To LOVE is to be VULNERABLE

To Love is to be Vulnerable

by Ray Fowler

Here is a great quote on love and vulnerability from author C.S. Lewis:

Of all arguments against love none makes so strong an appeal to my nature as “Careful! This might lead you to suffering.”
To my nature, my temperament, yes. Not to my conscience. When I respond to that appeal I seem to myself to be a thousand miles away from Christ. If I am sure of anything I am sure that his teaching was never meant to confirm my congenital preference for safe investments and limited liabilities.…
There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.
But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.
   ~ from The Four Loves, by C.S. Lewis

The ARt of doing business.....or something like that!

                     
I'm 63....I've earned a living by working since I was 16.  I have always loved what I have done, some jobs more than others.  Nothing can compare to my "job" now....Never have I felt more like I now have something to share, not just my art but the creator who gives me breath to do it and to share it and to share his word and his grace and his comfort and his joy along with it!!!!! Rosiewildwoman Art to Wear....

Below is a devotional I get each day from http://www.adevotion.org.....Every day it is good and relevant, today more than most.....

Do Business For God

LUKE 19:13,15 ESV
13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and
said to them, 'Engage in business until I come.'
15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered
these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to
him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business.

Your working life is supposed to be for more than just meeting
your needs. Your work is an avenue God can use to bless people
in many ways. You should use all that you have been given: your
influence, your contacts, your profits, to bless people and
turn them toward God.

Many people won't listen to a pastor or TV preacher, but they
will listen to someone they know and contact in daily life.

You don't have to be a pastor or a priest to walk with God and
be used by Him. Think of Abraham, David, Moses, and Daniel. Not
one of them was a preacher or a priest. Instead, they were all
involved in agriculture or government, what we consider as
secular jobs. Yet they are among the most famous and revered of
Bible characters.

Also we should keep in mind that Jesus of Nazareth spent most
of His years on earth as a carpenter -- a businessman -- not a
preacher.

COLOSSIANS 3:23 NLT
23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were
working for the Lord rather than for people.

You can see God move just as much in the work place as at a
church meeting. God is interested in blessing people right
where they are.

Where you work and spend your time is your "world." God does
not expect or ask most people to win some other country for
Him. God expects you to be a witness right where you are. Be a
witness of God's blessing and goodness and love. You don't have
to force your beliefs on people, but let your associates and
customers and suppliers and co-workers see God's blessing in
your life, and as you have opportunity let them know it is
because of God's grace and goodness -- which is also available
for them.

SAY THIS: I will bloom where I am planted and faithfully use
what God has given me for His glory and the growth of His
kingdom.

NOW THIS IS THE LIVING BIBLE.

The scenario below is what I battle every day of my life.  Assuming, judging, being afraid of those unlike me.  Lord I know you know what is in my heart,  I pray for your help with this battle and I know with your help I will and am getting better one step at a time.....Rosiewildwoman

Now this is the Living Bible:

His name is Tim. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with
holes in it, jeans, and no shoes. This was literally his
wardrobe for his entire four years of college.

He is brilliant. Kind of profound and very, very bright. He
became a Christian while attending college.

Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very
conservative church.. They want to develop a ministry to the
students but are not sure how to go about it..

One day Tim decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes,
jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already
started and so Tim starts down the aisle looking for a
seat.

The church is completely packed and he can't find a seat. By
now, people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no
one says anything.

Tim gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, and
when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down
right on the carpet.

By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the
air is thick.

About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the
back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward
Tim.

Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and
a three-piece suit. A godly man, very elegant, very
dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and, as he
starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to
themselves that you can't blame him for what he's going to
do.

How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to
understand some college kid on the floor?

It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy.

The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the
man's cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can't even hear
anyone breathing. The minister can't even preach the sermon
until the deacon does what he has to do.

And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the
floor. With great difficulty, he lowers himself and sits
down next to Tim and worships with him so he won't be alone.

Everyone chokes up with emotion...

When the minister gains control, he says,

'What I'm about to preach, you will never remember. What you
have just seen, you will never forget.'

'Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some
people will ever read!'

I asked the Lord to bless you
As I prayed for you today.
To guide you and protect you
As you go along your way....
His love is always with you,
His promises are true,
And when we give Him all our cares,
You know He will see us through.


Only if you feel led to, pass this to
People you want God to Bless.
....I DID!

Sunday's Coming

I am so glad I am able to express my beliefs and I am thankful that all who choose to speak, for or against Christ, have the same rights I do.....More than rights....it is God given FREE WILL that has been given to all of us....

What is LOVE?

What is LOVE?

For most of my young life, I searched and searched for the perfect LOVE.  I read all the magazines, watched all the TV shows, all telling me what LOVE was.  It's funny, in looking back, most of what I found was emptiness, incompleteness, something was lacking.  I was tapped on
the shoulder many times by the one who has perfect LOVE to give but refused to listen....You see, I was mad at the God who had let my son die.  It was a battle between me and God for many years but God never gives up in offering his perfect LOVE, his hand, his comfort, his peace, his joy.  Well the battle has ended, I finally heard his voice, accepted his LOVE, understand his way, and give my Life to him.   Another funny thing, when I was first reborn I was witnessing to a person at an art show and she said "ahhh...you just gotten older and are trying to put "fire insurance" in your back pocket in case there is a God.  I didn't know how to answer that then but now having experienced what accepting God as my savior does and what basking in his LOVE has given me spiritually while living in this physical world, "fire insurance" just doesn't compare to the depth of a true relationship.

1 Corinthians 13 >> English Standard Version

---

The Way of Love

1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,^a but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;^b 6it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Reposted from my February 23rd blog post because it was my heart then and still is for ever, ever more.  

A Holy Experience  Ann Voskamp author of One Thousand Gifts  scholarship opportunity to She Speaks Conference

The Love of Christ is Beyond Comprehension

   








 The Love Of Christ Is Beyond Comprehension

EPHESIANS 3:18-19 NLT
18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God's
people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his
love really is.
19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great
you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled
with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

How can words describe, or humans fully understand, something
that is as deep as God Himself? God's love is greater than
words have the ability to communicate. It is impossible to put
into language.

How can you explain the unexplainable? How can you know
something that is beyond the ability of human knowledge to
comprehend? You would have to be God Himself to fully
understand why He loves you the way He does. Don't expect to
ever understand it. But you can accept it. You can believe it.
You can experience it and enjoy it.

God's love for you was demonstrated in redemption. God took
your place and suffered what you deserved, so you could be
forgiven and go free. God proved that He loved you more than He
loves Himself. He did not spare Himself to help you.

God's love for you is also evident in creation. Not just in
abundant provision, but also in all the beauty He created for
your enjoyment. What a wonderful display of the loving and
giving nature of God. Not only did He make everything we need,
but He made it in abundance -- and with great variety.

Every good thing in life was created by God for you because of
His great love for you.

SAY THIS: I accept the love of Christ: God loves me. Lord, help
me to embrace the reality of your love, which is greater than
words can tell.

Don't Worry

I bow in humble reverence to my God who always, always tells me what I need to hear when I keep my mouth shut so I can hear his words.....I practice keeping my mouth shut every morning and I have been blessed and so has Tom :)

from Proverbs 31 Ministry

Don’t Overthink It

Rachel Olsen

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”
Philippians 4:6 (NLT)

I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with my life — and I’m running out of time to figure it out. What if I never find it? Will I always be unhappy and unfulfilled? Will I never achieve my purpose? What will God do about that – will He call me a bad servant? But I can’t help it. Why doesn’t He answer my prayers for direction?

Maybe I’m just too sinful or something. I know I should read the Bible more. Is this limbo I’m in some kind of punishment for that? Am I really so much worse than everybody else? Maybe I just don’t have any special gifts or talents. Or they just never got developed. Maybe that’s it, and maybe now it’s too late. So what do I do now? I don’t know what I’m supposed to do …

Does this resemble your thinking sometimes? Perhaps not about your calling, but about finding a spouse, or affording a house, or exercising regularly, or a conflict with your mother or boss. Do you tend to overthink things? To worry and ruminate? To endlessly, passively, excessively ponder the meanings, causes and potential consequences of your problems? Do you dwell on them?

Many of us believe that when we feel down about something we should try to evaluate our feelings and our situation from every angle to attain insight and find solutions to relieve our unhappiness. However, a host of research in the last 20 years has shown that dwelling on thoughts like this creates negative outcomes: it sustains or worsens sadness, fosters negative thinking, depletes motivation, saps energy, interferes with concentration, and typically impairs our problem-solving.

Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky writes: “Although people have a strong sense that they are gaining insight into themselves and their problems during their ruminations, this is rarely the case. What they do gain is a distorted, pessimistic perspective on their lives.” She adds, “You need to free yourself from the clutch of your ruminations – in other words, immediately stop overthinking.”

Based on what he wrote in Philippians 4:6-13, I think the apostle Paul would agree with the professor. Pause and scroll down to read the whole passage now in the “Power Verses” below and then come back.

As we see, in verse six, Paul gives three clear instructions for those of us who ruminate on our problems. He says:

1) do not worry about anything
2) pray about everything
3) thank God for everything

What if today we took this instruction to heart and put it into practice? What if today we decided not to worry about anything? What if when we found ourselves worrying, we stopped and handed the situation over to God in prayer? What if we thenthanked Him for taking care of the issue?

In fact, what if we spent most of our mental free-time today thinking about what good care our awesome God takes of us?

What if we counted our blessings and God’s acts of faithfulness today — and again tomorrow and next week too? What would happen then?

Paul says in verse seven, we will begin to experience amazing peace — a kind of peace we can’t even imagine. Peace that makes no earthly sense! This kind of peace is so powerful that it has a protective function on our hearts and minds — which only makes it easier for us to stop worrying and be thankful.

That sounds like a state of happiness to me! So let’s not over-think it today. Let’s not under-pray it either. Let’s actively choose to have a happy, thankful day. And then let’s get up tomorrow and do it again.

Dear Lord, I’m turning over all my fears and problems to You to handle today. I can’t fix a single thing by worrying about it – but You can fix anything because nothing is impossible for You! Thanks for being in charge of my day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Thanksgiving!!!!!!

A psalm of praise by David

I will exalt you, my God the King;

I will praise your name for ever and ever.

Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty — and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

They tell of the power of your awesome works — and I will proclaim your great deeds. They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. All your works praise you, LORD; your faithful people extol you. They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.

The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.

~ Psalm 145 (NIV)

Trying to grow in my walk with God......Every step helps.....

It's a tragedy when you try and prove your spirituality by things you don't do rather than proving it by the things you do- Leonard Ravenhill


This quote hit me....Now going to google Leonard Ravenhill.


and try do more instead of trying to stand on what I don't do.....

It is so easy it is easy to not be believable.......

anyone who wants a relationship with God may have one.....

Just as anyone who wants to reject him is free to do so.....

The Cross, which is the great evidence of his LOVE for each of us......

stands as a fork in the road.......and it is THERE.....

that we decide whether

to turn to him.......

or from him......

In other words.....it is the free will we all have.....to choose.....every day and every way....every step we take is a choice.....made by us......no one else.....Each of us will live with the choices we make......

Choose wisely!!!!

Matthew Henry's commentary on 1 Peter 5 10-14 Words I needed to hear Today!

Real peace comes when you can place all your cares and worries in God's hands, when you can Let GO, Let God, when you can accept his will in your life and know it is right even when it is so ever hard to understand. These words are what I needed to hear today and the more I listen I will hear God's voice and guidance in everything I do.....Thank you dear Lord.  

Humility preserves peace and order in all Christian churches and societies; pride disturbs them. Where God gives grace to be humble, he will give wisdom, faith, and holiness. To be humble, and subject to our reconciled God, will bring greater comfort to the soul than the gratification of pride and ambition. But it is to be in due time; not in thy fancied time, but God's own wisely appointed time. Does he wait, and wilt not thou? What difficulties will not the firm belief of his wisdom, power, and goodness get over! 

Then be humble under his hand. Cast to all you care; to  personal cares, family cares, cares for the present, and cares for the future, for yourselves, for others, for the church, on God. These are burdensome, and often very sinful, when they arise from unbelief and distrust, when they torture and distract the mind, unfit us for duties, and hinder our delight in the service of God. The remedy is, to cast our care upon God, and leave every event to his wise and gracious disposal. 

Firm belief that the Divine will and counsels are right, calms the spirit of a man. Truly the godly too often forget this, and fret themselves to no purpose. Refer all to God's disposal. The golden mines of all spiritual comfort and good are wholly his, and the Spirit itself. Then, will he not furnish what is fit for us, if we humbly attend on him, and lay the care of providing for us, upon his wisdom and love? 

The whole design of Satan is to devour and destroy souls. He always is contriving whom he may insnare to eternal ruin. 

Our duty plainly is, to be sober; to govern both the outward and the inward man by the rules of temperance. To be vigilant; suspicious of constant danger from this spiritual enemy, watchful and diligent to prevent his designs. Be stedfast, or solid, by faith. A man cannot fight upon a quagmire, there is no standing without firm ground to tread upon; this faith alone furnishes. It lifts the soul to the firm advanced ground of the promises, and fixes it there. The consideration of what others suffer, is proper to encourage us to bear our share in any affliction; and in whatever form Satan assaults us, or by whatever means, we may know that our brethren experience the same. (1Pe 5:10-14)

This is why I have to Speak UP

God is so amazing!  He knows I can't shut up when I see humans being duped by Satan and I want so desperately to share what I have found out and what has turned my life around and what gives me such great bliss.....but below he speaks to me about


 "So we are not here to give our opinion, but to proclaim what God has said in His written Word, the Bible -- Heaven's official message."  So, Steph (Rosie) quit trying to do God's job and just share his word, his love, his forgiveness and the joy this has given you and let HIM do the rest of the work...



From the daily devotional   and the subject most always tends to be something I need to hear at the moment and this did not fall short of the mark!  


Be Heaven's Ambassador


2 CORINTHIANS 5:20 LB
20 We are Christ's ambassadors. God is using us to speak to
you: we beg you, as though Christ himself were here pleading
with you, receive the love he offers you--be reconciled to God.

An ambassador is a resident representative for the head of state
of their own country.

As citizens of Heaven, we are authorized to represent our King,
the Lord Jesus Christ, here on Earth.

An ambassador is a very important person. Unless they do their
job correctly, misunderstanding can easily develop -- and
possibly even war.

This is Heaven's problem. Its ambassadors have not always
clearly communicated the correct message to Earth's
inhabitants. That is why so many people are "at war with God"
instead of enjoying the blessings of peace with God.

The problem comes from people misunderstanding God, and not
realizing the sin problem has already been dealt with in
Christ.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:21 NLT
21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering
for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through
Christ.

The logic supporting the plea in verse 20, to be reconciled to
God, is found in verse 21: the sin separating us from God has
been dealt with through Christ. So we no longer need to hide
from God, or fear His judgment. Instead, we can enjoy His gift
of being made right with Him.

A good ambassador for Heaven must know the message of God, and
speak His message -- accurately.

One way of determining the accurate message of Jesus Christ is
found in John 8:31-32. Jesus said His message would make people
free -- not beat them down or put them in bondage.

God has a message that He desires for every person to hear: He
loves them, and will help them, if they will only turn to Him.

We must communicate that message clearly.

This message of God's love for mankind was displayed in and
through a person: Jesus of Nazareth. We learn of Him, and His
message, through a book -- the Holy Bible.

Actually, Jesus Himself was, and is, God's message. We need
only present Jesus to people as He truly was, and is -- and
they will be drawn to Him, because there is no fault in Him.

An ambassador does not speak for himself -- he speaks the
official policy and message of the country he represents.

So we are not here to give our opinion, but to proclaim what
God has said in His written Word, the Bible -- Heaven's
official message.

GRACE

 Every morning as I put my makeup on, mascara and everything I wonder what Holly will say that brings tears of joy to my eyes and ruins my makeup. Today was no exception.   Here is what Holley has to say:
Heart to Heart with Holley

At this blessed time, Pray for our Nation

Not much more to say than this.

Pray for our Nation

Jesus First then the Easter Bunny

I'm 62, how long have I had Easter in my mind but really never thought about it.  As a child it was a time to wear beautiful dresses my Mom handcrafted for my sister and I.  It was a time to eat chocolate, it was a time to hunt for Easter Eggs.  We went to Church but it never sunk in, the chocolate talked and I listened. 

For years my eyes were closed and my ears could not hear.  Then, the veil was miraculously lifted but beyond that, when it lifted, I chose to see and I chose to hear.  Through it all, we have free will to accept a relationship with God or not.  The cross, which is the great evidence of his LOVE for each of us, stands as a fork in the road and its there that we decide whether to turn to God or to turn from God.  Once you see and once you hear things change and what you accepted or tolerated before can no longer be the reason for your existence.  As a parent, I was not a born again Christian, I did not lead my child towards the light.  For this, I repent and I am forgiven.  So....my question to myself is this????  What can I do to share God's LOVE with the people I love?    I can remember, a long time ago, my dear child getting on a bus that came through the neighborhood for a local church on Sunday morning.  I can remember my husband and I being frantic that our child had been kidnapped, tortured, killed, lost to us forever.   I can remember finding him hours later sitting the the last row of the Church listening to the sermon. The people lost were my husband and I, not Michael,  and we were lost for many, many years.  We lost our Child at 13, I lost my husband at 60 and I found my soul at 58.  I do not believe my child is lost, nor my husband and I know now I am not lost and I look foward to seeing them again.  I pray that God will use me to share his gift of eternal life to all who chose him above the world and all that is in it.   Something that burns in me now is to know what I really didnt care about before.  So in researching Easter, it's all about Jesus first and the Easter Bunny second.  

Theological significance from Wikipedia

The New Testament teaches that the resurrection of Jesus, which Easter celebrates, is a foundation of the Christian faith.^[6] The resurrection established Jesus as the powerful Son of God^[6] and is cited as proof that God will judge the world in righteousness.^[7] God has given Christians "a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead".^[8] Christians, through faith in the working of God^[9] are spiritually resurrected with Jesus so that they may walk in a new way of life.^[10]

Easter is linked to the Passover and Exodus from Egypt recorded in the Old Testament through the Last Supper and crucifixion that preceded the resurrection. According to the New Testament, Jesus gave the Passover meal a new meaning, as he prepared himself and his disciples for his death in the upper room during the Last Supper. He identified the loaf of bread and cup of wine as symbolizing his body soon to besacrificed and his blood soon to be shed. 1 Corinthians 5:7 states, "Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed"; this refers to the Passover requirement to have no yeast in the house and to the allegory of Jesus as the Paschal lamb.^[11]

One interpretation of the Gospel of John is that Jesus, as the Passover lamb, was crucified at roughly the same time as the Passover lambs were being slain in the temple, on the afternoon of Nisan 14.^[12][13] This interpretation, however, is inconsistent with the chronology in the Synoptic Gospels. It assumes that text literally translated "the preparation of the passover" in John 19:14 refers to Nisan 14 (Preparation Day for the Passover) and not necessarily to Yom Shishi (Friday, Preparation Day for Sabbath)^[14] and that the priests' desire to be ritually pure in order to "eat the passover" in John 18:28 refers to eating the Passover lamb, not to the public offerings made during the days of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:8).

Struggling all the time to NOT be a Pharisee

   Are You A Pharisee?

MATTHEW 16:6,12 NKJ
6 Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven
of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."
12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of
the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and
Sadducees.

Why did Jesus warn His disciples to beware of the Pharisees?
What did they do wrong?

(An entire chapter of the Bible (Matthew 23) is Jesus' teaching
against the Pharisees.)

The Pharisees were conservative, faithful "church" members.
They accepted the Bible as the written Word of God. They paid
tithes. They believed in miracles (at least in days past). They
wouldn't dream of stealing, committing adultery, or such
things. You would like living next to a Pharisee as they were
model citizens.

But instead of having a living relationship with God, the
Pharisees took the Word of God and made just another dead
religion out of it.

The Pharisee way of thinking is: keep up appearances. "It
doesn't matter so much what you are on the inside, as long as
you keep the rules (at least publicly)."

Notice that Jesus likened their teaching to leaven, or yeast.
Why? Yeast spreads easily and rapidly. Humans are very
susceptible to approaching God in this manner, "Keep the rules.
Just do these 10 things and you are OK."

Different groups may have different rules, but we all
accumulate them. It may be how many times each week you must
attend church meetings, or what kind of clothes you must wear,
or how you must wear your hair. Or, it may be a list of things
you cannot do. But, as long as you meet these requirements, you
are in good standing with your group (or denomination).

But, good standing with God is based on only one thing
according to the New Testament: faith in what Jesus did for us.
That alone is what makes us right with God. Not our works, but
Jesus' work.

LUKE 12:1 NKJ
1 ... He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of
the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

The Pharisees were hypocrites. That is, they put on an act.
What they pretended to be in public was not really what they
were like in private. They claimed to be perfect in keeping
God's law, but as humans they were all sinners, just like the
rest of the people were. Yet, in public, they insisted that
others keep the Law perfectly, or be condemned.

They were quick to pass judgment on others, and slow to extend
mercy or help. The Pharisees had a legalistic view of God's
Word and did not realize that God was merciful and wanted to
help people.

2 CORINTHIANS 3:6 NKJ
6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant,
not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but
the Spirit gives life.

Using God's Word to "kill" instead of using it to minister life
is wrong. God's Word is meant to help people and lift them up,
not place such hard demands on them that they cannot ever
measure up. When we load people down with heavy loads of rules
to keep in order to be right with God, we are ministers of
death.

MATTHEW 23:1-5 NLT
1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
2 "The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the
official interpreters of the law of Moses.
3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don't follow
their example. For they don't practice what they teach.
4 They crush people with impossible religious demands and never
lift a finger to ease the burden.
5 "Everything they do is for show. . . .

If your "Christianity" is nothing more than a list of "do's and
don't's" then you are missing real Christianity, which is a
living relationship with Jesus Christ.

SAY THIS: Jesus does not want me to act like a Pharisee.