February 18, 2010, Mark 7

Key Verse

"Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a man can make him "unclean" by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him "unclean."

(Mark 7: 14-15)

Central Truth

Attach yourself to ME and I will make you clean.


WHAT IS YOUR DIET ?

Wow, this has ALWAYS been a hard verse for me to swallow . . . . No pun intended!! Just when I am rocking along thinking I am doing pretty good in the "good Christian" category, this verse comes along and brings me back to my knees. The setting, of course, is Jesus talking to the Jews, explaining that the "traditions" of old are no longer needed now that they have Jesus. The Jews were very attached to their traditions and used them to "look" holy rather than honor God. Jesus informed them that they were wrong to think they were honoring God just because they were clean on the outside. This was His nice way of calling them hypocrites.

Hypocrisy is acting like something you are not. Many Christians fall into this category by worshipping God for the wrong reasons. We get caught up in looking the part, putting on a good face at church, censoring our words around others, and pretending our marriages and families are perfect. But, when we get in the privacy of our homes...we let it all hang out. Hmmmm, Is God not with us everywhere we go? Why then are we more concerned with what others think, rather than living to please our one true Holy God? This chapter tells us that this is a problem that has been around for a long time!

Jesus also spoke in verse 6, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Take a second and just think: Is this me? Do I fall under the umbrella of people he is referencing? The awesome thing about this whole lesson is the reality that we are making this "worshipping thing" much too hard. You see, the point He is making is to quit trying. Just attach yourself to ME, and I will make you clean. Quit worrying about everyone else, and attach to ME. Should I say it again? Attach to ME!! The more we do this, the more beautiful we become. Let God be your source of diet, and He will fuel your heart and mind!