Week of April 19th, 2026
Encouragement from God's Word
This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
Where will my resting place be?
Has not my hand made all these things,
and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord.
“This is the one I esteem:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.
But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a man,
and whoever offers a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig’s blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense, like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,
and their souls delight in their abominations.”
Isaiah 66:1-3
The Jews of Isaiah’s day were practicing their religion, but they were only going through the motions. They thought that offering the required sacrifices would appease and impress God. How shocking to hear Isaiah say that God saw their sacrifices as a murder or the offering of unclean pig’s blood (v. 3).
Christians of today are not immune from the temptation of making our worship into an empty ritual. Let’s not fool ourselves: God is not fooled! A religion of actions and deeds without a heart of faith is worthless before God.
God tells us what he wants above all else: “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”God wants us to humble ourselves before him and admit our sins. God wants us to listen to his Words in the Bible as Words spoken by Him — they have authority and power in our lives.
This humble and contrite believer who trembles at God’s Word will find joy in the message of Jesus as the Savior. He establishes a covenant of peace between us and God by taking away our sins. His resurrection, which we still celebrate, means we are fully justified before God. It is godly humility to confess that Christ has done everything for us!
As the forgiven people of God, not only is our heart in our worship, but we are eager to listen to God’s Word and grow spiritually. We want our deeds to match what is in our hearts. Where we fail, we repent and seek a new, better way.
As God sees a heart of faith in us, we hear a wonderful proclamation:“This is the one I esteem” through faith, God views us with honor! What a Savior we have! Because of Jesus, God views us as changed. Trust him with all your heart.
