Today's Scripture
Clean Viewing 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, so that the outside also may become clean.
RJ's Devotion
What the passage says
V. 23-24 By paying too much attention to details, the Pharisee and lawmakers forgot the big picture.
V. 25-26 Jesus says that it is not the outside/ religious acts that are important, but it is the inside being transformed more important.
What does the passage mean to me/us?
Starting from the inside out. When we are encountered by the grace of God, we experience a transformation from the inside.
We are allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us from the inside out.
However, sometimes it takes time for the inside transformation to be translated to our outside.
Jesus on the other hand, warns the Pharisees and the lawmakers of his time that outside appearance cannot change our heart.
He was saying that these people focused too much in their outward appearances that they missed the mark that God’s will was to change us from the inside.
When we are transformed from the inside, we will naturally see our outward appearance resemble more like Christ.
Prayer
Lord, change us from the inside. Help us to reclaim your image every day.
In Christ Name, we pray, AMEN
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