WHITE AS SNOW

“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am wary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes, Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

-Isaiah 1:11-20 (NKJV)

So often we approach our relationship with the Lord like it is a checklist of things to be done; go to church (check), pray (check), tithe (check)… The Lord doesn’t want empty religious rituals; He wants a relationship with us. When we start seeing our relationship with the Lord as a mere “To Do” list to be checked off, there is no relationship and we are just going through the motions. Checking off tasks on our spiritual “To Do” list makes it really easy to be deceived into believing that we are leading a life that is pleasing to the Lord, after all, we are doing what we should right… we go to church, we pray, we tithe, etc. However, the reality is we cannot exchange our relationship with Jesus Christ for a spiritual “To Do” list and be made clean. Our spiritual “To Do” lists are just empty religious rituals and our sins are still red like crimson. We must choose to have a relationship with the Lord over our spiritual “To Do” lists if we are to be white as snow in the eyes of the Lord.

Yet, it is tempting choose our spiritual “To Do” list over a relationship with Christ since it is easier to keep doing what we want and continue in our sinful ways if we are the ones checking things off as we go. There is no one holding us accountable for our actions except ourselves and for most of us that is not much accountability. When we have a relationship with the Lord, we are accountable to Him and we must put away our sinful ways because there is no relationship if we don’t. If we choose to continue in sin, He will hide His eyes from us and even though we make many prayers, He will not hear them. (Isaiah 1:15) I don’t know about you, but if a friend or a spouse refused to hear me or even look at me, I wouldn't think that to be much of a relationship. Yet this is the relationship many of us have with the Lord because this is what we choose to have. I want a real relationship with the Lord, I want Him to hear me when I cry out to Him and I want to know Him and His will for my life. How about you, do you want a real relationship with the Lord or a spiritual checklist of things to do?

COACH'S CALL TO ACTION

• What kind of relationship do you want with the Lord?
  
• How do spiritual “To Do” lists keep you from having an intimate relationship with the Lord?
  
• Write down everything on your spiritual “To Do” list, and then, turn it over to the Lord in prayer.

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