How Terrible!

Walking on the beach yesterday I stopped at the pier and walked to the jetties and back. What an awesome day. God placed there for me the most perfect day I have enjoyed in quite sometime. I saw the lady out there fishing and thought this to be a nice shot. I changed it to B&W since that is what I was seeing when I shot it. It is so much different seeing in B&W than seeing color. It's a photography thing. :)

"How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed and decorate the graves of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. Then you say, `We never would have joined them in killing the prophets.' In saying that, you are accusing yourselves of being the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead. Finish what they started."

-- Matthew 23:29-32 (NLT)

The Pharisees were the leaders seeking to honor Israel's great prophets of old. They helped erect monuments and place decorations at the tombs of the prophets of old. By their outward actions, they wanted to signify that they held the prophetic tradition in high regard and sought to live by the prophets teachings. But Jesus challenges this assumption, once again on the basis of their outward actions that betrayed an inward reality. Jesus rebuked them and insisted that rather than honoring the teaching and spirit of the great prophets, they will complete the work their fathers did in persecuting and executing the prophets. Of course this will be most clearly demonstrated in their rejection of Jesus, who was not only God's servant and a prophet, but was also God's Son. The challenge for us who live so many years afterJesus' life is to ask ourselves are we the people who would really welcome Jesus into our presence and our churches, or would we reject him like much of the religious bureaucracy of his day?

When I read this this morning my mind filled with so many condemning thoughts. I watch so called Christian church goers on TV being interviewed over the up coming vote on Prop. 2. Their challenge of the the supreme Court nominee for a man who may stand up for right to life issues. Are these not the modern day pharisees? It is such a simple issue, God says these things are a abomination to Him. So what is the issue for a Christian? Listen to men or God?

Almighty and holy God, it makes my blood run cold to see those who were so rigorous in their pursuit of religion living in violation of what they pursued. O Father, I don't want to be like the Pharisees: all show and no substance, much talk and little truth. Please help me purge from my heart the duplicity and deceit that Satan would like to use to turn me away from you and blunt my influence for your Kingdom. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

God bless

Shalom

dns