Mark 7: Defiled

Today’s reading is Mark 7.

Another controversy around eating arises. It certainly seems our generation is not the first to fixate on food and eating. Back in Mark 2:13-17, Jesus ate with the wrong people. In Mark 2:18-22, the disciples ate when expected to fast. In Mark 2:23-28, they ate on the wrong day. Now, in Mark 7:1-23, they do not perform the appropriate ablutions and rituals in preparation to eat. What if they had touched something unclean in the marketplace? If they made their food unclean with unclean hands, they would internalize the uncleanness. And if they were unclean on the inside, what could they possibly do to be made clean?

But Jesus turns the whole thing on its head. Cleanliness and uncleanliness don’t start on the outside. What we eat will not make us either clean or unclean. (Can we make a side note about how even in our modern day we fixate on eating and use moral terms like “clean eating”?) Cleanliness and uncleanliness start on the inside, in the heart. What comes out of the person defiles the person. Evil actions grow from evil thoughts and fantasies. In other words, the people are already unclean on the inside. That’s the problem.

We need to protect our hearts with the breastplate of righteousness and our minds with the helmet of salvation (see Ephesians 6:14-18). We need to guard our hearts because our lives flow from our hearts (see Proverbs 4:23). We need to meditate on what is true, honorable, just, excellent, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise (see Philippians 4:8). We must destroy arguments and lofty opinions, taking our thoughts captive to obey Christ (see 2 Corinthians 10:5).

I think I know why their generation (and ours) fixated so much on clean eating. It is so much easier than clean thinking and clean behaving. If we focus on clean eating, we might well think we can handle that. If we focus on clean thinking and clean behaving, we will come to realize we have only one hope. This Jesus who cast out unclean spirits, drove away unclean sicknesses, and forgave unclean sins is our only hope for cleanliness. Only Jesus can refresh our hearts and renew our minds.

Of course, let us not merely think we are talking about some kind of judicial cleanness. We must be concerned with real cleanness. If we don’t care about actual cleanness, but simply hope to be declared clean while languishing in unclean thoughts and behaviors, we will have missed the plot and the cleansing.

Do you want to be clean? Then guard your heart and let your guarded heart plan your steps. But know you’ll only accomplish it through the power of Jesus Christ.

Tomorrow’s reading is Mark 7.

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PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Mark 7 prompt or improve your praise of God?

Psalm 112: Blessed!

Today’s reading is Psalm 112.

The Blessed Life

The Psalms are particularly concerned with the blessed life. The entire book begins by describing the blessed life (see Psalm 1:1). The Psalms talk about those who are blessed, using the same word we find in Psalm 1:1 and Psalm 112:1, twenty-three times in nineteen different psalms.

Admittedly, one of the statements may refer to God (see Psalm 41:1). Another has a pretty unique place as an imprecation which doesn’t generally apply to the blessed among God’s people (see Psalm 137:8-9). That, however, leaves seventeen psalms taking up the theme of the blessed life.

More than 10% of the psalms address the blessed life. That is, the good life, the God-favored life, the flourishing life, the enriched life, the abundant life. If we want the blessed life, the Psalms sounds like a book to study.

Who is Blessed?

In Psalm 112, the blessed life belongs to the one who fears the Lord. Recall how our previous psalm ended:

Holy and awesome is [the LORD’s] name!
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!
Psalm 111:9c-10 (ESV)

The one who finds wisdom is blessed (Proverbs 3:13). Further, those who keep the ways of wisdom and who listen to wisdom are blessed (Proverbs 8:32, 34), finding life and obtaining favor from the Lord. If fearing the Lord begins wisdom and wisdom provides blessing, clearly, fearing the Lord leads to the Blessed life.

But recall what we learned last week. This fear of the Lord does not mean running away in terror. It means standing in awe before the awesome God. It means bowing in reverence before the majestic creator. It means basking in the splendor of the Lord. It means declaring the grandeur and magnificence that is God. In a word, it means worship.

When Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well God is looking for those who would worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24), He was not saying God is looking for people to browbeat into submission. He was not saying God is looking for people to play to His pride and ego. Rather, He was saying God is looking for people to bless.

God does not need His ego stroked. God doesn’t need us, our fear, our awe, or our worship. He is fearsome whether or not we fear Him. He is awesome whether or not we stand in awe of Him. He is worthy whether or not we worship Him. Rather, the blessed life comes from dwelling in this cosmos according to reality. When we ignore the reality around which our universe is built, we will constantly bang our heads against the brick wall of reality. Because God is awesome, we need to stand in awe. Because God is fearsome, we need to fear. Because God is worthy, we need to worship. Otherwise, our lives simply do not conform to the reality in which we live. We can’t be blessed while living in a fantasy world. We will only be blessed by conforming to the reality of God’s existence, standing in awe and bowing in reverence before the fearsome God.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 112.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Psalm 112 prompt or improve your praise of God?

Psalm 55: Stay and Pray; Don’t Run Away

Today’s reading is Psalm 55.

David spends a moment in fantasy. “If only I were a dove. I could fly away from all this. Everything would be better then.” Have you been there? Wanting to escape? How many times in the face of trial and turmoil did you try? I’m not talking about God’s way of escape in the face of temptation. I’m talking about the path of least resistance allowing you to check out for a while. I’m talking about pursuing some sin, especially a compulsive or addicting one. Fear, guilt, shame, loneliness, anger, sadness, or hurt overwhelm. Perhaps getting drunk will provide relief. That’s an obvious one, isn’t it? Maybe frivolously spending money. Perhaps committing immorality. I could down a gallon of ice cream. Raging at people works sometimes. Of course, there is the biggest of all escape attempts: suicide.

But then what? After your escape attempt plays out, what happens to the trouble? Is it gone? Are you free? Or is it worse and now you also have to deal with the consequences of your sin? Yeah. Me too.

David fantasized about escape. But he quickly put it to bed. Rather than escape, he hung in there. Notice an incredible parallel. In Psalm 55:10, the enemies circle the city’s walls day and night. How horrifying. David’s response? In Psalm 55:17: “Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.” The enemies threatened all day; David prayed all day.

From Biblical history, we know David strategized, planned, and acted in accord with God’s will when enemies confronted him. However, through prayer he sheltered in God, inviting God to wage the battles on his behalf.

I’m sure you have all kinds of plans today. Have you prayed in order to make any of your plans worthwhile?

Today’s reading is Psalm 55.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

What admonishes you in Psalm 55?