Day 54

" Jesus replied, "You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said, 
'These people honor me with their lips, 
 but their hearts are far away. 
Their worship is a farce, 
for they replace God's commands with their own man-made teachings.' 
For you ignore God's specific laws and substitute your own traditions." Then he said, "You reject God's laws in order to hold on to your own traditions."
Mark 7:6-7

"It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart." 
Mark 7:15

It's right there. What my heart does is everything. If I have bitter thoughts in my heart, then my actions will be bitter. If I praise God with my mind, but don't let my heart completely surrender, then I'm lying not only to myself, but to God.

We really do follow our own teachings and customs rather than God's. I mean, the example given in Mark is about the Law of Moses commanding that we respect our father and mother, but do we actually do it? I know I sure don't. There are times when I blatantly disrespect and disregard their teachings, and quite honestly, until I'm married, they are the authorities over my life.

There are laws that say it's okay to do certain things, when the Bible clearly states that those things go against God. I don't mean to step on anyone's toes, but looking at the word, certain things are absolutely clear. But then, there are some things that are completely ambiguous--and there is where we get different denominations within Christianity, the dissent over the little issues.


It's amazing how God just knows and cares for our hearts. He yearns for them and is a jealous God who will stop at nothing to pursue and be the Lord over your heart as well as soul. I would almost say that your heart and soul are synonymous, because what you feel is stemmed by your heart, and God clearly states that he wants it. Our lives come from our hearts, and our words and actions are dictated by our feelings.


I know that my heart isn't pure. I know that I still carry resentment and anger on things, and although I really try and ask God's forgiveness and deliverance from those things, I am not completely sincere. I'm pretending and putting out garbage. Why do I still harbor these negative feelings when I have an awesome God who will love me no matter what I do?


It's frustrating sometimes, because I want God to be there. I want God to know that my worship isn't just a farce and deliver me from my wicked ways, but sometimes he seems so far away. Sometimes I pray, and feel nothing. I know it's because my heart isn't in the right place and I know that I am just not putting my entire self into it.


God is COMMANDING me to not just honor me with my lips and walk around with the facade of a Christian. God is commanding me to LIVE my faith, and quite frankly, that's the hardest task I have ever undertaken.


I am just asking for STRENGTH and SINCERITY with my actions, words, and deeds! I'm pretty sure that Jesus was sincere in everything he did.


God bless,
Lauren