Jesus is all about heart, not body, not belly.
A heart-led mind and the thoughts, words and actions that emerge.
“There is nothing outside a man that, entering into him, can defile him: but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile a man,” said Jesus.
Then explaining to His disciples: “For it does not enter the heart, but his belly, and passes out into the drain.”
Only our True Self and God control our hearts, hopefully with a touch of our Eternal Child Within.
“For from within, out of the heart, come evil thoughts, adulteries, immorality, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, shamelessness, jealousy, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile a man.”
And within, for me at times, is a sinful and selfish nature. That’s why I have to trust God and try to emulate Jesus in my thoughts, words and behaviors the best that I can. Even if woefully short of that shining standard, it may be alright to find a ‘reasonably happy’ life as proclaimed in the extended Reinhold Neibuhr Serenity Prayer.
And supremely happy with Him forever and ever in the next.
Trust is the big word here to understand God’s plan for my life.
Even the disciples ever so close to Jesus did not fully comprehend and embrace the trust needed in a loving relationship, especially with Christ.
Why do you argue because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive, nor understand? How is that you do not understand?
Jesus challenged the disciples.
Trust in the Lord!
“If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
Coming from our heart inside-out to the world is a good start for the above proposal for discipleship!
Day 40 Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Coming from our Heart inside-out to the World!
Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Gospel of Saint Mark Chapters 7-8.
Bible Notes:
The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark
Saint Mark, a convert of Saint Peter, was the son of a certain Mary, whose house in Jerusalem was a gathering place for Christians.
His Gospel, based on Saint Peter’s preaching, aims to prove to the Gentiles the divinity of Christ, be recounting His numerous miracles and examples of His power over devils.
Matthew Chapter 7: The Pharisees question Jesus; Jesus calls them hypocrites; He accuses them of breaking God’s law; Jesus speaks to the crowd; Jesus explains a parable to His disciples; The Canaanite woman; Healing of a deaf-mute.
Why do not thy disciples walk according to the traditions of the ancients, instead of eating bread with defiled hands?
“Why did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written. This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; and in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine the precepts of men.”
“Any support thou mightiest have had from me is Corban (that is, given to God). And you do not allow him to do anything further for his father or mother. You make void the commandments of God by your tradition, which you have handed down; and many suchlike things you do.”
“There is mothing outside a man that, entering into him, can defile him: but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile a man.”
Explaining to His disciples: “For it does not enter the heart, but his belly, and passes out into the drain.”
“For from within, out of the heart, come evil thoughts, adulteries, immorality, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, shamelessness, jealousy, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile a man.”
“Let the children first have their fill, for it is not fair to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs.”
Yes, Lord, for even the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.
“Because of this answer, go thy way: the devil has gone out of thy daughter.”
He put his fingers into the man’s ears, and spitting, he touched his tongue. “Be thou open.”
And he charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, so much more did they continue to publish it,
Matthew Chapter 8: Jesus has compassion on the crowd; Jesus feeds four thousand; The Pharisees ask a sign; The leaven of the Pharisees; A blind man at Bethsaida; Peter’s confession.
“I have compassion on the crowds…”
And the Pharisees came forth, and began to dispute with him, demanding from him a sign from heaven, to test him.
And sighing deeply in spirit, he said. “Why does this generation demand a sign? Amen I say to you, a sign shall not be given to this generation.”
Why do you argue because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive, nor understand? How is that you do not understand?
Entreated—to ask (a person) earnestly; beseech; implore; beg: to entreat the judge for mercy; to ask earnestly for (something): He entreated help in his work.
And applying spittle to his eyes
“I see men as though they were trees walking about.”
“Who do men say that I am?”
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ.”
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things…
And what he said he spoke openly
Jesus rebuked Peter” “Get behind me satan, for those dost not mind the things of God, but those of men.”
“If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
The Old Testament is a tale of repetition!
He tells us to fear the Lord thy God two times.
But there is always hope and always love, God’s love for you and me, for us!
“I do believe; help my unbelief,” said the father of the boy with an evil spirit honestly in a reply to Jesus questioning if all things are possible to those who believe.
Fasting, or in my case, tracking closely what goes into my body temple, certainly puts me in a clear, present mindset to meditate and pray.
Do not envy but realize that, as Jesus said, “He who is not against you is for you.”
The Old Testament, in light of the New Testament, reveals that our creating God was and is always first a loving, compassionate and accepting God that will never abandon us. He never did trying as he did to share his wisdom and design for life.
Mission Accomplished as we read and meditate on the last chapters of The Book of Leviticus which treats chiefly of divine worship for which God had chosen the tribe of Levi. After describing the ordination of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood, it records the Mosaic laws of sacrifice, of legal purity, of holiness, of vows, and of tithes.
God spoke to the Israelites as they lived near Mount Sinai in terms of “when you have entered into the land which I will give you,” and I feel the same promise of God leading me through my personal journey that we call life. But more important the being beyond what we call life, life everlasting in heaven.
Maybe that is why I feel inspired to build “Close to Heaven” up on Prospect Mountain in my hometown of Binghamton, New York?
While America is all about personal rights and ownership, in reality because of our temporary nature, we are just renting everything, including our temple bodies. We think we own it but can’t take it with us. Ditto for working for the Lord versus whoever it is that we call our boss. God is boss and brings us home on His schedule, not ours. Ultimate control is temporary and an illusion in life.
“I am the Lord your God: you shall not make to yourselves any idol or graven thing… Keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. I will give you rain in due season. And you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land without fear, I will give peace in your coasts: you shall sleep, and there shall be none to make you afraid. You shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you. I will look on you, and make you increase: you shall be multiplied, and I will establish my covenant with you.”
Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife?
Yes, my heart did get hard. Yes, issues of my childhood like abandonment, isolation and despair did overtake me at that point in my life. I simply could not figure out why things were happening to me all the while forgetting they weren’t happening to me but rather were coming from me. With a hardened heart and a selfish mind one can quickly develop the wrong perspective of life and be convinced to go down the right path when it clearly isn’t the right path, but only the apparent less painful path. But life goes on and we learn from our mistakes and sins or at least hopefully we learn and live to not repeat them to any great extent.
Jesus predicted the passion for the third time to His disciples.
“Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of thieves.”
We do not know.
For a man good in math and trained as an engineer this should be an easily understood part of The Bible for me. Right? Not!
This appears to be the first form of organization with roles and responsibilities. The basis for future civilizations.
Curiosity is fine, unless it leads me to temptation, which may lead me to sin, which always creates some sort or sense of separateness from God, The Father, Jesus Christ, His Son and my Personal Savior and The Holy Spirit.
Because she was not found in the adultery; the spirit of jealousy; a sacrifice of jealousy; whereon he hath heaped curses with execration; these most bitter waters, on which I have heaped curses, shall not hurt you; these curses shall light upon thee.
Spirits and laws of jealousy, a sin, a character defect.
The Holy Spirit does not inspire anyone to do evil.
In Mark’s Chapter 12, ‘one of the Scribes’ asks Jesus, “Which was the first commandment?”
And Jesus, seeing that he had answered wisely, said to him, “Thou are not far from the kingdom of God.”
Our hearts do not see in all-or-nothing, love only one type of person, or love some only so far. Why then should we limit our love of neighbors or of Christ himself?
Another parable so that they may trap him in his talk
Open-minded and open-hearted and not pre-judgmental in terms of all-or-nothing thinking. Nor do I need to be the perfect biblical scholar or completely in control of my life or the lives of others. This is TROML and the defining search for my Splendid Spiritual Self.
“And then they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds with great power and majesty. And he will send forth his angels, and will gather his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost parts of the earth to the uttermost parts of heaven.”
I remember, but can’t find the reference now, that God promised to never again destroy all the people like he did with the flood that Noh survived. The earth will pass away indicates all people, except the ones gathered by Jesus, will pass away with the earth?
“The Lord bless thee, and keep thee. The Lord show His face to thee, and have mercy on thee. The Lord turn his countenance to thee, and give thee peace.”
Yes, evil things happen in the world but God doesn’t orchestrate them to torture us, the Devil does and God is always there to give us comfort and peace of mind if we so believe in the resurrection of Christ and ourselves.
Expectations and procedures are more clearly defined in Numbers.
And when they shall have accomplished the fiftieth year of their age, they shall cease to serve and they shall be the ministers of the brethren in the tabernacle of the covenant, to keep the things that are committed to their care, but not to do the works.
But if any man is clean, and was not on a journey, and did not make the phase (Passover), that soul shall be cut off from among his people, because he offered not the sacrifice to the Lord in due season: he shall bear his sin.
If you go forth to war out of your land against the enemies that fight against you, you shall sound aloud with trumpets, and there shall be a remembrance of you before the Lord your God, that you may be delivered out of the hands of your enemies.
Timing is everything in life, isn’t it.
Life is too short and we can’t buy another minute, can we?
No, No, No. Then Peter began to curse and swear and said “I do not know this man you are talking about.” And at that moment a cock crowed a second time. And he began to weep.
…they went out to the Mount of Olives
Returning to the disciples, “couldst thou not watch one hour? Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Now the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin were seeking witness against Jesus, that they night put him to death, but they found none. For while many bore false witness against him, their evidence did not agree.
The Old Testament is difficult at times to read yet isn’t that where the learning comes from? Through hardships and difficulties in life?
And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spoke to him, taking away of the spirit that was in Moses, and giving it to the seventy men. And when the spirit had raised on them they prophesized, nor did they cease afterwards.
Now God started going through the sins—jealousy, envy, pride—to give us some practical insights to their evil and how they do not help us prosper in life, Though remember that God is open that He is jealous and revengeful God. Cross him or step out of line and there will be consequences. And in the Old Testament, pre-Jesus’ human love and heart, they were severe.
Why then were you not afraid to speak ill of my servant Moses?
God’s details of lust were not given but killed many that had lusted before giving orders to move forward to the Promise Land.
But one of the twelve spies named Caleb said: “Let us go up and possess the land, for we shall be able to conquer it.”
God was not amused of their pride and cowardice of the children of Israel: “How long will they not believe me for all the signs that I have wrought before them?”
But rendered harsh judgment on the children of Israel: “Tomorrow remove the camp, and return into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. In the wilderness shall your carcasses lie. But your children…will I bring in: that they may see the land which you have despised. Your children shall wander in the desert forty years, and shall bear your fornication, until the carcasses of their father be consumed in the desert. You shall receive your iniquities and know my revenge… in this wilderness shall it faint away and die.”
God reaffirmed that he is God: “They may remember all the commandments of the Lord, and not follow their own thoughts and eyes going astray after divers things, but rather being mindful of the precepts of the Lord, may do them and be holy to their God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that I might be your God.”
