Timeless Truths. Does Your Cover Match Your Content?
From my Men’s Breakfast Devotion/September 23, 2017, at
But it applies equally to EVERYONE.
•My first published book was Traveler’s HOT L.
The publisher sent me 10 “complimentary” copies…
…pretty much vanity copies
…to show off around.
I opened each one.
The last one I opened must have been the first one of the ten printed.
The cover was the sign for Traveler’s HOT L.
The inside was…
…another author’s book!
I found out that sometimes happens when the queue for printing for a digital printer is long.
Needless to say, I did not give that one away!
You might be asking yourself,
“What’s all that got to do with me?”
I’m glad you asked!
Let’s look at what Jesus had to say about this cover vs. content situation.
Matthew 23:27-28
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.
In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
Whoa! That’s pretty harsh.
The entire 23rd chapter of Matthew is dedicated to hypocrisy.
Actually, it’s ALL Jesus speaking against hypocrisy.
In truth, these verses are “middle of the road” in tone.
Characteristics of Hypocrites
Verse 3 Do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
Verse 5 Everything they do is done for people to see:
Verse 6 They love the place of honor at banquets.
Verse 7 They love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces.
What You Should Strive For
Verse 11 The greatest among you will be your servant.
Verse 12 Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Seven Woes to Avoid
Verses 13-29 records Jesus’ words to
“Teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!”
Pharisees were the pillars of the church in Jesus’ day.
Put your name in the space instead of Pharisee to gain perspective
Descriptive Terms Used by Christ
Verses 13/15/23/25/27/29 | Verse 19 |
Hypocrites! | Blind men! |
Verses 16/24 | Verse 33 |
Blind guides! | Snakes/Brood of vipers |
Verse 17 | |
Blind fools! |
Remember the Key Verses?
27 Whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
We’ve all put on a special cover on our content sometime or another
- While dating - clean vs "sniff test"
- For a job interview - dress code and jargon
- When there's company in your home - you get the idea
- Other times?
The problem comes when we try to sell our cover as our content to those who know us.
Only God can bring the change in life that is required to have our content match our cover.
Some of you reading this today who know their content doesn’t match the cover people see.
Ask Christ to come and cleanse your tomb of dead, unclean things in your life.
When you cleanse your content, your cover changes from a whitewashed tomb to a temple for God.
Tomb or Temple?
What’s on your cover?
Does it match your content?
If not, today’s the day to realign them!
Next Timeless Truths: Right Living 101
My website is: www.crdowning.com
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