Daily Devotional from Pastor Mary 12-15-21

Intro: Humanity wants to do what the flesh desires; it is our natural inclination. We fight for the right to do things our own way; to fulfill our human desires not matter the cost. Our hearts need the work of the Word to bring transformation and renewal. I often hear people talk about following their hearts, but friends that is not biblical. We are to follow the Living Word of God into New Life and more times than we care to admit that may mean a sacrifice to our flesh not fulfillment or satisfaction of it. The sooner we face the reality that our hearts [the core of our being] are fickle when it comes to loving obedience to God, the sooner we will find ourselves living in a greater measure of the Truth. Faith leads our hearts into righteousness.

In Jeremiah 17:9 the prophet tells us the human heart is deceitful and wicked apart from the Lordship of Christ. King Solomon tells us we must guard our hearts, because it really determines the direction for our lives (Pro 4:23). And, the Apostle Paul teaches us we must immerse ourselves in Christ, so that our former identity [old unredeemed person] is not awakened and given power because the flesh has unrelenting desires to be satisfied (Rom 13:14). If we give into the selfish or sinful desires of our hearts, we will not be expressing the godliness Christ intends for us.

In our passage today, Jesus is speaking to the crowds. He basically reminds them their hearts are simply indifferent to the grace he offers. John the Baptist offered a wedding and rejoicing, but the Pharisees rejected it. They did not want to dance in the Spirit of Christ; they preferred the dead ways of their religious traditions void of the Christ. They could sacrifice animals instead of their flesh. Our hearts must embrace the true vision of God’s intent for the Son; to call people into true joy and satisfaction as they become expressions of his godliness.

Luke 7:31-35
31 Jesus continued, saying, “How could I describe the people of this generation? Can’t you see? 32 You’re like children playing games on the playground, complaining to friends, ‘You don’t like it when we want to play Wedding. And you don’t like it when we want to play Funeral. Why will you neither dance nor mourn?’

33 “When the prophet John came fasting and refused to drink wine, you said, ‘He’s crazy! There’s a demon in him.’ 34 Yet when the Son of Man came feasting and drinking, you said, ‘Look at this man! He is nothing but a glutton and a drunkard. He spends all his time with tax collectors and other notorious sinners.’

35 “Nevertheless, the wisdom of God [presence of salvation] will be proven true by the expressions of godliness in everyone who follows me.”

Prayer: Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable and pleasing to you each day. Help me to guard my heart, so I make the right decisions that honor your purpose for me. I chose the righteous path with you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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