IMPRESSING GOD

I Was Just Thinking About - IMPRESSING GOD.

One of the truths we learn from the Holy Scriptures pertains to the people throughout all generations who set out to please a god with their religion and religious practices. Within the early practice of Judaism, there is reference to the use of phylacteries. The general idea is described in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 indicating one's personal life and household being devoted to God, His Word and His Law. A phylactery was either of two small black leather cubes containing a piece of parchment inscribed with Scripture. One cube would be attached to the left arm and the other to the forehead during weekday morning prayers by orthodox and conservative Jewish men.

In any religious group, certain customs can be taken to extreme. When Jesus is pronouncing a series of woes about various religious practices in His day, He mentions in Matthew 23:1-7 (BSB) to His disciples about the Scribes and Pharisees and the religion they have adopted and demand of others. He states in verses 5-7, "All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues, the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of Rabbi by which they are addressed."

We have untold numbers of people who cling to religious traditions and practices as a means of impressing "God" today. They have their rituals; the saints to whom they pray; the candles they light; etc. The more desperate an individual becomes the more the rituals come into play. The purpose of the individual is to impress "God" and to gain His favor for a particular need or expressed desire.

Do any of these things impress God and move Him to an action? No! There are two simple statements that tell one that which pleases and impresses Almighty God. The first is in Micah 6:8 (NLT), "The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." In Micah 6:6-8 (MSG), the text is rendered: "What can we bring to the Lord? What kind of offerings should we give him? The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Secondly, if one's purpose and goal is to impress God positively, we are instructed in Hebrews 11:6 (MSG), "It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." (NKJV), "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

Regardless of how desperate our need or situation is or may become, what is our only hope and confidence? Can we trust God to do His work of the impossible as we come before Him in faith alone through Christ alone and seeking His grace alone? Yes!

I find real comfort and encouragement in the poetic words written by Annie Johnson Flint… He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, He sends more strength when the labors increase; To added afflictions He adds His mercy, To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed ere the day is half done, When we reach the end of our hoarded resources Our Father's full giving is only begun.
His love has no limits, His grace has no measure, His power no boundary known unto men; For out of His infinite riches in Jesus He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
I hope and pray that these words will resonate with you and fill you with hope and confidence in God alone. He will not share His Glory with anyone or anything of mankind's invention. Trust Him! Prayerfully - consider these things with me.