LOOKING GOOD - All Our Daily Bread Daily Devotionals for 2026

Our Daily Bread - Friday, May 14, 2016
by RBC Ministries

Details

LOOKING GOOD

READ:

First cleanse the inside
-Matthew 23:26

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Kings 19-21
John 4:1-30

Your hair is really healthy," said my hairdresser after giving me a haircut. "I hope it's because you use our products." "No. I'm sorry," I said. "I just use whatever product is cheap and smells good." But then I added, "I also try to eat well. I think that makes a big difference."
When I think about the things we do to make ourselves look good, I'm reminded of some of the things we do to make ourselves look good spiritually. Jesus addressed this issue with the religious leaders in Jerusalem (Matthew 23). They followed an elaborate set of religious rules that went well beyond the ones God had given them. They worked hard to look good to their peers, to prove that they were better than others. But their hard work didn't impress God. Jesus said to them, "You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside [you] are full of extortion and self-indulgence" (v.25). What the Pharisees did to make themselves look good to others actually revealed that they were not good at all.
Every culture values different religious behaviours and traditions, but God's values transcend cultures. And what He values isn't measure by what others see. God values a clean heart and pure motives. Spiritual health is expressed from the inside out. - Julie Ackerman Link
You know me, Lord, for who I am. My motives and heart are open before You. Cleanse me from the inside out. And help me to live as Jesus did - with pure and true motives.

We might look good on the outside without really being good on the inside.

More From Our Daily Devotional Archives

If I have faith, so as to remove mountains,...

The LORD is near
for Wednesday, December 4, 2013
by Jacob Redekop, Brian Reynolds, John van Dijk, Eugene P. Vedder Jr

If I have faith, so as to remove mountains,...

If I have faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothingLove never fails.
(1 Corinthians 13:2, 8)
About 60 years ago a new medical graduate, a Muslim, walked into the room of a Christian colleague and saw a small open book on his bed. He asked if he could read it, and after...More

Open Heavens
for Saturday, December 14, 2013
by Pastor E.A Adeboye

CAN SATAN RIGHTLY ACCUSE YOU?

Besides discouragement, another weapon Satan uses often against believers is their weaknesses. He simply studies an individual for a period of time and not long after, he identifies the fellow's weakness and capitalizes on it. Take for instance Peter. Satan discovered that Peter is a cowardly person-lacking in...More

Open Heavens
for Friday, January 10, 2014
by Pastor E.A Adeboye

SPIRITUAL WARFARE I

When we are told to put on the whole armour of God, one thing becomes clear instantly. This is the fact that there is a God. We cannot be talking of the armour of God if there is no God. Anyone who thinks that there is no God is a fool (Psalm 14:1). You have to pray that God would reveal Himself to you. The...More

Open Heavens
for Thursday, July 10, 2014
by Pastor E.A Adeboye

SATAN INTIMIDATES

When Goliath came to the battlefield, he took the form of a big problem but he later became a big opportunity. He came as a mighty obstacle but turned into a mighty door of opportunity when God stepped in. Every giant who stands in your way this season shall become a door to your breakthrough in Jesus' Name. The...More