able to hear His quiet voice speaking to our heart.  Think about oxygen and the importance of it on every breath.  If it were given to your lungs at the same frequency of being in God’s word  would your life be hanging on by a thread or would you be declared dead?  God’s word feeds our soul and in it we find know and understanding of God, peace, hope, help, strength, love, mercy, grace, faith….

Steadfast vs Meaningless

“I desire to do your will, my God;
your law is within my heart.”

Hosea 6:6
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”

Isaiah 1:11
“The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.

Jeremiah 4:22
“My people are fools;
they do not know me.
They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.

Mica 6:8
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

Matt 12:32
Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

I recently spent time in Roatan, Honduras and met some fine young men.  The one thing I was so encouraged about was their heart for God and how open they were to talk about it.  There was no desire on their part to impress or judge it was a pure heart to talk about God and their walk and struggles with this walk.  Their heart desire was to seek knowledge and understanding of His word and being able to apply it in their lives.  These young men have struggles that we can’t even comprehend.  Little or no father figure in their lives, cultural pressure from their friends, lack of consistent water, food, shelter, clothes, and yet they have chosen to serve, honor and glorify God.  They spoke openly about sometimes not walking close to  Him and I was so humbled by this openness.  When we talk about how we are doing in our walk with God we don’t seem to open up and speak about all that sets us back.  Even worse is sometimes we don’t even see how lacking we are.  We pretend or perform trying to make ourselves right before God and man in our own eyes.  The truth escapes us in this matter because we lack knowledge and understanding which comes from His word in our hearts and minds.  I wonder if our submission to Christ is nothing more than an insurance policy against eternity in hell.  How sad is this?  Rather than being open and honest about our time in God’s word and application of it in our thoughts and actions we shrug it off because we don’t  see immediate need or find time.   I am not sure if I will see these young men again – I certainly plan on it – their names are written on my heart “Bebe, Jorvick, Pablo, Menfy, Hubert, Richard, Jonny, Jason, Christopher, Bryan, Carry, Oral”.  Please keep them in your prayers of protection, guidance, and blessing from God.