May Our Hearts Draw Closer Than Our Mouths

Isaiah 29:13 (ESV)
¹³  And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

There is much mouthing in church today. People saying and singing all the right things. What about doing the right things? What about practicing what you preach? What about living out the faith? 

It appears to me so much of what happens in our worship gatherings and holy huddles is just lip service. We can study holiness but hypocrisy still abounds. We can teach about prayer but few still stand on the walls of the city giving watch in prayer. We can focus on giving but statistics prove year after years the minority give the majority of funds and do the majority of the work in ministry. We can read about forgiving others but people in the pews still hold grudges and harbor bitterness. We can preach about loving God most with all the heart, soul, mind and strength [Matt 22:37-38] but people have other first loves. 

Jesus abhors pretence. He is opposed to religious games. He detests lip service as opposed to heart service. While many in the church honor Jesus with their lips they do not honor Him with their hearts. Their hearts are very distant from the One they profess to revere. There is no fear of the Lord in such people. 

Where is their fear of the Lord among the people of God. We are spoon fed love, grace, forgiveness, mercy that nobody looks at justice, righteousness, holiness, and consecration anymore. GOD is all of those. There is no fear, no reverence, no terror of God. He has become chummy. We try to whittle Him down to be a god of our own choosing and liking. THIS WILL NEVER BE. 

Yahweh is the Great I Am. He is who He is. He will never be whittled down. He does not lower His standards to get a crowd. He knows the pretenders as well as the defenders of the faith. He knows the blood bought from those just giving lip service. He sees the true church though membership figures usually double the actual attenders in most congregations. 

To the pit of hell with lip service. Jehovah wants our hearts, our minds, our souls, our passions, our love, devotion, and service. He wants heartfelt worship and service not religious routines. May pretence be shattered in the light of His presence and His holiness.

May the fear of God not be a commandment taught by man out of theory. May it become a conviction again among the people of God May we study and believe. May we say and sing what we mean and what we aim to live. May our hearts draw closer than our mouths.