I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but washing a toddler’s hands in a public restroom where there are no stools for them to stand on is kinda hard. Which is why I always carry hand sanitizer. It’s much easier to squirt some alcohol on their hands than it is to hold them up with one arm and use the other arm to make sure they actually get their little hands clean. My kids know the drill: go potty, leave the restroom, and prepare your hands for sanitizing. If another lady is ever in the restroom while I am escorting my kids out without stopping to wash their hands with soap and water, I always make a comment to the kids like, “okay, let’s go out here so mommy can give you some hand sanitizer” because heaven forbid the stranger in the bathroom think that I don’t wash my kid’s hands after visiting a public restroom.
In Mark 7, some of Jesus’ disciples got caught eating with “common hands” aka hands that had not been ceremonially washed. They may have squirted some sanitizer on their hands before breaking bread with them, but that wasn’t enough to be considered purified. The Pharisees were watching to see if they would go through with the traditional, very extensive ritual of washing hands that had been handed down from generation to generation that was supposed to take place before every meal and when they saw that they didn’t go through with it, they of course had to tattle on them. And Jesus, of course, totally schooled them… The pharisees, not the disciples.
In verses 9-16 He puts them in their place and makes them aware of the fact that they are nullifying and making void God’s word through their efforts to keep their man made traditions alive and then He lets them know they are concerned about the wrong kind of cleanliness.
Mark 7:15 There is not [even] one thing outside a man which by going into him can pollute and defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him and make him unhallowed and unclean.
Wow. Good stuff, Jesus. It seems like our society is more concerned about high fructose corn syrup or MSG going into our bodies than we are about what kind of ingredients we are putting into our spirits. It’s more important to get your child’s hands clean after leaving the restroom than it is to purify their spirits with the washing of the word. We spend more time picking out organic fruit than we do cultivating the fruit of the spirit in our lives.
The things that come out of man are what defile him and make him unclean. Not his “common hands.” And if something comes out of you, you first have to put it in you. If unclean things are coming out then you can be sure that you have been putting unclean things in– via the television, internet, magazines, music, and whatever else you allow into your home.
I take care of my kids by washing their hands and feeding them healthy foods most of the time, but my most important job as a mother is monitoring what goes in to their spirits, because I want them to be pure. Same with me. I try to eat more fruit than Twizzlers (although I’m not doing great at that this week) but what’s most important is not what I feed my flesh, but what I feed my spirit. It doesn’t matter if I eat all organic and then fill my mind with some trash. Garbage in, garbage out, right?
The Bible does not say the people with the cleanest hands, cleanest homes, purest pantries and healthiest fridges see the Lord it says the people who are PURE IN HEART see the Lord!
Yes, take care of your body and yes, make sure you wash your hands before meals, but focus on what the word says is important more than what the world says is important!
- The pure in heart see God.
- When we take time to fill our spirits with good things, good thing will come out of us.
- Hand sanitizer.
- The ceremonial hand washing days never got passed down to me.
- We have lots of healthy options when it comes to feeding our families.
- Gus decided to use Josh’s pillow to sleep on until Josh returns for camp. Love seeing this sentimental side of him.
- Fridge & pantry are full! Grocery shopping done for the week!
- Got to take a little power nap.
- Got to go to the Hillsong United Welcome Zion concert tonight!
- Zion. My favorite album of the year so far. Every song is awesome.
- The amazing musicians that got to lead us into God’s presence tonight.
- The girl that sang “Oceans” tore it up!! Really, really great vocal on a really, really great song.
- God showed me some sweet things about Gus’ future while I was worshipping.
- When I found out Welcome Zion was coming to Dallas I was so excited and then I realized Josh wouldn’t be able to go with me because he would be at camp, so I asked my friend Sayra if she would go and she said yes!
- Sayra drove us. This was a huge blessing because I don’t like driving when I’m not sure where I’m going.
- The Verizon theater had concessions! We did not have time to stop for dinner, so I had to eat some nasty nachos, but I needed something to sustain me before 2.5 hours of standing and singing.
- Hearing thousands of voices singing as one to and about Jesus. Powerful.
- “Relentless” was fantastic live.
- “Love Is War” also fantastic!!
- “Scandal of Grace” sounded beautiful with the sold out crowd singing along.
- Gus’ buddy Alex got to come hang out with him tonight. He was excited about it all day.
- Beau got to hang out with her favorite baby sitter Miss Sacha!
- Miss Sacha is my favorite baby sitter too! Always on time, kids are always asleep when I get home, and they both love her.
- New “Real Simple” magazine came today. Just in time for our day at the pool tomorrow.
- These first few days with Josh away at camp went fast!
- My friend Shannon is celebrating her birthday today!
- My bed feels so good!
10KReasons 