Wednesday Reading: Matthew 15:7-11
Key Verse: Matthew 15:8
8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Devotion:
How often do you “go through with the motions” just to get things out of the way so you can move on? How many times do you just do something to keep someone else happy but your heart is not in the work that you are doing? Sadly we could probably all name such an occurrence without having to think too hard about it! Being honest is one thing, but really being honest is something we all need to strive toward.
When Jesus said that we should be obeying His commandments He did not say that so that we would just go ahead and carry out things according to the exact wording and not care too much about the consequences. Jesus came into this world and was faced with hypocrites every day; they came forward and said things like “we have kept the commandments” but when He probed a little deeper they fell apart because their hearts were not in the task in hand. We still do!
God does not want us just to keep the law so that we will “be good”. God wants us to willingly obey Him so that we live our lives for Him and with Him. That means that we cannot just give Him lip service and say the right things at the right times and do the right things at the right times – God looks inside our hearts and inside our intentions, not just listening and watching like other people do! God knows when we are just doing things. He knows when we want to be somewhere else. He knows our desires before we let them out… and out they will come before too long…
For as long as man has been trying to hide things, others have found out what men have been hiding and have been exposing those things. We live in societies where people seem to want to expose others to try and bring the truth out – or maybe it is to hide their misgivings behind something else so that they will not be found out… Jesus could see right through the people that were around Him; He saw deep into their hearts just as He looks into ours and He knew what they wanted and desired. If we are not going to be honest with our God and King, then we should expect to have our dirty laundry aired before too long. God wants honest and willing people to come to Him so that He can use us and not have to wait until we fall apart so that He can put us back together again! He would rather use us here and now than to have to remould us before being able to use us…
Points to Ponder:
What do you really want?
Do you ask God for guidance daily?