The Hypocrisy of the Pharisees

A businessman’s office wall was covered with award plaques and framed documents. On the wall was a diploma from the Harvard Business School, a “National Salesman of the Year” award, and a letter from the President of the United States. A visitor was impressed by his honors and asked, “How did you manage to accomplish so much in such a short time?” “It really wasn’t that hard,” the man replied. “I have a sign-printing business.”

Hypocrisy is trying to impress others by pretending to be something that we’re not. Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites 14 times in the book of Matthew alone. They performed their religious duties “to be seen” by men (Matt. 6:1). “To be seen” in Greek is theathemai, which is where we get our word “theater.” Jesus was saying that a hypocrite is an actor who plays a role. The actors on the Greek stage performed in the theater to be seen by an audience. Their reward for their performance was the applause they received from the spectators.

The hypocritical Pharisees were merely religious actors, playing the role of a righteous person in the “theater” of street corners, synagogues, and the temple. They longed for the praise of men, which was the reason they performed so many righteous deeds in public. When they received compliments and applause from their admiring audience, Jesus said, “they have received their reward in full” (Matt. 6:2).

The Pharisees serve as a warning to not become actors, who do the right things but with the wrong motives. We are hypocrites if we say that we believe God’s Word but live in a way that doesn’t line up. The antidote for hypocrisy is to live with a “sincere heart” (Heb. 10:22) and “love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith” (1 Tim. 1:5). The apostle Paul told us there is only one audience we need to please: “For am I seeking the favor of people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ” (Gal. 1:10)

Check your heart. Keep doing what’s right, and do it to please God.

Have you read about the strange customs of the Pharisees? Click on Who were the Pharisees? Be sure to read the 26 Questions, which helps to identify Modern-Day Phariseeism.

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net 

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Slaying Your Giants is filled with interesting stories, humor, and practical advice about how to conquer 20 giants (fear, depression, discontentment, self-image, anger, and more)

The Sure Cure for Worry contains amazing true stories and helps the reader see God is in control.

What is Making Life Count Ministries? (3 min. video)

Ignoring the Evidence

Did O.J. Simpson get away with murdering Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman in June 1994? O.J’s blood DNA was found near the victims, on the walkway, at the rear gate, and on Ron Goldman’s boot. His blood was also found on the floor of O.J’s Bronco, along with the steering wheel, driver’s door, and console. O.J.’s defense attorneys accused the police of planting O.J.’s blood at the scene of the crime. That might plant doubt in some people’s minds, but how did Ron and Nicole’s blood get inside O.J.’s car and house?

Nicole’s blood was found in O.J’s Bronco on the steering wheel, console, and carpet. Ron’s blood was also found on the console. Nicole’s blood was found in footprints made by size 12 rare Bruno Magli shoes, which O.J. happened to own and was his shoe size.

At O.J.’s house, his blood was found in the driveway and foyer. O.J.’s blood, Ron and Nicole’s blood, and hairs from both Ron and Nicole were found on the glove in his yard. Both O.J’s and Nicole’s blood were found on a sock in his bedroom. The defense team couldn’t explain how Ron and Nicole’s blood was found in all those places. All this evidence was ignored by the jury, which acquitted him.

Why would someone want to ignore evidence? Primarily because ulterior motives are involved. When Jesus performed healing miracles as the religious Pharisees watched, they refused to believe in Him because they didn't want to lose their political power. They said, “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation” (John 11:48).

Many people today refuse to believe the evidence that proves the existence of God and the truth of the Bible. They're afraid to examine the evidence of hundreds of fulfilled Bible prophecies and that the amazingly complex human body couldn't have evolved by mere chance. Why won't some people honestly examine the evidence? It's because they "suppress the truth" because their hearts are darkened (Romans 1:18, 21). If you don't want to believe something, it doesn't matter how much evidence is presented. As the saying goes, "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." Take an honest look at the proof and arrive at your own verdict. 

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net 

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NEW BIBLE STUDY: Barabbas and the Scapegoat

VIDEO: What is Making Life Count Ministries? (3 minutes)

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Two books to help you grow in your faith:

Slaying Your Giants is filled with numerous interesting stories, humor, and practical advice about how to conquer 20 giants you will face in life (fear, depression, discontentment, self-image, anger, and more)

The Sure Cure for Worry contains amazing true stories and will help the reader see God is in control. (For those who may doubt the existence of God and those who need guidance)

10 Unusual Ways People Have Died

Call me weird, but I keep a file of unusual ways people have died. This morning I read about a man who had just pulled his car in a parking space when an abandoned apartment building collapsed and fell on his vehicle. If you had told him beforehand he would die that way, he would not have believed you. Here are nine more unusual ways people have died (These came from newspaper articles and are not urban legends).

·         A Brazilian man died when a cow fell through his roof and landed on him. His house was next to a steep hillside where the cow had been grazing.

·         A fisherman in Sri Lanka bled to death when a fish jumped out of the water and cut him on the neck with its fin.

·         A man in Iran was shot to death by a snake. He was trying to catch the snake alive and put the end of his shotgun on its head. The snake coiled around the gun and pulled the trigger.

·         A herdsman in Kenya was watering his livestock when he was stoned to death by wild monkeys.

·         A man at a Jets-Patriots pro football game was killed by a flying lawnmower. The entertainment at half-time was radio-controlled unusual-looking model airplanes. The flying lawnmower went out of control and flew into the stands where he was seated.

·         A man in Florida was sleeping in his bedroom when a sinkhole beneath his home opened up and sucked him in.

·         A man in London at his 100-year-old birthday party said, “Yes, I made it!” and immediately died.

·         Two passengers were dining on a cruise ship off the coast of France when a 26-foot high wave crashed through the glass windshield and killed them.

·         A man in South Carolina was jogging and listening to his iPod when he was hit from behind by a small plane that had lost its power and was making an emergency landing.

None of these people knew that death was just moments away. Have you ever thought about how you will die? Will you be cut by a fish tail? Shot by a snake? Killed by a flying lawnmower? Sucked into a sinkhole? Maybe your heart will just stop beating.

Life is short and death can happen at any moment. James 4:14 says, “You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” Will you be ready when your time comes? If not, please read “How can I know that I’m going to heaven?”

 

Have a great day. It could be your last.

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com
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Read over 130 Bible studies at www.makinglifecount.net
Are you worried about the future?  Read The Sure Cure for Worry
Do you want to defeat depression, unforgiveness, and rejection?  Read Slaying Your Giants

Listening to God

Jesus said that when some people pray, they wrongly assume “that they will be heard for their many words” (Matt. 6:7). Praying doesn’t get better because it’s longer, just like sermons don’t get better because they’re longer. I’ve never heard anyone say, “That sermon was so good because it was SO long!” And I don’t think God says, “That prayer is so good because it’s so long! That person just talks and talks and talks and never expects Me to say anything back!”

Years ago when I worked for a Christian college in Georgia, I had an appointment with a lady who lived in another city to talk about some business concerning the college. After we met, she started talking non-stop (and I am not exaggerating) for the entire hour. I kept waiting for her to take a breath—to pause—to take a break between words—to ask what I thought—anything so I could get a word in edgewise, but she never did. Finally, after sixty minutes of me listening without saying a word, I had to leave for my next appointment. When I got up from my chair I said, “Well, it was nice talking to you!” 

God must feel the same way when we do all the talking but never listen. He wants to speak to us, but we must have open hearts to hear His voice. “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb. 3:15). If you in a bad situation and don’t know what to do, God says if you will pray and ask for wisdom, He will always show you what to do. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God...and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

But how will you know when He gives you the wisdom? He will put thoughts in your mind and impressions on your heart. Sometimes He will give you desires to point your heart in the right direction. At other times, you will just instinctively know what you need to do. However, if you don’t expect Him to speak to you, you won’t receive anything from the Lord (James 1:7).

Remember that prayer is a dialog and not a monologue. Learn to listen to God and then do what He says.  www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  

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Are you worried about the future?  Read The Sure Cure for Worry

Do you want to defeat depression, unforgiveness, and rejection?  Read Slaying Your Giants

Am I Supposed to Love Myself?

(The following is an excerpt from Slaying Your Giants.)

To love self or not to love self. That is the question. Jesus said, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 22:39). He also said, "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26).

These two apparently contradicting verses, both spoken by Jesus, make me wonder, "Should I love me, or love me not? If God loves me, shouldn't I love me?" And here's a bonus question. If Jesus commanded me to love everyone, why does He now tell me to hate?

No, Jesus wasn’t commanding us to despise mom and dad. The biblical word “hate” doesn't always mean to “cease loving.” When Jesus says you must hate your relatives and yourself, He means that you must favor Him above everyone else. Christ wants to lead you, rather than letting anyone else control your life. However, some people wrongly believe they must hate themselves—the very souls Jesus created and died for. If that were true, you should want to go to hell, which would be the ultimate hatred of self. Obviously, that can’t be right. You would be fulfilling Satan’s will, not God’s.

A prison chaplain once told me, “Do you know why those prisoners committed their crimes? It’s because they hate themselves. And if they hate themselves, how can they love others? If they don’t have respect for themselves, why would they respect anyone else and their property? So it doesn’t bother them to steal or kill. They don’t love their neighbors because they don’t love themselves.”

Attaining a healthy self-image requires that you see yourself as God sees you—as a valuable person He created and loves. It’s important to understand that “self” can mean a couple of things. It can mean “the person God created you to be” which is good, or it can mean “having a selfish attitude” which is bad. When Jesus said to hate your own life, He meant to hate selfishness, not the person God created you to be. The Lord wants you to love yourself as His creation and child, but to hate your selfish attitudes.

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

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The "Future Time Zone" in Your Mind

In the devotional below I talked about the “time zones” in your mind and how your thoughts can drift to the past.  Your mind can also travel in the other direction to the future.  Worry sends your mind ahead so you’ll agonize about the horrible things that might happen. Maybe you’re thinking, “The future scares me.  What if there’s a world war?  What if the economy collapses?”

Worry is the belief that the worst will happen to you.  Hope is the belief that the best will happen to you.  Which one do you think God wants you to do—worry or hope? Jesus specifically told His followers to not worry.  He said, “Do not keep worrying.” (Luke 12:29)

Studies show that 92% of things we worry about will never happen.  I know what you’re thinking.  “What about the other 8%?”  The other 8% will either not be as bad as you think, or God will give you the grace to get through them.  That takes care of everything you’re worried about.

If you are worried, it’s because you’re not trusting God to be in control of your circumstances and take care of you.  You cannot worry about the future and trust God at the same time.  Here are 3 things reasons why you can look forward to the future.

1. God exists in the future.  God is “I AM” the eternally existent one (Ex. 3:14), which means He is not bound by time and He exists in the future.  Tomorrow when you get there, God will be waiting there to welcome you.  It doesn’t matter what the world is like tomorrow.  If God is there, you don’t need to worry.

2. God has good plans for your future.  The prophet Jeremiah said, “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11).  He has plans for His followers, too.  We don’t know what they may be, but we do know they are good plans to give us hope.  Hope for tomorrow displaces worry.

3. God promises to take care of those who put Him first. Jesus made this promise: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).  If you will seek Him as your highest priority, He promises to provide all your needs. 

My book The Sure Cure for Worry will be published in August 2013, which will explain why people worry and will give solid evidence that God is in control and can be trusted completely.

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

Coming in April 2013: Slaying Your Giants by Kent Crockett (Hendrickson Publishers)