Daily Bible Verse ~ Matthew 15:10-20

Posted On 2021-01-11

Matthew 15:10-20 And he called the people to him and said to them, “ Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” He answered, “ Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” But Peter said to him, “ Explain the parable to us.” And he said, “ Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

I believe the Lord set these verses before me because we live in an age where speaking your mind is something we all can do and do it quickly. With the creation of facebook, twitter, and other social media platforms we can speak our minds in a matter of seconds, and the effects can last a lifetime.

Jesus tells us today that what we speak doesn’t necessarily come from the mind, rather it comes from the heart. Not only is he addressing the things we say, but he is also addressing the things we do!

The reason he is addressing this is that the religious leaders were questioning eating without performing the ceremonial hand washing. You see, religious people like to put all sorts of rules on people and keep them in line rather than understanding that the issue with the condition of men isn’t about following rules. The condition that causes men and women to sin and to devise evil thoughts, murder others, commit acts of adultery and sexual immorality, and so on is a bad heart. Washing your hands doesn’t rid you of sin. Repentance and cleansing your heart does.

Whenever I walk alongside a fellow believer going through a challenging time due to their sin I always ask the same question. “How’s your heart?” Is your heart conjuring up all kinds of evil or is it focused on the things of Christ. If these sinful acts are the fruit of a bad heart, then what is the fruit of a good heart?

Recently we were doing a Bible study with our ten year old son. We were talking about bad fruit and good fruit. Lori drew two trees and drew circles on them like little apples. Inside the circles of the good tree she wrote the fruits of the Spirit. Inside the other tree she wrote the deeds of the flesh.

We find the fruits of the spirit in Galatians chapter 5. Paul says to walk in the Spirit and you wont gratify the deeds of the flesh.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Digging Deepeer:

Galatians 5

Apply It:

How is your heart today? Do you need a little surgery on it in order to stop walking in the deeds of the flesh? Are you more concerned with keeping religious rules like the scribes and Pharisees rather than working on cleansing your life from the inside out?

Today I encourage you to take a look at what comes out of your mouth. Look at the actions and behaviors that defile you and repent from anything that doesn’t bring honor to the Lord. As you walk daily in Christ today I encourage you to do a heart check. If there is anything unclean then prune it out and get right with the Savior.

If you need prayer or there is anything Daily In Christ Ministries can help you with, feel free to connect with us.

Prayer:

Lord, help me today to have a pure heart and not to just look good on the outside. I want to be a witness for you to a dark and dying world. In Jesus name, Amen.