Throughout the season of Lent our daily devotions have been written by members of the Faith Lutheran community. Our theme this Lent is “Jesus Our Healer.” Today’s devotion comes from Brian Taylor.
When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. He said to them, “Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Mark 7:17-23
We can only be defiled by what comes from our hearts. Thank goodness God loves us. He knows we have sinful hearts, but he forgives us and blesses us with tools which can help us avoid our sinful thoughts and actions.
Our tools are our faith in God, God’s Word, our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and regular thoughtful prayer. We can all be better at using these tools that God has given us.
Let us pray: Dear Heavenly Father, help me to live my life in ways which please you. I know I can’t do this on my own. Thank you for my faith and providing me with tools which help me maintain a clean heart. In Jesus name I pray, Amen
Daily Devotions 
March 21, 2015 at 7:01 am |
In the verse for today we find that our sin comes from within, from the evil intentions of our human hearts. But you remind us here of the tools we can use to combat sinning: “our faith in God, God’s word (the bible), our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and regular thoughtful prayer.” We all can do better.
James 5:16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much.”
May 16, 2015 at 4:09 pm |
Very good article. I’m experiencing some of these issues as well..