Reading your Bible for Today October 14

October 14: Mark 7:14-23

KJV Key Verse: Mark 7:23
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Devotion:
Whatever environment you live in is likely to affect you directly; It may not, but it is the most likely outcome! The first time we see a horror movie, we may well be scared – the second time is not so scary and after several viewings we may even find it funny as we pick up on the errors. We have then become accustomed to those things. Our lives are similar. Each time we see something happen in our lives, we become more accustomed to those events happening. But despite being in the “wrong environment”, each one of us still has a choice as to whether we should do something or not. Unfortunately, most of us will take the side of everyone around us rather than listening to God's will and way in our lives. We see this as the easy way out. We also see this as the natural way out because of the environment we are in.

Nothing we eat or drink is going to drive us crazy or lead us away from God; though there are many drugs which will do strange things to our perceived mental state. So if we were to drink or take a substance that would remove our inhibitions, we would give in to the temptations that face us more easily than without that substance. This is because we have learned ways of giving in to those temptations by seeing them – but we are still making that choice as to what we do, that choice has still come from inside of us.

No matter what evil deed we see or hear about in our world, we know the person doing that evil deed must have got the idea from somewhere and they have made the choice to carry it out. Some people are described as being “not responsible” for their actions through mental illness. Because they are truly ill, should society not have protected them from ever learning about the evil things they have done and continue to look out for them? Everyone else has made an active and conscious choice as to what they have done.

We may not like the things that others do to us, but we have no right to go against God’s will just to get our own back on them! 

Points to Ponder:
Would you describe your friends as Godly people?

How many times do you give in to what they are doing?