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Sunday, February 22, 2009
Righteousness!
"So when you offer your gift to God, think about other
people. If you are offering your gift before the altar, and
you remember that your brother has something against you,
then leave your gift there at the altar. Go and make peace
with that person. Then come and offer your gift."
-- Matthew 5:23-24 (ERV)
KEY THOUGHT:
When we come face to face in worship, we are forced to recognize that
we stand before God as righteous and acceptable to him only because of
his forgiveness, mercy, and grace. How dare we try to worship him and
receive this forgiveness, mercy, and grace when we are not in a good
place with others in our Kingdom family! There is an incredible
consistency throughout Scripture about God's wanting us to be right
with each other if we are going to be right with him. The Ten
Commandments have four commands that focus on the Lord and six that
focus on our relationships with each other. The prophets emphasized
that God hates the worship of those who mistreat or exploit others.
Jesus emphasized that we could not be forgiven if we are unforgiving.
He even says that we will be judged by the same standard by which we
judge others. No matter how moving, how inspiring, how "spiritual" our
worship may seem, if we harbor evil against each other or have harmed
another in our Kingdom family and not tried to reconcile, God will not
accept our worship.
TODAY'S PRAYER:
Merciful Father, forgive me for harboring grudges, saying unkind
things, and being insensitive to the hurts I have caused to your
children. I relinquish any grievance and give up any claim against my
brothers and sisters in Christ and pledge to live with them in your
Kingdom in a way that reflects your mercy and grace. 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/0222-wjd.html
>> For further study of today's passage, use our
>> online Bible study site: SearchGodsWord.org!
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Matthew+5:23-24&sr=1&t=erv
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