Luke 20:47 –
“Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished.”
I had just about picked verse 14 which ends with the parable of the evil farmers who kills the son of the property owner. As I finished this chapter this stabbed me in the heart and led to my using it for my discussion. I have been doing this for many years and when I started the “blog” I figured it would help others. This verse has me stand back and do some soul searching! I really hate public speaking, my public prayers are usually short and to the point, and I try to keep to myself on things.
Well then I started emailing my kids and friends on these “thoughts” each day. When I posted the blog I figured it would help forward the kingdom and deep down I was hoping it would spark a book deal. So now I look at my desires deep down and wonder if my intentions were to be “pious” all along and pump my own knowledge “out there” for all to praise my “works!” That is twisted logic, but when debt is overwhelming and no real sign of relief is in the future one starts grabbing at straws.
I find it interesting peoples view on public prayer; it’s important since it tends to get people on one track and focused. But how many times is it done to make us sound good? This is a difficult question to answer since sometimes you have to dig deep into ones heart before it really gets shown. My hope for you and I is our hearts are in the right place! I pray we are doing this for the true glory of God and not for ours since we will be “severely punished” otherwise!! My intention is to get you excited about reading the Bible thoroughly and to see where the underlying “basis” for many of church “doctrines” comes from. Also, it’s your job to ensure you’re not listening to a false prophet!!