"Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;

They take delight in approaching God. 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?'

"In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the LORD?

The Jews at the time of Isaiah were very good and 'doing religious things' but not good at obedience. They may have had religious practice, but their hearts were far from YHWH. What about yours? Christians might belittle the Jews of the time; but the heart of a man or woman who supposedly believes in Jesus Christ can be far from being holy, and far from commonion with God our Father. Obedience is God's command (1 John 5:2). Having fellowship with other Christians, even studying the Bible together does not make a 'living sacrifice' (Romans 12:1) if the heart is deceitful, unresponsive to God, full of envy or greed or sexual immorality. The writer to the Romans goes on with solid instructions: be transformed - the mind must not follow the world (not be conformed to this world) - the world reacts contrary to God; it views and responds to events contrary to God; it is blind to the cause of tragic events. A Christian must test everything, so you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2). It’s the Holy Spirit that renews us each day (2 Corinthians 4:16) and in this we must be proactive; we must allow it and must be participants - actively control the mind. What's feeding it? What is informing your soul - endless social-media feeds, unhelpful friendships, something else? A renewed mind has been cleansed of the fifth of the world (because we live in the world, we cannot but be contaminated by it), we will be able to please God.