Key Thought

Wow! What a powerful message in today's world where we deliberately expose ourselves to so many forms of hurtful images and thoughts. Jesus stressed the importance of being pure -- not just in our actions, but especially in our hearts and minds! Let's hear clearly Jesus' demand that we be righteous body, soul, and spirit!

Today's Prayer

Today's Verses in Context

Some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem. They gathered around Jesus. The Pharisees and teachers of the law saw that some of Jesus' followers ate food with hands that were not clean. ("Not clean" means that they did not wash their hands {in the way the Pharisees said people must}.) The Pharisees and all the Jews never eat before washing their hands in this special way. They do this to follow the teaching given to them by their great people that lived before them. And when the Jews buy something in the market, they never eat it until they wash it in a special way. They also follow other rules from their people that lived before them. They follow rules like the washing of cups, pitchers, and pots. The Pharisees and teachers of the law said to Jesus, "Your followers don't follow the rules given to us by our great people that lived before us. Your followers eat their food with hands that are not clean. Why do they do this?" Jesus answered, "You are all hypocrites. Isaiah was right when he spoke about you. Isaiah wrote, 'These people say they honor me, but they don't really make me an important part of their lives. Their worship of me is for nothing. The things they teach are only rules that people have made.' You have stopped following the commands of God. Now you follow the rules you got from other people." Then Jesus said to them: "You think you are smart! You ignore the commands of God so that you can follow your own teachings! Moses said, 'You must honor (respect) your father and mother.' Then Moses also said, 'Any person that says bad things to his father or mother must be killed.' But you teach that a person can say to his father or mother, 'I have something I could use to help you. But I will not use it to help you. I will give it to God.' You are telling that person that he does not have to do anything for his father or mother. So you are teaching that it is not important to do what God said. You think that it is more important to followthose rules you teach people. And you do many things like that." Jesus called the people to him again. He said, "Every person should listen to me and understand what I am saying. There is nothing a person puts into his body that makes him wrong. A person is made wrong by the things that come from him." Then Jesus left the people and went into the house. The followers asked Jesus about this story. Jesus said, "You still have trouble understanding? Surely you know that nothing that enters a person from the outside can make him wrong. Food does not go into a person's mind. Food goes into the stomach. Then that food goes out of the body." (When Jesus said this, he meant that there is no food that is wrong for people to eat.) And Jesus said, "The things that come from a person are the things that make that person wrong. All these bad things begin inside a person, in the mind: bad thoughts, sexual sins, stealing, murder, adultery, greed, doing bad things to people, lying, doing things that are morally wrong, jealousy, saying bad things about people, proud boasting, and foolish living. All these evil things come from inside a person. These things make a person wrong. "

— Mark 7:1-23 (ERV)

Comments on "From Within: The Heart Inside":

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