Prayer Guide and Devotional – April 29, 2025
Matthew 23:27-28
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
| Jesus is, once again, dealing with the scribes (Jewish religious lawyers) and Pharisees (Jewish religious leaders and teachers). Jesus is telling the people how the scribes and Pharisees are bad and not to do as they say. Here, Jesus describes them as whitewashed tombs. A tomb is a building or vault for burial of dead bodies that is elaborately designed. These very fancy small buildings looked very glamorous and beautiful with fine art work and were often painted white. Outside they looked so great. But inside, they only contained the bones of the dead. Jesus compared these scribes and Pharisees to these glorious tombs containing the dead. The scribes and Pharisees would dress so elaborate and fancy. But, as Jesus tells us, inside they were spiritually dead to to ways of the Lord. Though they were religious leaders, they should have been so strong and one with God. But they were far from living life according to the Lord’s rules and laws. The scribes and Pharisees were gloriously dressed but inside spiritually dead. Jesus speaks of their lawlessness and hypocrisy (Greek for actor). They acted as if they were thinking of the people’s best spiritual interests, but in reality they were abusing the people and living off the people’s generosity. Lord, I ask that Jesus and Your Holy Spirit are living inside me and helping me live my every breath and every moment for You. Don’t ever allow me to be like the scribes and Pharisees that look like they were one with You but in reality were far from You. I ask every word from my mouth and every thought in my mind be pleasing to You! Unlike the religious leaders, help me carry the love of Lord Jesus in my heart everyday and help me to show it to the world. In Jesus name, amen!! Do you have a Bible verse you want shared and explained? Just hit “Reply” to today’s Daily Devotional and tell us what verse is on your heart!! Prayer Requests! Please pray for a young man who has been an addict for most of his life. He got clean and stayed that way for 2 years and gave his life to Christ. A bad relationship break-up and he has slipped back into addiction…him and millions of others. Pray for Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly. His esophagus cancer has returned. May FCFI Prayer Guide Send prayer request to:mdjones11@att.net Visit the FCFI website! Connect with us on Facebook or Instagram. |
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