Monday November 3, 2008 PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, "The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures. So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don't follow their example. For they don't practice what they teach. They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden." Matthew 23:1-4 Tomorrow most of us, I hope, will be going to the poles to vote. Whether we vote Democrat or Republican, or which man wins, it is ultimately in the hands of God. We are simply voting what our conscious tells us to vote. However, we need to pay very careful attention to the words Jesus spoke. First, we see that Jesus wasn't just talking to His disciples; He was talking to the crowd. Now, that may not mean a lot to you, but it means a lot to me. In that crowd of people I believe there were some people who had been emotionally wounded by the "teachers of religious law and the Pharisees." They were shunned from the temple, but they wanted to get close to God. Jesus was about to teach them the first phase of how to do that. Second, He wanted them (and us) to take notice that He agreed with what these people taught, but He didn't agree with the way they lived. Ouch! Hallelujah! In Jesus' eyes most of us are hypocrites; we say one thing, but do another. The same could be said about either of the political candidates in one degree or another, but that is not our focus. Our focus is; which one do we believe can lead our country best for the next four years. As for the church, one of the things that I have experienced is the fact that every preacher I know says things from the pulpit that they don't practice in their day-to-day life. Now, before you write me anything, let me quickly say that most of us are the same way. That doesn't make it right, but it does mean that we need to work on that area of our life. God taught me that I am to listen to the sermons of a Preacher, but not place him/her on a pedestal. (I know some people will be offended because I put a "her" there, but I know some women preachers/pastors that are wonderful and Joyce Meyer is one of them.) Many preachers preach about all the hurting people they want to come to their church, while they aren't helping the ones that are already there. Well, that once offended me, but God showed me what is happening. He is speaking through them, but they aren't "getting" it. However, the ones I know will get it because they love Him so much. Using Joyce Meyer as an example; we listen to her preach, but we don't expect her to come to our hospital room when we are sick. We shouldn't expect that from our pulpit minister either. We will talk more about that as the week progresses. Until then - keep your eyes on Jesus and listen to your preacher! I guess the same goes for the election - keep your eyes on Jesus and just vote! Father, I thank You so much for the lessons You are teaching me. Thank You for calling me to share what You teach me with others. Help us all be better stewards of what we hear. Help us apply the teachings to our daily life. In the meantime, thank You for grace! ******************************************* 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
