Time For a Change?

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:23-28 ESV).

So you need a new computer? You need one that will have plenty of hard drive space; lot’s of RAM, a super fast processor, and all the latest in hardware/software innovations? Well here’s a suggestion for you that will cost you nearly nothing! First, find a computer magazine that advertises all the latest systems and machines. Cut out the logo of the new system/computer and glue it over the old model logo on your machine. You know, the ones that say “Intel Pentium Inside” (or whatever the latest logo is). Then find a training manual for the latest operating system with a picture of the newest system environment and tape a picture of the main screen to you monitor. Just like that you will have a new computer!

Foolish thought isn’t it? Yet that’s the very same thing when we try to change our lives from the outside in. Listen tot he words of Jesus in our reading this morning again: Blind Pharisees! First wash the inside of the cup, and then the outside will become clean, too.

Only God can clean you up from the inside out. When we try on our own to "clean up our act" by changing our habits or making resolutions or trying the latest "How To Be an Incredible Person" book, we merely slap on new labels, glue on new attitudes or buy clever accessories, but God still sees our heart. Richard Foster put it this way in his book Celebration of Discipline: "The needed change within us is God's work, not ours. The demand is for an inside job, and only God can work from the inside." To accomplish these we must decide if we will give the Lord free reign in our inner most parts. We must choose to set aside our outward attempts at change, and allow Him to work His change from the inside out. The choice is ours. But if we insist on doing it our way, we will probably continue doing it the same old way, looking good and feeling bad. Is it time for you to “wash the inside of the cup”? Start with a genuine confession and request for the filling of the Holy Spirit in your life. Change from the inside out today!