Have you had a HEART check-up lately? Mark 7:14-16

Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good. BLESSED EVERY DAY!!!

  In Mark 7 as you travel on to the next verses, 10-13, you will find Jesus tells the Pharisees they use God as an excuse to avoid helping their families.  They thought it was more important to put money in the Temple treasury than to help their needy parents.  God's law specifically says to honor fathers and mothers and to care for those in need.   Helping ones in need is one of the most important ways to honor God, especially your father and mother.  Greed had overtaken the Pharisees.

   Then Jesus speaks to the crowd and wants them to come and hear: “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. ¹⁵ Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”

  When I read this I do realize that what I eat and drink affects my health, but Jesus is not talking about that here.  Jesus is talking about what comes out of us spiritually.  Jesus is still rebuking the Pharisees for their view of the disciples eating with "unclean" hands.  Actually the disciples hands were not dirty, they just had not gone through the ritual the Pharisees had set in place.

   This is a time for a "heart check-up" for us all.  How is your heart?

   Next comes verse16.  The modern translations claim it was not in Mark's original transcript.  Verse 16: If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

   This was said by Jesus several times, you can find it in Matthew and Luke.  Also, it is in John's account in Revelations about 8 or so times.  Some scholars believe it is added and take it out.  The modern Bibles will have [16] with a footnote saying it was taken out.

   I, in my opinion, believe it is important for us to know this verse. Why?  Jesus is chastising the Pharisees for their "traditions" and what they believe to be sin by their standards (not God's) and the verse above tell us it is what comes from the heart.  We need to hear.  Often we, if you will, listen, but fail to hear.

  We will finish Mark 7 at a later date.  Thank you for reading with me today. Love you all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny