Daily Bread 2011 - Matthew 15
Daily Bread Together – Monday – Matthew 15
Verse of the Day: 15:8-11 “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
What Does This Mean?
As the Pharisees continue to try and “trip up” Jesus, he continues to expose the shallowness of their devotion. He acknowledges that they say a lot of things in their worship, but their hearts are far from him. The Pharisees had many rituals and a lot them had to do with what they could and could not eat. We call this today “kosher” laws, or dietary laws.
Studies have been done that show that eating “kosher” food is indeed a good thing. Again God gave his laws to help and protect the Jewish people. Good eating was the key to longevity in a culture where death often came early through diseases that could have been easily prevented. But the problem was the Pharisees equated these laws with what it meant to worship God.
Jesus found that the Pharisees were teaching many things, but not living up to many of them. They were honoring God with their lips, but there hearts were far from him. Jesus was more concerned about what came out of people’s hearts, then what they put in their stomachs.
What Does This Mean For Us?
It is convicting to think that we too could be honoring God with our words, but our hearts could be far from him. There was a song written not too long called the “Heart of Worship” by Matt Redman. The refrain was, “I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about you, all about you Jesus.”
Worship is what we “give worth” to. What we give worth too is not just what we say, but how we behave. It is one thing to worship on Sunday, but if our lives Monday – Saturday don’t show the true worth of God in our lives, I fear that the prophet Isaiah would have the same thing to say to us. We worship in vain.
We know that true worship comes as we realize God’s great love for us through His Son and respond in ways that show the change of heart. This realization happens by and through faith in who Jesus is and what He has done for us. God works on us from the inside out, so our behaviors start matching what we are “mouthing” on Sundays. None of are perfect, and in a way we are all “hypocrites” to some extent. But, as God has more of us, who we say we are and how we live our lives will be more in sync, with the way Jesus talked and walked.
Jesus thank you for revealing the true condition of our hearts and showing us your deep love for us inspite of who we were on the inside. Continue that transformation in us so that our worship with our lips will match the actions of our lives. Amen.
Verse of the Day: 15:8-11 “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
What Does This Mean?
As the Pharisees continue to try and “trip up” Jesus, he continues to expose the shallowness of their devotion. He acknowledges that they say a lot of things in their worship, but their hearts are far from him. The Pharisees had many rituals and a lot them had to do with what they could and could not eat. We call this today “kosher” laws, or dietary laws.
Studies have been done that show that eating “kosher” food is indeed a good thing. Again God gave his laws to help and protect the Jewish people. Good eating was the key to longevity in a culture where death often came early through diseases that could have been easily prevented. But the problem was the Pharisees equated these laws with what it meant to worship God.
Jesus found that the Pharisees were teaching many things, but not living up to many of them. They were honoring God with their lips, but there hearts were far from him. Jesus was more concerned about what came out of people’s hearts, then what they put in their stomachs.
What Does This Mean For Us?
It is convicting to think that we too could be honoring God with our words, but our hearts could be far from him. There was a song written not too long called the “Heart of Worship” by Matt Redman. The refrain was, “I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about you, all about you Jesus.”
Worship is what we “give worth” to. What we give worth too is not just what we say, but how we behave. It is one thing to worship on Sunday, but if our lives Monday – Saturday don’t show the true worth of God in our lives, I fear that the prophet Isaiah would have the same thing to say to us. We worship in vain.
We know that true worship comes as we realize God’s great love for us through His Son and respond in ways that show the change of heart. This realization happens by and through faith in who Jesus is and what He has done for us. God works on us from the inside out, so our behaviors start matching what we are “mouthing” on Sundays. None of are perfect, and in a way we are all “hypocrites” to some extent. But, as God has more of us, who we say we are and how we live our lives will be more in sync, with the way Jesus talked and walked.
Jesus thank you for revealing the true condition of our hearts and showing us your deep love for us inspite of who we were on the inside. Continue that transformation in us so that our worship with our lips will match the actions of our lives. Amen.
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