Clean
Hearts and Acceptable Sacrifices
Isaiah 1:11 "What are all your sacrifices to
Me?" asks the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams
and the fat of well-fed cattle; I have no desire for the blood of bulls, lambs,
or male goats. .....15 When you lift up
your hands in prayer, I will refuse to look at you; even if you offer countless
prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. 16
"Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from
My sight. Stop doing evil. 17 Learn to do what is good. Seek justice.
Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow's
cause. 18 "Come, let us discuss this," says
the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as
snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will be like wool.""
God cares
not for our sacrifices, our prayers and our fasting. He cares most for our hearts and soul. If our hearts be evil, then our sacrifices, prayers,
and fasting will also be evil as they all flow from our inner man. If our heart be right, then these practices
will also be right and pleasing to the Lord.
Therefore,
before I enter into a time of sacrifice and prayer and fasting, and before I
offer my sacrifice unto the Lord I must first spend time in personal
examination. I must honestly examine
myself from any sin and wicked way, and then judge it for what it is: sin
against God. I must call it by name as I
confess it to myself and then to God. If
I do, then He has promised me that I will be cleansed from all of my sin (1
John 1:9). Our Lord and Savior has made
it clear time and time again in Scripture (Isa. 1:11-18; 58:1-8; Matt. 5:23-24)
that He does not want my sacrifices but a pure heart that results in loving
Him and loving others. Without a clean
heart my sacrifice, prayers and fasting are futile and even dangerous as they
deceive me into a false assurance that my fleshy offerings are pleasing to
God. With a clean and pure heart my prayers and
sacrifices are precious to my Lord as they are pictures of my dependence on
Him and are acts of true worship.
Let us
each take time to examine our hearts that we may come to Christ with clean
hearts and acceptable sacrifices.
