Bible Chapter: Mark 7

Because the Bible is practical, here are some statements to get you thinking.

1.  Write one or two key thoughts that come from today’s reading.
    Jesus talked about people who honor God with their lips and not their hearts.  Words are cheap.  People connected with a religious organization often want to try to impress with their “deep spirituality”.  It is easy to say something that sounds good and will draw praise from others.  This sounds like the world of politics.  How many people have said something during the campaign and then forgot it after being elected?  The church world is full of people who say things that sound good but they have no heart connection with Jesus.  They have a religious shell.  Jesus said their hearts are far from Him.  Rules and regulations created by religious leaders that have nothing to do with serving God only cause problems and confusion.  Jesus said their worship was vain because they teach only manmade rules.  We must have a living faith in Jesus, not routines and rituals that manipulate and control people.
    The religious leaders were concerned with ritual washing, so they would be “clean”.  Jesus hit that issue head on.  He said it wasn’t what a person eats that makes the difference, but what is in their heart.  Verses 21-23 focus on what is in a person’s heart, and this is a scary list.  A lack of moral integrity and spiritual discernment that come from not knowing God lead people to extremely sinful actions.  These are key verses to identify the issues of motivation for actions.  No food manufacturer would want to identify an ingredients list that includes poison and rotten food.  So, no believer in Jesus would want these sinful actions in their heart.  A clean heart leads to a clean lifestyle.  Society is perplexed as to how people who seem so nice can be discovered having done heinous acts.  The issue is what is in their hearts.  A clean heart leads to a clean life.

2. What can I apply in my life from the reading?
    I can be sure to have my priorities straight.  What is more important - human traditions or God’s Word?  This is why I must continue to study the Bible to keep it fresh in my life.  Having preached thousands of times it is easy to fall into a trap of thinking I have it all figured out.  No one has it all figured out.  We understand the basics but must keep digging for the deeper depths of the things of God.  We all must keep on studying and reading, making in-course corrections to stay on the straight and narrow path.  I need to continue to focus on keeping the input to my heart clean so the output stays clean.  Compromise on the input leads to destructive output.
    While I didn’t write about it earlier, chapter 7 includes two more stories of miraculous healings.  One is about a woman who came to Jesus seeking help for her daughter.  In what seems like an uncharacteristic move by Jesus, it appears that He rejects her.  Her persistence and faith is shown to rise and Jesus immediately responded to her request.  This shows that anyone can come to Jesus.  I must not get trapped into the thinking that only good or religious people can come to Jesus.  This is a good thought.

3.  How can I help someone?
    Our world is confused as to how people can do the horrible things they do.  I can help people see the heart issue.  It is what is in the heart that comes out.  People need to understand that a sinful nature will produce sinful actions.  They also need to know that Jesus forgives when there is genuine repentance.