October 31, 2021: SOAP #4350:  Job 22; Mark 7-8

SCRIPTURE:  Mark (NIV) 7:6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.” 9 And he said to them: “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!… 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

OBSERVATION:  Traditions: before they were traditions, many were meant to be guidelines about ways to love and serve God.  But they soon became like a law and people could judge themselves, taking pride in how well they kept the law…or they could condemn others for not keeping the law.  Instead of a heart relationship with God, their religion became an outward display of keeping rules. 

APPLICATION:  We are approaching the time of year that is full of traditions.  Thanksgiving and Christmas are holidays full of spiritual meaning.  Thanksgiving Day was set as a time to give thanks to God for His blessings.  Today some even call it, “Turkey Day” because the tradition of eating turkey.  Eating turkey, potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie have remained the traditions.  Gathering in churches for prayers of thanksgiving has been long abandoned. 

Even more, the traditions of Christmas have replaced the truth of Jesus birth.  Many children know “Rudolf the Red nosed Reindeer” better than “Away in a manger.”  Making sure each family member gets an appropriate gift is more important than making sure they have a relationship with the Christ of Christmas.

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, this year help me celebrate the truth more than the tradition.  Amen.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!