Did your heart go with that greeting card?

$4 for a piece of paper, some foil imprinting, and a ribbon? The practical side of me says, "Jerry, just go fold a piece of paper, write your thoughts on it, and send it off."   Message delivered, money saved. Am I cheap or just practical? Truthfully, I have spent hundreds of dollars for greeting cards in my lifetime because I understand that the message of encouragement or love I want to convey is enhanced by the presentation. So, practicality aside, I buy the cards. Last week, when I was buying Mother’s Day cards, I wondered how many greeting cards were really beautiful lies? There is no lie detector at the register that determines if the sender is truthful.   Sending a card is easy. Really loving somebody is much more expensive!

Does your ‘love for God’ combine 'right words' with 'right actions?' The religious leaders, men who looked super holy outwardly, were Jesus’ greatest foes. They said they loved God. They created loopholes for themselves in the Law. This allowed them to appear righteous while doing exactly what they wanted to do. Jesus poked holes in their pretense reminding them that God wasn't fooled by their public professions. He had nothing but contempt for their ‘religion.’ "You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean." (Matthew 23:24-26, NIV)

To invite their repentance, he told this story.

"A man with two sons told the older boy, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'  The son answered, 'No, I won't go,' but later he changed his mind and went anyway. Then the father told the other son, 'You go,' and he said, 'Yes, sir, I will.' But he didn't go.

"Which of the two obeyed his father?"

They replied, "The first."

Then Jesus explained his meaning: "I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do."  

(Matthew 21:28-31, NLT)

Cheap religion is all about making good impressions, sort of like sending an over-priced card with overblown poetry just to meet expectations! We can sing the 'right' kind of songs, be in the church at the 'right' times, and say the 'right' kind of prayers, but if there is no devotion to Christ under all that, God isn't impressed. Jesus said that our Father would much prefer that we honestly admit to our desire to do our own thing than to say we love Him while continuing to live for ourselves. Why? Because, honesty before Him and with ourselves allows the Spirit to convict us and change us.  

Adopting a superficial holiness is a kind of vaccine that prevents us from feeling the effects of sin's sickness that drives us to desperately seek Him!   Look at this challenge to a heart-less religion. "Frauds! Isaiah's prophecy of you hit the bull's-eye: These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn't in it." (Matthew 15:7-8, The Message)

As we worship, let's engage our hearts!   Here's a word from the Word on which to meditate today."Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it?

For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup-where does that get you?Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? ... Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove." (James 2:14-18, The Message)

_________________________

When the music fades,

All is stripped away,

And I simply come;

Longing just to bring

Something that's of worth

That will bless Your heart.

I'll bring You more than a song,

For a song in itself

Is not what You have required.

You search much deeper within,

Through the way things appear;

You're looking into my heart.

King of endless worth,

No one could express

How much You deserve.

Though I'm weak and poor,

All I have is Yours,

Ev'ry single breath.

I'm coming back

To the heart of worship,

And it's all about You,

All about You, Jesus.

I'm sorry, Lord,

For the thing I've made it,

When it's all about You,

All about You, Jesus.

Heart of Worship

Matt Redman © 1997 Kingsway's Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) CCLI License No. 810055