CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE DAILY DEVOTIONAL BIBLE STUDY ON YOUTUBE
Mark 7:9-13
In Mark 7:9-13 Jesus continues to explain to the Pharisees and scribes that it is not their own man-made traditions that is the heart of the matter but following the instructions of the LORD. The Pharisees have “changed” the rules to make them more comfortable for them, and in doing so, have disregarded God in their lives – they have decided that they needed to “tweak” the commandments of God to better suit themselves and their lifestyles, which God is attempting to change from the ways of this world (which they are following as self-seeking) to being obedient to God and His will for their lives.
This is an example of how the devil can override our basic desire to be pleasing to God by deceiving us into “tweaking” God’s will for our lives, which is to be followed in obedience to God, not revamped.
We live our lives revamping things to suit us in our individual situations and worldviews. The choices we make for our lives are in many cases simply up to us in deciding the course of our lives on earth. But one thing that we cannot change to “suit us to our own desires” is God’s will for our lives. Yes, God gives us choices in many different situations that we are free to decide upon, but all the decisions that we make are to be in obedience to God as we, as Christians, have dedicated our lives first to following Him. That means that we don’t make the rules in how we follow God and His will for our lives – He does. This sometimes becomes tricky when we are deceived into believing that what we are doing, even though we know that God is against it, is pleasing to God. We are not allowed to change the rules and then plead, “Yes, God, but I was doing it for you.” God has made the only substitution that is necessary for our lives – Jesus – the only thing we need to do is believe that He has “finished it” on the cross. The Bible teaches us in John 3:16 (NKJV), “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Dear LORD,
As we strive to be pleasing to You, please help us to always keep in mind that we cannot change Your will for our lives and still yet continue to follow it. The devil is the master of deceit and he is more tricky than we are, which is to say that he can deceive us into believing things that we should not. Please give us discernment to know when it is the devil that is attacking us so that we can hold true to Your will for our lives. In Jesus name I pray, amen.