2020 Daily Devotion - Day 170
What comes out of our hearts affects all of our relationships.
One day Jesus was confronted by the religious leaders and was asked about the conduct of His disciples. It seems there were some religious rules they were not following. According to religious tradition, they were supposed to wash their hands for spiritual purity before they ate, and they weren’t doing this. So, the religious leaders were condemning Jesus and His disciples. Jesus fired back at them and then shared a short parable of explanation to His disciples; trying to make the point that all these religious leaders were concerned about were outward spirituality and appearances. Then one of the disciples asked Jesus what He meant and so He said the following:
Matthew 15:17-20 NRSV
“Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
The key to spiritual growth is for our hearts to be changed and transformed. We can appear to be many things. We can profess many things. We can produce many spiritual practices, but at the end of the day, our HEARTS are the only things which matter. What comes out of our hearts matters in our relationships with others.
What is in our core will, over time, show through the outer veneer of spirituality, sophistication, education, power and anything else we use to appear to have it all together. Our hearts matter because they affect the relationships we have with others.
Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, change our hearts. What is on the inside of us affects so many things in our lives. What comes out of us often damages others. Do a new work in us by changing our hearts. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
One day Jesus was confronted by the religious leaders and was asked about the conduct of His disciples. It seems there were some religious rules they were not following. According to religious tradition, they were supposed to wash their hands for spiritual purity before they ate, and they weren’t doing this. So, the religious leaders were condemning Jesus and His disciples. Jesus fired back at them and then shared a short parable of explanation to His disciples; trying to make the point that all these religious leaders were concerned about were outward spirituality and appearances. Then one of the disciples asked Jesus what He meant and so He said the following:
Matthew 15:17-20 NRSV
“Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
The key to spiritual growth is for our hearts to be changed and transformed. We can appear to be many things. We can profess many things. We can produce many spiritual practices, but at the end of the day, our HEARTS are the only things which matter. What comes out of our hearts matters in our relationships with others.
What is in our core will, over time, show through the outer veneer of spirituality, sophistication, education, power and anything else we use to appear to have it all together. Our hearts matter because they affect the relationships we have with others.
Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, change our hearts. What is on the inside of us affects so many things in our lives. What comes out of us often damages others. Do a new work in us by changing our hearts. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
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