WATCH TODAY’S EPISODE ON YOUTUBE.
CONSECRATE
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
HEAR
Luke 12:1–3 ESV
In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.”
CONSIDER
“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
They called it the Unsinkable Ship. The once famous (now infamous) Titanic—the largest ship in the world at its launch—left port on April 10, 1912. A short five luxurious days later it lay at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean—leaving more than 1,500 souls lost at sea. By all appearances, the ship was among the most impressive structures ever built on sea or land. Everything was state of the art, first of its kind, best in class. For its maiden and final voyage it boasted a passenger list made up of the wealthiest, most famous, and important people in the world.
“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
For the next eighty-six years the official story was the ship hit an iceberg which tore a massive gash in the ship’s starboard side causing it to take on water at a rapid rate. Less than three hours later the ship disappeared under the surface of the frigid Atlantic.
“Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.”
In 1998, Tim Foecke, a metallurgist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, uncovered the reason the Titanic sank. As they examined the high resolution video and images of the sunken ship, they could not find the large breach allegedly caused by the iceberg. Instead they found only six small, thin tears in the metal (with a combined damage to one square meter of the side) which could not possibly explain the catastrophic failure of the ship. As Tim continued the search, he uncovered the secret flaw of the doomed ship. It turns out the fatal flaw of the mighty Titanic were its tiniest pieces—the rivets.
“Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.”
As they recovered and studied a sample of the three million rivets that literally held the ship together, they made a devastating discovery. The wrought iron in the rivets contained three times the allowable amount of slag. (Slag is the glassy residue left behind after the smelting of the iron ore.) When combined with the icy water of the North Atlantic, the slag made the rivets brittle. And when the ship abruptly crashed into the iceberg, the heads of the brittle rivets around and adjacent to the impact zone broke off allowing water to rush in through the once-riveted-now-separated hull plates of the ship. From there it was like a domino tipping chain reaction leading to the sinking of the unsinkable ship.
“Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.”
It turns out they were behind schedule on construction and rather than tell the truth and delay the departure, they sped up production, turning up the furnaces of the smelters, overheating the iron, concentrating the increased measures of slag in the heads of the rivets . . . and now you know the rest of the story.
As much as I want to make all the riveting connections between this story, today’s text, and most imporantly—our lives— I’m going to do you a favor and leave this essential work with you. I’ll just say, “It’s the little things,” and leave you with this:
“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
PRAY
Lord Jesus, thank you that in the face of the largest crowds you choose to focus on the smallest things, like yeast. Thank you for calling us to surface the hidden things in our lives that threaten to undo us. Come, Holy Spirit, and search the ship of our lives, exposing the hidden hypocrisy and the unseen fatal flaws and re-rivet our lives together by the power of the unsinkable Word of God. It will be for your glory, for others’ gain, and for our good—and in your name, Jesus, amen.
JOURNAL
So what all are you seeing and connecting in this modern-day true story parable as it relates to the ancient yet never antiquated words of Jesus? How might this be connecting to the rivets in your deepest soul?
SING
Today, we will sing parts of two different songs: “Spirit of the Living God” (hymn 299) from our Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise, and “Give Us Clean Hands” by Charlie Hall.
“Give Us Clean Hands”
We bow our hearts, we bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble.
We turn our eyes from evil things.
Oh Lord, we cast down our idols.
So give us clean hands and give us pure hearts.
Let us not lift our souls to another.
Oh give us clean hands and give us pure hearts.
Let us not lift our souls to another.
O God, let us be a generation that seeks,
Who seeks your face, Oh God of Jacob.
O God, let us be a generation that seeks,
Who seeks your face, Oh God of Jacob.
For the Awakening,
J. D. Walt
John David (J. D.) Walt Jr. is the Sower-in-Chief for Seedbed and the pastor of the Gillett Methodist Church in Gillett, Arkansas.
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4 Responses
JD. Thanks for the real reason the Titanic sank. The tiny rivets. As I listened/read this devotional I couldn’t help think about the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Its believed to be because of the cold temps that day and the relatively small O Rings in the solid rocket boosters. They were warned, but took off any way. Small things. Yeast. Hidden things. I’m still processing this in my life this morning. See you on the field. Peace.
Wow, I just spent an hour writing a response reflective between false virtue and defective rivets, and how faith in God can change a person’s life. Another daily devotion that will come to print one day. I am thankful that our Lord chooses so many different ways to show people that there is a way, there is a path that leads to truth, to God, and that all we have to do is put our faith in Him, who can take the impossible, a make it possible. Praise the Lord, five years ago, He took a sinking ship and has made it whole. His mercy and grace is life everlasting. It is there for free. All we have to do is want it and receive it. Change comes and makes us whole again. I’m alive again and His Spirit thrives within me. PTL
Disciples need to beware! (Luke 12:1) It’s easy to think you are a disciple when you aren’t really one. That’s called hypocrisy.
Here’s the key to discipleship: Paul said that he put distractions behind him and pressed toward the Christ’s high calling. To be spiritually mature you need that attitude. If you don’t have that attitude, let God reveal to you where you are off track. And whatever you do don’t go backwards. Don’t pretend to be farther along than you really are! (Philippians 3:13-16)
Here are some more practical biblical teachings about how to be a true disciple of Christ. Steps toward discipleship:
* Look unto Jesus. (Hebrews 12:2)
* Come to Jesus, yoke yourself to Him, and be taught by Him. (Matthew 11:28-29)
* Draw near to God. (James 4:8)
* Make being inwardly ruled by God your first priority. (Matthew 6:33)
* Be inwardly led and directed by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:14)
* Live by the Spirit and keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)
* Consistently follow and obey the risen Jesus. (Philippians 3:10)
* “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.” (2 Corinthians 13:5)
* “By this we know that He (God) remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us.” (1 John 3:24)
* Fix your eyes on what is unseen because what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)
* Always treasure heavenly things. (Matthew 6:19:21)
* Stir up the gift of God that is within you. (2 Timothy 1:6)
* Set your mind and your desires on spiritual things. (Romans 8:5-7)
* Hunger and thirst after righteousness. (Matthew 5:6)
* Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2)
* Be of the same mind as Christ. (Philippians 2:5)
* Forgive everyone. (Matthew 18:22)
* Bless those who curse you. (Luke 6:28)
* Love your enemies. (Matthew 5:43-44)
Here are steps to resist being drawn away from discipleship:
* Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
* Guard your heart. (Proverbs 4:23)
* Watch and pray. (Matthew 26:41)
* Stand firm in your faith. (1 Peter 5:8-9)
* Fight the good fight of faith. (1 Timothy 6:12)
* Struggle against the invisible forces of evil. (Ephesians 6:12)
* Bring your every thought captive to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)
* Refuse to give in to temptation. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
* Confess your sins. (1 John 1:9)
* Repent and turn away from sin every time you fall. (Mark 1:15)
* Deny your self-focused desires. (Luke 9:23)
* Embrace the crucifixion of your personal hopes and dreams. (Galatians 2:20)
* Don’t set your mind on ungodly desires. (Romans 8:5-6)
* Do not be conformed to this world. (Romans 12:2)
* Flee lusts and sinful desires. (2 Timothy 2:22)
James put it this way: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Go do it with fervent desire and deep sincerity!
@Steve, thanks for this great post!