From January 23, One Year Bible

Today's Scriptures:

Genesis 46:1 ~ 47:31; Matthew 15:1 ~ 28; Psalm 19:1 ~ 14; Proverbs 4:14 ~ 19

My One Thought Scripture: Matthew 15:1-9 (NIV)

“Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"

Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' he is not to 'honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'"

Are we guilty of nullifying the Word of God for the sake of our own tradition? In this passage, Jesus is tangling with the Pharisees and teachers of religious law. You would consider these men to be the theological experts of the day. They attacked Jesus by attacking some of the habits of His disciples, who, in their opinion had broken one of their traditions. Jesus was never short on words when it came to these encounters. He outright called them “hypocrites”, but His intention was not for the purpose of name calling. He backed up his accusation with words these men would recognize and understand...The words of Isaiah.

What would you feel if Jesus said to you, “You honor Me with your lips, but your heart is far from me.” Or if He called your worship “in vain”? Is MY worship genuine? Is “a wonderful worship service” what I want to experience or what He wants from me? Do I worship just so that I can leave church with a good feeling and be “pumped” for the week ahead?

Worship is intended for expressing our praise and honor to God. It is time we align our hearts with God and seek to focus our praise toward Him and Him alone.