November 12
Scripture of the day: "Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. They came and said to Him, 'Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? Shall we pay or shall we not pay?' But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, 'Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.' They brought one. And He said to them, 'Whose likeness and inscription is this?' And they said to Him, 'Caesar's.' And Jesus said to them, 'Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.' And they were amazed at Him." Mark 12:13-17
Thought of the day: Rome controlled and heavily taxed Israel during the days of Jesus. Some Jewish leaders wanted to arrest Jesus ... but they were afraid of the multitude, Mark 12:13. Their plan was to cause Jesus to say something wrong against Caesar or against Israel. Then they could have Him arrested. They complimented Jesus about His truthfulness in teaching God's ways. Then they tried to trap Him with their question about paying taxes. Jesus knew that they were hypocrites ... but He answered anyway. His simple answer amazed them.
Challenge of the day: Jesus taught that it is right to give what is due to the government ... and right to give what is due to God. Don't use your Christianity as an excuse to disobey the government. Render to your Caesar all that is due. But what about what you owe to God? You owe Him your life as a living, holy, and acceptable sacrifice, Romans 12:1. Are you rendering all that is due to Him?
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