Morning Prayer
Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.
Inspiration
Some of the Jews of Jesus' day thought they had good reasons for rejecting Him. They thought they knew he was from Nazareth and the mere natural son of Mary and Joseph. The Bible prophesied the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem of Judah, and though Jesus had been, they did not know it. He came from the Father, but they truly in that regard "did not know from where he came. "
Prayer
We know, O Lord, that many men will find some excuse to not believe in you. We know that Satan blinds the minds of those who believe not. And we know that you reveal yourself to your people. Help us to reason from the Scriptures and seek to convince men of your Gospel, but let us not trust in our ability to argue well but in your Spirit revealing Christ to men's hearts and minds. Amen.
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.
