Monday October 27, 2008 HOW TERRIBLE!
"How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you won't let others enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and you won't go in yourselves. Yes, how terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn him into twice the son of hell as you yourselves are." Matthew 23:13-15 Unless we begin to eat the meat from God's Word and allow it to become a reality in our lives, we will hear Jesus saying this to us. The meat of God's Word will strengthen us to live a life of love. Living a life of love and walking in genuine humility are key factors of people who aren't hypocrites. One characteristic of a hypocrite is saying one thing and doing another. One example is saying we believe in God, but living like He doesn't exist. Jesus stressed the importance of prayer. Yet, many people who call themselves Christians rarely pray. I have found myself guilty of this more times than I am willing to admit. There is great power available when we pray. There is also great power available when we are able to admit to the people we disciple that we haven't "arrived," and the best thing for them to do is keep their eyes on Jesus and off of us. That isn't a cop-out; it is what Jesus wants us to do. Today's scripture is one of those that I struggled with for years. We tell people that if they get "saved" everything will be okay in their lives. Then, quickly, Satan begins his scheming to pull them down and we forget to let them know that his attacks are on the way. Then, on top of that, we don't warn them that they will mess up. So, when Satan begins his attacks and these people stumble and fall they naturally feel that something wasn't right with them. They fall away from church and their relationship with God begins to weaken. When we lead someone to the Lord they need a personal mentor. They also need a class of some kind where they can voice their concerns and get the foundational truths of Christianity. We have been quick to lead people in the sinner's prayer, but not so quick to follow through on helping them walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Jesus also talked about cheating widows (or people on limited income) out of their money. If churches and/or ministries are going to receive monies from people on limited income, we need to also be available and ready to be there for them when hard times hit. In essence, we need to be good stewards of the lessons we hear and the monies we receive. Father, Your Word is truly powerful and cuts straight to our heart. Help us not turn from these hard lessons, but allow these hard lessons to turn us to You. We need more Lord, more of You and more of Your Word. ******************************************* O. Addison Gethers e-mail address : [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] window live messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DBILG?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
