For Reading and Meditation:      Mark 7:8-23We need to be reminded that there is in life a dark and terrible problem - the problem of evil. Herbert Spencer in Natural Law in the Spiritual World defines physical life as "inward correspondence with outward environment." When we take in food, air and water, we live. When we don't, we die. There must be a response to our environment. But there is also a spiritual environment to which we must respond, and when we are in correspondence with God we live spiritually. The facts of life fairly faced proclaim with heart-breaking obviousness that human beings are out of touch with their spiritual environment. To be out of touch with God means, inevitably, that we will be out of touch with ourselves and with others. But the history of humanity is, as one historian put it, "one long search for God." We stand beside our altars, we breathe our prayers, we make our vows, we repeat our ceremonies, we crave with inexpressible yearnings of the inmost heart, we long for fellowship with God. Yet something dark, dreadful, and sinister stands between us and God. We realize God is pure, and because we are conscious of our impurity we hardly dare ask for fellowship with Him. We are separated and guilty. The object of all religions is to bring those who long for fellowship with God into correspondence with Him. But how is that achieved? Christianity says it can be done only through the cross. Other religions point to other ways, and claim their way is as valid as the Christian way. But God says the cross is the only way.O God my Father, what way could You have dealt with my sins except through the cross? My sins needed something more than disinfecting; they needed incinerating. In the flames of Calvary that is what happened. Now I am free. And how! Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Romans 1:18-32</li><li>Genesis 6:12</li><li>2 Timothy 3:1-2</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What did men change God for?</li><li>What was the result?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts ..." (v. 21) 

A. P. Gibbs used to say, "You are not what you think you are, but what you think - this is what you are." This means that the mind is the spring from which behavior flows. Control the source and you control the stream that flows from it.Therefore control of the thought-life is basic. That is why Solomon said, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23) Here the heart is used as a synonym for the mind.James reminds us that sin begins in the mind (James 1:13-15). If we think about a thing long enough, eventually we'll do it.Sow a thought and reap an act.Sow an act and reap a habit.Sow a habit and reap a character.Sow a character and reap a destiny.The Lord Jesus emphasized the importance of the thought-life by equating hatred with murder (Matthew 5:21-22) and by equating the lustful look with adultery (Matthew 5:28). He also taught that it's not what a man eats that defiles him but what he thinks (Mark 7:14-23).We are responsible for what we think because we have the power to control it. We can think about lewd, suggestive things or we can think about what is pure and Christlike. Each one of us is like a king. The empire that we rule over is our thought-life. That empire has tremendous potential for good and enormous potential for evil. We are the ones who determine which it will be.Here are some positive suggestions as to what we can do. First, take the whole matter to the Lord in prayer, saying "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalms 51:10). Second, judge every thought by how it appears in the presence of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Third, confess every evil thought instantly and expel it (Proverbs 28:13). Next, avoid having a blank, empty mind. Fill it with positive, worthy thoughts (Philippians 4:8). Fifth, exercise discipline over what you read, see, and hear. You cannot expect a pure thought life if you feed on filth and pollution. Finally, keep busy for the Lord. It's when you shift your mind into neutral that vile fantasies seek admission.

With reverence, humor and skill, William MacDonald wove a daily devotional tapestry that challenges the reader to think deeply and Biblically, and apply God's Word to their lives.

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

"…as (a man) thinketh in his heart, so is he." (Proverbs 23:7)

15 <woj>Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”</woj>

<woj>Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”</woj>

Mark 7:15

 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”

<woj>Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”</woj>

Bible Verse of the Day

February 4, 2025

Mark 7:15 NIV

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