"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." Matthew 7:15

In the text Jesus warns against false prophets, against fakers, phonies, and plastic people. According to His Word, we are to be real, and that means that we emerge from behind our facades and fronts, our pretending and playacting, and speak and act with honesty. We are also to be realistic. That means we possess the ability to detect the spurious, the fake, and the dishonest. Realists do not look at life through rose-colored spectacles or through a glass darkly. They go by what is there, not by their own wishes, hopes, or fears.

Being real and realistic is a gift from God. The reason we can be real is because we have nothing to hide. Christ's death makes amends for our sins, and our Baptism gives us His righteousness. We can be realistic because we have learned to view life through the eyes of God. We don't blink at evil. How can we in the light of the cross? But we are not pessimists and gloom-spreaders. How can we be in the light of Easter? Yes, at times we are "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" (2 Corinthians 6:10).

PRAYER: Gracious God, help us to be real and realistic; for Jesus' sake. Amen.

(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)

Today's Bible Readings: Amos 4-6    Galatians 1

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