Tuesday Devotion

Tuesday Devotion September 29, 2020 People I think are doing more cleaning now that before the pandemic. There are signs in church bathrooms that say "please wipe down and spray when leaving" We wash our hands more and are more conscious of being clean. The Jews of Jesus' day made sure they washed the same hand first each time. In keeping with the law, they refused to eat certain food, declaring them "unclean." There are certain foods that turn our stomach and become "unclean" to us. Just the thought of eating a raw oyster turns my stomach. I wish we would work on keeping our minds as clean as we do our bodies. Jesus listed some of the unclean things that flow from our minds: lust, pride, envy and slander. I want to add to that list, prejudice, judgement and selfishness. Once we have allowed images or thoughts into our minds, we can't just "scrub" them away the way soap washes away dirt. 2 My Scripture this morning is Mark 7: 18 & 20. "Don't you understand either?" he asked. Can't you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? It is what comes from inside that defiles you." Safeguarding our thought-life and our heart-life starts with what we allow into our minds. Music, television, books, FB posts what we repost, our friends should also be filtered. My prayer for us this morning is that although we can't erase bad thoughts from our minds, we crowd them out with noble, lovely, true thoughts. With the words of love and grace that came right from Jesus. Today may our minds, heart and soul be filled with God's Word.