Reading your Bible for today April 7

April 7: Mark 7:14-16

Key Verse: Mark 7:15
There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.

Devotion:
One of the things that I was always taught as a child was to wash my hands before every meal. Have you ever thought about where this came from? It looks like it comes from the old testament, but things got out of hand! Whilst God wanted to make sure the temple was kept clean, the rabbi's started extending His laws to cover more and more things. They washed at almost every opportunity from eating, to going to market... even in the manner in which they washed their hands; rules were set which would place them apart from everyone else.

The Pharisees and Jews had created their own rules about what was clean and what was not. Yet when Christ was amongst them, He made sure they knew the truth – a truth which they did not want to hear and continued to ignore. It is not the dirt on your hands that defiles you, but what comes out of your heart and mouth which defiles you! Or to put it in much broader words, we are all the same on the outside, none “more clean” than others. But when it comes to what is inside of us, we differ greatly.

We should endeavour to make sure we do not purposely take in germs and others things we pick up throughout the day... So, yes, we should be washing our hands when they get dirty – especially if we are going to be eating with them! But if you are asking God to bless the food which you are about to eat, then why not trust Him to do so and not go about tasks which seek to undermine that authority and trust.

No matter what we are exposed to, no matter what is around us, no matter what others do around us, we can keep ourselves “clean” by continuing in God's Word and not by joining in with what they do. It is after all what we are doing / thinking / saying / believing ourselves that counts against us and not what others are doing. But it is so easy to get caught up with what others are doing! It is so easy to get caught up in the things which look most visible and ignore the things which count.

Points to Ponder:
How often do you wash your hands?

How often do you ask God to forgive you of what you are doing wrong?