Today’s Reading: Luke 11:37–13:17

I guess one would expect Jesus to be repulsed by hypocrisy, seeing He said, “I am … the truth”! So He pronounces three woes on the Pharisees! There must be some connection between the three? – or are they in effect in the sum of what characterizes hypocrisy?

I cringe at Jesus pointing out that the lawyers load down people with burdens… without lifting a finger to help – I pray God that that is not what I am doing when I speak from the Word of God!

Then I smile at the Pharisees and teachers of the law trying to trap Jesus – I believe the expression “an exercise in frustration” describes that adequately enough!

Hypocrisy does have that characteristic doesn’t it? – everyone else can see it except me, the hypocrite!

And probably the next paragraph is – getting priorities straight! The fear is probably the idea of respecting God and allowing His opinion to control me and acknowledging Him before others in life – and what a reward that brings! What care He takes of me and His knowledge of me escalates to the point of numbering my hairs – astonishing! – giving me answers when under pressure – fills me with joy – but do I really know anything of that?!

Obviously greed is the cancer of the soul, and forgetting how temporal things are – a serious fault! But He, My Father gives His provision so bountifully and in all areas of daily needs and asks me to lay up treasures in heaven by letting go of what this world craves for and won’t let go of. But He tells me the secret, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” So where has my heart been today?!!!

God is a faithful God and He loves faithfulness – so His exhortation to be always on the watch. I have noticed with uneasiness that if a servant is not a wise and faithful servant doing what he is supposed to be doing (feeding others at the proper time!), then he is likely to be beating up others! – Do I actually beat up my brothers and sisters?!

Then it seems to me, the crunch line comes, so to speak, and as the truth comes to the surface in life, it causes division at a very basic level. Jesus says that they might be able to predict the weather, then why do they not recognize right and wrong? And the seriousness is that sometimes, one can cross over the point of no return without realizing it! Therefore it is needful to repent – which we all need to recognize the personal need to do! Who knows if I only have “one year” left like the fig tree!

And then like yesterday, we finish off with a wonderful story of a woman – a woman being set free to walk upright and free again (I’m glad for His grace in my life too), but filled with sorrow that the synagogue ruler can’t see the blessing for his BIG rule! I love to think that the Bible is logical (God’s logic!) and I wouldn’t have the faintest idea of how to answer Jesus if I were the synagogue ruler and I join in with the ordinary people and love to see Jesus’ opponents humiliated and I too am DELIGHTED with all the wonderful things that Jesus was doing (“both in word and deed”)! You, dear Lord, are truly so wonderfully GLORIOUS!