Defiled From the Inside

Scripture:

Mark 7:15 "Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them.  Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them".

Observation:

Jesus is teaching about what the Pharisees had been teaching concerning cleanliness.  They were really good at washing their hands, washing their plates and cups, etc. so that nothing unclean would enter them.  They asked Jesus why His disciples didn't go by the regulations and Jesus made it plain to them that the inside was more important than the outside.  He was telling them that their heart, soul and mind were more important to be clean than their hands.  He told them that they were good at fulfilling man-made regulations, but that they had missed the point entirely.

Application:

Throughout our lives, we must always go back to doing a heart check.  Sometimes we can be doing the right thing and doing it well, but if it is not the thing Christ wants us to be doing, we are being just like the Pharisees.  We must keep the priority on what goes on inside instead of outside.  We must desire our thoughts to be as clean as our Sunday church clothes.  We must desire our hearts to be as pure as possible.  We must maintain a pure heart and not just obey religious regulations. 

Prayer:

Lord, search my heart today and show me the areas that need cleaning and care.  Do an internal inspection and show me areas that need to change.  Help me not to do things, even good things, that are simply out of obligation and man made rules, but to live by the Spirit who will guide and show me all truth.

Your Son,
Jeff