How do I look?

What do I say?

Do I go to church regularly?

Am I in a small group Bible study?

Am I serving at church?

We often focus on the outside and the activities on our calendars.

What other people see.

But God focuses on the inside – our hearts, our minds and our souls.

In Matthew 23, Jesus calls the Pharisees hypocrites because, on the outside they look clean and nice, but on the inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

Wow!  Self- indulgence.  That’s the American dream, isn’t it?  To have what we want when we want it.  It’s obviously not God’s dream for us.

Jesus commands the Pharisees to clean up the inside and then the outside will also be clean.

Going to church is good – unless we’re just there to see and be seen.

Being a part of a small group Bible study is good unless it turns into a social club not centered on growing our relationship with God.  I’ve known about small groups that have turned into gossip cliques filled with negativity and judgement of others – especially the leadership of their church.  That is the total opposite of the purpose they should fill in our lives.

Serving at church is good as long as we balance it so we still have time to spend with God to grow our personal relationship with him.  God ‘busyness’ can easily distract us from what God really desires – our attention.

When we give God the chance to work in our lives, he always starts on the inside – redeeming our souls, changing our thoughts, opening and softening our hearts.  When we are in a close relationship with God, we don’t have to worry about the outside.  As God transforms what’s inside of us, it gradually begins to show on the outside.

How much transformation have you experienced this last month?  This last year?

Please open our hearts to you, Abba Father.