For the second day Selwyn continues to discuss his fifth life conviction: deep spiritual change comes not so much from the outside in, but from the inside out.
His theme for today is that our behaviour, in what we do – reading the Bible o our prayer life – may give the external appearance that our spiritual lives are in order but internally there could be many issues that need to be addressed.
The Scripture recommended for reading and meditation is Matthew 23:23-29, verses 27 & 28, follows: ‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrities! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.’
The point, I think, Selwyn is making is that we can present ourselves to others as being followers of Jesus but on the inside we can be following our own independent desires. Another aspect which Selwyn highlights, in the following: ‘ … there are some people whose concept of God is such that they believe He will not become real to them unless they are continually jumping through one spiritual hoop after another.’ Perhaps, these works-based people don’t really understand the depth of God’s love. There is nothing anyone can do to earn God’s love – He first loved us. Out of appreciation of what God has done for us, we will ‘naturally’ try to love God and our neighbour – with all our heart, mind and strength.
As I mentioned yesterday, looking ‘naturally’ good on the inside is not something we can do by ourselves. Ezekiel 36: 25-27; “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from your all your idols (today – idols are anything which take our attention away from God – consumerism is a prime example). I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put ‘my’ Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
I believe that when we invite Jesus into our heart and hand over the driver’s seat to Him then His Spirit within us will move us to follow His will – do you agree?
‘Whitewashed tombs’
For the second day Selwyn continues to discuss his fifth life conviction: deep spiritual change comes not so much from the outside in, but from the inside out.
His theme for today is that our behaviour, in what we do – reading the Bible o our prayer life – may give the external appearance that our spiritual lives are in order but internally there could be many issues that need to be addressed.
The Scripture recommended for reading and meditation is Matthew 23:23-29, verses 27 & 28, follows: ‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrities! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.’
The point, I think, Selwyn is making is that we can present ourselves to others as being followers of Jesus but on the inside we can be following our own independent desires. Another aspect which Selwyn highlights, in the following: ‘ … there are some people whose concept of God is such that they believe He will not become real to them unless they are continually jumping through one spiritual hoop after another.’ Perhaps, these works-based people don’t really understand the depth of God’s love. There is nothing anyone can do to earn God’s love – He first loved us. Out of appreciation of what God has done for us, we will ‘naturally’ try to love God and our neighbour – with all our heart, mind and strength.
As I mentioned yesterday, looking ‘naturally’ good on the inside is not something we can do by ourselves. Ezekiel 36: 25-27; “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from your all your idols (today – idols are anything which take our attention away from God – consumerism is a prime example). I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put ‘my’ Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
I believe that when we invite Jesus into our heart and hand over the driver’s seat to Him then His Spirit within us will move us to follow His will – do you agree?