Devotion
One rule to rule them all
David Jacobs
Having spent significant time in Asia, I am fascinated by its culture. Confucius was one of the most important thinkers in Eastern philosophy. His doctrines were responsible for the development of much of eastern societal norms, structure, and culture. There is a book that his followers wrote, taking note of the most important teachers of their master. I was surprised at how similar much of his teachings were to our master, Jesus Christ.
Out of all of the 'Analytics of Confucius', there were two that stood out. The first was the teaching that Confucius believed was the most important, "Let there be no evil in your thoughts." The second one may sound familiar: "What you do not wish on yourself, do not do unto others." A real beauty in simplicity.
It should be no surprise that the most important philosophies of all cultures are similar. However, all of the greatest philosophers, leaders, scholars, and kings pale in comparison to the goodness that Christ was and is. We do not need to analyze this verse so deeply; it speaks for itself.
Prayer
Do you follow the advice of this verse? Most of the world's important philosophy, religions, and codes of ethics use this "Golden Rule" as the backbone. How foolish would we be not to adhere to it?
Night Prayer
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Inspiration
We despise the thought of a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The outside is easy to clean; it's the caked-up residue on the inside that's so difficult to remove. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees with dishes that have been wiped clean on the outside while dirty inside. The Pharisees took exceptional care of their outward appearance and neglected their inward spirits. We are guilty of allowing our hearts to be left filthy as well. We look and act as we should while our souls are full of darkness. We must continue to converse with the Holy Spirit daily and trust His guidance to cleanse our sinful nature.
Prayer
Dear God, Please forgive our sinful nature. We yearn for cleansing from within, so we are genuine witnesses to Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
