Key Thought

"I can't stand church; those people are nothing but hypocrites!" Yes, it's true. The Church is full of folks who neither walk their talk nor put their life where their mouths are. Sometimes, this is because of weakness -- we're struggling to overcome a sinful past full of addictive and sinful habits. Sometimes, this is because of ignorance -- we haven't learned that what we're doing is sinful. Sometimes, it's because we are hypocrites. Sometimes, we just blow it! Sometimes, folks have never really surrendered to the Lordship of Christ and truly repented and turned their lives over to God. Rather than being discouraged by the weakness among God's people, we must respond in three clear ways. First, we must make sure our lives are on track and fully yielded to Jesus. We want to deal with our own shortcomings before tackling the shortcomings of someone else. Second, we must realize that there will always be pretenders in God's family who are not really what they are pretending to be and God knows their hearts and will judge them accordingly. Third, those who have drifted from the path Jesus is calling them to live need to be restored and we need to help do the restoring! Rather than blame or be ashamed of those among us who are not walking the talk, let's help them learn the joy of living fully for Christ!

Today's Prayer

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Father, I confess that I sometimes get discouraged because some who claim to be your children but don't live by your values or to bring you glory. Instead of the cynicism Satan tries to put into my heart, please stir in me a passion to share the joy of your grace and Lordship so your Church shines brightly with your presence and holiness in the world. Give me a heart to restore, reclaim, and redeem rather than criticize. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure. The man was very happy to find the treasure. He hid the treasure in the field again. The man went and sold everything that he owned to buy that field. "Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a salesman looking for fine pearls. One day the salesman found a very fine pearl. The salesman went and sold everything he had to buy that pearl. "Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was put into the lake. The net caught many different kinds of fish. The net became full, so the fishermen pulled the net to the shore. The fishermen sat down and put all the good fish in baskets. Then they threw away the bad fish. It will be the same at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the evil people from the good people. The angels will throw the evil people into the place of fire. In that place the people will cry and grind their teeth {with pain}." {Then Jesus asked his followers,} "Do you understand all these things?" The followers said, "Yes, we understand." Then Jesus said to the followers, "So every teacher of the law who has been taught {the new things} about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house. He has new things and old things saved in that house. And he brings out those new things with the old things." When Jesus finished teaching with these stories, he left there.

— Matthew 13:44-53 (ERV)

Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.