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How terrible it
will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you
are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the
important things of the law--justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes,
but you should not leave undone the more important things. Blind guides! You
strain your water so you won't accidentally swallow a gnat; then you swallow a
camel! How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you
Pharisees. Hypocrites! You are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and
the dish, but inside you are filthy--full of greed and self-indulgence! Blind
Pharisees! First wash the inside of the cup, and then the outside will become
clean, too. How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you
Pharisees. Hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs--beautiful on the outside
but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity. You
try to look like upright people outwardly, but inside your hearts are filled
with hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matthew 23:23-28 NLV). So
you need a new computer? You need one that will have plenty of hard drive space;
lot’s of RAM, a super fast processor, and all the latest in hardware/software
innovations? Well here’s a
suggestion for you that will cost you nearly nothing! First, find a computer
magazine that advertises all the latest systems and machines. Cut out the logo of the new system/computer and glue it over
the old model logo on your machine. You
know, the ones that say “Intel Pentium V Inside” (or whatever the latest
logo is). Then find a training manual for the latest operating system with a
picture of the newest system environment and tape a picture of the main screen
to you monitor. Just like that you will have a new computer! Foolish
thought isn’t it? Yet that’s the very same thing when we try to change our
lives from the outside in. Listen
tot he words of Jesus in our reading this morning again: Blind
Pharisees! First wash the inside of the cup, and then the outside will become
clean, too. Only God can clean you up from the inside out. When we try on our own to "clean up our act" by changing our habits or making resolutions or trying the latest "How To Be an Incredible Person" book, we merely slap on new labels, glue on new attitudes or buy clever accessories, but God still sees our heart. Richard Foster put it this way in his book Celebration of Discipline: "The needed change within us is God's work, not ours. The demand is for an inside job, and only God can work from the inside." To accomplish these we must decide if we will give the Lord free reign in our inner most parts. We must choose to set aside our outward attempts at change, and allow Him to work His change from the inside out. The choice is ours. But if we insist on doing it our way, we will probably continue doing it the same old way, looking good and feeling bad. Is it time for you to “wash the inside of the cup”? Start with a genuine confession and request for the filling of the Holy Spirit in your life. Change from the inside out today! |
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