Fake Christians

Matthew 15:1-9

Clean and Unclean
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"

3Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, 'Honor your father and mother'[a] and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'[b] 5But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' 6he is not to 'honor his father[c]' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'[d]"

Reflection of Bee:

It is not surprising to know that many "hypocrites" are found in the church since they were there during Jesus' time.

How can we tell them apart from the genuine ones? It may be hard for us to detect just like the weeds and tares but our God looks into the hearts of men. He will know who are His true followers and who aren't. Perhaps one tell tale sign is to see if they follow traditions or follow God's principles found in the bible. Anyway, it isn't for us to judge but to leave it to God. He alone knows best.

Dear Lord,
I pray that I will not become a hypocrite in any way but to follow Your command closely. Search my heart each day and keep it pure and true. I want to pray for Your protection, sanctification and unity for those who called upon Your name. I pray that we will all live up to Your name and not become hypocrites.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Truth or Lie

1 Kings 22:1-8

Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab
1 For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel. 2 But in the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to see the king of Israel. 3 The king of Israel had said to his officials, "Don't you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us and yet we are doing nothing to retake it from the king of Aram?"

4 So he asked Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?"
Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." 5 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, "First seek the counsel of the LORD."

6 So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, "Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?"
"Go," they answered, "for the Lord will give it into the king's hand."

7 But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?"

8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah."
"The king should not say that," Jehoshaphat replied.

Reflection of Bee:


Most people prefer listening to lies that flatters than to truth that hurts. When being confronted by truth that isn't flattering, people tend to get angry with the one who said it. However, we are told to speak the truth in love so that the listeners can grow and be matured (Ephesians 4:14-15).


Dear Lord,
Give me strength to accept the truth even if it hurts. Help me to learn and grow as Your people share the truth with me in love. Let me also learn how to speak the truth in love too even though I may be rejected for it.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Hiding From God

Genesis 3:7-13

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"

10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"

12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."

13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Bee's Thoughts:

Reading the above passage brings sadness to my heart again. :(

Why?

I see the weakness and the fall of man.

1. The man (Adam) blaming his woman (Eve), the only one closest to him, when he is being questioned for his sin... though he had the full knowledge of what he should or shouldn't do, not the woman (Genesis 2: 16-17).


2. He not only blamed the woman, but also blame God for bringing the woman into is life (Genesis 3:12). So it's God's fault, to him. Gosh!


3. True, the woman was very naive and vulnerable, easily deceived (Genesis 3:1). But the man should have guided his woman into the right path instead of following her blindly (Genesis 3: 6).


4. The man didn't take up his responsibility as a man, to face the consequences of his sin and also to protect his woman.

I see the weakness of woman and her influence.

1. The woman amplified and added to what God has said (Genesis 3:2-3). Did God say "must not touch it"? No! She didn't even know the name of that "tree". *sigh*


2. The woman was too greedy and ambitious (Genesis 3:6).


3. The woman was very influential to the man.


4. The woman also tried to blame the serpent for her sin (Genesis 3:13).

Dear Lord, please help me not to be deceived by the devil, to be a woman who could influence the 'man in my life' in the right way, and to be bold enough to confess my sins instead of hiding from You.

.......the devotion of Bee