How to Please God

Hi
Thought I'd share today's Scripture Union notes with you. 

I did something different yesterday and sat toward the front of the church. The dynamic was subtly different in that I felt uplifted by those singing behind me; "the noise" of the songs felt good. At the back where I usually sit, it sounds good but you don't get the same vibe. But then this passage this morning reminded me that church isn't about that. It's about what we do for Him. Church isn't just about Sunday mornings.

Pray first

Settle down and make yourself nice and comfy. Spend a moment or two in prayer with the one who can change everything in a nanosecond.

Amos 5:18–27

‘Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!’ 

Amos 5:18-27

The Day of the LORD

 ¹⁸ Woe to you who long
       for the day of the LORD!
       Why do you long for the day of the LORD ?
       That day will be darkness, not light.

 ¹⁹ It will be as though a man fled from a lion
       only to meet a bear,
       as though he entered his house
       and rested his hand on the wall
       only to have a snake bite him.

 ²⁰ Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light-
       pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?

 ²¹ "I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
       I cannot stand your assemblies.

 ²² Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
       I will not accept them.
       Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
       I will have no regard for them.

 ²³ Away with the noise of your songs!
       I will not listen to the music of your harps.

 ²⁴ But let justice roll on like a river,
       righteousness like a never-failing stream!

 ²⁵ "Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
       forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?

 ²⁶ You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
       the pedestal of your idols,
       the star of your god -
       which you made for yourselves.

 ²⁷ Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,"
       says the LORD, whose name is God Almighty.

Pomp or circumstance?

The service was amazing.

The church was clean and bright, the flowers were fresh and perfectly arranged, and the musicians gave their all and raised the roof. The preacher spoke from the heart and the people listened. The prayers were said and the collection plates were heaving.

But God wasn’t having any of it.

Brennan Manning, author and priest, puts it another way: ‘The great single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyles. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.’

Honest worship

‘But let justice roll on like a river,’ Amos cries, ‘righteousness like a never-failing stream’ (v 24). He’s not talking about a one-off pledge or an occasional donation on a Sunday. He’s calling us to a different and radical existence.

In Romans 12:1, Paul defines our spiritual act of worship as the offering of ourselves – our bodies – as living sacrifices. It’s the living, breathing, walking, talking parts of ourselves that need to show our adoration for the Father. And this worship will always be pleasing to God.

What does this mean for you, right now?

Jude Adam (adapted from Daily Bread JM09) 

___________

Please don't think I'm preaching here. I wouldn't dare; I've plenty in my life to feel sorry for. BUT, I do pray that everyone of us who goes along to church of a Sunday, realises that Sacrifice is for Life, Not Just for Sundays. 

Much love

Johnny D