March 2: Matthew 23-1-12
 
Key Verse: Matthew 23:3
So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
 
Devotion:
One of the things I try to be careful of is to not give out advice if I am not going to be able to follow it myself! I have faced too many people who have said one thing and done another to be very wary of those who do like to shout about all the good things we should be doing!
 
As a young person searching to find out what faith was all about, I visited some churches in which I was disillusioned by the people saying one thing and doing another. Fortunately, I was able to be encouraged by some elder boys in my school who opened up God’s Word and explained how we are each given free choice to do what we want – even if the bible is saying one thing. This allowed me to move on from being disillusioned and find my own faith with God.
 
Things like that tend to stick with you for a very long time and make a very big impact in your life. This is why Jesus was warning the crowds they had to make their own choices to follow God’s Word and not to follow the few teachers who were not doing as they said!
 
Getting caught up in the power of God is something we need to watch for. If we begin to think we can do more than what God is telling us to do, we end up giving out our own advice instead of God’s truth. When we do that, we may well be taking people away from what God wants in their lives and pushing them to what we want in our lives. That sort of power can be appealing, but ultimately very destructive in the church!
 
Points to Ponder:
Do you like telling others about God’s ways?
 
Do you practice what you preach?