Reminder - Follow the Leader

Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. "Listen," he said,“and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”  Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?” 

Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”
Matthew 15:10-13 NLT

The Pharisees thought they could live righteously by their works - all the dos and don'ts. A religious sect that set itself up as leaders,  nobody wanted to cross them. They had connections. They could get you thrown out of the temple. They had such power over the people that Christ's own disciples asked Him, "Do you realize you offended the Pharisees...?"

We sometimes wonder how people like this get into leadership. They dress the part, they pontificate, they're educated by the world's standard, or just very enigmatic, so people listen to them and then follow them. The Godly principle of 'Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word' doesn't only work through hearing the Word of God. God's principles work and apply in all facets of life.

So, what are you listening to? WHO are you listening to? If you think it doesn't make a difference, think about this. Have you ever noticed that you pick up your friends' idioms? Do you catch yourself using expressions your friends use? What you hang around - what you feed your spirit - what you constantly hear and or listen to - these are the influences of your heart and soul. That is why we are repeatedly warned to guard our hearts.

Further down in our text for today, verses 16-20; “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you."

Scripture tells us in Proverbs 16:25, There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. God refers to us as sheep and sheep follow the voice of the one they know - the one whose voice is familiar. Who are you following? Because whoever you're following - that's your leader. Where is that person going? Is it the right way or a way that seems like it is? Watch out for the ditch...if you can see it.

Prayer:

Father,
             Open our eyes and hearts to Your Truth. Deliver us from evil for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Following After

     Listen, dear friends, to God’s truth, bend your ears to what I tell you. I’m chewing on the morsel of a proverb; I’ll let you in on the sweet old truths, stories we heard from our fathers, counsel we learned at our mother’s knee. We’re not keeping this to ourselves, we’re passing it along to the next generation - God’s fame and fortune, the marvelous things he has done.
     He planted a witness in Jacob, set his Word firmly in Israel, then commanded our parents to teach to their children so the next generation would know, and all the generations to come - Know the truth and tell the stories so their children can trust in God, never forget the works of God but keep his commands to the letter.
Psalm 78:1-7 The Message

I've been reminiscing for the last 10 days or so. Another of my friends passed away and his service was this evening. He was about 15 years older than me and we swapped stories for several days in the last two weeks of his life. I thought I knew quite a bit about him, but I found out tonight, I'd only discovered just below the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. I knew he'd had a full life, a faithful wife who preceded him in death who he loved until HIS last breath, and that his was an intentional life. He lived with purpose.

His one concern was that perhaps he had not left a path clear enough for his daughter and granddaughter to see their way to Jesus. I told him if that path - however short or long - led him to Christ then it was clear enough for them to see and we prayed that their eyes and hearts would be wide open to see what God had for them.

We must be intentional about teaching our next generations about Jesus. We cannot leave it to this world to teach them. We must lead the way for those who are watching where we're going. Judges 2:7 tells us, And the Israelites served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the leaders who outlived him—those who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. Then Joshua died and they buried him and in verse 10 we read, After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. One generation was all it took and they were separated from God - doing evil in His sight. 

So, the question is, are we following after that which will cause those who are following after us to follow after Christ?

Prayer:

Father,

           Forgive us for ever misstep we have made along the way. According to Your Word, please make straight the way and plain the path so that we can leave good imprints as we follow You and our generations follow after. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen