Mark 7:5–6 (NIV84) -- So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands?” He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
What traditions do we do and think that we are close to God because we did them? What traditions do we perform out of habit without engaging? Every once in a while I will catch myself singing powerful worship songs without engaging my heart! Have you ever done that? Then it hits me, I am just singing words with a melody, focus and engage Terry.
I remember I person saying to me, “well, that is not the way we did it at my old church.” Inside I answered, “so?” Why do we do what we do? Why do you read the Bible for your devotion time? Are we just reading or are we engaged? It is the heart that God wants. We have such opportunity to connect with God, but I fear that many of us do more “service” than “relating”. We all can get caught in that trap. Duty. It is not like duty is wrong. It is the “why” or the “where is the duty coming from”, that is the important issue. Why do I fix a kitchen screen? Duty or love? I tell you it is love! Why do we pray? Duty of love? I pray to relate to God. To tell Him what I need, what I feel and think and how much I need Him. I pray to have a conversation with God so He can tell me what He wants to say. Just yesterday on a prayer walk He spoke to me something so simple, yet it will change my life in a small way. It was wonderful. I would have missed that if prayer was on my checklist because it was a tradition.
Traditions can be nice, but anything that takes the place of relationship, love and full heart engagement is a fraud. We aren’t made for that. We are made for full hearted love.
What traditions do we do and think that we are close to God because we did them? What traditions do we perform out of habit without engaging? Every once in a while I will catch myself singing powerful worship songs without engaging my heart! Have you ever done that? Then it hits me, I am just singing words with a melody, focus and engage Terry.
I remember I person saying to me, “well, that is not the way we did it at my old church.” Inside I answered, “so?” Why do we do what we do? Why do you read the Bible for your devotion time? Are we just reading or are we engaged? It is the heart that God wants. We have such opportunity to connect with God, but I fear that many of us do more “service” than “relating”. We all can get caught in that trap. Duty. It is not like duty is wrong. It is the “why” or the “where is the duty coming from”, that is the important issue. Why do I fix a kitchen screen? Duty or love? I tell you it is love! Why do we pray? Duty of love? I pray to relate to God. To tell Him what I need, what I feel and think and how much I need Him. I pray to have a conversation with God so He can tell me what He wants to say. Just yesterday on a prayer walk He spoke to me something so simple, yet it will change my life in a small way. It was wonderful. I would have missed that if prayer was on my checklist because it was a tradition.
Traditions can be nice, but anything that takes the place of relationship, love and full heart engagement is a fraud. We aren’t made for that. We are made for full hearted love.
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