Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule: Esther 1-2; Luke 12
Devotional Thought:
Title: “Avoiding Carnality”
As a crowd, unable to be counted, began to gather, Jesus addresses with his disciples the issue of hypocrisy. “Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” (vs. 1) Jesus immediately addresses the things that are seemingly done in secret, but will be revealed in the light. “For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.” (vs. 2-3) The Pharisees had a facade that they created to make people think they loved God and wanted to serve Him. However, the truth was that they had a self-serving agenda. They often had a conspiracy regarding how they could kill Jesus as He would expose their carnal agendas and confront their deceitful practices. Jesus tells his disciples not to fear them who can simply kill the body and then there is nothing more they can do. He encourages these precious disciples to fear the one who has power over the soul. We have a responsibility to exalt the Lord in our conversation, behavior, and motives. God knows every detail of our lives and He will never be fooled, deceived, or manipulated. He knows our hearts motivation, thoughts, and actions. We must make it a priority to confess Christ before men, and in return Christ promises to confess us before the angels in heaven. However, if any person denies salvation in Christ, of which the Holy Spirit of God convinces a person, that person cannot be saved and will never have his sins forgiven. Jesus concludes this chapter by dealing with the sin of covetousness. “And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” Mark Twain once defined civilization as “a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities,” and he was right. In fact, many Christians are infected with covetousness and do not know it. Jesus tells the story of a man who sought to get more stuff. It amazes me how easy it is in America to simply get more stuff. Yet we know that when we die, we will leave all the stuff we have accumulated behind. We often forfeit that which really matters and will last on the altar of immediate satisfaction. Covetousness is an unquenchable thirst for getting more and more of something we think we need in order to be truly satisfied. It may be a thirst for money or the things that money can buy, or even a thirst for position and power. Jesus made it clear that true life does not depend on an abundance of possessions. He did not deny that we have certain basic needs. He only affirmed that we will not make life richer by acquiring more of these things. Many people think that Paul’s admonition in 1 Timothy 6 applies only to the “rich and famous.” However, measured by the living standards of the rest of the world, most believers in America are indeed wealthy people. We must beware of covetousness and hypocrisy.
Personal Requests:
• Lord, please help me to have a heart that is pure in its motives, thoughts, and actions. May I love you more each day and seek to please you with my whole heart.
• Lord, please help me to be content in what I have in Christ. Please help me to see the things of this world honestly and may my heart be guarded against the lies of our world regarding needing more stuff.