the Lord saith

In my reading through Isaiah today, I see this:

These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. their worship of me made up only of rules taught by men. (NIV)

The Message describes it this way: These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren't in it. Because they act like they're worshiping me but don't mean it.

Don't know what if anything it means but I've dreamed recently of being sent to various churches, the degrees of success varying. Last night I dreamed I was at a church of unknown location and two very important people in my ministry and the Bishop were there unannounced and unexpected. And I had forgotten my sermon.

So all I could do was preach from the heart. It was a disaster.

What does that mean?

Perhaps it means that God wants more from me than just meaningless creativity. Perhaps it means that God wants more from us that mere rules and regulations and normality. Perhaps God wants from us love that we seem incapable of giving.

With all this talk of health care (which I have no understanding of whatsoever) and the like, I know this: (farther down in Isaiah 29) The wise ones who had it all figured out will be exposed as fools. The smart people who thought they knew everything will turn out to know nothing.

As we barrel toward a new year, what we need to do is turn back to the old ways. By that I don't simply mean back to the Old Testament for that didn't work too well for Israel either. What I mean is we need to turn back (as hard as it is) to a time when God's love was all that was necessary to survive.

You ask, rightfully so, when was that?

Always is the answer.

The problem has always been, and will always be, when WE decide to add to God's love with our penchant for rules and things because WE decide this whole idea of grace and mercy can't possibly be the answer.

The Bible adds: Does a book say to its author, 'He didn't write a word of me?' Does a meal say to the woman who cooked it, 'She had nothing to do with it?'

Spend some time with God this week. He deserves it. He loves it. The author of all this we call life had something, and will have something to do with the outcome of the next year. We need to turn back to him, or maybe turn to him, before it's too late.

Isaiah 29 concludes this way: In holy worship they'll honor the Holy One of Jacob and stand in holy awe of the God of Israel. Those who got off-track will get back on-track and complainers and whiners learn gratitude.

The verb says they will honor, they will stand; it doesn't not say they might. One day we all will bow before the Lord and we'll remember those times Christmas was about "holidays" and gifts and such. We will.