Happy Thursday! Today is October 31, the last day of the month! Jesus faced fierce opposition when He confronted the Pharisees about their ostensible holiness. Their words sounded good, but their hearts were wrong. They followed human rules that required them to set aside the commands of God. However, the eyes of their hearts were misaligned, so the problem was not what they saw but HOW they saw. Read on…
Today's Reading:
Job 22; Mark 7,8
Scripture
“What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.” (Mark 7:20-22)
Observation
The Pharisees were intent on making it seem like they were right and the disciples were mistaken. However, Jesus points to the heart rather than appearances. It is human nature to keep what’s inside the heart and then spend the rest of our lives trying to change everything else.
Application
Once I come to the realization that only God can change the human heart, that is when my future is transformed, and I am truly converted.
- Legislation won’t change the human heart.
- The next president of the USA won’t change it either.
- Fighting over which party is right and which one is wrong cannot do so
Only Jesus can change the human heart; only His Spirit can eradicate the inner tendencies that are lodged within. I wonder if we focus too much on external matters and not enough on the matters of the heart. In the end, that will be what matters most.
Prayer
“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” Ps. 139:23-24
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