Glowing in the Dark

Good morning!

Today's text is Isaiah 58:3-12.

In the yearly course of Jewish "feasts", holy convocations, certain days are designated as Sabbath days, whether they fall on a Saturday or not.  Did you know this?  It was "news to me" when I learned this a few years ago.... 
For example, March 30, 2018 is the beginning of Passover, a high holy day.  It falls on a Friday, but it is a Sabbath.  That makes two Sabbaths in a row!  I believe from my studies that it was this way the week of Jesus' Passion:  2 Sabbaths in a row, on a Friday and a Saturday.  At the end of this week (the week I'm making this post) I'll be reprising my Holy Week set of posts, which I do every year.  At any rate, moving on.....

One of the ways to worship on those special days was (and still is) is to "fast" (abstain from eating) for all or part of the day. An example of this is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which falls often in October.  These special feasts and holy days were instituted by God Himself thousands of years ago, and some Christians, particularly Messianic Jews, "keep" those holy days in a similar manner today.  I think that this is perfectly beautiful!  Nowhere in the New Testament do I read that first century Christians stopped practicing the Old Testament feasts that God instituted.  

If you would like to, for example, keep Passover on March 30 with a Christian perspective, Jews For Jesus has a great resource for doing just that.  And, by your sweet Christian sister, Gena, telling you about this now, you have time to order some copies to "make it so"!  Here's the link, and the whole family can be involved!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1881022803/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1ZR7GJ75JCSA5&psc=1

You will want a copy for every person/reader participating, or one for every two people, because it is an interactive reading through the ceremony as you do it.

Allright, now, back to our text:
In Isaiah 58, God is addressing the practice of fasting on holy days, and exhorting His people to examine their hearts more closely.  In vs. 3, we see that the people are complaining because God seems to be ignoring them, despite their holy day celebrations.  In vs. 3-5, God explains why.

The people were wearing the holy clothes and doing the holy rituals (such as fasting), showing off their humility; but, all the while, they were treating their fellow man like garbage.  God was not impressed with such false piety then, nor is He impressed with it today. 

As usual, God is more interested in our hearts than in our outward rituals.  If our hearts are not right, our good behaviors are meaningless.  In other verses, this is emphasized:

"Tear your hearts and not your clothes."  (Joel 2:13)

In the Jewish culture, extreme agony of spirit was demonstrated by ripping the outer garment into pieces.

"To obey is better than making a burnt offering." (1 Samuel 15:22)

Here too, the focus was on the behavior that flowed from a right heart, than in the carrying out of religious rituals. 

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing(B) in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father,(C) who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Matthew 6:5-6

Do we do this in our Christian faith?  Oh, well, let's see....
Do we ever stand up and lead in worship, then go home, close our doors and commit gross sin?
Do we ever teach our Sunday School class and then refuse to help someone in need, even when God makes it plain we are supposed to?
Do we ever pray pious prayers in public and then cut our loved ones to shreds with our vicious tongues?

Could it BE that the reason we are not reaching more people with the gospel of Jesus Christ is that we honor Christ with our tongues and our "churchiness", but our hearts are far from Him?  (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8)

Look at verses 6-9 (The Message):

"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:

To break the chains of injustice,

Get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts.

What I'm interested in seeing you do is:

Sharing your food with the hungry,

Inviting the homeless poor into your homes,

Putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, 

Being available to your own families.

Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once.

THEN when you pray, God will answer.

You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.' "

I have some friends - - - great Christian family - - - four years ago they heard about a homeless person whose family had abandoned him.  They took him into their home until he could get back on his feet, which took several months.  THIS!  This is being the light of Jesus to the world.  THIS is showing the world who our Savior is.

Verse 10 - - - 

"If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,

Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,

Your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight."

Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

"Whoever wants to be great must become a servant.  Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave.  That is what the Son of Man has done:  He came to serve, not to be served - - - and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage."

Mark 10:45

Let's get the spotlight off of ourselves. Instead, let's pray that we would be given more opportunities to "glow in the dark", and that we would take those opportunities!

Father, I am so guilty of passing up opportunities to bless real people you put in my path.  It's so much easier to just....follow a formula of "Christian-ness" and pretend that You are pleased.  Help me, Lord!  Please forgive me and truly conform me into the image of Jesus, who poured His life out for us all, who "gave His life in exchange for many who are held captive".  In Jesus' name, amen.