4.28.09

Matthew 15
8: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."
16-18: "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.'"

There were such religious rules about things that were clean and unclean. The right way to wash hands, the right food to eat, even when people were sick and then became well there would be a waiting time before they were fully "clean" again.

Food that is eaten always has a process. Some is taken and nourishment for the body, other parts are expelled as waste (sorry for the mental image). What we take into our heart must only be for nourishment - for ourselves and for others - because we all know,a s it's written here, "whatever things that come out of the mouth come from the heart."

The food we eat does not pollute the mind... things that come into our heart can either nourish us or pollute us. And in turn, others. Sin is always conceived in the heart before it is spoken or acted upon.

Just like how I decide what my family will eat - there are good choices and bad. French fries or veggies? Soda or water? The same is true for the condition of my heart. What am I allowing into my heart - am I making good decisions that will produce nourishment or bad that will pollute?

Lord, help me to make wise choices. I want nourishment from You so that there will be good things that come from my mouth and actions. I know that if my heart is corrupt, the whole body will be corrupt. So, help me Lord to have a clean heart that hungers only for You. Amen.
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First day on staff at The Highlands... pretty amazing! :)