The Preserved and Living Word of God

TAKE HYPOCRISY SERIOUSLY

Hypocrisy turns people against God, so God has a no-tolerance policy. Let’s take hypocrisy as seriously as God does. Expect no credit for good deeds. Give financial gifts in secret. Don’t fake spirituality. When you go to church, don’t select a seat just to be seen or sing just to be heard. And if you raise your hands in worship, raise holy ones, not showy ones.

Bottom line: don’t make a theater production out of your faith. Slay the desire to be noticed. Stir the desire to serve God. Heed the counsel of Christ: “First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too” (Matthew 23:26 NLT). Do good things. Just don’t do them to be noticed. You can be too good for your own good, you know.

Share the Post:

Devotion by Max Lucado | The Almighty Jehovah | https://thealmightyJehovah.com

Part of the Family

Isaiah 53:2 describes Jesus as having “no stately form or majesty that we should look upon him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to him.” Heads didn’t turn when Jesus passed.

Are your looks run-of-the-mill and are your ways simple? So were his. Questionable pedigree, simple home, an ordinary laborer with ordinary looks. Are you poor? Jesus knows how you feel. Ever feel taken advantage of? He understands the meaning of obscurity. Whatever you’re facing, he knows how you feel.

And he’s not ashamed of you. Hebrews 2:11 says, “Jesus, who makes people holy, and those who are made holy are from the same family. So he is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.” So go to him. After all, you’re part of the family!

He has Been There

Most families keep their family secrets a secret. Some stories remain unmentioned at the family reunion and unrecorded in the family Bible. That is, unless you’re Jesus. He displayed the bad apples of his family tree in the first chapter of the New Testament. Rahab was a Jericho harlot. David was one day writing psalms, another day seducing his captain’s wife. But did Jesus erase their names from the list? Not at all!

If your family tree has bruised fruit, Jesus wants you to know, “I’ve been there.” The phrase “I’ve been there” is in the chorus of Christ’s theme song. To the lonely, he whispers “I’ve been there. To the discouraged, Christ nods his head and sighs, “I’ve been there.” When you turn to him for help, he runs to you to help. He’s been there!

Optimized by Optimole

TAKE HYPOCRISY SERIOUSLY