Source: Living By Faith Blog |
It is not difficult to see why those in the World who do not know Jesus, question even His existence when they often see the hypocrisy of those who claim to know Him. Isaiah had some strong words to say about the Jews in Isaiah 29:13 ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught’. These words were spoken nearly 2000 years ago however they are so relevant today. There are some further strong words in Titus 1:16 ‘They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good’. How sad it would be if God sees us as detestable and disobedient because the words that come from our mouths are hollow and meaningless making us unfit to do anything good.
In Matthew 23 Jesus did not hold back in rebuking the teachers of the law and the Pharisees for their hypocrisy; Matthew 23:27-28 ‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness’. It is true that when we gave our lives to Jesus that we were washed clean, spotlessly clean, in His precise blood. It is also true that when we sin we can come to Jesus with a truly repentant heart and He will wash us clean over and over again, that’s how much He loves us, WOW! You may be able to hide your inner thoughts and feelings, your sins and everything else that is going on the ‘inside’ from humans, but you cannot hide anything from God. God knows exactly where you are in your life right now, He knows what your thoughts are, He knows what problems are and He knows what your sins are. Trying to hide anything from God is pointless, it is impossible: Jeremiah 16:17 ‘My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes’. The world may be able to see how 'clean' you are on the outside, but God can see how clean you and I are on the inside, there is no hiding place. It always makes me smile when I think about Adam and Eve trying to hide from God in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:8, it was pointless. God knew exactly where they were, just like He knows exactly where we are in our lives and our relationship with Him right now.
Source: Find the Shepherd |
When people look at me I don’t want them to see me, I want them to see Jesus in me. Not through anything I have done or can take credit for but through the wonderful power of Jesus who is able to use me as a vessel because of my relationship with Him. Jesus can only dwell in a clean temple and any uncleanliness will prevent Him from doing so. If you are wondering why Jesus is not present or having little impact in your life then maybe it’s time for you to 'clean the temple'. We want our families, friends and many others to know Jesus but this will only be possible if they can see Jesus in us or in somebody else, we cannot save anyone, we do not have the power, only the Presence and Power of Jesus is able to do this. Let us allow Jesus to work under His own authority and not try to do it under our own. Let us not be hypocritical as this is so detrimental to the body of Christ and in fact we are warned, in no uncertain terms about what will happen if we are lukewarm; Revelation 3:16 ‘So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth’. Instead let us choose to accept and display the fruit of the Spirit; Galatians 5:22-26 ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other’. Let us all live for Christ so that Christ can dwell in us and in doing so allow people to see Him and accept Him into their lives. If we profess to know Jesus then let the World see Him in us and may His light shine from us as a beacon in this sometimes-dark world. If you know Jesus as your Lord and saviour then the wake up! Romans 13:11 ‘The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed’.
Author: Anonymous
May God bless and enrich your life
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