(Translated version, original article written in Chinese by Pastor Mickey Hsiao)
Worship
By singing praises and hymns, awake your soul, open your heart to the Lord, and prepare yourself to welcome the presence of God and receive the Word of God that will be given to you.
Thanksgiving
Petition with thanksgiving to God for a wonderful day and pray sincerely for a focused Scripture reading time! (Do not rush into reading the Bible without starting with prayers!) (e.g., you may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what will you be speaking to me today?)
Scripture Reading
Get the following items ready in advance: your devotional notebook, paper, pen, and/or electronic devotional articles so that you can easily write down the Bible verses, questions, and thoughts you have noticed! You are encouraged to open your Bible and vocally read out the scriptures (Try to practice this reading method daily or once a week)!
Scripture Reading: Mark Ch. 7 (ESV)
Meditation
Take a moment to quietly reflect on today’s Scriptures. Through such exercises, let God’s Word be gradually written into our hearts and be inscribed to our mind.
Devotional
Read the devotional articles prepared by CBCLWA (*Read the Bible first before reading any devotional materials.)
(vv. 1-23) As shown in today’s scripture reading, Jesus came across different people and appeared in different places. First the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, who considered Jesus’ disciples unclean before God because they, against the tradition of the elders, ate with unwashed hands. Jesus pointed out that they only paid attention to the cleanliness of the appearance but neglected the godliness of the heart; upholding the tradition of their ancestors and invalidating the word of God. Jesus’ response was very direct, pointing out that they were hypocrites. “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”
Then Jesus said to the people, “There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” When the disciples asked him the meaning of this parable, Jesus gave a direct reply, whatever goes into a person from outside does not enter his heart, but his stomach, and is expelled, therefore cannot defile him. Then, he pointed out that because of sin from within, come “evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.” These are what defile a person.
Two things we can reflect on:
- Stripping away all religious traditions, does my heart still reflect godliness?
- How often do I focus on observing man-established traditions and fail to recognize the uncleanness of my heart?
(vv. 24-37) Then Jesus went to Tyre and Sidon and both were places of the gentiles. There he performed a miracle, casting the demon out of a Syrophoenician woman’s daughter. Sometimes, God asks us to show the same level of faith and patience as this woman, to know what we are asking for and who we are speaking to. And we will adjust our attitude towards him and wait patiently for the good things he will fulfill in his time.
At last, Jesus went to the Sea of Galilee from Decapolis (also the land of the Gentiles). Note that Jesus was compassionate, when seeing a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. Jesus took this man aside, put his fingers into the man’s ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. Looking up to heaven, Jesus said, “be opened!” The deaf man was healed and returned to the crowd.
As shown in this chapter, in Judaea, the towns of the Jews, Jesus encountered the Pharisees and scribes, who were healthy and seemingly godly on the outside but filled with hatred inside their hearts. On the contrary, when Jesus entered to the region of the Gentiles, those who had been possessed by unclean spirit were set free and those who had been sick were healed.
Who is the one truly bound by evil? Who is truly dying and in need of healing? Perhaps, at some point, we have to follow the footsteps of Jesus and go to the place of the Gentiles just so we can better understand the answer!
As we have heard in the testimonies from our short-term missionary teams, perhaps through our journeys, God would help us uncover our own sins that had not been dealt with before. Our missionary teams have been sent off anticipating to offer their best wholeheartedly, but many of them returned home with more abundant rewards!
Pray
Give thanks to God for His enabling us to read the Scriptures and for our response for living out the Word of God today! (e.g., You may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what/where are you going to lead me to today?”)