Daily Bible Prayer

Verse

There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him:  but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.  –Mark 7: 15

Reflection

The Jews of Jesus’ day were very concerned about ritual rules, such as not eating specific foods and not eating without first ceremonially washing their hands.  But Jesus showed that it is not what we take in (eat) that defies us but what comes out of our hearts, such as (see verses 21 and 22) evil thoughts, sexual sin, murder, theft, envy of others’ possessions, blasphemy, and the like.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you taught us truly that true religion is of the heart and that defilement comes from within.  Out of the heart are the issues of life.  (Proverbs 4: 23) Search me, O God, and know my heart today, see if there be some wicked way in e, cleanse me from every sin and set me free.

He Will Strengthen Us

When we look at the world around us, it can become very easy to become discouraged by what we see.  The amount of hatred that runs deep in the hearts of many people, and the constant agony that we see across the world is enough to make a person question life.  But as Christians, we don’t need to question life.

We know that all things relating to doom, death and destruction are of the enemy.  We know that all things good come from God and he has commissioned us to go into the world ad release this good to all mankind.  The ultimate good being the gift of salvation.

Preaching the gospel will come with consequences.  People will try to discourage us.  We will be threatened.  People will abandon us.  There will be moments where it will feel as if the entire world is against us.  But we hae to choose to hold on to God and to praise him regardless of what is happening.

God is always good, no matter what we face on this earth.  When we remind ourselves of his goodness., it helps us endure the trials and tribulations of life.  In times of trouble, we need to turn our eyes to God and seek Him as our refuge.  We can only receive comfort and strength from God.

Human beings will always let us down.  We will also let people down.  The only one who will never let us down is God.  His faithfulness is always assured.  No matter what.  God’s word informs us of he many reasons we can trust God in peace.  He has been faithful even before we realized the weight of his love.

God remained faithful to the children of Israel, even after they turned their backs on Him.  Whenever they cried out to Him, God would help them.  even if they had hurt him in the worst ways, he continued to come back.

Where we are faced with daunting situations, we need to fall back on these truths, and on the word of God, realizing that God is with us and He will strengthen us no matter what.