DaySpring Daily Word of Inspiration: Isaiah 1:16-17 – Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
It’s easy to say that you’re a believer in Christ. The hard part is the follow up that is expected when you make that proclamation to the nation! How do you continue to be yourself; the person that everyone has known and begin your journey in Christ effectively and sincerely? Most of us try the extremes. We separate from the church or we separate from our friends. Neither one of these actions is good or a benefit to your spiritual maturity. When you say that you’re a Christian but stay away from the church, you risk being tempted beyond your ability to fight, you have the very real potential of not being in your bible regularly and you’re not connected with God’s people and being held accountable to stay on the straight and narrow…..among other things. When you claim to be Christian but you separate from your friends, you alienate a body of people God wants you to impact, you can be seen as arrogant which pushes people away and most importantly you don’t get to see the tangible benefits of your continued change in the presence of your friends…..and if you’re doing God’s business right, it will convict them.
So what is there left to do? Well today’s passage speaks volumes as to the heart and mindset that we should take up in general. Isolation isn’t the answer, cleansing yourself is.
No matter where you are, who you’re around, what you used to do, or what people knew you for – when you take up the post calling of being in God’s kingdom; his family, there should be some things in your life that look different but can be easily identifiable.
If you were the person that used to cuss constantly; how about stopping it! If you were someone who cheated; make amends to move forward with giving yourself freely to others so one ever feels cheated by you again. If you drink to get drunk; consider drastically reducing your amount of liquor or giving it up! If you didn’t care about anyone besides yourself; how about making time to invest in someone your experiences and help them make better choices.
By initiating these minor but very important aspects into your life, you are not only faithfully moving from a life of sin into an existence that glorifies God, but promoting how the effects of God’s commands produce the true living reality of a child of God.
Today we pray that your mission is to be washed and cleansed by the word of God so that your life in completely new for all to see. The choice is yours, however don’t go around making God look bad by calling yourself a Christian if you don’t want to live what the bible says a Christian life looks like. Be committed to changing some nuance in your character every day because of the sacrifice of Jesus and the privilege of being called a Christian. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!