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Inside
In our backyard, we have an apple tree. We don’t take care of it, so the fruit it produces is not very edible. Most of the apples fall to the ground and get raked up and composted. However, once in a while, there are a few fairly good ones, and my wife will make applesauce or we may even eat one raw. The other day, we found one that looked perfect on the outside, and figured we would cut it in half and share it. But, when the knife had done its job, we found that the inside was bad — very bad.
This reminds me of some people who may appear to be true believers and followers of Christ on the outside, but who are not clean on the inside. They have never had their sins washed in the blood of Jesus. They are like thePharisees, of whom the Lord said, “Now do ye make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness” (Luke 11:39). Judas Iscariot was a pretender. As he and the other eleven disciples walked with the Lord for over three years, no one, not even they, suspected that he wasn’t real on the inside. But the Lord knew. Make sure there is reality on the inside. “The Lord knoweth them that are His” (2 Timothy 2:19).
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