Dave's Diary

Prayer

Before you read, I invite you to pray this prayer based on Psalm 119:168-169.

Lord, give me grace to live by Your principles and commands,
for all my ways are known to You.
Give me understanding of Your Word.
that I may obey You with all my heart.
Amen.

Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your awareness to the voice of God, coming to you through His Word.

Reading

Matthew 15:1-9

In Jesus’ day, the religious leaders had come up with a “clever” (more like devious) way to fleece more money from the people. They cashed in on the fact that many adults had issues with their parents and did not want to honour them, as required by the 5th of the ten commandments. So, these supposed teachers of the law created a loophole. Instead of insisting that God’s people obey His commandments and honour their parents by providing for them well in their old age, they decreed that if anyone declared that what they would have used to help their father or mother was “devoted to God,” (i.e. given to the temple treasury) they were released from their obligation to use that money to “honour their father or mother”.

Jesus confronted this abberation very strongly. He applied the words of Isaiah 29:13 to them, ‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.‘

As they so often did, these religious leaders totally ignored the underlying principles and values of God’s revealed will. In this case, the principle was to live with honour that translated into care for aging parents. Instead of catching the heart of God and going above and beyond the call of duty to honour their parents, they found a way to wriggle out of their obligation while still making themselves feel very spiritual and “righteous”. Their hearts were desperately selfish and hence nothing at all like the heart of God. If there was a short-cut to make “obedience” to God less costly to them, they would grab it with both hands.

So, if I may attempt to translate this into a clear statement of “what Jesus has commanded us” here, it would be: Always ensure that your inner motivation is to worship and bring joy to the heart of God by the way you live your life in a principled and value-driven way – even when it is costly.

Contemplation

Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn these declarations over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.

As a disciple of Jesus Christ,

• I will seek to be understand what is pleasing to the Lord in all things.
• I will do everything I can to bring Him joy, even if it costs me.

Lord Jesus, give me understanding of Your Word.
that I may obey You with all my heart. Amen.