Today's Scripture
TODAY’S READING SCHEDULE: Jeremiah 18 -19; Matthew 23:23 -39
Inside out- Matthew 23: 23-26
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup,[a] so that the outside also may become clean.
What does this passage mean to me/us?
The scariest moment of my life will be when I fail to see my own hypocrisy.
According to the Bible Dictionary, one of the meanings of hypocrisy comes from ‘insincere worship’ (click here to read more about the Biblical definition of Hypocrisy).
We are called to worship God, and it includes our inside and outside life, called to glorify God’s holy name.
However, like the Pharisees, do we pretend to be holy outside, but unclean inside? Pretending to be holy can work both ways. Pretending to be holy in our worship, or pretending to be holy in our work in serving others.
Either way, if we fail to bring praise and glory to God, we are no different than the Pharisees, whom Jesus condemns as hypocrites.
It is a hard word to swallow, but it is a call to follow.
We need to ask God to consume us from the inside out and continue to shine through us.
Consume us with your Holy Spirit, and shine through us today.
Prayer
Lord, lead us away from darkness and make us your light that shines in the world Holy Spirit consume us, and shine through us. In the name of Jesus, we pray, AMEN.
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