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The Scriptorium

Inside-Out

True religion begins in faithful spiritual disciplines.

The Way of Restoration: Isaiah 58 (7)

Pray Psalm 50.1-3.
The Mighty One, God the LORD,
Has spoken and called the earth
From the rising of the sun to its going down.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God will shine forth.
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.

Review Isaiah chapter 58.

Reflect.
1. Fasting and keeping the Lord’s Day are spiritual disciplines. What are spiritual disciplines? What are they for? 

2. What was Israel’s basic problem where these spiritual disciplines were concerned?

Meditate.
The Christian life is lived from the inside-out. The outside – good works of love – is important, but only if it comes from a soul set on the Lord, submissive to His Word, and shaped by His Spirit.

This is what the people of Judah and Jerusalem lacked. They could point to their many religious observances, but every one of them was compromised because the set of their souls was on themselves, and not on the Lord.

Two things are important where spiritual disciplines such as fasting and Sabbath-keeping are concerned. First, we must be diligent to attend to them. God has given us these exercises and practices – prayer, His Word, solitude, singing, fasting, the Lord’s Day, meditation, and so forth – because these are the fuel for souls that grow in the knowledge of God. Just like we attend to the needs of our body each day, we need to attend to the shaping of our souls by bringing them under the various disciplines the Lord has provided for their growth in holiness.

Second, we must guard against our disciplines becoming merely outward performances, items on a check list that let us think we’re doing pretty well. Waiting on the Lord in silence and contemplation is the best way to ensure that our disciplines will not be perfunctory, but powerful to shape us into the image of Jesus Christ.

Fast, keep the Lord’s Day, and practice all the other disciplines God has provided to nurture your soul. And do them always as unto the Lord. Then what emanates from your life will be the pure goodness and holiness of the Lord, at work within and through you for His good pleasure.

Prepare.
1. What would you do to help a new believer get started in a regimen of spiritual disciplines?

2. How can you tell when your disciplines are slipping from powerful to perfunctory? What should you do then?

3. What’s your primary takeaway from Isaiah 58?

[Isaiah] brings them back to the true observation of the Sabbath, and shows that it will be well with them, if they shall worship God in a right manner. At length he concludes that they have not to deal with a mortal man, but that he who pronounces these things is God the Judge. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Isaiah 58.14

Thank You, Lord, for showing us the best ways to grow in You. Help me to improve in my disciplines as I…

Pray Psalm 50.

As you pray this psalm let the Lord search your heart. Give thanks for all His abundant goodness, and ask Him to be with you throughout the course of this day.

Sing to the Lord.
Psalm 50 (Austrian Hymn: Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken)
God, the Lord, the mighty Savior, summons all from east to west:
Out of Zion, rich with favor, shines He, of all things the best.
Come, O God, and keep not silence; fire devours before Your way!
He His Church, steeped in defiance, comes to judge this awful day.

“Gather now My children holy, those bound close to Me by blood.”
Let the heav’ns declare His glory, for the Lord Himself is Judge:
“Hear, My people, I will charge you; I alone am God, your God!
I will bring a solemn charge to gain you to Me for your good.

“Not for rituals I accuse you – let your worship to Me rise.
Naught to Me is any use, Who dwells in glory in the skies.
All is mine throughout creation; I your help do not require.
Offer Me no vain oblation: hear what I from you desire:

“Sacrifice of thanks now render; pay to God your solemn vows; 
Let the troubled, each offender, seek Him in the midst of woes.
In the day of strife draw near Him; He will hear, and He will save.
Honor God, rejoice, and fear Him, give to Him your grateful praise.

“All of you My Word despising, who are you to claim My grace?
Praise may from your lips be rising, but you scorn Me to My face.
You approve of all transgressions, scheme against your mother’s son! 
I will crush your vain aggressions and destroy what you have done.

“Reckon this, My sinful people, lest My wrath consume you whole:
None shall thwart Me when I seek to crush and break your sin-stiff soul.
He who thanks to Me addressing, follows after what is good, 
He shall know the way of blessing coming from the hand of God.”

T. M. Moore

Where do the prophets fit with the rest of Scripture? How can I be a better student of God’s Word? Our course, Introduction to Biblical Theology, can help you gain a better approach to and understanding of the Scriptures. Watch this brief preview video, then register at The Ailbe Seminary and enroll in this free online course.

Each week’s lesson in our study of Isaiah is available as a free PDF download at the end of the week 
(click here). Get a copy for yourself and send the link for the download to your friends. Plan to meet weekly to study Isaiah’s important message.

If you value Scriptorium as a free resource for your walk with the Lord, please consider supporting our work with your gifts and offerings. You can contribute to The Fellowship by clicking the Contribute button  at the website or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006).All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

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