Today’s Community Scripture – 1/29/2025

“I’ve had it with you! You’re hopeless, you religion scholars, you Pharisees! Frauds! Your lives are roadblocks to God’s kingdom. You refuse to enter, and won’t let anyone else in either. “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You go halfway around the world to make a convert, but once you get him you make him into a replica of yourselves, double-damned. “You’re hopeless! What arrogant stupidity! You say, ‘If someone makes a promise with his fingers crossed, that’s nothing; but if he swears with his hand on the Bible, that’s serious.’ What ignorance! Does the leather on the Bible carry more weight than the skin on your hands? And what about this piece of trivia: ‘If you shake hands on a promise, that’s nothing; but if you raise your hand that God is your witness, that’s serious’? What ridiculous hairsplitting! What difference does it make whether you shake hands or raise hands? A promise is a promise. What difference does it make if you make your promise inside or outside a house of worship? A promise is a promise. God is present, watching and holding you to account regardless.

                              Matthew 23:13–22 (MSG)

– Reflection:

                Frauds!!

For us today, we don’t have Jesus himself calling us out. Instead, it is our spirits that let us know when we are being a fraud or a fake! These individuals had the Savior himself guiding them on where they were going wrong and what to expect if they continued being frauds. There aren’t many things that bring us into the right framework with God, but this passage reminds us that putting on a front in God’s eyes is definitely not something we want to keep doing. We honor God by reading the Word (Bible) and getting comfortable with its teachings and how we fit into God’s plan personally. While reading the Word, I know that at least for me, I try to relate the story I’m reading to how the world is today and how it might look or possibly play out. Doing so has helped me to avoid certain situations and be better for it.

– Where do we go from here?

Stop being frauds and embrace the people God created us to be instead of the fools running around doing anything and everything for money. There was a time when people with money were considered the most sensible. Today, it has been shown that even those we believe to be smart are not as wise as we thought. Money, as the Notorious B.I.G. said, “Mo Money, Mo Problems.” Let us not fall into either of those traps. If we want to have the provisions we need, we must gain knowledge of our paths and understand what we are to do beyond just earning money.

Our Prayer for Today

Father, thank you for giving us a genuine heart that honors the WORD. Within those pages lie the keys to life and the steps we are to take along our journey. Allow us to continue as Your people, Jesus. Amen.

Coach Arthur Poston Jr.
Focused Development Organization
Middle School Coach