S. Matthew 15:3-9
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’[a] and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’[c]”
O. Jesus told the pharisees that they were putting the tradition of men above obeying God’s word. He let them know that their worship if for nothing if their hearts (the center of our emotions) are not given to God.
It is possible to go through “lip service” (just saying you are following God without ever truly trusting Him from the very center of our lives). What comes out of us, can either make us unclean or draw us closer to God - fully trusting Him.
A. I want my spiritual life to be centered around the Lord, that is, I do not wish just to “talk” and have no fruit. I do not desire empty words. I desire to worship the Lord with all that is within me and to obey His words rather than live by man-made rules.
P. Heavenly Father, thank you for my salvation and relationship with you through Jesus. I desire an intimate, close walk with you, to honor you, and to worship you with all my being and not just following the traditions of men.
