How To Swallow A Camel

• Printable Version - Share on Facebook - Posted by Dion Todd April 28, 2020 - Filed in Devotional - 4,934 views
  You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and unrighteousness. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also. Matthew 23:24 WEB
  
  As the chubby preacher sprinted for the elevator with the offering basket, we thought nothing of it and began to pack up our music equipment for the night. After his long speech, we assumed that he planned to settle up with the rest of us later. We had been brought into a conference as the praise and worship team for a visiting speaker. I was excited to see him, but then He spoke for about forty minutes on giving, told everyone that he had to pay this praise band, pointed back at us, and then told everyone: 'Whatever you were going to give, just double it. I have a lot of expenses to cover here.'
  
  All of us in the band were surprised because we did not usually get paid, though I knew that one of the singers was about to lose his home and could sure use the money. It would have been a blessing, but instead it was a hoax, and once the preacher made it to the elevator, he never mentioned it again. That was really hard for us to get past. We felt used, soiled. He had used us, and our praise and worship, to double his own offering.
  
  Jesus really emphasized what was going on inside of you. People can wear the right clothes, say the right things, and have the right position, but their inside can be full of all types of hidden sin. Like 'whitewashed tombs" (Matthew 23:27), beautiful on the outside, but the inside is full of dead bones.
  
  God wants to clean the inside of you first, and the outside will become beautiful naturally. There are things in my life that He is still cleaning. It is an ongoing process, and a beautiful person can still make themselves ugly. Also once clean does not mean forever clean. If you get weak and yield to it again, it can come back. 'The dog turns to his own vomit again, and the sow that has washed to wallowing in the mire' (2 Peter 2:22).
  
  Let God point these things out to you and deal with them as He brings them to the surface. We each have our struggles in this life, but He is faithful to deliver us from them all when we work with Him. The way to swallow a camel is to nit pick over the smallest religious detail in others, and ignore the glaring billboard that God is flashing before you.
  
  Prayer: Heavenly Father I thank You for waking me up today. Please cleanse me from the inside out. Remove the things from my life that need to go and fill me with Your presence. Help me see the world through Your eyes, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.
  
  Note: For those participating in the Creation Photography weekly themes, here is this week's challenge: Psalm 126:2 "Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.'" ~ Our next fun theme is 'May There Always Be Laughter' and is open wide for creative interpretation. We encourage you to post anything else that inspires you as well. My photos this week reflect our laughter filled afternoon yesterday. Next time something messy knocks at your door, welcome it in, it just might be that blessing in disguise! Have a wonderful week filled with laughter and joy! Here is the link: Creation Photographers
  
  
  

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