Taken from "10 Minute Moments: The Red Stuff" by Scott Rubin:
In Jesus' day, the Pharisees were religious leaders who appeared to be holy and interested in spiritual things. We say they "appeared" that way because they were primary concerned with how things looked and whether or not the rules were followed. but Jesus was more interested in what was going on INSIDE a person. When Jesus speaks The Red Stuff in this chapter, he quotes an important section of the Old Testament: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."
Read Mark 7:1-15
What do you do that you sometimes just do out of habit and don't really thing about the meaning behind it? Do you consider the words when you say the Lord's Prayer? Have you ever driven somewhere on "autopilot" - mind was somewhere else and you don't remember the drive to get there? Do you say "Bless you" automatically to someone when they sneeze?
Do you ever do things out of obligation - you secretly dread it, but feel like you have to? Attend church every Sunday because your family makes you?
Do you think that it has the same meaning if you do it with dread instead of love in your heart? How would it make you feel if you knew your friends or loved ones dreaded spending time with you. Do you think it's any different for God?
Taken from "More or Less" Youthworks Devotional 2010:
If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. so, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut.
Doesn't have a swelled head.
Doesn't force itself on others.
Isn't always "me first"
Doesn't fly off the handle.
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others.
Doesn't revel when others grovel.
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth.
Puts up with anything.
Trusts God always.
Always looks for the best.
Never looks back.
But keeps going to the end.
We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
So, this week as you go through your day - stop and consider what you are doing and saying. Step out of your fog, think about the meaning behind your actions. Are you doing it for the right reasons? Are you doing it with love?
As I get ready to hit the "post" button, I'm considering. . . and YES! There is love in my heart. My prayer is that somehow God has given me the right words to touch your heart and mind. Remember - the most important thing is love!
