Mark 7: 6-7
And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
Jesus was talking here to the Pharisees because they were upset that the disciples had not washed their hands before eating and to them that was not just a cleanliness issue, it was not spiritual to not wash. Be careful that you are not just honoring God with your words and outward deeds like the Pharisees did, honor Him with what is in your heart. When our hearts are in tune with God and what is important to Him the things we need to say and do will follow.
There’s so much confusion in the world these days about what is right and wrong but all of those answers are found in His word. God did not give us the spirit of fear;
2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” If you allow God to lead you there is no reason for fear all that is going on.
1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace as in all the churches of the saints.” All of the answers that the world has about what is right and wrong can be found in God’s Word. The problem comes when even the people of God are not reading it. It made me really sad the other day when I was in the middle of a conversation with several people about the Bible and one young woman said, “well, it doesn’t really matter because no one reads the Bible any more do they?” Wow, how sad is it that it has become that evident that not even most Christians are spending time in their Bibles the way they should and that young woman was convinced that it couldn’t be that important any more. That’s where one of my favorite quotes comes in, “If what you believe doesn’t affect how you live, then it isn’t very important.” (Dick Nogleberg)
The confusion, fear and the complacent attitudes about God and His word all begins with Satan and His lies. In John 8:44 it says, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” Once again Jesus was talking with the Pharisees when he said that. Satan will do all he can to cause confusion, fear and his goal is also to get Christians to the point where we aren’t sure what is a lie and what is truth, that is why you must spend time with Him and encourage others to spend more time with Him. I have found most of the time it doesn’t do much good to get in long debates every time the opportunity arises, but there are times you need to stand and say what is truth and hold your ground. Pray for God to guide you in all that you do, encourage those around you to check out the Word of God if they are unfamiliar, they may read it just out of pure curiosity, invite them to your church with you. Start reaching out in love and concern for those around you who are confused or mislead. Be the disciple God has called you to be and hold on to His truth, honoring Him with what is in your heart.
Quote:
“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” Edith Wharton
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