TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27
Luke 14:1-14
Isaiah 58:13-14

“…call the sabbath a delight
…holy of the LORD, honourable;
and shalt honour him…”

A DELIGHT IN THE LORD

Jesus was invited into the house of a chief Pharisee for a meal on the Sabbath. There he found a man with dropsy, a sickness characterized by an unnatural accumulation of water in a certain part of the body. This sick man might have been invited also to test if Jesus would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus had compassion on him and healed him. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for they were concerned with the obedience of their unscriptural Sabbath laws, but disregarded the true meaning of the day (Mark 2:27).

Christians should delight in the Lord by worshipping Him in spirit and in truth on the Lord’s Day. It is not a day of outward piety but an inward exercise of the heart to worship the living and true God. Then Sabbath is truly kept “if thou …call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure …” (Isa 58:13).

Jesus followed up with a parable referring to the Pharisees who loved to be recognized as very important people. He meant that these people would receive no mercy from God for they exalted themselves in their pride. Those who exalt themselves as having done even a little part to earn their salvation are not truly saved and will be denied by God. On the other hand, he who humbles himself to sit in the lowest place will be elevated to the dignitaries’ table. It is far better to be humble, to accept that man is nothing before God.

To delight in the Lord is to have true mercy. It is sharing without expecting any return. It is to invite those who cannot return the invitation. This is Jesus’ way. He offered to die on the cross for all men and no one is able to repay Him. If He did this for us, we must desire to delight in doing good to others.

THOUGHT: Do I delight in the Lord according to His way?
PRAYER: Most merciful Father in heaven, Thou hast delivered me from a heart of unbelief and rebellion, create in me a clean heart to worship Thee in spirit and truth.