Heart Problem

1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"
3 Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' [and 'Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.'] 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is 'devoted to God,' 6 they are not to 'honor their father or mother' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 " 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.'
Matthew 15:1-9


The Pharisees had a heart problem! They manipulated God’s law to be self serving in that they made traditions and rules that helped to feed their greed for money and power, all the while missing out on what could have truly fulfilled them and made them whole – an authentic relationship with God. At the very core of who you are today lies your soul and what your soul is longing for and hungers for and subconsciously thirsts for is to know and love the God of this world who ultimately created you for one reason – to know and love Him with all of your heart. You see, this morning, your Father in heaven doesn’t care what happened yesterday, He doesn’t care about how you might have failed Him 1, 10 or 15 years ago; He couldn't care less about the feeble attempts that you may try to make today within your flesh to earn His love or favor or to somehow try to make up for wrongdoings of your past. No, your Father loves you 100% completely right now, today, with an all encompassing love that is full of grace and mercy, not because of anything that you have done but as a result who He is. You see, all that Jesus asks of you today is to love Him; to spend some time with Him conversation; to tell others how much you love Him by the way that you live your life and the words that you speak. All that He asks of you today is to give Him your heart, entirely and completely in such a way that you can learn to forgive yourself and thus forgive others. God just wants to love you today and to know you in a personal way in order that you can be free to live your life as you were originally created to live. Worship your Father this morning; spend some time with Him and set aside the foolish traditions of religion in order that you can know and love Him more!