Daily Bread Mark 7


Mark 7:6-8 (New International Version)

6He 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. 7They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' 8You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."

Observation:

Jesus doesn’t mince words with the Pharisees. He exposes their true spiritual condition. While they are good at enforcing the externals, they have lost sight of the most important thing, the condition of their hearts. Jesus tells us that all things flow out of that condition. If our hearts are good, then good things will flow out. If our hearts are focused on the things of this world, then those things will flow out into our character and lives.

In the above verses, he also shows that it is possible to worship God, and yet be far from Him. For at the heart of worship is not only what we say on Sundays, but we do Monday – Saturday. At the heart of worship is not our rituals (though they are not bad in and of themselves, and can lead us into true worship), but our expressing our love and adoration for God. This changes and transforms our hearts as we focus in on God and the grace in His Son.

Application:

Are you honoring God with your lips, while at the same time your true heart is far from Him? I know I have to admit that is true for me some times. And what helps me to get out of this condition is to come before God and spend time with Him reconnecting and truly worshipping Him for who He is, and what He has done for me.

Sometimes it is even easy for me to go through the motions of this daily bible study without truly considering what it means for me or taking time to bask in the truth of what God’s word is telling me. But God is good, and He honors us when we truly seek Him, we will find Him. He is not far from any of us. God’s greatest desire is for us to worship Him with all our heart, soul, strength and mind. Out of this sincere heart condition will flow good things!

Prayer: Forgive me God for going through the motions. Help me to truly seek You and be honest before you. I confess that in Jesus’ name. Thank you for never giving up on me, and always being there when I need you. You are an awesome God! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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