Living in the Spirit

October 25, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 1:10-18

Hear the word of the Lord,
   you rulers of Sodom!
Listen to the teaching of our God,
   you people of Gomorrah!
What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
   says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt-offerings of rams
   and the fat of fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
   or of lambs, or of goats.

Come now, let us argue it out,
   says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
   they shall be like snow;
though they are red like crimson,
   they shall become like wool. –Isaiah 1:10-11, 18

Have you noticed that the people who do not want anyone to tell them what to do in life are the same people who want to tell others what they can do? That seems to be what Isaiah is challenging. The people of his day brought all kinds of burnt offerings etc. to gain God’s blessings when God wants his followers to change their way of being. My Sunday School class just finished a study of the Ten Commandments. None of them mentioned burnt offerings or fatted calves. They talk about how we should love and respect God and treat one another.

It is in the depths of our studies and communion with God that we can discern the ways of God. Daily self-examination will help us find our way. One way to do that is to spend time discerning how we fair at following those Ten Commandments, reviewing the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, or Jesus’s outline of how he judges us found in Matthew 25:31-46. Look for common faults that need to be addressed. Target the issues that are out of sync with God’s teachings and seek God’s guidance regarding how to correct our behavior.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we choose to honor you in ways that do not bring you glory. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.