1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: Life Audio. 2 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 2: You're listening to Everyday Prayers with Million Praying Moms, helping 3 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:20,959 Speaker 2: you pray God's word for your family in the areas 4 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 2: you need it most. 5 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:23,920 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Nicolette Bell. 6 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 2: Here we believe prayer isn't a last resort. It's our 7 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:30,560 Speaker 2: first and best response in parenting, and every day we 8 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:32,720 Speaker 2: come together to partner with God for the hearts of 9 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 2: our children. Today's devotion is written read by me, Nicolette Bell, 10 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 2: and we're going to talk about having a pure witness 11 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 2: in front of our children. To learn more about the 12 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 2: ministry of Million Praying Moms, visit Millionprayingmoms dot com. You 13 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 2: can find a link in our show notes. After a 14 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 2: quick word from our sponsors, we'll pray together for our children. 15 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 2: Matthew twenty three one through twelve. Then Jesus said to 16 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 2: the crowds and to his disciples, the teachers of religious 17 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:08,480 Speaker 2: law in the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the 18 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 2: law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, 19 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:16,039 Speaker 2: but don't follow their example, for they don't practice what 20 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 2: they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and 21 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:24,759 Speaker 2: never lift a finger to ease the burden. Everything they 22 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 2: do is for show on their arms. They wear extra 23 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:32,119 Speaker 2: wide prayer boxes with scripture verses inside, and they wear 24 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,680 Speaker 2: robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit 25 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 2: at the head table at the banquets and in the 26 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 2: seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive 27 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 2: respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to 28 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 2: be called rabbi. Don't let anyone call you rabbi, for 29 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 2: you have only one teacher, and all of you are 30 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 2: equal as brothers and sisters. And don't address anyone here 31 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 2: on earth as father, for only God in Heaven is 32 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 2: your father. And don't let anyone call you teacher, for 33 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,720 Speaker 2: you have only one teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among 34 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 2: you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves 35 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 2: will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. 36 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 2: It's normal to look up to others, but we have 37 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:22,080 Speaker 2: to be careful about who we're looking up to and 38 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 2: what they are teaching us. Jesus knew the religious teachers 39 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 2: of his day didn't deserve the people's respect. To really 40 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 2: drive this point home, Jesus ripped off these teacher's mask 41 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 2: and publicly exposed their hypocrisy. He went so far as 42 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 2: to tell everyone to practice what the religious leaders were teaching, 43 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 2: but not to imitate their actual lifestyles and attitude. Jesus 44 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 2: identified three basic flaws of the hypocritical religion practiced by 45 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 2: these religious leaders. First of all, the religious leaders were fake. 46 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 2: They don't practice what they teach. Second, they were insincere. 47 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 2: They crushed people with an unbearable religious demand and never 48 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 2: lift a finger to ease the burden. And third, they 49 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 2: showed no humility. Everything they do is for show. 50 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: The scripture says. 51 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,280 Speaker 2: These men wore oversized prayer boxes along with extra long 52 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:19,960 Speaker 2: tassels on their robes, all intended to call attention to 53 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,800 Speaker 2: their piety while they sat at the best seats at 54 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 2: the table. They didn't seek after God. They sought after 55 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 2: power and the affirmation of other people. They wanted to 56 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 2: be above others at any cost. Jesus tells us not 57 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 2: to allow others to set us on a pedestal, but 58 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 2: to push ourselves off that pedestal, lift others up, and 59 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 2: imitate him. After all, humans are valuable. We all make mistakes, 60 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 2: but Jesus's example will never lead us in the wrong direction. 61 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 2: We should never place reverence of man before reverence of God. 62 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:55,720 Speaker 2: This makes me think of an encounter with my daughter 63 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 2: a couple weeks back. I have a four year old Josie, 64 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 2: and we were sitting around the dinner table and I said, darn. 65 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 2: I said the word darn, and she begins to repeat it, 66 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:12,560 Speaker 2: and she says it something in like a funny sentence 67 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,839 Speaker 2: about her food. She says, these darn crackers or something 68 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:18,360 Speaker 2: like that. And I said, oh, I don't think we're 69 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:20,360 Speaker 2: really going to say that word. And she said, Mommy, 70 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:22,599 Speaker 2: you said that word. And I went, oh, gosh, yeah, 71 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 2: I guess I did. And it's just not really cute 72 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:28,239 Speaker 2: coming out of a four year old little girl's mouth. 73 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 2: So she has become the darn police we say in 74 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 2: our house, and anytime you say that, she is telling you, 75 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:37,479 Speaker 2: don't say that. 76 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:38,159 Speaker 1: Don't say that. 77 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 2: The other day, instead of saying darn, I said oh man, 78 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 2: oh man, and she said, Mama, don't say oh man. 79 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,360 Speaker 2: Don't say oh man. And I looked at her and 80 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:50,920 Speaker 2: I was like, I'm allowed to say oh man. There 81 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:55,159 Speaker 2: is nothing wrong with saying oh man. But this is 82 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 2: such a reminder to me that her little eyes are 83 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:01,800 Speaker 2: watching me, and her ears are listening to me. We 84 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:06,159 Speaker 2: are the examples for our children, and one of the 85 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:09,240 Speaker 2: most powerful gifts we can give our children is a 86 00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 2: pure and genuine witness. I don't want to be like 87 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 2: the Pharisees, these religious leaders that Jesus was describing, that 88 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 2: everything they did was for show and that they were insincere. 89 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 1: They weren't fake. 90 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,800 Speaker 2: There's so much research out there that points to the 91 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:31,479 Speaker 2: faith of a child coming together because of a faithful 92 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:35,920 Speaker 2: witness of their parents. If their parents' faith is insincere, 93 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 2: the child is much more statistically likely to walk away 94 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 2: from the faith. So I want to be a humble example, 95 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 2: a genuine example of a christ follower to my daughter 96 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:52,160 Speaker 2: and to my son. And I know that you want 97 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 2: the same thing, And we have good news today. The 98 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 2: Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness and allows us 99 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,159 Speaker 2: to be that example to our children. Now, we won't 100 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:05,040 Speaker 2: get it right all the time right, but we can 101 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 2: be quick to ask for forgiveness and to point out 102 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:09,919 Speaker 2: the areas that we struggle with our kids, and to 103 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,160 Speaker 2: continue to grow and become more like Jesus so that 104 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 2: we can point them in. 105 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:15,039 Speaker 1: The right direction. 106 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:19,840 Speaker 2: Let's pray together God, it's a shame to have the 107 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:24,720 Speaker 2: right words but the wrong heart. Remind me always of 108 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:27,719 Speaker 2: who you want me to be. Please help me to 109 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:31,160 Speaker 2: always be honest with myself and others, and to keep 110 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 2: my heart in. 111 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: The right place. 112 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 2: I pray that I would have the strength to continually 113 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:39,360 Speaker 2: step down to lift other people up, and help me 114 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 2: to help my children do the same. It's in Jesus' name, 115 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:46,520 Speaker 2: we pray amen. May is the month to celebrate moms, 116 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:49,200 Speaker 2: and we've updated our mom shop just in time with 117 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 2: some of our favorite resources. Be sure to check out 118 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,839 Speaker 2: our updated shop at Million Praying Moms dot com, forward 119 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:58,920 Speaker 2: slash shop, or click shop from our homepage. 120 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:00,159 Speaker 1: Until next time. 121 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,280 Speaker 2: Time, friends, the Lord bless you and keep you. Make 122 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:06,560 Speaker 2: his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. 123 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 2: May the Lord look with favor on you and give 124 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:09,480 Speaker 2: you peace.