Brood of Vipers

The sincere examine their faith. We realize there is a lot of ground to gain with God. We go to our Bibles and our knees.  Getting to where our hearts long to be takes change. The road that leads closer to Christ is narrow.  We will need to learn to use every tool available to us. Particularly the attitude that allows us to learn.

John was baptizing people who wanted to come closer to God.  The Pharisees came to see what all the fuss was about.  John saw them. The same Spirit that moved him to speak and to baptize showed him the false state of their hearts. They were a religious crowd. But they were nowhere close to realizing their need for Christ or drawing nearer to God. Are there any Pharisees around us today?

Every time humans lump into groups, we risk confusing our objectives. People who lose sight of approaching God with our religion will come. They will push all kinds of standards and doctrines until our faith consists only of fanfare. It will take honesty and a humble spirit. But we can check if what we want to gain from our faith is truly Christ. We can side-step the vipers and keep our focus on the Lord. The more vibrant our walk with God is, the safer we will be. Pray that we can close the gap that easily grows between us and the Lord. Take a step closer each day. The rewards will pay out over eternity.

Dear Jesus, Open our hearts to see deception, wherever it may creep in. Help us come to You with everything. For our faith to be real, make it personal—between You and us. Then help us keep it that way from now on. In Your name, we pray, Amen.