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Saturday, April 25, 2009
Blinded by Religious Prejudice
When the two men were leaving, some people brought another
man to Jesus. This man could not talk because he had a demon
inside him. Jesus forced the demon to leave the man. Then the
man that couldn't talk was able to speak. The people were
amazed and said, "We have never seen anything like this in
Israel." But the Pharisees said, "The leader of demons (the
devil) is the one that gives him (Jesus) power to force
demons out."
-- Matthew 9:32-34 (ERV)
KEY THOUGHT:
This passage reminds me of how horrifyingly easy it is to lose sight of
truth in the search to preserve my religion. Here was Jesus Christ, Son
of God, Immanuel, and the most religiously-committed people of the day
reject him and accuse him of being from Satan. But the people -- the
everyday folks who did not have all the ecclesiastical training and
religious indoctrination -- recognized him as something special.
Neither was right, but the crowd was less wrong. I must always remain
humble and focused on Jesus if I am to know what God's truth really is.
Jesus is, after all, the key that opens up the meaning of Scripture (2
Timothy 3:16-17; John 1:1-8; Hebrews 1:1-3).
TODAY'S PRAYER:
Holy and compassionate God, forgive me when I've been too narrow and
correct me when I've been too loose with your will. I want to help all
different kinds of people know that the Kingdom is open to them, but I
don't want to lower your standards and cheapen your grace. Help me find
in Jesus the balance needed to share your truth with courtesy,
integrity, and respect. In Jesus, your ultimate Word, 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/0425-wjd.html
>> For further study of today's passage, use our
>> online Bible study site: SearchGodsWord.org!
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Matthew+9:32-34&sr=1&t=erv
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