Page 30 - Living Light 89

Wed July 2 - The human heart can be a cesspit
“It is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come...”
Mark 7:21
I once watched as the owners of a characterful 14th-century house in an Essex village sought to fix a crumbling exterior wall of their home. Beneath the plaster they uncovered rotten wooden timbers. Their reaction was to quickly daub on some fresh plaster to cover up the rotten timber, paint over it and sell the property. The new owners could have been in for a shock. If all one is concerned with is external appearance then it might be some time before the rotten interior becomes apparent... but it will!
Jesus was making a similar point concerning a person’s life: we can be preoccupied with external matters – looks, acceptable manners, behavioural traditions, etc – but we need to recognise that there are deep-seated flaws in all of us, below the surface. Similarly, a doctor would not treat a faulty heart condition by prescribing a plaster; no, his treatment needs to get to the source of the problem: the heart itself.
Speaking of the heart as the core of our human spiritual and moral being, Jesus is clear that ‘the heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart.’ As sinners we need a spiritual heart transplant, and only Jesus can do that, by his Spirit at work in us.
Dear Lord, grant me a new heart from which, being renewed from within, Christ-like thoughts, words and deeds may flow. Amen.
Thursday July 3 - A great response
“For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” Mark 7:29
The focus now shifts to the second episode in Mark chapter 7: the cleansing of the Syro-Phoenician woman’s daughter. Early in Jesus’ ministry, Gentiles from neighbouring countries crossed the borders of Israel to see what Jesus was doing and saying. His reputation had spread. In Mark 3:8 we are told that people visited from Tyre and elsewhere.
Now, later in his ministry, Jesus crossed the northern border himself and visited Tyre. There, a distraught mother asked Jesus to cure her girl of some awful demonic activity. Jesus’ response seemed rude, even racist, but this was not the case – the reference to dogs was not used in the same way we might hear it today. However, he was saying that his priority was initially to minister to the Jews. The lady showed great faith in persisting with her request for Jesus’ help, and so he answered her plea and cleansed the daughter from the demonic activity that was blighting her life.
Our take-away from this story is clear: we must centre our faith on Jesus and be persistent in our petitions, as Jesus also taught in the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8). When we encounter a silent response to our prayers (or so it seems), let’s learn to be persistent: keep knocking at that door!
Heavenly Father, please grant me a prayerful heart, a steadfast will and a persistent spirit. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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PRAYER FOR TODAY