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(1-27-2020)- Monday Matthew 15:2- “'Why Do Your Disciples Break the Tradition of the Elders? They Don't Wash Their Hands

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(1-27-2020)- Monday Matthew 15:2- “'Why Do Your Disciples Break the Tradition of the Elders? They Don't Wash Their Hands (1-27-2020)- Monday Matthew 15:2- “‘Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!’” I have pastored four churches in my ministry career, and in every church there have been core traditions which are important to the people. At my first church it was important that we had communion every Sunday. At my second church saying the Lord’s Prayer every week was important to many. At my third church it became a tradition for the choir to sing every Sunday. At my current church it is customary to have food after the service every Sunday. At all four churches many people sat in the same place every week and felt comfortable doing this. Traditions don’t have to be bad, but if they take our focus away from worshipping God then they are not beneficial. In church traditions can become more important than worshipping God. We know this to be true if the removal of it causes us to be more concerned with the change than with the focus on God. We see this happening with the Pharisees when they were more concerned with the tradition of washing hands before eating than with the state of a person’s heart. They believed laws and traditions to be more important than faith which leads to action. They were upset because Jesus wasn’t correcting His disciples when they “defiled” their food and themselves with their failure to clean their hands. We have to search our hearts and make sure that our heart is committed to Jesus first and foremost, and that our desire is to do what honors God and glorifies God. Lord, help my focus in my life to be living for You and serving You. If a tradition takes away from this focus then let me be okay with discarding it. Amen. Why were the Pharisees upset at the disciples of Jesus? How can following traditions make us blind to what God wants from us? What is a tradition you would have a problem letting go of? Blessings. (1-28-2020)- Tuesday Matthew 15:7-9, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’” I have known many people, some in the church, who profess to be a Christ-follower but who are not. They go to church and sing the songs and pray the prayers. However, once they leave church they are very worldly, meaning that they follow the rules of the world as opposed to following the commands of God. Their behavior is not honoring to God and their attitude towards God is that they call on Him when they need Him. They say they believe in the Bible and church and Christ, but this supposed faith does not show itself in their everyday behavior. The Pharisees played the religious part well. They were very demonstrative in their dress and their prayers. They seemed to follow the laws of God and put it upon the people to do the same. However, the Law had become their god more than God was their god. Jesus had this to say about them, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” It actually isn’t difficult to know if someone falls into this category. Jesus tells us that to be a true Christ- follower we must give generously of our time and talent and money to the work of God. We are to make the word of God a priority in our lives. We are to let God guide all of our decisions. We are to be telling people about the saving grace of God through Christ’s sacrifice. Since we say that we love Christ, it should be evident in our lives that we indeed do. Lord, may I not just say that I love You, but may my actions prove that I love You. Amen. How did the Pharisees' actions not match their words? How was their worship “in vain”? Does the way you live your life make it evident that you are a Christ-follower? Have a great day. (1-29-2020)- Wednesday Matthew 15:14- “Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” A couple of years ago we were returning from our Mexico mission trip to Ensenada. We were coming up to one of the last turns before the border. I had two other vehicles following me, trusting me to get them to the border. Then it happened; I missed the turn. I immediately took the next exit, but now I was lost. The other two cars didn’t know we were lost until I pulled into the parking lot of a store. What were we to do now? Fortunately, the GPS on the phone was working so Tyler pulled up the directions and led us to the border. It was good that we weren’t lost for long, but I did feel badly getting the group lost for a time. Jesus was telling the disciples not to follow the Pharisees. They were blind guides because they were more concerned with their own status and power than leading people to living for God. This happens in our world all the time. We are following someone and they get us lost. They might not be trying to get us lost, but they get us lost just the same because they don’t know where they are going. They become blind guides. Maybe they encourage us to miss church to go on an outing. Maybe they draw us into some gossip. Maybe they cause us to think we are lacking some possession that will make us happier, so we go out and buy it. We have to be careful not to follow those who are blind guides to us. They are blind guides because they are not following God like they should. As my group used the GPS to find our way back to the right path, so we can use the Bible, God’s word, to keep us on the right track. If we are walking in obedience to God’s word, then we can help others who do not see so that they will see the truth and follow God! Lord, help me to keep Your word in my heart and mind so that it will lead me to the good and true way to live. Amen. Why did Jesus call the Pharisees blind guides? Who are the blind guides in our world? How does the word of God keep you from following these blind guides? Have a wonderful day. (1-30-2020)- Thursday Matthew 15:19-20, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” There are many foods I like (tacos, lasagna, pizza, mahi mahi, filet mignon) and many foods that I don’t like. I am not a big meat eater, but I love most fruit. I especially love dessert! However, the food I eat is not bad or good for me in the sense of a spiritual aspect. Eating food is not sinful unless you are gluttonous. This is because the food is eaten, it is then processed by the body, and ultimately it is excreted. The food does not impact the body in a way that could defile it, even if you eat with unwashed hands! The Pharisees were outraged that Jesus’ disciples were eating food with unwashed hands. They thought this was “sinful” because it went against the laws they had established. Jesus gives us great teaching here to help us understand that the food we eat, or eating food with unwashed hands, doesn’t defile us. He also tells us that it is our actions that defile us because we are led to do what we do by what our heart leads us to do. When evil is in our heart, that is what will be displayed. Jesus even lists some of this evil: murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony. Now you might read this list and think you are doing okay. If you think that, you might read more about the insights Jesus gives to these actions in His Sermon on the Mount found in the Gospel of Matthew chapters five through seven. Plus, this is not an exhaustive list. The point is that we are sinful in nature, and without Jesus we will give in to our sin and the evil that would reside there. This is what will defile us. However, with Jesus we have hope, strength, forgiveness, and cleansing. Let us seek to live in a way that honors God. Lord, may I see that if I am not following You, my heart will have evil in it and will ultimately defile me and You. Keep me in Your holy presence living well for You. Amen. Why does eating food (even with unwashed hands) not defile us? Why does Jesus say that what comes out of the heart is what defiles us? Why is it important to commit your heart, and your whole being, to Jesus daily? May the grace and peace of Christ be with you. (1-31-2020)- Friday Matthew 15:26-28, “He replied, ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.’ ‘Yes it is, Lord,’ she said.
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