Tuesday's ~ In Other Words

The quote that Amy chose to share today is one by John Ortberg. I'm sure there will be lots of ladies posting with much more depth than mine... but this is where my heart is right now. Here's the quote....

We must assess our thoughts and beliefs and reckon whether they are moving us closer to conformity to Christ or farther away from it.

~ by John Ortberg ~



If we are to "reckon" whether or not our beliefs are moving us closer to becoming like Christ, I believe we should evaluate WHY we believe what we do. Is it because it's what the Holy Bible says? Or is it something that we've been taught? Perhaps a tradition or an act of following man-made rules? Let's see what the Bible says about following the rules of man...


Isaiah 29:13
The Lord says: "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 is made up only of rules taught by men.




Matthew 15:1-9

Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity

1 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked Him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’[a] and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents.[c] And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’[d]”









So, if we're truly worshiping GOD in spirit and in truth, and our sacrifice is that of the heart.. then our worship is pleasing to GOD. If it's out of "habit" or just playing a game by someone else's rules then it's time to step back and learn WHO GOD really is and what HIS WORD REALLY says.

Psalm 4:5
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,And trust in the LORD


Psalm 50:14
"Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High;


Psalm 51:15-17

15O Lord, (A)open my lips,
That my mouth may (B)declare Your praise.
16For You (C)do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
17The sacrifices of God are a (D)broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.



I've truly come to believe that TRUE worship has MORE to do with attitude of the heart, than of any amount of "deeds" we can accomplish. Going to church won't save us, or bring us into a right relationship with CHRIST. It's COMPLETE SURRENDER to HIM, spending time in HIS WORD, and spending time in PRAYER that will make us more like HIM.


Deuteronomy 4:29
But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul.


Deuteronomy 6:5
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.


Deuteronomy 6:4-6
And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,


For more posts on this "Tuesday's In Other Words" visit Amy at In Pursuit of Proverbs 31.