THE SEVEN WOES
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
In Matthew 23: 13-39 Jesus speaks to the religious leaders of His time by giving them direct warnings about how they were going about God's business of leading the people of Israel by the laws of Moses. There is much of what Jesus said to these leaders that we should take to heart as well when we consider what our calling is to the world around us in this generation.
While it was a very different kind of social setting in Jerusalem we can still see some of the things that we need to consider. The concept of the word "HYPOCRITE" is used quite a lot in these warnings that Jesus gave to these men, but as I meditate on the real meaning of this message, I realize that each one of us who today profess Jesus as Lord of our lives are also placing ourselves in a situation where we are in some way leading others through our witness in Christ. One of the first things in this series of warnings was that these leaders were not letting others enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. They were shutting the way for growth and relationship with God through the many rules they had developed until for the average man it became impossible to follow all that was mandated they do.
In our own way we too tend to cut people off at the knees when it comes to allowing them to be a part of Christ through all of the doctrinal differences we have with one another Like it or not we put our own lives out as an example of what it means to live for Christ by making a claim to be a follower of Jesus. The question is are we living in such a way that the light of truth and the power of God's Spirit can draw other to Him through our lives? Even more important is if we are trying to hide that light from being seen by saying things like "My relationship with God is so personal I don't want to share it" doesn't that mean that we are not entering into the Kingdom ourselves?
As we begin to look at some of these things this week perhaps we an see some changes that need to be made. Let's take the time to discuss these "seven woes" this week. With the leadership that Jesus was addressing in this passage the Scribes and Pharisees were the most prominent religious figures in the society, and believe you me they were enjoying the attention! The problem is that they enjoyed the praise of men but their hearts were still very far from the God they claimed to serve. There are many today who have surrounded themselves with religious tradition and trappings in an effort to hide their true identity and desires from the eyes of men. I don;t believe this is really anything new, but we are seeing different things come to light that on face value would be rejected by this world like pedophilia from the priesthood, and even now the many officials within our government who are being found to be involved in such things. These people arae exactly the opposite of what they claim to be, but have been playing a horrible game with society for respect because of their position in life, and yet using that position and power as a corrupt tool to sin. Quite frankly there isn't any wonder why many are distrustful of anyone who claims to be good, or serving God today being trusted.
The time has come for those in your community to see the truth about who you are as a Christian, and to be able to trust you because they see the same person in every situation in life. This is simply another call toward mentoring people in Christ. It is the actual desire of God for us to show others who He is by the examples we give to people of how He has changed our life. As we grow and become changed those around us will no doubt see that change from within us and respond to it. We will continue our discussions on these seven woes tomorrow. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
In Matthew 23: 13-39 Jesus speaks to the religious leaders of His time by giving them direct warnings about how they were going about God's business of leading the people of Israel by the laws of Moses. There is much of what Jesus said to these leaders that we should take to heart as well when we consider what our calling is to the world around us in this generation.
While it was a very different kind of social setting in Jerusalem we can still see some of the things that we need to consider. The concept of the word "HYPOCRITE" is used quite a lot in these warnings that Jesus gave to these men, but as I meditate on the real meaning of this message, I realize that each one of us who today profess Jesus as Lord of our lives are also placing ourselves in a situation where we are in some way leading others through our witness in Christ. One of the first things in this series of warnings was that these leaders were not letting others enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. They were shutting the way for growth and relationship with God through the many rules they had developed until for the average man it became impossible to follow all that was mandated they do.
In our own way we too tend to cut people off at the knees when it comes to allowing them to be a part of Christ through all of the doctrinal differences we have with one another Like it or not we put our own lives out as an example of what it means to live for Christ by making a claim to be a follower of Jesus. The question is are we living in such a way that the light of truth and the power of God's Spirit can draw other to Him through our lives? Even more important is if we are trying to hide that light from being seen by saying things like "My relationship with God is so personal I don't want to share it" doesn't that mean that we are not entering into the Kingdom ourselves?
As we begin to look at some of these things this week perhaps we an see some changes that need to be made. Let's take the time to discuss these "seven woes" this week. With the leadership that Jesus was addressing in this passage the Scribes and Pharisees were the most prominent religious figures in the society, and believe you me they were enjoying the attention! The problem is that they enjoyed the praise of men but their hearts were still very far from the God they claimed to serve. There are many today who have surrounded themselves with religious tradition and trappings in an effort to hide their true identity and desires from the eyes of men. I don;t believe this is really anything new, but we are seeing different things come to light that on face value would be rejected by this world like pedophilia from the priesthood, and even now the many officials within our government who are being found to be involved in such things. These people arae exactly the opposite of what they claim to be, but have been playing a horrible game with society for respect because of their position in life, and yet using that position and power as a corrupt tool to sin. Quite frankly there isn't any wonder why many are distrustful of anyone who claims to be good, or serving God today being trusted.
The time has come for those in your community to see the truth about who you are as a Christian, and to be able to trust you because they see the same person in every situation in life. This is simply another call toward mentoring people in Christ. It is the actual desire of God for us to show others who He is by the examples we give to people of how He has changed our life. As we grow and become changed those around us will no doubt see that change from within us and respond to it. We will continue our discussions on these seven woes tomorrow. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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