April 7, 2024 - Matthew 15:12-14

“Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?” Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.” Matthew 15:12-14 NLT

Jesus, make us more like you. You were not here to please people, but to please your Father and do his will. You didn’t try to appease the religious leaders whose desire was to follow the rules rather than having a heart to know you. Lord, help us not to be a follower of religion with its list of do’s and don’ts, but to be true followers of you who don’t live for the approval of others, but live to please you.

Lord, show us the places in our lives that we have not fully submitted to you. Where is there still darkness in us? Where are we walking blindly? We don’t want to wander around in the darkness and stumble into a ditch, and we certainly don’t want anyone else to follow us into the same ditch. We want to be walking closely to you in all we do. We want anyone to be able to follow us and learn from us, and in doing so be drawn closer to you. You have called us to be a shining light that draws others to you. Help us walk that path. Be constantly purifying us and getting out the impurities that are not a good example to others. We don’t want to be hypocrites that say we believe one thing and then live in a way that is an example of the opposite. We will fail in this along the way, so when we do mess up, please let us quickly see it and apologize. Lord, we not only want to apologize to you, but to anyone who saw us make that mistake. Help us choose the humble road so they can see an example of making things right. Help us to always choose you and your ways over our sinful desires and what others think of us.

In Jesus name, amen.