Rise Daily: March 22

Rise Daily: March 22

THIS WEEK’S THEME & PASSAGE

Doing Justice and Mercy – Isaiah 58:1-12

This week’s sermon from the series “Where We are Going: The City and the Mission“

THIS WEEK’S MEMORY VERSE

Memorizing scripture is a way to keep God’s word close to our hearts. Each week we will select one verse of scripture to remember as a community.

Isaiah 58:10
If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

THE WORD

Each day’s devotion will focus on one part of the week’s passage.

Isaiah 58:2-5

2 “Yet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God.
3 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
and oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the LORD?”

MEDITATION ON THE WORD

In our busyness and distraction, it is easy to skim through our reading rather than taking it in. Yet we believe this is the inspired word of God. Take a moment to pause, thank God for the scriptures and ask him to speak to you through them today.

We saw yesterday how God reprimands his people for failing to love their neighbors. Today the focus is on how they fail to love him, and what we learn is alarming. We see that God’s people can operate corporately in self-righteous religious ways that their own community deems acceptable even when God does not. These are cultivated blind spots, and by definition, we are unaware of them in ourselves.

If our religious activities do not communicate love, mercy, and justice, then something is wrong. God identifies with the poor and the oppressed, so there is a logical connection between loving God and loving others. We can’t love God without loving our neighbors. If our religion can allow us to insulate ourselves from those who are suffering, then our hearts are not attuned to his. To serve others is to serve him.

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me’” (Matthew 25:37–40).

THIS WEEK’S RISE REFLECTION

We hope you will say “I’m In” to pray, engage and give in your neighborhood as part of a gospel movement for the good of our city.  The vision of Rise is to see thousands of people rising to bring the hope, joy and grace of the gospel to every neighborhood. That vision starts with you… in your neighborhood. Have you considered how you could help bring hope to the poor and marginalized in your neighborhood by serving with or giving to Hope for New York?

TODAY’S PRAYER

For your Heart: Pray that you would not fall into the temptation of building up false righteousness.

For your Church: Pray that we can be a community of people who are committed to a lifestyle of service and fighting for justice. Pray God would open our eyes collectively to injustice in our midst and that he would lead us to boldly work against it.

For our City: Pray that our city can excel in policy makers, community leaders, advocates and organizations coming together to end oppression, exploitation and violence.