From: "Phil Rembleski" <PHIl@rescuechurchofchrist.org>
To: "1111RESCUEMEMBERS"
Sent: Wed, Aug 24, 2022 at 4:44 AM
Subject: 8-24-22 THOUGHTS
8-24-22 THOUGHTS
The morning’s thoughts come from our Sunday auditorium class on the sermon on the mount. We don’t like to think negatively, but sometimes we must. God’s Word is a challenge for us to rise above this world. The Scribes and Pharisees developed a religion of rules and regulations. Their motives were wrong, wishing the praise of men rather than God. It was “their system”, not God’s. They focused on the OUTSIDE, and Jesus worried about their INSIDE! They took the upper place, and found no place for HUMILITY. Truly, their world was about THEMSELVES! Jesus told them “You have your reward”! There are many subtle ways to get involved in this backwards thinking. All of them have to do with THE SELF and THIS WORLD! Lift us up, O God, lift us up!
Matt 5:20 "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses [that] of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 23:2-5 saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. 4 "They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.
Matt 23:23-28 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 "You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 "You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. 27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 "So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Luke 6:45 "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil [man] out of the evil [treasure] brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.
Jas 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
My Prayer:
O God, may we live before you with single minds and pure hearts. Strengthen our spirits with your Spirit. Sober us, awaken us, that we may truly be alive in the spirit. Arouse a zeal motivated by love, so that we would bear more fruit and reach out to more souls. Help us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Keep our minds seeking the application of love.
In the name of Jesus Amen.