July 1-5

And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;’” - Mark 7:6 ESV

The Heart of the Problem
A rather pompous-looking deacon was endeavoring to impress upon a class of boys the importance of living the Christian life. "Why do people call me a Christian?" the man asked. After a moment's pause, one youngster said, "Maybe it's because they don't know you." (Source Unknown)

Jesus knew the heart of the Pharisees. The heart of the problem of the Pharisees was their heart wasn’t in their relationship with God. Jesus never hesitated to call out hypocrites. These men were all show and only giving God lip service. They weren’t giving him their hearts. They were more concerned about handwashing legalism than hearts for Jesus.

Reflection
David Guzik starts "meddling" asking --   Would God say something similar to us?

They attend church, but their heart is far from Me.
They read their Bible, but their heart is far from Me.
They pray eloquently, but their heart is far from Me.
They contribute money, but their heart is far from Me.
They do ministry, but their heart is far from Me.
They love to sing, but their heart is far from Me.
They talk to others about Jesus, but their heart is far from Me.

Praise/Prayer
Thank God for promising to give us a new heart when we come to Him. Ask God to show you areas of your life where you may only be giving Him lipservice but not serving Him out of love.

“in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” - Mark 7:7 ESV

The Heart of Worship
During the tenure of the great orator Henry Ward Beecher, a visiting minister (Beecher’s brother) once substituted for the popular pastor. A large audience had already assembled to hear Beecher, and when the substitute pastor stepped into the pulpit, several disappointed listeners began to move toward the exits. That’s when the minister stood and said loudly, “All who have come here today to worship Henry Ward Beecher may now withdraw from the church. All who have come to worship God keep your seats!” (Today in the Word)

In Mark 7, the Pharisees weren’t there to worship God. Jesus explains why their worship of God was empty, futile, and a waste of time. Part of the problem was they had taken man-made rules and treated them like they were God’s Word. Often churches will have laws, rules, and traditions that are unscriptural and this leads toward empty worship. They sang the songs of worship but they did not have hearts of worship.

Reflection
Take time to think about the words to one of your favorite worship songs. As you reflect on the words, ask yourself are the words biblical, do you mean them, and are you living them?

Praise/Prayer
Turn on worship music and let it be the prayer of your heart today.

“You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” - Mark 7:8 ESV

The Heart of the Problem: When We Embrace Tradition Over Truth
“All Christians are at once beneficiaries and victims of tradition - beneficiaries, who receive nurturing truth and wisdom from God’s faithfulness in past generations; victims, who now take for granted things that need to be questioned, thus treating as divine absolutes patterns of belief and behavior that should be seen as human, provisional, and relative. We are all beneficiaries of good, wise, and sound tradition… and victims of poor, unwise, and unsound traditions.” -J.I. Packer

Traditions had become bad in the lives of the Pharisees. According to Danny Akin, “For the Pharisees, the ultimate authority for spiritual life was Scripture and tradition, but if there was a conflict tradition won out and it did so every time.” Legalism is using man-made rules and traditions to measure righteousness.

Reflection
What were some of the traditions you grew up believing were measures of righteousness that may have not been biblical? Do you have any beliefs now that Jesus would say are men’s traditions and not God’s Word?

Praise/Prayer
Thank God for the truth and power of His Word. Ask God to forgive you of any legalism in your own life.

“But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” - Mark 7:11-13 ESV

The Heart of the Problem: When We Value Law Over Love
Actor and comedian W. C. Fields was an avowed agnostic, so he surprised his friends when they discovered him reading a Bible while on his deathbed. When asked why, Fields replied, “I'm looking for a loophole.”

The Pharisees created a man-made loophole to try to avoid God’s command to take care of their parents. It was called “Corban.” If someone pronounced something, “Corban,” it became sacred and therefore could not be used to help care for parents. Withholding money from needy parents in order to give it to God is in direct disobedience to God and is dishonoring God's Word and substituting a man-made tradition for God's Word. Basic human needs come first with God before religious offerings. This is a great (sad) example of the oppressive burden of legalistic religion! (Precept Austin)

Reflection
What were some of the examples from Pastor Jim’s sermon that stood out to you personally when it came to placing law over love?

Praise/Prayer
The Bible says that God is love. Praise God for being all love and all God. Ask God how He wants you to reflect His love toward someone today.

“There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” -  Mark 7:15 ESV

The Heart of the Problem: When We Emphasize the External Over the Internal
After a violent storm one night, a large tree, which over the years had become a stately giant, was found lying across the pathway in a park. Nothing but a splintered stump was left. Closer examination showed that is was rotten at the core because thousands of tiny insects had eaten away at its heart. The weakness of that tree was not brought on by the sudden storm --it began the very moment the first insect nested within its bark. (Source Unknown)

Man’s greatest spiritual attacks don’t come from the outside of us they come on the inside. Jesus told a group of people who had spent their entire lives trying to look “religious” on the outside that what really mattered was what was on the inside. Jesus taught that nothing on the outside could defile you. He taught them that all sin starts in the heart.

Reflection
As kids, we learned, “garbage in and garbage out.” How's your daily diet, not your literal, physical diet, but your spiritual diet? Reading this devotion is a good way to grow your heart. What other things are you doing to take care of your heart spiritually?

Praise/Prayer
Thank God for the mercy He has shown you when you have been legalistic and too focused on the externals. Thank God for showing you what matters most to Him. Ask God to clean you up from the inside out.