Key Passage
“{But I will answer your question.} You know the commands: ‘You must not murder anyone, you must not do the sin of adultery, you must not steal, you must not lie, you must not cheat, you must honor (respect) your father and mother …'” The man said, “Teacher, I have obeyed all these commands since I was a boy.”
— Mark 10:19-20 ERV (Read Full Text)
Key Thought
Here’s a guy pretty sure that he has mastered it all … and he even began as a child. Oops! This is where his spiritual “heart problems” begin to show through his veneer of legalistic righteousness. Instead of keeping the Law to honor God, this fellow was using his law-keeping as leverage to exalt his status before God. That misses the point. The pride of law-keeping becomes the false god that shatters the whole point.
Prayer
Father in heaven, you are holy and majestic. I know that my attempts to be holy are going to be met with failure. I commit to work at being a holy person, but I know that my own efforts, even on my best days, are going to fall short. I thank you for giving me a righteousness beyond my abilities, works, and efforts. Thank you for Jesus, whose sacrifice for me makes me righteous and thank you for the Holy Spirit whose power works on transforming me into your character and holiness. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Related Scriptures
But the Spirit gives love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
— Galatians 5:22-23
So run away from sexual sin. Every other sin that a person does is outside his body. But the person that sins sexually sins against his own body. You should know that your body is a temple (house) for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in you. You have received the Holy Spirit from God. You don’t own yourselves. You were bought {by God} at a price. So honor God with your bodies.
— 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Christ is the head of the body. (The body is the church.) Everything comes from him. And he is the Lord who was raised from death. So in all things Jesus is most important. God was pleased for all of himself to live in Christ. And through Christ, God was happy to bring all things back to himself again—things on earth and things in heaven. God made peace by using Christ’s blood (death) on the cross. At one time you were separated from God. You were God’s enemies in your minds, because the evil things you did were against God.
But now Christ has made you God’s friends again. Christ did this by his death while he was in his body. Christ did this so that he could bring you before God. He brings you before God as people who are holy, with no wrong in you, and with nothing that God can judge you guilty of. Christ will do this if you continue to believe in the Good News you heard. You must continue strong and sure in your faith. You must not be moved away from the hope that Good News gave you. That same Good News has been told to all people in the world. I, Paul, help in telling that Good News.
— Colossians 1:18-23
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