Isn't it wonderful to see a child being led by his father on a walk? How much more our Father in Heaven as He led us to walk in His light :)
Today's sharing: September 7- Day 7- Chapter 7 in the Book of Mark
Mark 7 (excerpts)
That Which Defiles
5...the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”
9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 13...you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”
14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”
20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”
9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 13...you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”
14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”
20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
Jesus Honors a Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith
25...a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
27 “First let the children eat all they want,”he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”
30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
27 “First let the children eat all they want,”he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”
30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man
32...some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.
33...Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Inspirational Prayer:
"In all I say;
In all I do;
Teach me O Lord, to center it all to You!"
Glory to our Almighty and Loving GOD!
33...Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
note: the complete text can be found on this link--
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+7&version=NIV
May our Loving Lord open our minds and hearts for His words.
Another very timely reminder for all of us (".)
"For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."- Matthew 5:20
What is a hypocrite?
- someone who pretends to be better than he really is or to be pious, virtuous without really being so; a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion;
Jesus taught us not to follow the example of hypocrites- those making long public prayers, employing extreme measures to ensure others noticed their fasts, parading their gifts to the Temple and the poor, and so on...They revealed only an outward attachment to the Lord. Pharisees of that time performed well their dramatic role as public examples of religious virtue, but failed miserably in the inner world of the heart where true virtue resides.
Hypocrites are still evident at present times, even professing Believers/Christians. Of course, not everyone who claims to be a Christian is truly a Christian. To this day, prominent Christian leaders have fallen into terrible sins. Financial and sexual scandals sometimes seem to plague the Christian community.
Numerous biblical passages confirm that those who truly belong to Christ will exhibit the fruit of the Spirit- But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.- Galatians 5:22-23
Not all professions of faith in Him are genuine. Sadly, many who profess to belong to Him will be stunned one day to hear Him say to them, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”- Matthew 7:23
All Christians fail to perfectly live up to the standard the Bible teaches. No Christian has ever been perfectly Christ-like. However, there are many Christians who are genuinely seeking to live the Christian life and are relying more and more on the Holy Spirit to convict, change, and empower them. There have been multitudes of Christians who have lived their lives free from scandal. No Christian is perfect, but making a mistake and failing to reach perfection in this life is not the same thing as being a hypocrite.
As Christians, sinlessness is to be our goal, though not achievable in this lifetime, it's a fact that we will fail to live up to God's perfect standard. However, as we grow and mature in faith, our lives should more and more reflect the truths that we profess to believe.
As we walk in the Spirit, we try "not to quench the Spirit"- 1 Thessalonians 5:19 but rather submit to it and be filled with it - "be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." - Ephesians 5:18-21
God gave us The Bible, His Word, to equip us for every good work- "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."- 2 Timothy 3:16-17. It teaches us how to live and what to believe, it reveals when we have chosen wrong paths, it helps us get back on the right path, and it helps us to stay on that path.
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is living and powerful, able to penetrate to our hearts to root out and overcome the deepest sins of heart and attitude.
The psalmist talks about its life-changing power in-depth in Psalm 119.
Treat our Bibles as the "Book of Life" - memorize it, meditate on it, apply it to our daily lives; confess the sins it reveals, and praise God for the gifts it affirms. The Bible is the tool the Spirit uses in our lives, an essential and major part of the armor that God gave us to fight our spiritual battles.
Pray! Acknowledge our own limitations, turn to God's inexhaustible power, ask for His strength and what He wants us to do, not what we want to do.
Be on fellowship with other believers. In the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, we are told that "as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another"- Proverbs 27:17. "There is strength in numbers."- Ecclesiastes 4:11-12.
Sometimes victory over sin comes quickly. Other times, victory comes more slowly. God has promised that as we make use of His resources, He will progressively bring about change in our lives. We can persevere in our efforts to overcome sin because we know that He is faithful to His promises.
(ref: got questions- Bible-answered questions)
May our Loving Lord open our minds and hearts for His words.
Another very timely reminder for all of us (".)
"For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."- Matthew 5:20
What is a hypocrite?
- someone who pretends to be better than he really is or to be pious, virtuous without really being so; a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion;
Jesus taught us not to follow the example of hypocrites- those making long public prayers, employing extreme measures to ensure others noticed their fasts, parading their gifts to the Temple and the poor, and so on...They revealed only an outward attachment to the Lord. Pharisees of that time performed well their dramatic role as public examples of religious virtue, but failed miserably in the inner world of the heart where true virtue resides.
Hypocrites are still evident at present times, even professing Believers/Christians. Of course, not everyone who claims to be a Christian is truly a Christian. To this day, prominent Christian leaders have fallen into terrible sins. Financial and sexual scandals sometimes seem to plague the Christian community.
Numerous biblical passages confirm that those who truly belong to Christ will exhibit the fruit of the Spirit- But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.- Galatians 5:22-23
Not all professions of faith in Him are genuine. Sadly, many who profess to belong to Him will be stunned one day to hear Him say to them, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”- Matthew 7:23
All Christians fail to perfectly live up to the standard the Bible teaches. No Christian has ever been perfectly Christ-like. However, there are many Christians who are genuinely seeking to live the Christian life and are relying more and more on the Holy Spirit to convict, change, and empower them. There have been multitudes of Christians who have lived their lives free from scandal. No Christian is perfect, but making a mistake and failing to reach perfection in this life is not the same thing as being a hypocrite.
As Christians, sinlessness is to be our goal, though not achievable in this lifetime, it's a fact that we will fail to live up to God's perfect standard. However, as we grow and mature in faith, our lives should more and more reflect the truths that we profess to believe.
As we walk in the Spirit, we try "not to quench the Spirit"- 1 Thessalonians 5:19 but rather submit to it and be filled with it - "be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." - Ephesians 5:18-21
God gave us The Bible, His Word, to equip us for every good work- "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."- 2 Timothy 3:16-17. It teaches us how to live and what to believe, it reveals when we have chosen wrong paths, it helps us get back on the right path, and it helps us to stay on that path.
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is living and powerful, able to penetrate to our hearts to root out and overcome the deepest sins of heart and attitude.
The psalmist talks about its life-changing power in-depth in Psalm 119.
Treat our Bibles as the "Book of Life" - memorize it, meditate on it, apply it to our daily lives; confess the sins it reveals, and praise God for the gifts it affirms. The Bible is the tool the Spirit uses in our lives, an essential and major part of the armor that God gave us to fight our spiritual battles.
Pray! Acknowledge our own limitations, turn to God's inexhaustible power, ask for His strength and what He wants us to do, not what we want to do.
Be on fellowship with other believers. In the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, we are told that "as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another"- Proverbs 27:17. "There is strength in numbers."- Ecclesiastes 4:11-12.
Sometimes victory over sin comes quickly. Other times, victory comes more slowly. God has promised that as we make use of His resources, He will progressively bring about change in our lives. We can persevere in our efforts to overcome sin because we know that He is faithful to His promises.
(ref: got questions- Bible-answered questions)
Inspirational Prayer:
"In all I say;
In all I do;
Teach me O Lord, to center it all to You!"
Glory to our Almighty and Loving GOD!
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