December 3, 2014 Clean Heart

Cleaned Heart

Matthew 23:25-26 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”

THIS is the sixth “woe”. Are you hearing Jesus speak to you as you read these? Often as we sit down to read passages of Scripture, we can come to such a place as Matthew 23 and be overwhelmed with God’s wakeup calls to be true to Him. We get uncomfortable and begin to scan through the hard words instead of stopping to dwell on them.

     As we dwell, though, on Jesus’ “woe” statements, I pray they do change your view of being a disciple. I know these verses have been changing me, reviving me and transforming me to be more mindful of Jesus’ passionate calls to truly pursue and live for Him.

     This sixth “woe” speaks to the general sin of hypocrisy. The image is clear. You may look clean on the outside, but if you’re dirty inside, you’re dirty.

     Yes, we must be attentive to remove the dirt of our sins from our souls not just from our skin. Deep in our hearts must reside God’s truths, written there in eternal script that teaches us God’s right ways and washes away sin. Yes, it’s true

Jesus paid it all.
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

(Hymn “Jesus Paid it All”)

We must live clean, new and born again. Why would we want to hang onto those dirty sins? Why would we refuse to be true to our Lord, who has freely paid for our sins?

LIFE Link: True inside and out.