October 29
Scripture of the day: "And He was saying, 'That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.'" Mark 7:20-23
Thought of the day: The world, the flesh, and the Devil are sources of temptation. But sin comes from inside a person ... not from outside. Legalistically following manmade rules doesn't make anyone holy. Following such rules can tempt us to set aside the commandment of God. Some Jews of Jesus' day did that by declaring their resources to be Corban (given to God) and therefore unavailable to help their parents, Mark 7:9-13. They kept their manmade religious rules ... but disobeyed God's commandment to honor their parents.
Challenge of the day: Corban isn't a word that most of us use. A different example may be more useful to you. Many Catholics have followed the rule of eating fish on Friday. For many years fish was less expensive than meat. Eating inexpensive fish one day a week to make more resources available to serve and obey God is a great idea. However, you could obey the letter of the law by eating expensive lobster. But then you would have less resources to serve and obey God. You should use your resources to support God's work. Don't say to God, "I would have supported your work ... but I bought lobster every Friday." Following extra-Biblical rules can be fine if doing so doesn't cause you to disobey God. And be very careful if you judge others for following such rules, Romans 14:1-12. You are their fellow-servant ... not their judge. God is their judge ... and yours.
THIS DAILY BYTE OF THE WORD, COPYRIGHT 2014, WAS PRINTED LEGALLY FROM WWW.EBREAD.ORG. YOU MAY COPY IT, UNCHANGED, BUT ONLY WITH THIS SOURCE AND COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ATTACHED ... AND ONLY FOR FREE OR AT-COST DISTRIBUTION. BIBLE QUOTATIONS ARE FROM THE NEW AMERICAN STANDARD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.