THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 15:1-11
“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Matthew 15:8, Isaiah 29:13)
Sometimes we need to get a check up on our heart, to see if everything is OK.
I keep a regular eye on my blood pressure, since it went up a few years ago.
The medication seems to be helping, but so has increased exercise.
Anyone with heart concerns would take steps to correct them… right?
Jesus offers a check up for our spiritual heart, our devotion to Him and God.
Is your heart in your relationship with God and Jesus, or is it just an external show?
Are you going through the religious motions, or is their real love for God involved?
The clue comes when we go through a stress test; when God asks us to do something.
Will you be generous, will you sacrifice your time for someone else, will you say NO to sin?
At those moments, our true heart, our true religion, is revealed.
Do we make excuses to get out of what God is asking of us?
Maybe we point to other things to justify why in this case we don’t need to obey.
God sees through our responses to the heart; He can see whether they are far from Him.
All the religion in the world will not make me right with God; He wants my heart.
God does not expect perfection from us – He has accepted Jesus’ perfection for us.
But He does want honesty and sincerity, or that we worship “in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)
I go to the doctor soon for my annual check up, what will they discover?
What will God discover when He checks up on my heart?
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, You know my heart, whether I like it or not. I invite You to “search me and know my heart”, and to “lead me in the way everlasting”.