January 03, 2019

BIBLE READING: MARK 3

1 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. 2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him…….
5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Verse two says “and they watched him”. Just a good reminder today that we are always being watched. Jesus was watched by the religious leaders so that they could try to catch Him and accuse Him of wrongdoing. There may be occasions where we are watched by others for that same reason. Sometimes, however, we are just being watched because people know we are Christians. They want to see if our faith is real, if we are real, and if our God is real. Remind yourself that someone may be watching you today that needs Christ. If we will remember that, we will behave ourselves in a different way.

Notice also here in verse five that Jesus was grieved because of the hardness of the religious leaders hearts. Sometimes we might be guilty of thinking that if we simply follow rules, live a certain way, perform all of our religious rituals, that God will be pleased with us. You and I need to be reminded that our heart is the real issue. What grieved Jesus most was not their hypocrisy, it was the hardness of their hearts. You and I can do everything right on the outside, but God is grieved when he senses hardness on the inside.

How is your heart today? That’s a good question to ask ourselves every day. I’ll put it this way; when our heart becomes hard, either we can make it right, or God will.