Exodus 7-8, Matthew 15:1-20 • Key Verses: Matthew 15:8-9

The previous chapter concluded with an interesting worship service. It took place in a boat and was a spontaneous response to Jesus. Worship is, as Warren Wiersbe defines it, “The believer’s response of all that he is—mind, emotions, will and body—to all that God is and says and does.”

There were people in Jesus’ day who confused going through the motions of worship with the real thing. They said the right things and did the right things, but their words and actions were not from their heart.

It was not a new problem. Isaiah had confronted the people years before on this issue. Then in Matthew 15 Jesus quoted Isaiah, confronting the people yet again.
Today the words of Isaiah confront us too. Perhaps daily devotions have become a ritual or routine. Church attendance can be maintained for the wrong reasons. Even our words may sound right but be wrong.
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Worship is not to be treated as a thing but lived out as an action. It is not a matter of art but of heart. So look at your heart today. Is your worship only of the lips or of the life?

Take a moment to list three things for which you can praise God. Then tell God your praise and then tell someone else!

Woodrow Kroll & Tony Beckett
www.backtothebible.in