From Within

As I consider what it means to live a pure life in Christ, I realize that it all really comes down to one thing… the heart. God looks at our heart, because it is the heart that truly reveals who we are. The Bible teaches us that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And Jesus reminds us that it isn’t what we put into our body that makes us clean or unclean, but it is what comes out of the heart that makes us clean or unclean. So, everything starts there. Jesus goes on to explain in Mark 7:20-23:

He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’”

One biblical proverb tells us to guard our heart for it is the wellspring of life. I believe the heart can be cultivated and molded through good things or evil things. We feed our heart good things when we think on heavenly things, as the Bible tells us to do. When we consider things like scripture from the Holy Bible, God’s blessings in our life, or our future with him after we die, our heart flourishes. But when we think on sinful things, or indulge in things that corrupt our heart, it births sin. So, as Jesus says, it isn’t what physically goes into a man that makes him unclean, such as the food he eats or whether he washes his hands before eating, but it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean.

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It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean. There may be sinful things in our environment, which we can’t control, that find their way into our hearts; things we see and hear by just going about our daily lives even if we’d rather avoid them. And there may also be sinful things that we willingly put in our hearts; things that may influence our heart and make us callous and sinful. In Mark 7, Jesus gives us a list of evil things that can come out of a man’s heart. But I believe that if we are living right before God and man, good things can come out as well. So, I encourage you to guard your heart.

Very Last

I always find it interesting when Jesus describes the life of a believer as one of contradiction. An example of what I mean is when Jesus tells us that those who are great here on earth will be least in heaven and those who are considered least here on earth will be considered great in heaven. In Mark 9:33-35 it says:

"They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, 'What were you arguing about on the road?' But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, 'If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all'". 

Isn't that interesting? Jesus also tells us that he didn't come to earth to be served, but to serve. There are things that we think should be a certain way because of how we’ve been trained in our culture. But Jesus explains that the attributes of a Christ follower are often counter-culture. People who we think are the least, or “servants”, will be considered great in heaven. And those who we consider to be great, even some who we may think have a great “Christian walk”, will be the least in heaven. So, maybe we should change our way of thinking and try to be the least here on earth so that we can be considered great in heaven.

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We're often encouraged to be the best, to stand out, and to make our mark in life. Those aren't bad things in and of themselves, but Jesus tells us that being a servant is what we should really aspire to emulate. Because being a servant means being the least, which in turn means being great in heaven. And since heaven is our final destination, I think we should aspire to live like it. Don't you?

Agonizing Choice

As believers, we’re told to remember Jesus’ death and resurrection often. Of course, we do that on Easter and any time we have communion at church. But I encourage you to do it even more often than that. There is nothing preventing us from taking communion at home in our prayer closet and thanking Jesus for what He did for us on the cross any time we choose. When I think of Jesus’ sacrifice, I think of the portion of scripture from Mark 14:35-36 which says:

"Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 'Abba, Father,' he said, 'everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.'”

That, of course, was in reference to Jesus right before he would be taken and crucified. I challenge you to try and imagine this moment in Jesus’ life. From the time his mission was revealed to him up to this very moment, he knew that he was going to die for all mankind. Could you imagine knowing the time and manner of your death? There is never a time when we are ready and prepared to be tortured. Jesus knew what was coming and he knew it was coming soon. He agonized even to the point of not wanting to go through with it. Being fully man he asked that God allow this burden to pass from him. But even in his agony, he was faithful to God, obeying his will. It pains me every time I read it. I try to identify with Jesus’ state of mind as if I were in his shoes. How would you feel if you knew that you were about to be tortured and crucified, knowing that God has the power to stop it, but ultimately releasing your will and accepting God’s? Wrecks me every time I think about it. And it is something we should think about often, so that we don’t take Jesus’ sacrifice for granted. But praise God that he is alive today interceding on our behalf even as you read this.

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Imagine yourself in Jesus’ shoes when he prayed to God the night before he was taken to be crucified. What if you knew you would be taken tonight and crucified for something of which you are totally innocent? And what if you had total power to stop what was about to happen to you, but God called you to go through with it. Jesus chose to sacrifice himself for all mankind, but that didn’t lessen the fear of what was about to happen, nor the incredible pain and humiliation that he endured. Jesus, the son of God, the creator of life itself, did this for us. He was the only one who ever took on flesh and lived without sin. We honor lots of people ever year for their sacrifice to mankind. But no one comes close to what Christ did. And even though we have our freedoms in America, no one has won us freedom from eternal damnation except Jesus. I encourage you to remember that often, even when it isn’t Easter or communion Sunday.

God's Not Dead

I hope you were able to see the movie, “God’s Not Dead” when it was in theaters. I usually don’t plug a movie on this show, but every so often one comes along that I believe is so powerful that I feel compelled to give it a shout out. It was inspired by the song from Newsboys of the same name – “God’s Not Dead”. The title of the song and the movie reminds me of the verse of scripture from Mark chapter 16, verse 11 which says:

"When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it."

This verse is in reference to Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene. When she told some of his followers that Jesus had risen from the dead, they didn’t believe her initially. We have the benefit of knowing what the bible says, but there are still many out there, maybe even you, who struggle with the idea that Jesus is God and that he died and rose from the dead. Later, Jesus tells some of the disciples that they now believe because they see him face to face. He says blessed are those who have not seen and still believe. I encourage you to not wait until you pass into the afterlife and see God face to face to believe, because by then it will be too late. Believe today.

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When you hear that Jesus is alive today, don’t be like his followers in Mark 16 by not believing. Faith is the cornerstone of practicing Christianity. We are saved by grace through faith. And the bible tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. If you’ve ever wondered why that is true, now you know.