In Matthew 16 Jesus asked his disciples about his identity. Peter answered correctly: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you … Continue reading The spiritual power of allegiance
daily devotional
Saying it out loud
We’ve been talking about the power of words.These days we tend to devalue them. When someone says “actions speak louder than words” they are commenting on this very trend. While our actions should certainly back up our words, words can still have incredible power on their own.In Jesus’ day his words were thought to have … Continue reading Saying it out loud
A stone in his mouth for 3 years
In elementary school there was a kid who did a lot of annoying things. He would slap people in the back of the head for no reason or pull a girl’s ponytail and run away.Other kids would inevitably chase him or call him names. In response he would shout out the well-known playground rebuttal: “Sticks … Continue reading A stone in his mouth for 3 years
What does it mean to be disciplined?
I recently asked some young people what they thought of when they heard the word “discipline.”One of them said “hard work.” Another said: “when you get in trouble you get disciplined.” A third said “self-control.”They had good insights. I was impressed.Self-control is definitely closely related to discipline. Self-control is listed as a fruit of the … Continue reading What does it mean to be disciplined?
Know you are loved
We’ve been talking about religious hypocrisy—in ourselves. This isn’t about being ourselves up, but about honest self-evaluation as we strive to grow and become more like Jesus.But that’s just what can happen. We beat ourselves up. The more we examine ourselves to see our sin, the more sin we see! It can be discouraging.The apostle … Continue reading Know you are loved
Being mentally present
“You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused…” (Matthew 13:14-15).Jesus often speaks against hypocrisy. It is giving lip service to faith. It is pretending, or simply going through the religious motions.So how do we guard against hypocrisy in our own … Continue reading Being mentally present
Humility and hypocrisy
The opposite of religious hypocrisy is faithful sincerity. With God’s help we want to move from the first category to the second. Not only do we want to say we believe in Jesus, but to think and act like we believe in Jesus.An important ingredient is humility.In Mark 7 Jesus speaks with a Gentile woman. … Continue reading Humility and hypocrisy
Closing the gaps
Hypocrite.It’s a heavy, negative word. It means “pretender”—someone who says and does things which aren’t harmonious with what they say they believe. Richard Baxter says: “As fencers upon a stage differ from soldiers fighting for their lives, so hypocrites differ from serious Christians.”*In Mark 7:6 (ESV) Jesus took issue with some Pharisees who were criticizing his … Continue reading Closing the gaps
Praying on the fly
The early Christians prayed. A lot.In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul famously says to “pray continuously.” Does he mean that we should never stop uttering words to God? What about when we’re sleeping or eating? His point, of course, is that we should make a regular habit of prayer. Some have argued that many of the early … Continue reading Praying on the fly
What is the Devil trying to do?
C. Peter Wagner writes: “The chief end of humans is to glorify God and the chief end of Satan is to prevent God from being glorified.”*There’s a lot in that statement so let’s take a few moments to unpack it.When he says that the “chief end of humans is to glorify God” he’s referring to … Continue reading What is the Devil trying to do?
