Everybody, what is going on? You know what time it is. You're listening to Join the Journey podcast with your host, Emma, daughter.

Thanks for joining. In today's Devo, Brittany, after reading through Matthew 3 herself, helped us see that there is a difference between knowing God and knowing about God.

You can access her divo by visiting join the journey.com.

Brittany shared her personal story.

Chained by promiscuity, lust, and an eating disorder,

she began to realize that what she knew about God

hadn't seemed to penetrate her heart as she was blind to her need for repentance.

And as I read her divvo, I was so encouraged by

her authenticity and transparency, which made me ask the question, are there areas in my life where I use

my knowledge of God or about God and His Word to cover up what's going on in my heart?

You should ask yourself that question too. I think it's good to think

on. Are there areas in your life where you use your knowledge of God and His Word to cover up what's

going on in your heart? In Matthew 3, we meet John the Baptist, who stepped on the scene to prepare

the way for Jesus, calling everyone within earshot to repent from their sin.

And while his methods are a little unconventional, you know, the camel hair, leather outfit,

and weird diet, I want to look at something else. In verses 7 through 10, Matthew records that

John the Baptist recognized two groups of people who were coming to the baptism, the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

Now, whenever we're reading the Bible and come across something like a name that's unfamiliar to us,

it's always best practice to look it up, to do some digging. I did some research, and here's what I learned.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees were both religious sex within Judaism that had ruling authority.

They were really familiar with the law, but here's the difference between the two groups.

The Sadducees clung to a strict literal interpretation of the law.

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