Welcome to day 8 of chasing99! We have just completed a week of reading and are excited about what God has in store in the coming weeks. Again, feel free to comment on your reading and share with us anything God has laid on your heart and mind.
READ: Matthew 22-24
CONSIDER: Jesus rips into the Pharisees in Chapter 23 for being more concerned with what people thought of them than what God thought. He calls them names like blind guides, fools, hypocrites, serpents, and brood of vipers. They were so focused on what others thought of them they would go to extra measures to lengthen the tassels on their garments to get more noticed, asked to be called Rabbi to feel more respected, and pray out loud for long periods of time to seem more spiritual. On the outside they looked like devoted followers of Christ but on the inside was something different. Jesus says in 23:27, “They are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.”
ACT: It’s easy to become like a Pharisee if we’re not careful. Strive to have a genuine relationship with God even if it means sacrificing what others may think of you. Don’t base your worth on how people see you but on how God sees you. You are priceless to God already; there is no need to impress anyone.
Check this out if you have time:
The ending of this reading made me think about the different reactions I have had to this passage in the past. At one point in my life, this passage brought extreme conviction, fear, and a feeling of wanting to hide and run and plead for more time if Jesus was to come back today. That was obviously because I was wasting my life and afraid of the consequences - but not afraid enough to do anything about it.
ReplyDeleteAt another point in my life, I would plead with God to come back soon and just take me away from this world - the sin, the temptations, the people, the stress . . . Looking back, I think that this shows a lack of focues and immaturity of faith. Obviously me begging God to send Jesus back to save me from pressing matters such as exams, growing up, peer pressure, etc. was me focusing on my weaknesses instead of God's timing and purpose - much like Peter sinking fast in the water.
For some reason over the past couple of years, this passage has evoked peace and a still joy within me. I know that Jesus is coming back and yes I am excited, but I am also excited to be doing his work here and now. It is definitely a comfortable feeling, and I think it is founded in the fact that I know Jesus more. I trust him more and when he's coming back is his business, not mine and I finally trust him with that. and it is GOOD.
This passage brings to mind the phrase “do what I say, not what I do.” There’s nothing like hypocrisy to turn folks away from the truth. The Pharisees were teaching the right stuff – Christ tells the crowd to obey the Pharisees and do everything they teach, but not to do what they do since they don’t practice what they preach. I can’t help but wonder how the Pharisees could know so much and so little at the same time. Then I wonder about my own blind spots. That pointing finger always turns back to me! Where am I blind, not living out what I know to be true?
ReplyDeleteI know why David asked God to search his heart and point out anything that offended Him. There are some things I struggle to let go of, but there are also things I just don’t see. I’ve learned to pray as David did and ask God to show me. Of course He is faithful and does! I still have to be willing to see what He reveals, confess, and make a 180-degree change. Not easy or fun, but well worth it. I want my focus to be on my relationship with Christ and for my actions to stem from obedience in love.
I’m still learning what God says about my worth. The process of replacing the lie that my worth is dependent on how well I preform or what others think with God’s truth takes time and I have to remind myself often that He is indeed God and His words are absolute truth.
Amen Jordan – how wonderful and amazing that we are already priceless to the Creator of the Universe. The more I know Him, the more I’m able to trust that to be true and interestingly right along with that I find that I am doing the right thing for the right reason…from the inside out!