Religious Pretense - Powerless Actuality

“Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud! Don’t be timid. Tell my people Israel of their sins! [Isaiah 58.1]

What the rest of Isaiah 58 describes are the selfish and therefore powerless conditions of those who are "His people" who are "religious" in pretense, but are, in actuality, powerless.

When God's people are immersed in sin, He doesn't send comforters to softly soothe their ears with words of gentle encouragement. Instead, He makes a big and loud deal of it calling them out on their sin.

If however, God's people turn from their selfish deception, there is an easily-identifiable, quantifiable, and qualifiable promise attached:

“Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind. Then when you call, the LORD will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. [Isaiah 58.8-9]

Father, may Your spokesmen clearly declare Your call to repentance in the earth today and may Your people hear and turn from their powerless ways. May then Your glorious power manifest in Your people. So be it.

Isaiah 58

Isaiah 58

Uh, well... Isaiah 58 is rather direct in regard to its explanation of why prayers aren't answered.

I could spend thousands of words here to discuss what Isaiah 58 says is the reason we seem distant from God, but, in the end, there will remain those who teach otherwise. 

Even well-meaning Christians will declare, "but there's Jesus!" as if Jesus relieves us of all Godly responsibility. That was not at all why Jesus came to earth - if anything, Jesus came to show us how to live and relate toward God and man. Jesus never intended to relieve us of our personal responsibility to pursue and have relationship with God!

But back to the point. Isaiah points out that our relationship toward people renders us anwer-less when it comes to our needs being met by God. Isaiah is very specific that we must focus on the needs of others in order for our own needs to be met (verses 9-12).

Then, beginning in verse 13, Isaiah discusses the Sabbath. Now, before we all go, "but there's Jesus" and miss the lesson of this entirely, we need to understand that the Sabbath was about rest and reflection upon God. Too many of us are going with everything we've got with no dedicated time to 'stop and smell the roses' of our Father Yahweh. Jesus did, in fact, give us eternal entrance into that "rest" but our feet must, in fact, walk through the door!

Father, help us all to take very seriously the implications of Isaiah 58. Help us not resort to self-serving doctrines of man that make us out to be okay and put all the 'bad stuff' off on You.