What Comes From The Heart….

Inner purity, what exactly does this mean? Simply put, using Jesus’ words, it’s what “come(s) from the heart”. When our hearts are aligned with God’s heart, inner purity exists. When our priority is God’s priority. It’s when we lay down our pride for Jesus’ sake. It’s when we empty ourselves of selfishness. When we are empty of self, God can fill us up with His Spirit. That’s inner purity. And it’s not something we compare, or brag about. It’s something we strive for as followers of Jesus. When we are right with God, our words reveal Who is really in control. Selfishness is the opposite of love. Until we understand this, inner purity is not possible, and our hearts lead us astray. The condition of the heart is what matters most to God. And it should matter most to us as well.

1 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked Him, 2 “Why do Your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition.7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, 8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips,but their hearts are far from Me.9 Their worship is a farce,for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’” 10 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” He said, “and try to understand. 11 It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”12 Then the disciples came to Him and asked, “Do You realize You offended the Pharisees by what You just said?”13 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by My heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”15 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.18 But the words you speak come from the heart–that’s what defiles you.19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.” Matthew 15:1-20