PAY ATTENTION TO THE HEART: OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL, 15TH DECEMBER 2018.

MEMORISE:

Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Matthew 23:28

READ:  Matthew 23:24-28

24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

MESSAGE

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Matthew 22:39

For us not to lose our reward from God, we need to pay close attention to the words He uses when He speaks to us. The words in the above scripture say, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself” and not “Acts as though you love your neighbor as you love yourself” 

 have come to observe that the Christian life of many professed Christian has become a stage play. They act out characters that are completely different from who really are. If God was to show the state of your heart to those you relate with, will they still see you the same way you have always portrayed yourself to be?

God not recognize humility by how many people you call “sir” or “ma”; He looks into your heart to see if you have a humble heart. He does not recognize love by the sweet words you say; He checks your intentions. 

God cannot be received, and even if you deceive your pastor, my God sees your heart and knows those who are His and those who are not (2 timothy 2:19). I wonder why a person will try to look holy when looking holy does not count at all before God? Looking holy will not take anyone to heaven, but being holy will. 

Which is most important to you: how God sees you or how your fellow human beings see you? To me, it does not matter how holy people say I am; I am only interested in what my God says. Sometime ago, at a Christian conference, the organizers asked that soft music be played while we all mediate. 

While meditating, I went into a trance and saw myself in a place that looked like the throne room of God. All the angels were so pure that they were transparent, and I looked extremely dirty in their midst. When I got out of that trance, I determined that if I was to enter that room again in a trance, I would not look the way I saw myself that day. 

I was already a holiness preacher by then, and people all around said I was holy man, but that did not matter to me. All that matters to me now is how Jesus sees me. Stop pretending to be holy; rather, live a holy life for real!

On the other hand, some people dress and act like unbelievers, and then they turn around to say their outward appearance does not matter, because God looks inward. This is true, but what is on the inside will show on the outside. 

Stop deceiving yourself; if you like to look and talk like an unbeliever, then you are just the same as them. It is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). Your outward life needs to reflect the transformation you claim has occurred inside your heart. Is your life reflecting this transformation?

ACTION POINT:

Pay attention to how God sees you and not what people think of you.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  Hosea 5-9

John 11:44-12:8

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 12: TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE

1.Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise,
Let them flow in endless praise.

2.Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

3.Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.

4. Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose,
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

5. Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

6. Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.