From the Inside Out
From the Inside Out
- Scott White
- Mark 7:14-23:0
- This Too Shall Be Made Right
- 32 mins 13 secs
- Views: 1219
Pastor's Letter
This Too Shall Be Made Right - Week 14
Have you ever heard the saying the "perception is reality?" So much of my being just wants to shout out..."NO!" After all, there is so much more to reality than what someones perceives from the externals we observe. For example, recently the San Francisco 49ers had a new football quarterback step in for their injured starter. He was dynamic and amazingly, this rookie had immediate success, and he became the 'next big thing.' The quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, was soon thereafter ripped in many media outlets because of the poor example he was judged to be for kids because he is covered in tattoos. The perception was that this guy is a product of the 'thug life' or at the least, is yet another young man who is glorifying gangs.
Have you ever heard the saying the "perception is reality?" So much of my being just wants to shout out..."NO!" After all, there is so much more to reality than what someones perceives from the externals we observe. For example, recently the San Francisco 49ers had a new football quarterback step in for their injured starter. He was dynamic and amazingly, this rookie had immediate success, and he became the 'next big thing.' The quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, was soon thereafter ripped in many media outlets because of the poor example he was judged to be for kids because he is covered in tattoos. The perception was that this guy is a product of the 'thug life' or at the least, is yet another young man who is glorifying gangs.
Perception was not reality. When a reporter asked him about these things, he removed his shirt to show off his "criminal tats" and what the media discovered was a young man who has chosen body art as a way to express his faith in God. His tattoos feature passes of scripture that are particularly meaningful to him as he follow Jesus in his life journey. Sometimes what is real, is so much more than what we perceive about another.
This week we finish the 7th Chapter of Mark and conclude Jesus's address on clean and unclean, inside and outside. Sadly too much of the world, especially the places where the gospel has yet to be firmly planted, believes in a perception of what a "Christian" is, and that can stand in the way of seeing Jesus. As Pastor Greg challenged us last week, if we can be centered on Jesus – as the core of our world view, both personally and as his Church - than Jesus will be known. Then increasingly, others will see Jesus in place of the "traditions of men;" they will perceive the reality of Jesus in and through us.
To His Glory,
Scott White
Interim Executive Pastor of Ministry
Study Guide
This Too Shall Be Made Right - Week 14 - Study Guide
From the Inside Out
Mark 7:1-23
This weeks text is rooted in last week's passage. Please begin this week's meditationally-focused study by reading from Mark Chapter 7.1 through 7.23.
By Jesus' day, much of Jewish faith practice had become a construct around rules and regulations that expanded on and far beyond at that, the Old Testament law of Moses. The rules in fact had come to trump many of the principles and the thus the external actions became the most important thing and not the Kingdom principles and direction at the heart of the Law.
- Are there "external rules" you can identify in your life that has taken on a controlling role in your faith journey never intended by God? Create a list to consider them and their proper place in obeying and following Jesus.
Jesus' words in the passage are to bring conviction in our heart. He calls out the hypocrisy of God's people and the great temptation we all have to focus on externals while ignoring our internal motivations. One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to both bring conviction and to lead us into all truth scripture teaches. Take extended time with God and mediate on his truth. Let him search your heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas of hypocrisy and any rules in your faith journey that may have taken an unintended life of their own and let the Spirit speak to you and how you should respond. After this meditative practice, some of you may need to share this with a spiritual partner and mentor. Invite them into your journey as a partner in the area(s) God would transform in you, so they can intercede for you in prayer and so you might be held accountable to what the Holy Spirit has revealed to you.
2013 Study Series • Copyright © 2013, Lake Avenue Church