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Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Snakes
Many Pharisees and Sadducees came to the place where John was
baptizing people. When John saw them he said to them: "You
are all snakes! Who warned you to run away from God's anger
that is coming? You must do the things that show that you
have really changed your hearts and lives. And don't think
that you can boast and say to yourselves, 'Abraham is our
father.' I tell you that God could make children for Abraham
from these rocks here. The ax is now ready to cut down the
trees. Every tree that does not make good fruit will be cut
down and thrown into the fire.
-- Matthew 3:7-10 (ERV)
KEY THOUGHT:
So much of religion can be little more than posturing, passionate
opinions, and religious pomp without much true substance. God, however,
demands lives that are consistent with the words of our mouths. Wearing
robes, having titles, coming from a strong religious heritage, and
liking to be recognized as religious, in and of themselves, simply
don't count with Jesus. He wants to see the fruit of lives dedicated to
him as God. In fact, Jesus uses terms of utmost derision for those
claiming to be religious but not living righteously. He reserves the
greatest punishment for those who take advantage of their religious
positions. What counts with our Lord are lives that are true to God,
not ones that merely look and sound religious.
TODAY'S PRAYER:
Faithful and just God, thank you for being consistent and true. At
times, dear Father, I find myself struggling to have the purest of
motives and sincerest of commitments. Please forgive me when my faith
is more about religious showy rituals and not about a changed daily
lifestyle. Help me to be more true to what I say I believe, and not get
caught up in religious pretensions. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
>> NEW: Phil's What Jesus Did devotional is now
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>> The WJD! web page has related scriptures and the
>> full text of today's key passage. Read it at:
http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/matthew/0120-wjd.html
>> For further study of today's passage, use our
>> online Bible study site: SearchGodsWord.org!
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Matthew+3:7-10&sr=1&t=erv
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