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Monday, July 18, 2016

Monday Morning Devo - Lord, Lord?


“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV

Not all of Jesus's sayings are easy to swallow. Sometimes we sugar-coat his words to make them more palatable to the general public. In these verses He was speaking to the public--this is part of the Sermon on the Mount (beginning at Chapter 5).

What did He consider lawlessness? Well, in this sermon He did seem to concentrate mainly on greed and thinking more highly of ourselves than others. Maybe the lack of love, forgiveness, and generosity? Consider the ten commandments:
1. God comes first, last, and always.
2. No other gods period. Not money, not fame, not earthly treasures of any sort.
3. No swearing, especially using His name for a cussword.
4. Keep the Sabbath day holy. Holy means set apart; in this case set apart to rest our bodies and renew our spirits.
5. Honor your parents. Even when you don't feel like it.
6. Don't murder.
7. Don't sleep with anyone you're not married to.
8. Don't steal anything.
9. Don't tell lies about people. (Includes gossiping!)
10. Don't go giving your thoughts free rein about getting someone else's spouse, servant, gorgeous house or car, animals, ner nuthin!

Do you ever feel like God is too picky? That He demands too much of you? That His laws are too strict to obey all the time?

Well, Jesus said those ten could be narrowed down to the two main ones: Love God first, last, and always; and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. Not the kind of love where you stare awestruck at your image in the mirror, but the kind where you see a need in your neighbor and give till it helps.

Satisfy those two laws, and I know He'll be gazing in pride at you, not saying He never even knew you.

Lord, Lord--I do love You, although not nearly as much as You deserve. Help me love You more and in the process pass that love along to others. Thank You. Amen.


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