The Deaf Devo from The Deaf Missions in Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States "Most Important" Bible Reading: Mark 7:5-16 for Tuesday, 1 November 2016

The Deaf Devo from The Deaf Missions in Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States "Most Important" Bible Reading: Mark 7:5-16 for Tuesday, 1 November 2016
Mark 7:5 The P’rushim and the Torah-teachers asked him, “Why don’t your talmidim live in accordance with the Tradition of the Elders, but instead eat with ritually unclean hands?” 6 Yeshua answered them, “Yesha‘yahu was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites — as it is written,
‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far away from me.
7 Their worship of me is useless,
because they teach man-made rules as if they were doctrines.’[Mark 7:7 Isaiah 29:13]
8 “You depart from God’s command and hold onto human tradition. 9 Indeed,” he said to them, “you have made a fine art of departing from God’s command in order to keep your tradition! 10 For Moshe said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’[Mark 7:10 Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16] and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’[Mark 7:10 Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9] 11 But you say, ‘If someone says to his father or mother, “I have promised as a korban” ’ ” (that is, as a gift to God) “ ‘ “what I might have used to help you,” ’ 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. 13 Thus, with your tradition which you had handed down to you, you nullify the Word of God! And you do other things like this.”
14 Then Yeshua called the people to him again and said, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand this! 15 There is nothing outside a person which, by going into him, can make him unclean. Rather, it is the things that come out of a person which make a person unclean!” 16 [Mark 7:16 Some manuscripts include verse 7:16: “Anyone who has ears that can hear, let him hear!”]
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Years ago, many people used a horse and a cart for travel or to move things. The horse was placed first, with the cart behind. The rider controlled the horse with the reins, and the horse pulled the cart easily. But what if someone tried to put the cart first and the horse in back? Would they be able to go anywhere? No! The horse and the cart need to be placed in the proper order.

In the same way, we need to learn what should be most important in our life. In our Bible verses, Jesus told some Jews that God's commands are more important than traditions. "You have stopped following God's commands, preferring instead the man-made rules you got from others" (verse 8). We cannot experience true Christian joy by following traditions. We will have Christian joy when we learn God's commands and obey them.

Think about your life today. Are God's commands most important to you? Are you learning and obeying them?[SH*]

"...if you obey my commands, I will continue to love you. I have told you these things so that you can have the true happiness that I have."[John 15:10b-11a]

PRAYER: God, I want to study the Bible so I can know more about You. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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Deaf Missions
21199 Greenview Road
Council Bluffs, Iowa 51503, United States
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