Day 281, Year 1 Faithful Faith “The weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.” (Matthew 23:23b NASB) In discussing the weightier provisions of the law, nothing is more striking than “faithfulness” in it. The word “faithfulness,” pistis in Greek, is translated as “faith” multiple times in the New Testament. To Jesus, the […]
Day 282, Year 1 Hypocrites Cannot Really Love God! “But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” (Luke 11:42 NASB) “If anyone
Day 283, Year 1 Straining Out a Gnat “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” (Matthew 23:24 NASB) If the faith of believers can activate miracles from God, then the remarkable thing about the Pharisees, etc., at that time was that they could set God aside and perform miracles with
Day 284, Year 1 Could People Swallow a Camel? “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” (Matthew 23:24 NASB) In my opinion, those who guide blindly, much like those who can swallow a camel, possess extraordinary courage or boldness, don’t you think so? They seem to possess a misguided boldness,
Day 285, Year 1 Woe to Those Who Are Clean Outside But Sinful Inside! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.” (Matthew 23:25 NASB) In today’s verse, the contrast between the sinfulness “inside” and
Day 286, Year 1 The Way of Purification of Life “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.” (Matthew 23:26 NASB) Societies, cultures, friends, families, and education can all nurture sinfulness in human beings. Out of human weakness, it
Day 287, Year 1 The Lord Inside and Outside “You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also?” (Luke 11:40 NASB) Several verses in Luke 11 are very similar to Matthew 23. Among them, Jesus pointed out that the core problem of the Pharisees, etc., was a lack of knowledge
Day 288, Year 1 Giving Alms to Others So As To Be Cleansed “But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean for you.” (Luke 11:41 NASB) Jesus implied that the sins of the Pharisees, etc., stemmed from the love of money. The solution to the problem of greed is
Day 289, Year 1 Reverse Thinking and Actions can Make People Clean “But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean for you.” (Luke 11:41 NASB) From one single statement by Jesus, we can see how believers should deal with the impurities in our lives. Basically, Jesus’ prescription is to
Day 290, Year 1 Ugly Reality “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” (Matthew 23:27 NKJV) Jesus called the hypocrites in the above verse, who were cleanly clothed and knew the law, “whitewashed
