Then Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked, 2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat!â€
3 He answered them, “And why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition? …
7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:
8 These people honor Me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me.
9 They worship Me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commands of men.
Summoning the crowd, He told them, “Listen and understand: 11 It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.†Matthew 17:1-3, 7-11 (HCSB)
What is truly inside of me? Most people can tell when someone has been onions or garlic or drinking coffee. And there’s a true saying that just because I go to church doesn’t make me a Christian any more than being in a garage makes me a car. What flows out of me? What comes to my mind and out my mouth – unless I have a heavy filter on my mouth to keep me “pc†(politically correct) and “cc†(church correct)?
There has been positive and negative reviews of what we call “the social media.†This usually refers to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I happen to like Facebook as it helps to keep me connected to people I know all over the world. I use Twitter for business and the other two I haven’t jumped into – yet. It has been interesting to me some of things that people share on these sites. Besides the TMI (too much information) factor there is also often a lack of common sense as people put out all matter of information for anyone to have and comment on. Trashing ex-friends and spouses, cursing and then sharing the next day that you liked the sermon or the music at church sends a mixed message of exactly to whom you give your primary allegiance.
Paul told me through his letter to the Philippians that I should keep my focus on what is excellent and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8) because that is where God will be. James reminded me that the tongue needs a tight rein and that it is a world of evil (James 1 and 3).
If I do not really believe and desire to obey God above all others, then what has been planted inside of me is not deeply rooted and will not overflow out of me like a Living River. I will claim to a disciple of Jesus Christ and yet what comes out of my mouth will give the true picture of where God is in my life. If I readily escape worship to sleep in or do things out in the church lobby, then I need to ask myself how important worship is to me. If I pick up my Bible in order to move it to dust and then put it down without a glance, then my relationship to Christ will be no more than that of an infant, never growing up.
Join me today and allow the Holy Spirit to thoroughly clean your thoughts and desires and then actively pursue what is “true, noble, right, pure, lovely admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.†Become so filled with what is from God that you overflow all that is Him without thinking.
Draw Me Close to You written by Kelly Carpenter and sung by Michael W. Smith
