DCLM Daily Manna, Wednesday February 18, 2015 by Pastor Kumuyi – Wanted: A Pure Heart
Topic: Wanted: A Pure Heart
Text: Mark 7:14-23
Key Verse: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders” (Mark 7:21).
In many ways, the heart serves as the engine room of the human body. From biological perspective, it is the organ that pumps oxygen and blood to different parts of the body. It is this activity of the heart that sustains life. On the other hand, the heart is the stream out of which flow “the issues of life.” It is the chamber where thoughts are incubated before they transform into action. Your heart’s condition is a most critical determinant of the quality of life you live.
This is the truth Christ teaches in the text. The teaching came as part of His response to the hypocritical posture of the Pharisees who faulted His disciples for eating with unwashed hands. The Pharisees practised a religion of forms and rituals with little or no morality. In their pretence to adhere strictly to the Mosaic laws, they added traditions that made them to neglect the weightier matters of the law. Soon, “the tradition of the elders” became their cardinal doctrine and standard. Ceremonial hand-washing before meal was one of such traditions. Their faultfinding penchant could not bear to see Christ’s disciples flout this tradition.
Christ’s message here is clear: defilement does not come from eating with unwashed hands or from what we eat. This does not excuse the evil of consuming hurtful substances. It simply implies that defilement and wickedness come “from within, out of the heart of man.” The list of sins mentioned in verses 21 and 22 are just a fraction of the soul-damning evils that man’s depraved heart can produce.
Your natural heart needs regeneration or spiritual rebirth. This happens when you approach God penitently, acknowledging, confessing and forsaking your sins with faith in Christ as your Saviour and Lord. After this experience, you must keep your heart with all diligence to avoid polluting that precious fountain.
Bible In One Year: Judges 1-4
Thought for The Day: Is your heart right with God?
Written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
