Out of the Heart

Hello my friend welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. The reading titled out of the heart was written by Marvin Williams a rescue mission, nicknamed operation, Noah's Ark might sound fun for animal lovers but it was a nightmare for the Nassau Society of the prevention of cruelty to animals after receiving complaints about the noise and the horrid stench coming from a certain house. Workers enter the Long Island home and found and later removed more than 400 animals from their neglected conditions. We may not be holding hundreds of animals in filthy conditions. But Jesus said we might be harboring evil and sinful thoughts and actions in our hearts that need to be exposed and removed in teaching his disciples about what makes a person clean and unclean. In Matthew chapter 15 Jesus said it isn't dirty hands or whatever enters the mouth that defiles a person but an evil heart. The stench from our hearts will eventually leak out from our lives. Then Jesus gave examples of evil thoughts and actions that come out of the heart.

No amount of external religious activities and rituals can make them clean.

We need God to transform our hearts, we can practice Jesus is inside out ethic by giving him access to the squalor of our hearts, letting him remove what's causing the stench as Christ uncovers what's coming from our hearts will help our words and actions be aligned with his desires and the aroma from our lives will please him.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional Scripture reading is taken from the Gospel of Matthew chapter 15 verses 12 through 20. Then the disciples came to him and asked, do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this, he replied every plant that my heavenly father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots, leave them they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit. Peter said explain the parable to us. Are you still so dull. Jesus asked them, don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body, but the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them for out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander, these are what defile a person, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.

Let's pray father even as your children. It can be easy for us to harbor evil in our hearts when we don't guard ourselves against it. Would you help us to keep our hearts tuned to you so that our attitudes would reflect a maturity in Christ likeness that comes only from being led by you and it's in Jesus name that we pray. Amen.

Thanks so much for listening. My name is Wes Ward and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread ministries