The following is from an Easter Devotional put together by Covenant Fellowship.............
It often doesn't take long for heartfelt devotion and passion for God, to drift toward simply going through the motions. Left unchecked, it can lead to hypocrisy - living your life with the appearance of devotion and love toward God that is not really there. That's what happened to the Jewish people in New Testament times and the fig tree was a perfect illustration of this. Jesus approached a fig tree with big, shiny leaves but no fruit. On the outside the tree looked well, but it wasn't doing what it was created to do - produce fruit! So the Lord cursed the fruitless tree. When Jesus approached the beautiful marble walls and gleaming gold pillar capitals of the temple with throngs of worshippers gathered around, all looked well - on the outside. But the Jews received his strongest rebuke. Jesus cursed the blatant hypocrisy and greed by turning over the tables and condemning their selfish practices. The temple court was meant to be a place of prayer and worship for the Gentiles. It was a place where men and women outside of Israel could seek God. But it had become a den of robbers that hindered the Gentiles from praying and seeking God. The same can be true today. When we claim to have faith in Christ, but don't live lives transformed by his love and grace, we may hinder men and women from clearly hearing and responding to the gospel. Unbelievers can see right through an outward "show" of religion. Jesus wants us to know that how we live matters. It matters that we pursue purity and obey God's Word. It matters that we pray and seek God with sincere hearts. Jesus died to free us from the trap of hypocrisy and to give us His Spirit, who purifies us and empowers us to live lives in line with the truths of the gospel.
Pray that God would help us to live pure lives that are dedicated to the glory of God, obedient to the Word of God and committed to prayer.
It often doesn't take long for heartfelt devotion and passion for God, to drift toward simply going through the motions. Left unchecked, it can lead to hypocrisy - living your life with the appearance of devotion and love toward God that is not really there. That's what happened to the Jewish people in New Testament times and the fig tree was a perfect illustration of this. Jesus approached a fig tree with big, shiny leaves but no fruit. On the outside the tree looked well, but it wasn't doing what it was created to do - produce fruit! So the Lord cursed the fruitless tree. When Jesus approached the beautiful marble walls and gleaming gold pillar capitals of the temple with throngs of worshippers gathered around, all looked well - on the outside. But the Jews received his strongest rebuke. Jesus cursed the blatant hypocrisy and greed by turning over the tables and condemning their selfish practices. The temple court was meant to be a place of prayer and worship for the Gentiles. It was a place where men and women outside of Israel could seek God. But it had become a den of robbers that hindered the Gentiles from praying and seeking God. The same can be true today. When we claim to have faith in Christ, but don't live lives transformed by his love and grace, we may hinder men and women from clearly hearing and responding to the gospel. Unbelievers can see right through an outward "show" of religion. Jesus wants us to know that how we live matters. It matters that we pursue purity and obey God's Word. It matters that we pray and seek God with sincere hearts. Jesus died to free us from the trap of hypocrisy and to give us His Spirit, who purifies us and empowers us to live lives in line with the truths of the gospel.
Pray that God would help us to live pure lives that are dedicated to the glory of God, obedient to the Word of God and committed to prayer.
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