Morning devotions with God have become as important to my morning routine as breakfast.

In January, I began using the Lectio Divina Journal every morning to guide me through a contemplative reading and prayer of God’s Word. I’ve received so much through this short daily practice.

This morning’s reading was Isaiah 58:1-12…

How anxious they are to worship correctly; oh, how they love the Temple services!
Isaiah 58:2

Oh I was immediately convicted! I love attending Mass on Saturday evening. I sit in the front of the church, I’m always one of the first in line to receive communion, I even serve as a Lector, reading God’s word during the service once a month.

Which is why I immediately knew that God was speaking to me when I read these opening verses of Isaiah 58.

Don’t I in my deepest heart, sometimes believe that I love God a little more and a little better than others do?

Oh, I know how much more I have to grow in my faith, but sometimes…

I am one of those who God is calling out in this passage.

Yet, as always, God offers us a solution to our problem.

Yes, love God and his Holy Word. But, that’s not enough. We are merely students in school unless we take what we have learned and carry it out into the world…

10 Feed the hungry! Help those in trouble! Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you shall be as bright as day. 11 And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy you with all good things, and keep you healthy too; and you will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.

God loves our devotion to Him and our desire to go to church, read the Bible, and deepen our relationship with Him.

But now he wants us to do more. We called to take our love for God and let it become a beacon in our communities. To help those who are in need, to feed them, to clothe them, and to share God’s love with them in a way that makes a real difference in their lives.

Where can I begin today?