Matthew 7:21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
Jesus has just warned His disciples to watch out for false prophets, those who claim to be followers of the Lord, but fail to follow through in their actions. To illustrate this point, He contends that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit nor a bad tree, good fruit; the "bad apples" are to be avoided as their presence and motives among the "good apples" can spoil the whole bunch. Those who are fully committed to doing God's will and who strive daily to do so cannot possibly produce anything other than good fruits in their lives and in the lives of others.
Where, in today's society, do you see evidence of "bad apples" in the church? Who are the self-proclaimed prophets paying lip-service to the Lord, yet leading many well-meaning and trusting Christians down the wrong path? Are there churches with political or social agendas that are preaching something other than salvation through Christ? Closer to home, have you, yourself, ever had the devastating experience of belonging to a church where you felt the priest or pastor betrayed you or the congregation in some way?
Let us pray today for all clergy in every corner of the globe that they might be faithful servants of our Lord Jesus Christ and unwaveringly committed to doing the will of the Heavenly Father. May their "Lord, Lord" bear good fruit!
Readings
Psalms 101, 109:1-4 (5-19) 20-30 or 119:121-144
2 Kings 18:9-25
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Matthew 7:13-21
Prayer for our clergy across all denominations is the need of the hour, Martha.
ReplyDeleteAnd we need to stay on guard not to become our own bad apples. Thanks, Martha! Great thoughts for today.
ReplyDeleteto some extent i wish to be a bad apple if i can spoil the lot to follow Jesus. and i have known those of whom you speak who preach their own glory not gods. good post god bless
ReplyDeleteThey are everywhere, sadly. Great post.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for stopping by today!
ReplyDelete@Corinne - thank you for prayers lifted.
@Hank - Yes, we must be reflective of our own attitudes and outlooks as we continue the Christian journey.
@Roy - Yes! Spoil them for Jesus! I love it!
@Rachel - they are and are in desperate need of our prayers.
Blessings to all!
I pray this simple prayer.
ReplyDelete"Lord, deliver us from blind leaders of the blind." He knows who I mean, even when I don't;-)
Debra, that is perfectly expressed! I just now prayed those same words. May God have mercy on all who are at the mercy of these.
ReplyDeleteBlessings! :)
Wonderful thoughts Martha. Like all of us, members of the clergy are human, and therefore subject to mistakes in judgment and sin as well. We need to keep them in prayer, that God will strengthen them against such misgivings, and work through them to help guide us to His path.
ReplyDeleteHave a Blessed Day!
Bad apples make awful vinegar...I have no idea what that means!! :-)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, you're hit it right on the head and let it begin with us...let's all resolve to be the Sweet Fragrance of Jesus!