Wednesday; September 9

When the Israelites of the Old Testament were promised a special relationship with God, it came with a condition – they had to remain faithful to Him. As long as they were obedient to God, the Lord would protect them, but if they rejected Him, He would reject them. This is exactly what happened during the 8th Century B.C. The God who had offered to protect them not only turned His back on them, He sent conquering nations to discipline them. In retrospect, some of the causes of their issues were their rejection of their religion, but a major portion of it was losing their moral focus. When the prophet, Isaiah, summarized the condition of Israel he observed, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” (Isaiah 1:16-17).
As I think back on God’s people, I see some of the same challenges we face in our society today. When we merely focus on “how” we do our religion, many of us feel confident; however, godly living also incorporates taking care of people – especially those who struggle to take care of themselves. Spiritual living is more than just attending church services, it also means doing right by all people – especially those who are less fortunate.
Are we doing what we should be doing – not just for our church, but for our community as well?
Think About It!

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