Give God Your Heart

  Our God is relational.  In the garden of Eden, He used to visit Adam and Eve and relate with them in a personal way (Genesis 3:8-10).  Sin severed the fellowship that Adam and Eve had enjoyed with God, and separated them from Him.  However, God did not abandon mankind, though the latter being spiritually dead in his sinful nature.  He continued to pursue mankind and reveal Himself to him.  Though temporary remedial measures of sacrifices for purging of sin were introduced in the Old Testament, God's ultimate plan was reconciliation to mankind through, His Son Jesus Christ paying the penalty for man's sin.  This is the simple but very powerful message of the gospel.  When we receive Jesus Christ into our lives to be Lord and Saviour, we are reconciled back to Him in fellowship.  We are not reconciled to a religion but to God!

Christ, the Brides Groom of the Church, desires that our hearts be captured by Him in order to walk intimately with Him.  Its our hearts that He longs to commune with; nothing less, nothing more!  No amount of sacrifices can take the place of fellowship with our God.  God is calling us to Him and not to religious ceremonies, rights and rituals.  In Isaiah 1, God expresses His displeasure because the children of Israel were bringing Him sacrifices and burnt offerings, and yet their hearts were far away from Him.  They held festivals and appointed feasts, and yet all these displeased God.  In fact, when they called to Him in prayer, He hid His eyes from them.

Isaiah 1:11-15:

“The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you,
    this trampling of my courts?

Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
    I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
¹⁴ Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.
¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening.

Your hands are full of blood!

Religion is all the things we do to appease a god/ God whom we have disappointed.  As believers, many times, religious activities have camouflaged our empty, dry and cold hearts.  Our hearts have become corrupted with sin, and though the Spirit of God continues to convict us to repent, we have chosen sacrifice over obedience.  Our hearts have grown cold to the promptings of the Spirit and become hardened in sin.  God is no longer our greatest treasure because many other things have taken His place: pursuit for money and career success, worldly pleasures etc. The reality of the matter is that God detests sacrifices offered in sin.  He calls them meaningless and worthless.  They are a burden to Him.  His original intent for us, since creation, is to be in fellowship with Him.

Having learnt that religion is often a scape goat for man to avoid dealing with his sin, we need to guard our hearts against the lure of sin.  God was instructing the children of Israel to first deal with their bloody hands and stained garments, and be reconciled to Him.

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.

 We need to render our hearts before God and not our garments.  Let us return to Him in true repentance.  God's open arms of forgiveness are stretched wide, waiting to embrace us in love.  God is calling us to reason with him and assures us of His forgivenss.  Though your sins be like scarlet, He will make you white as snow; though your sins be as red as crimson, He will make you like wool (Isaiah 1:18).  May our sacrifice be a broken heart and contrite spirit, for such God has assured not to despise (Psalms 51:17).

When our hearts are in love with God, we obey Him. Obeying Him becomes a joy and not burdensome.  1st John 5:3 states, "In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome".  Obedience is a natural response to loving God, for God works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure.  When Joseph was faced with repeated temptations from Potiphar's wife to commit sexual sin, his close relationship with God gave him strength to resist the temptation.  Secondly, those who walk in obedience have a great promise in Isaiah 1:19: "If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land."  Obedience enables us to prosper and dwell long in the land that God has given us (Deutronomy 18:9).  Thirdly, God reveals Himself to us only to the extent of our obedience.  No wonder Christ spoke to the crowds in parables and yet to the disciples, he explained the parables and made clear their meanings.


Acts 3:19 states, "Repent then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord."  God is calling you and I to Himself.  He desires that we may experience Him a new and the joy of our salvation be restored.  He desires that we may live victorious Christian lives and be a reflection of the image of Christ.  He desires to make our hearts His home (John 14:23).  

I pray that we will respond to this message by returning to God in repentance and ask Him to restore our first love for Him.   As many as seek forgivenes through repentance will find it, for this is God's promise to us (Ist John 1:9).  I pray that you will purpose to give God yourself wholeheartedly to God, without reservations: to love Him with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit!