Cutting corners

In the Christian faith we are sometimes caught up in trying to cover up our failures and faults. We usually do this to avoid criticism from others, but the danger is that we are deceive ourselves. God knows what is happening in our hearts, so we need to be honest about every aspect of our faith. 

When Jesus challenged the Pharisees for doing the same thing, he said to them: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” – Matthew 23: 23

Jesus was not saying that giving a portion of their spices was wrong, but rather that they also needed to practice Mercy, Justice and Faithfulness. They could not cut corners and choose only some things to practice in their faith - they needed to do it all.

Thought: What corners are we tempted to cut in our Christian Walk? 

Living in Grace

D3LM3

In the driver's seat

Matthew 16:24 (Message) -Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am."

The challenge for us all is to allow God to be in the driver's seat and not to shove him out the way. I know that I can be a little bit of a nervous passenger at times, but when I trust the driver, I am very content to sit back and allow them to get me to the destination.

How about you? 

Do you trust God to get you to your final destination?

Matthew 23:10 - Nor are you to let yourselves be called ‘leaders,’ because you have one Leader, and he is the Messiah!

Living in Grace

D3LM3

23 - Practise what you preach

As soon as Jesus entered Jerusalem, he began to speak out more and more against the religiosity of the Teachers of the law, often exposing their faults and false practises. Of course this didn't do anything for his populatity, but Jesus was not worried about winning the award for "most polite Rabbi" of the year. Jesus knew his days were numbered and so he was willing to challenge anyone who was willing to hear the truth:

"Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." - Matthew 23:1-4

His words in verse 3 are known the world over, albeit in different forms. We have all heard the phrase "practise what you preach" and this is Jesus main argument against the Pharisees. They had lots of good things to say (things that we God-fearing and holy), but they didn't actually live these laws and ideals themselves. That is the tragedy of the whole thing - they were so close to being true disciples, but they refused to do what Jesus had asked of them.

So, as we edge closer to Easter, I think it is worth asking ourselves the question:

"Do we practise what we preach?"

If we don't do this people will soon see through our masks and disguise.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

The heart of God

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing." - Matthew 23:37

This verse shows me the true heart of God. Jesus longs to gather us together as his children, but we often choose to go our own way. It is my prayer that we will be moved to trust in Jesus over this Easter period and to believe in his loving hand. When he wants to gather us together, it is not to be over-bearing and controlling, but rather to protect us.

"Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
    for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings    until the disaster has passed." - Psalm 57:1

Living in Grace
D3LM3