{"id":2222,"date":"2021-03-25T18:30:23","date_gmt":"2021-03-26T01:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/?p=2222"},"modified":"2021-03-20T23:02:27","modified_gmt":"2021-03-21T06:02:27","slug":"abiding-in-the-lord-mark-ch-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/blog\/abiding-in-the-lord-mark-ch-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Abiding in the Lord: Mark Ch. 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

(Translated version, original article written in Chinese by Pastor Mickey Hsiao)<\/em><\/p>\n

Worship<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thanksgiving<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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!<\/strong>) (e.g., you may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what will you be speaking to me today?)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Scripture Reading<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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)!<\/p>\n

Scripture Reading: Mark Ch. 7 (ESV)<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Meditation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Devotional<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Read the devotional articles prepared by CBCLWA (*Read the Bible first before reading any devotional materials.<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(<\/span>vv.\u00a0<\/span>1-23)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>As shown in\u00a0<\/span>today\u2019s scripture<\/span>\u00a0reading<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>Jesus came across different people and appear<\/span>ed in different places.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>First the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, who considered Jesus\u2019 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 appear<\/span>ance but neglected the godliness of the<\/span>\u00a0heart; upholding the tradition of their ancestors and invalidating the word of God. Jesus\u2019 response was very direct, pointing out that they were hypocrites<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThis people\u00a0honors\u00a0me with their lips, but their heart is\u00a0<\/span><\/b>far from me.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then Jesus said to the people,\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/b>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.\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>When the disciples asked him the meaning of this parable,<\/span>\u00a0Jesus 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\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/b>evil thoughts, sexual immorality, thef<\/span><\/b>t, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.<\/span><\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>These are what defile a person.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Two things we can reflect on:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Stripping away all religious traditions, does my heart still reflect godliness?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • How often do I\u00a0<\/span>focus on observing man-established traditions and fail to recognize the uncleanness of my heart?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    (<\/span>vv.\u00a0<\/span>24-37)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Then Jesus wen<\/span>t to\u00a0<\/span>Tyre and Sidon<\/span>\u00a0and both were places of the\u00a0<\/span>gentiles<\/span>. There he performed a miracle, casting the demon out of a Syrophoenician woman\u2019s daughter. Sometimes, God asks us to show the same level of faith and patience as this woman<\/span>, to know\u00a0<\/span>what we are\u00a0<\/span>asking for\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>w<\/span>ho we\u00a0<\/span>are\u00a0<\/span>speaking to.\u00a0<\/span>And we will\u00a0<\/span>adjust\u00a0<\/span>our attitude towards him<\/span>\u00a0and wait patiently for the good things he will<\/span>\u00a0fulfill<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in his time<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    At last, Jesus went to the Sea of Galilee from Decapolis (also the land of the Gentiles).<\/span>\u00a0Note that<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Jesus was compassionate, when seeing a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Jesus took this man aside, put his fingers into the man\u2019s ears, and a<\/span>fter spitting touched his tongue. Looking up to heaven, Jesus said,\u00a0<\/span>\u201cbe opened!\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0The deaf man was healed and returned to the crowd.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    As shown in this chapter<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>in\u00a0<\/span>Judaea,\u00a0<\/span>the towns of the Jews,\u00a0<\/span>Jesus encountered the Pharisees and scribes, who were healthy and seemingly godly on the outside but filled w<\/span>ith hatred inside their hearts<\/span>. O<\/span>n the contrary, when\u00a0<\/span>Jesus<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>entered to the region of the Gentiles,\u00a0<\/span>those who had been possessed by un<\/span>clean spirit\u00a0<\/span>were set free\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0those who had been sick were<\/span>\u00a0healed<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Who\u00a0<\/span>is the<\/span>\u00a0one truly bound by evil? Who is truly dying and in need of healing? Perhaps,\u00a0<\/span>at some point, we have\u00a0<\/span>to follow<\/span>\u00a0the footsteps of Jesus and go to the place of the Gentiles\u00a0<\/span>just so we can better understand the answer<\/span>!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    As w<\/span>e\u00a0<\/span>have\u00a0<\/span>heard in the testimonies\u00a0<\/span>from our<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>short-term<\/span>\u00a0mission<\/span>ary<\/span>\u00a0teams<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>perhaps\u00a0<\/span>through our journeys,\u00a0<\/span>God would help us\u00a0<\/span>uncover\u00a0<\/span>our own\u00a0<\/span>sins\u00a0<\/span>that had not been dealt with<\/span>\u00a0before<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>O<\/span>ur missionary teams\u00a0<\/span>have been\u00a0<\/span>sent off\u00a0<\/span>anticipat<\/span>ing to\u00a0<\/span>offer the<\/span>ir best\u00a0<\/span>wholeheartedly<\/span>, b<\/span>ut\u00a0<\/span>many<\/span>\u00a0of them\u00a0<\/span>returned\u00a0<\/span>home\u00a0<\/span>with more abundant rewards<\/span>!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Pray<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    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: \u201cDear Lord, what\/where are you going to lead me to today?”)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":2111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abiding-in-the-lord","category-pastor-mickey-hsiao"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2222"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2223,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222\/revisions\/2223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}