"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!" (Matthew 23:23-24).
Lord, don't let me be a hypocrite or a blind guide. Don't let me be like the Scribes and Pharisees who did everything decently and in order and acted like they obeyed every commandment of Scripture to the letter of the law, but lost Your heart and Your Spirit for people along the way. Their priority became their religion rather than their relationships with You and with the people You called them love and to serve.
"Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, Who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter, but of Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:4-6).
Obedience is important, but not for obedience sake. Obedience is important because You've created us to be fulfilled when our hearts are right. And a heart that focused primarily on the rules instead of the relationship, primarily on law instead of love, primarily on principles instead of people, will never be right in Your Spirit, even if its perfectly right by the letter of the law.
Justice, mercy, and faith; loving God and loving one another; growing in grace for ourselves and others by embracing Your Father heart for each one of us - these are the weightier matters. These are things that matter. So help me keep my priorities straight and my heart right. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Healing Rooms of Lexington Prayer Ministry Team Training, Saturday June 4th. Please send Linda Dulin-Moore a note if you'd like to join us in this ministry: PrayerLead@aol.com (our pastor of prayer ministries and associate director of the Healing Rooms of Lexington). Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested.
Friends, you're invited to our Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Waterford Club House, 6:30-8:30 pm. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org
