Thanksgiving! Gathering with the family, enjoying great food. And a day to say thanks. I was reading this morning from Isaiah 28 and was reminded how important it is to have a changed heart.

“Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me” Isaiah 28:13

Many of those who would soon face judgement in Israel were only giving a formal, outward worship to God, not a genuine from-the-heart kind of worship.  They were more concerned about the laws of man, legalism, than with the abundant grace of God given to them.  They were good at the ‘lip-service’, but it was their hearts that God was more concerned about.

Today, we can know God, through Jesus Christ.  Jesus died on the cross, He took my place, paying for my sins. We don’t face a judgement, because Jesus already took our punishment.

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Rom 10:9-10

Today, especially today, let our hearts reflect our worship, not just our lips.

Consider the words of Paul in Colossians 3:15-17:

¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him