Tuesday 14 January 2014

TFTD - 13 January 2014 - Thoughts from Today's Bible Readings

13 January 2014

Genesis 24
Psalms 29; 30
Matthew 15

"HEAR AND UNDERSTAND"

The world today is very conscious of cleanliness. When you go to the Doctors, he or she will thoroughly wash their hands before they examine you. A lot of money is made marketing soaps and other cleansing agents. This is all to the good.

The Jews in the days of Jesus had turned cleanliness into a ritual that made them feel more righteous. (see Luke 11:37-41) They criticised Jesus for letting his disciples eat with unwashed hands [Mark 7:2-5] Jesus calls them hypocrites and says "This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" [Matthew 15:7-9].

Jesus then called people to him and said, "Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth" [Matthew 15:11] His disciples query him as to what he means, so he tells them, "what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person" [Matthew 15:18-20] The thought comes first, then follows the deed. Our world is full of this kind of defilement. Before every wrong doing comes wrong thinking. TV, DVD's and many magazines feed human minds making them inclined to think and imagine godless pursuits. More and more seem to be turning thoughts into actions.

Sources of defilement are everywhere today making it more essential than ever to feed our minds with the word of God every day.
-------
- DC


Thought for the Day

13 January 2014

"For the Lord Jesus Christ whom we remember, the nearness of God was his stay. I am alone and yet not alone, my Father is with me. "I set the Lord always before my face: because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved" (Psalm 16). That is the secret of Christ's victory. There is no other way ... How near is your God? He is as near as you want Him to be, a God at hand, in the midst of the camp, at the beginning of our new life in Christ and at the end."

- Harry Tennant
God With Us (1973)

No comments:

Post a Comment