Happy Wednesday!  Yesterday, we began reading Matthew chapter 15. Today we will continue our reading in verses 10-14.

BIBLE VERSE – Matthew 15:10-14 NLT
“¹⁰ Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. ¹¹ It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”

¹² Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”
¹³ Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, ¹⁴ so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.””

REFLECTION
There are a few things in these verses that I want to point out:

• Jesus pointed out that the ceremonial washing of hands did not make a person spiritually clean. So whether their hands were clean or dirty were not the issue, Jesus said “what they put in their mouth didn’t defile them, it is what comes from their lips/mouth that defiled them”.

• Jesus didn’t apologize for offending. He boldly shared the truth and corrected those who tried to mislead others with religious traditions.

• The Pharisees acted like representatives of God, but their hearts were far from Him. They were spiritually blind.

Brothers and sisters, what is most interesting is that the disciples were doing the work that Jesus called them to do, yet the religious leaders were so blind and were accustom to being in control, that they missed what God was doing. They missed the One who was in control of all things; people were being healed and began to follow Jesus – the Son of God.

We never really know how God will use people to advance the kingdom, but we need to keep our eyes open, our ears attuned to the Lord and remain focused on what He has called us to do. Just as He defended the disciples, he will defend us too. He is Judge of judges. He is our vindicator – keep pursuing what He is calling you/us to do. 

Question:
What’s coming from your mouth?

PRAYER
Father God, give us eyes to see as you see. Lord, watch over our hearts and press out the things that do not please you. Lord, remove those things from our mouths. We want to be pleasing unto you. Lord, help us to draw closer to you and not the traditional things that bind us from fully experiencing you. Lord, as we continue to read your word, teach us like you taught the disciples. Pour into us newness of life. Cover us with your goodness and grace. Lord, we are sorry for our past sins and things we may have said against you. Lord, forgive us and lead us as we follow you with our whole heart. Lord, direct our thoughts and our hearts to receive all you have for us. Use us to advance your kingdom and glorify your name. Lord, teach us how to minister to those who don’t know you, to the lost, least and last. Lord, we pray for family members to draw closer to you. Lord, we pray for restoration and peace in marriages and homes. Lord, protect your innocent children and give them peace. Lord, continue to save victims from human trafficking and abuse. Cover the workers in the field as they prepare to rescue and restore the victims. Lord, heal the victims/survivors and give them a peaceful mind. Lord, we trust you and surrender our lives to you. We ask all these things in the name of Jesus, amen!

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