September 26th, 2024
Thursday, September 26th
Hearts that Honor God
By: Anna Williams
Imagine you are leaning over the side of a boat. You stretch your arms out as far as you can to reach someone who has fallen into shark infested waters. The sharks are circling around them and just before their hand reaches your own, you recoil from their reach because your shirt sleeve gets wet. Then, still without aiding them, you lecture them on proper boat safety and the most effective practices for avoiding accidental falls like this.
If that person survives the ordeal, what’s the likelihood of them going boating with you again? Will you have likely gained or lost their respect?
So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, “Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.” Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’” -Mark 7:5-7 (NLT)
Jesus was upset with the religious people of his day for placing tradition and “that’s how we’ve always done it” above all else. He saw that they had focused so much on their methods of worship that they lost sight of the purpose of worship.
He reminded us that our focus should be to love God with all our heart, soul and mind; and to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Matthew 22:36–40) When we encounter someone in need of rescue, we should pray for guidance on method and then extend a loving hand to pull them out so they can be introduced to a relationship with Jesus.
Hearts that Honor God
By: Anna Williams
Imagine you are leaning over the side of a boat. You stretch your arms out as far as you can to reach someone who has fallen into shark infested waters. The sharks are circling around them and just before their hand reaches your own, you recoil from their reach because your shirt sleeve gets wet. Then, still without aiding them, you lecture them on proper boat safety and the most effective practices for avoiding accidental falls like this.
If that person survives the ordeal, what’s the likelihood of them going boating with you again? Will you have likely gained or lost their respect?
So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, “Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.” Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’” -Mark 7:5-7 (NLT)
Jesus was upset with the religious people of his day for placing tradition and “that’s how we’ve always done it” above all else. He saw that they had focused so much on their methods of worship that they lost sight of the purpose of worship.
He reminded us that our focus should be to love God with all our heart, soul and mind; and to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Matthew 22:36–40) When we encounter someone in need of rescue, we should pray for guidance on method and then extend a loving hand to pull them out so they can be introduced to a relationship with Jesus.
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