In Genesis 6-8 is the account of Noah and the ark and the flood that destroyed all that had been given the breath of life at creation, except for Noah and those God instructed him to take into the ark. God was grieved by mankind’s sinfulness. Genesis 6:5(NIV) says, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” Wow - every inclination, all the time. However, God says to Noah in Genesis 7:1, “…I have found you righteous in this generation.” Double wow! If we look back at Genesis 6:22, it says, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” This verse is speaking of Noah building the ark exactly as God instructed him. However, I think this verse is directly tied to 7:1. God found Noah righteous in his generation because of his obedience.

Now let’s fast forward to Isaiah 1:13. This is the verse that God impressed upon my heart at the beginning of January. “Stop bringing meaningless offerings!” The first chapter of Isaiah is an indictment against Israel concerning their rebelliousness against God and their subsequent moral and spiritual decline. They still offered sacrifices to God, but without their hearts engaged. Verse 5 of Isaiah 1 says, “Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted.” The last part of verse 11 says, “I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.”

I believe that God is speaking a word in this new year to those who are His worshippers. First, I want to make it clear that our salvation is not dependent on what we do, on how hard we try to be “good”, but rather is a gift from God through Jesus Christ. In Old Testament days, the atonement for sin was through the blood of animals sacrificed on an altar. When Christ died on the cross, His blood paid the price, once and for all, for the sin of the whole world - past, present, and future. He has paid the price for everyone, even those who don’t believe. Mankind is no longer condemned for their sin. It is only because a person won’t acknowledge and embrace God’s free gift that he will be separated from God forever. God sees those of us who have accepted this gift as righteous because of what Christ did on the cross. He sees us through the righteousness of Christ. We are righteous because of our “position” in Christ, but not “experientially”. The reality of our life here on earth is that we are in a process of being changed into Christ’s likeness. II Corinthians 3:18 says we “are being transformed into His likeness.” “Are being” denotes a process.

As believers, we still have the seeds of rebelliousness in our hearts. We have a free will from God by which we can make choices in life. As we choose to walk, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in God’s way for us, Isaiah 1:19 says we “ will eat the best from the land;…”. If we choose to walk our own way, the path of resistance and rebellion, Isaiah 1:20 says we “ will be devoured by the sword.” In other words, when we walk in obedience, we experience God’s best for us, but when we walk in disobedience, we walk down a destructive path for our lives.

Let me bring this to a close. God’s main focus in our lives is our hearts. God saw the obedience in Noah’s life and found him righteous. We who are believers today are found righteous because of Christ’s work on the cross. Still, we sometimes compromise our beliefs, decide to do what we want to do, function in situations with ulterior motives, get too busy to get quiet and listen to God, harbor unforgiveness, become prideful and arrogant, and so forth. Proverbs 4:23 (KJV) says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Good things in our hearts bring forth good things in our words and actions. When we come before the Lord to worship with a disobedient heart, I think God’s response is something like His response to Israel in the book of Isaiah, “Stop bringing meaningless offerings!” He wants the inside and the outside of us to match up. Daily we must relinquish our will, our ways, and our plans and agenda and walk in God’s will, His ways, and the steps that He has ordered for us (Proverbs 16:9b). Our cry should be as David’s in Psalm 129:33, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there be any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

My prayer is that we will walk in obedience in 2006, experiencing God’s best for us, and worshipping Him with pure hearts.

Prayer: Father, thank You that it is not by our striving or effort that we walk in obedience. As we submit our will to Yours, You give us the desire and the power of the Holy Spirit to walk in Your steps. All praise and honor to our Shepherd, Who leads us in paths of righteousness! Amen