I See You

June 27, 2019 by  
Filed under Daily Devotions, Worship

By Cheri Cowell –

How silly we must look on Sunday mornings dressed in our Sunday best driving our air-conditioned fancy cars to attend worship, all the while passing by the real needs of the world. This idea struck me the other day when I passed by a church with its manicured lawns, and right across the street was an old man struggling to remove a fallen tree from his front yard. How many people at that church even knew the old man lived there? How many people saw the large oak tree in his yard and thought about his needs? There is nothing wrong with worshipping on Sunday morning, or even dressing up and driving our nice cars to church, but God doesn’t want us to miss the needs along the way.

The Pharisees probably knew the man with the crippled hand. He had no doubt been there before, praying, and offering sacrifices for his sins that supposedly caused his deformity. When the man entered the temple, Jesus was angered by the Pharisees’ desire to continue in their pious worship rather than tend to the needs of this man. They were more interested in playing the part of religious observer, than acting like the true follower they were supposed to be. Jesus not only wants us to worship Him, but that worship should cause us to see the needs around us, and to act upon them, healing in the name of Jesus.

PRAYER: Thank You, God, for the community of faith where I am able to worship the Word Made Flesh who came to serve and heal. On my way to worship this week, help me see beyond the walls of my church to the needs of the man or woman across the street.

“Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, ‘Stand up in front of everyone.’ Then Jesus asked them, ‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they remained silent” (Mark 3:1-6 NIV).

About Cheri Cowell

Cheri Cowell is the author of the new Bible study, Parables and Word Pictures of the New Testament: Following God series http://www.CheriCowell.com
  • Advertisement

Comments

2 Responses to “I See You”
  1. Robin J. Steinweg says:

    So true, Cheri, and convicting–in the best possible way! You have a way of making your readers want to change, and pointing the way to the only One who can work those changes.

Speak Your Mind

Tell us what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!


Prove You\'re Human: *