TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come – sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

– Mark 7:20-23

REFLECTION…

The sins, which our Lord lists here, are those which are committed in the human heart prior to being acted out.

Jesus teaches us that the true center of moral action lies in our personal decisions, good or evil – decisions which we allow to be shaped in our heart. If we encourage our sinful thoughts, rather than reject and discard them, they will affect the decisions we take and will be expressed in the actions we make.

As professed Christians, we should reflect deeply on what Jesus is warning us about, and take a firm decision to repel and renounce certain thoughts.

PRAYER…

My Lord Jesus, my God, my Saviour, my Teacher,

thank You for Your reassurances

and also for Your warnings;

for teaching and showing me, by Your own example,

how to love,

how to think,

how to act…

Lord, I give You my heart and my mind

– take over, Lord, and make me yearn and search

for only what is good and unselfish,

and help me totally reject

all that corrupts and is greedy and self-centred.

Lord, save me from myself.