Jeff Dowdy's Blog

Zechariah 7-8

This passage makes it plain that simply performing religious ceremonies or rituals in our lives does not make us pure before God. Zechariah confronts the Jewish people on their fasting. He acknowledges that they fast many times for themselves to make themselves feel better but that is rejected by God. I hope you have seen consistently throughout the Old Testament that even after the Law was given, God was much more concerned about the heart of man then the religious practice of man. No wonder Jesus came as an adversary to the religious. Are you one of the religious now? Are you more about tradition then about Jesus? Are you simply doing your religious practices and rituals so as to get a big check mark in the sky or do they have real meaning to your life? Worship God this week with a true passion and see if it is different then the usual. Remember that God is looking at your heart, not your outward actions.

Tomorrow's reading: Zechariah 9-11