Original Entry:
October 27, 2011
McMinnville, OR
Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.” “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth
goes into the stomach and then out of the body?
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these
make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the
heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false
testimony, slander. These are what make
a man ‘unclean;’ but eating with unwashed hands does not make him
‘unclean.’” Matthew 15:15-20
My good friend Bob
was led to Christ by is buddy Jim in a duck blind many years ago. As the story goes, Jim laid out the plan of
salvation and Bob’s only response was, “That sounds good, but let me get my
life straight first.”
Jim shot back, “Do
you take a shower before you take a bath?”
Jim went on to
explain that only Jesus can make a man clean from his sins (John 14:6, Romans 3:23). Bob
prayed in knee deep water and received Christ in the duck blind! Some men have
a problem trying to keep the outside clean when the inside is a mess. We build a duck blind around our problems
hoping no one, especially God, notices! How stupid! Who are we really fooling
anyway?
One of the great
temptations of men is to cover up their heart with accomplishments. At a recent men’s conference a gentleman
shared that he was so far in debt he did not know what to do. He needed 13 thousand a month just to pay his
debts. He confessed, “If people knew my
personal life they would never hire me.”
When I asked what he
did he said, “I am a financial advisor!”
God wants men to be good
more than look good. He desires a, “Pure heart and clean hands.”
Only God can do
this. Only God has the power to make a
man clean. Only God can change a
heart. Without Christ the greatest of
men is only an empty blind in a stagnant pond.
All that God desires
for a man begins and ends with Christ.
