Matthew 15

Hey guys!
Trying to kick start my devotions thing again since im starting work next week and want to set the routines straight!

Scripture:
Matthew 15:1-21

Observation:
This passage is primarily focused on the hyopcritical and legalistic nature of the Pharisees, and how Jesus publicly rebukes them. The pharisees were seen as the religious teachers of the day, and were supposed to epitomize and embody holiness. Jesus makes it clear what true holiness is: it's about the condition of our heart; not by how technically good we are about keeping the "law".
The pharisees were known to be so legalistic that they tried to stop Jesus from healing a blind man because it was the Sabbath; something which makes us grimace at how they could be so blinded by legalism not to allow an obvious act of love and kindness.

In verse 8 and 9, the words of the prophet Isaiah are sadly true:

"These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men".

How sad would it be for this description to be true about our own lives. It's easy to scoff at the pharisees and express our disgust about their hypocrisy, but it's very easy to fall into the same trap as them and be Christians that know the law and give the right answers, yet live a life that is just missing the point of the gospel, which is to love God and people.

Verse 18 mentions that the things that come out of our mouths come from our hearts, and what comes out from our mouths make us unclean (11). It is out of the heart that evil thoughts and wrongful actions are birthed from (19).
That being said, what kind of heart do we have? What kind of fruit are we producing in our lives? Where does all the bad fruit come from, such as jealousy, unforgiveness and pride? Whenever we notice bad fruit in our lives, we should not let it slip by, but address it and bring it before God and ask him to prune us, because it is not possible for a good tree to produce bad fruit and vice versa.

Application:
Sometimes i know that something isnt right in my life and i may have bad fruit, but i dont know how to address the issue. It reminds me of the passage where jesus talks about us having "childlike faith" and that if we dont become like little children, we can never inherit the kingdom of god.

Going back to the basics of Christianity, how I believe that we stay close to god and grow is:
1. Spend quality time praying/talking to god each day (give our first fruit)
2. Reading his word regularly and meditating on it (our daily bread)
3. Applying his word to our lives

If we are missing any of these components, i reckon our christian life wont be thriving

prayer:
Thank you jesus for the gift of life. Help me use this life to glorify you because you created me for that purpose. It would be foolish of me to try and live life for myself. Strip me of my pride and let me not take you for granted. I pray i would seek you and be desperate and hungry for you.
amen



We dont have to wait for something bad to happen before we start to get desperate for god.

Alright guys laters!