Being consistently kind

TODAY'S BIBLE READING:

Leviticus 16:29-18:30 
Mark 7:24-8:10
Psalm 41:1-13
Proverbs 10:15-16

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Psalm 41:6 "They visit me as if they were my friends, but all the while they gather gossip, and when they leave, they spread it everywhere."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

In Psalm 41, the writer lamented his condition. Apparently his health had failed and it looked like he could die.

Yet, insult was added to injury because his "friends" were talking badly about him. When they visited, they would say kind things but when they left, they talked horribly about him.

All of us are capable of this. All of us are capable of saying kind things to someone and then uttering horrible things about them when we leave their presence.

There are a couple of words that describe this kind of person:

Hypocrite / two-faced

As much as we despise it in others, we may be guilty of it ourselves.

Let this morning's Psalm remind us of how sinful and hurtful these sort of actions can be. And then let us commit, by God's grace and strength, to never do such things again.

The value of a sincere heart

TODAY'S BIBLE READING:

Exodus 19:16-21:21 

Matthew 23:13-39 

Psalm 28:1-9 

Proverbs 7:1-5

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Psalm 28:7 "The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

As we take the journey through today's reading in Matthew, a very clear theme emerges. We don't have to look hard for it. It screams from the pages, demanding that we sit up and pay attention.

Listen to what Jesus said:

"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! ..." (Matthew 23:13)

"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! ..." (Matthew 23:15)

"Blind guides! ..." (Matthew 23:16)

"Blind fools! ..." (Matthew 23:17)

"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! ..." (Matthew 23:23)

"Blind guides! ..." (Matthew 23:24)

"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! ..." (Matthew 23:25)

"You blind Pharisees! ..." (Matthew 23:26)

"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! ..." (Matthew 23:27)

"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! ..." (Matthew 23:29)

"Snakes! Sons of vipers! ..." (Matthew 23:33)

The anger in Jesus' words isn't hard to miss, is it?

So, we know WHO He was angry at. It was the Pharisees. They were the religious leaders of the day.

But, WHY was He so angry at the Pharisees? In a word - hypocrisy.

They appeared to be one thing to people but were quite another thing in their hearts. God is not indifferent to this. He can't stand it! Just read back over all of the previous verses to see that God despises hypocrisy.

So, what are we to do? Working on our behaviors is hard enough - working on changing our heart borders on the impossible. Should we give up? No! A thousand times NO!!!

Friend, that is what the power of the Cross is all about. If God has saved you, He is about the business of making you more like Jesus. Some grow in Christlikeness very slowly and others progress much more quickly.

But, regardless of your pace, we are all going to stumble. There will be times when we appear holy on the outside but we know all too well how deceptive our hearts are.

So, drop down on your knees, ask for God's forgiveness and receive it. Ask Him to continue working in your heart to root out sinful attitudes and motives. Repent of each thing that He exposes. Further, ask Him to help you replace those sinful heart attitudes with only what is pleasing to Him.

Maybe you won't notice it over a week's time or over the course of a month. But, years down the road, you will be able to see that God has worked on your heart so that you aren't simply appearing holy on the outside, you are becoming more holy on the inside.

Don't just try to act holy, friend. Strive to BE holy. The former is external and seeks to impress others. The latter is internal and seeks to impress God.

Which one are you striving for?

How honest should I be in my prayers?

There are more than a few Christians who are ... er ... well ... um ... hypocrites ... (ouch, that hurt!) ... when it comes to prayer.

That sounds harsh but here's what I'm talking about: Something is going on in the life of a believer and there is obvious inner turmoil in their heart. Maybe they question God's love for them. Maybe they question if God is even listening. Maybe they question why God would allow such a tragedy to happen. Maybe, just maybe, they're angry at God for not heading off some evil at the pass.

But, if you listened to their prayers, you wouldn't hear about this inner turmoil. Why? Because they think it's wrong to be brazenly honest with God in their prayers.

They can't imagine expressing their frustration Him. So, they keep it quiet. There ends up being a part of their life that they simply will not share with Him.

The result: They experience inner turmoil while praying boring, tame, predictably worded prayers with no hint of that inner turmoil. Do you know what someone is when they present themselves outwardly to be something different than what they are inwardly - a hypocrite.

So, what am I saying?

Am I saying that if you are questioning God that you should tell Him exactly how you feel?

Am I saying that if you are upset at God that you should be completely honest with Him and let it all out in your conversations with Him?

Well, my answer to those questions doesn't matter. What does God's Word say about it?

In my Bible reading this morning, I came across Psalm 13. Listen to how King David prayed:

"O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever?

How long will you look the other way?

How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,

with sorrow in my heart every day?

How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

"Turn and answer me, O LORD my God!

Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.

Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”

Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

"But I trust in your unfailing love.

I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

I will sing to the LORD

because he is good to me."

I think that one of the reasons that King David, who wrote this psalm, was a "man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22) was because his heart was true. He wasn't sinless - not by a long shot. But, his relationship with his God was real. Rugged, but real. If he felt it, he expressed it.

But, notice one more thing. After David expressed his inner turmoil to God, he always ended up in a happy place. He ended this psalm by saying that not matter what questions he had, he was going to trust in his God and sing of His goodness.

So, don't be a hypocrite. Be honest with God in your prayers. But, make sure you end up in a good place with Him before you say "Amen."

"Will the real Jesus please step forward."

Let’s just be blatantly honest with each other for a moment. The reception Jesus received by the Pharisees is not much different than the reception He would receive from many of our churches today. After all, He was constantly pushing the limits as far as the religious folk were concerned. He didn’t fit within their paradigm. He didn’t play according to their rules. He didn’t behave or teach according to their protocol. He was constantly upsetting the applecart … and the Pharisees hated Him for it.

The “religion” that Jesus advocated wasn’t one that fit nicely into a one hour service with padded pews, stained glass windows and polite platitudes emanating from a pulpit. It was rugged. It was real. It forced people to a point of decision. People couldn’t straddle the fencepost around Jesus. He called them to make a decision and live by it. There was no room for hypocrites around Jesus and that’s why the Pharisees regularly resisted him. He constantly made them uncomfortable and they despised him for it. (Would folks respond well to this today? Jesus hasn’t changed.)

A narrative is given in Matthew 9 that tells of a time when Jesus, once again, upset some religious folks. Let’s look at it and draw out a few points.

Matthew 9:9-13 (New Living Translation) “As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me and be my disciple,’ Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with such scum?’ When Jesus heard this, he said, ‘Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do.’ Then he added, ‘Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: “I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.” For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.’”

Here are some points to ponder today:

Jesus surrounded Himself with folks who were known sinners. Tax collectors were “sinners” in Jesus’ day for at least a couple of reasons. First, they had the authority of Rome to collect taxes from their fellow Jews. However, they typically inflated the tax bill and pocketed the difference. Second, they committed these acts of theft against their own Jewish people thus receiving the title “traitor.” Yet, this is exactly the sort of people that Jesus surrounded Himself with for His three years of ministry.

Jesus didn’t care what others thought of His company. Pharisees could ridicule, the masses could gossip, His family could cringe if they wanted. Jesus really didn’t care.

Jesus’ purpose for surrounding Himself with sinners was to share the good news of forgiveness and eternal life with them. In this narrative, the Pharisees likened the sinners to “scum” but Jesus likened them to “sick people.” They needed help. He wasn’t going to leave them like they were. But in order to administer the medicine of the Gospel to make them new, He needed to get into close proximity to them.

Jesus cannot do anything with folks who don’t think they are sinners. The Pharisees spent so much time condemning others as guilty sinners that in so doing, they prohibited themselves from enjoying the message that Jesus had to offer. A patient must realize that they are sick before they are willing to take the medicine and people need to know that they are sinners before they will take from Jesus the life-giving message of the Gospel.

That’s the offense of the Gospel. It begins with the realization that we’re not OK. We’ve got a problem. We’re guilty sinners before a holy God. But here's the crux of the matter: Those that are willing to acknowledge that they are sinners will find the presence and friendship of Jesus. Those who are not will have to settle for a comfortable, lifeless, Christ-less “religion.”

If you've never received God's amazing gift of eternal life, go to http://www.wayofthemaster.com/about_kirk.shtml and click on "Listen to Kirk's Testimony." (It's only about 5 minutes long.) Feel free to contact me! I'd love to help you along in this decision.