Study on The Heart

"If I believe, I have to tell everyone."

Hadn't wrote down my thoughts in a while from my quiet time or from what the Lord is teaching me. However, today the Lord reminded me of something I had recently heard, "If I believe, I have to tell everyone." My prayer is that as you read what the Lord is teaching me, that you, too will grow in knowledge and in love for our Creator!

Today I read Mark 7:14-23 (NKJV) - Things From Within Defile

14 When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand: 15 There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. 16 If[a] anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”

17 When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. 18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, [b]thus purifying all foods?” 20 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”

After study, here's my breakdown of these verses:

Verse 14: Jesus clearly says the words"hear me, everyone, and understand." This is important enough to hear and truly understand. Sometimes when I read these parables and I find them hard to relate or find meaning. Scripture is infallible and Word of God. It is alive and still speaking today. The Lord knew these words would penetrate the heart and mind of the reads then and now. Meaning this was made for us to understand and hear, today!!

Verse 15: What does the word defile mean? To become spoiled, unclean, or polluted. Scripture says nothing from the outside can spoil a man but the things which come out of him are what spoil him.

Verse 16: Again this repetition of the word hear shows the importance of this text and demands our attention.

Verse 17: When the disciples and Jesus were away from the crowd, in a house, the disciples asked what did Jesus say? What was the meaning behind "There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man." I find comfort that even those closest to Jesus (the disciples traveled with Him, learned under Him, and saw Him) did not always understand what He was saying and asked questions.

Verse 18-19: He, being Jesus, begins to break down this parable for the disciples. Jesus says what enters from the outside cannot defile him because it does not enter into his heart- but enters into his stomach and is then removed from the body. This is referencing food. The food you swallow does not enter your heart, we all know it goes into our stomachs.

Verse 20-22: Jesus clarified that is not the food in us that defiles us, but what is it what comes out of our hearts. He says,"For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness." These are things we all should avoid and steer clear from, yet it is out of the heart of men where these things are found.

Verse 23: Jesus closes with repetition, "All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”

These verses got me thinking on my heart and what comes out of it. I do not want evil thoughts of adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, or foolishness to come from my heart. I started thinking on Matthew 6:21, which says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

I was then reminded of Proverbs 4:23 which says, "Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life." The issues of life are what was described in the verses above of Mark, but the words "keep your heart" in Proverbs caught my attention and pulled at my heart.

How can I keep my heart? How can I avoid these issues of life? This must be known!!

Ephesians 6:10-20 !! God gives us the answers here and gives us practical knowledge on how to do exactly this! We must put on the armor of God, daily!

Ephesians 6:10-20 (NKJV) - The Whole Armor of God (the call to stand against the devil)

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [a]wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [b]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

After study, here's my breakdown of these verses:

Side-note: Paul is the author of this book in the Bible and as he was writing this he was actually in jail. So he has an eye witness to the soldiers and their armor. The Lord really does use everything for His Glory, because Paul's knowledge of the armor of the Romans is now being related to our Christian walk!!

Verse 10: At first I just skipped over this verse, I was eager to get to the more so practicalness of the following verses. However, I read it again and broke this verse down even more. First, this verse says to "be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." Easy, right? This sounds like a basic "cliche" all believers have heard. So break it down again.

• What does it mean to be strong in the Lord?

  • This means to strengthen yourself through the Lord.

• How can this be done?

  • Surrender your own efforts of strength until the Lord and lean into Him. The text did not say "be strong in Mercedes or insert your name here." Stop trying to be the own God of your life, you do not have the answers or strength to do this. Give it up to the only one able!

• Next part of the verse says, "in the power of His might." What is might? What is power?

  • Might: inherent power (clearly known power). Think of a trophy case, it clearly displays ones greatness without showing the skills done to receive the trophy.

  • Power: the exercise of might. Think of the athletic person who received the trophies and the muscles one would have used.

• The Lord's might works in me as I rely and step into it. It cannot be something passive. I cannot see His might, if I never step out in faith.

• This is and must be foundation to your relationship with the Lord. The Enduring Word Commentary (linked below) gives this example and it really helped me understand the magnitude of knowing the meaning behind "be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."

  • If you take a weak man who can barely stand, and put the best armor on him he will still be an ineffective soldier. We must rely on the strength of God and the power of His might!!

Verse 11: "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [a]wiles of the devil." Here is another clear instruction from the Lord. He did not say when you feel like it put on the armor of God or when you are having a bad day. We are in a spiritual battle and our enemy is the devil.

Verse 12: Listed in this verse are our spiritual enemies, including the devil. The devil is coming after us like roaring lion and we must be aware. Romans 8:37-39 comforts me that while the devil is working hard, the Lord works harder, and wins!! "37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Verse 13: There is repetition of the "whole armor of God," not just some of it, all of it, the WHOLE!

This verse also mentions the word "stand to withstand in the evil day, having done all, to stand." We are in the evil day and there is evil all around us.

• How can you stand in the strength of the Lord and the power of His might? What does this mean to you?

  • To stand: to be alert and positioned even as the devil attacks time and time again.

  • To stand in the Gospel

  • To stand in faith (1 Corinthians 16:13)

  • To stand in purity

  • To stand in forgivness (Mark 11:25)

  • To stand when the world is not. (Psalm 1:1)

Verse 14: Told to stand in truth, this is symbolically represented as a belt. Think of this belt of truth as faith on the foundational knowledge of God. For example: The Trinity, Creation, the Cross, the Resurrection, and God's restoration plan. There is so much more- these are just examples. The breastplate of righteousness is not our own righteousness or righteousness we think we deserve. It is not our experiences or anything else that qualify us, simply just the Lord and who He is.

Verse 15: "and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace." I really like how the Lord chose feet to represent the Gospel because we are called to go and tell the gospel - requiring our feet to take us to people. The Gospel should go with us wherever our feet go!!

Verse 16: Faith turns back the fiery darts. We know the devil is shooting lies at us all day everyday, we must have faith in who God says we are and what He has called us to do.

Verse 17: If I was going into a war, I would want to have a helmet to protect one of the most important parts of my body, my head. We know we are in a spiritual war, salvation is the most important thing we need!

Verse 18: We are told to be praying passionately in the Spirit and for all the believers who are also facing the wiles of the devil in this spiritual war.

Verse 19: Wow this verse encourages and convicts me greatly! Paul could have asked prayer for so many things, he was literally sitting in prison. Yet his heart and mind were fixed on his responsibility as an ambassador of the Gospel!!

Verse 20: The chains he were in are proof of his ambassadorship to Christ! I ask myself, is there proof of my ambassadorship to Christ?

I am here to make known the mystery of the Gospel to as many people as I can, yet my heart and flesh are weak. I must be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might!

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/ephesians

https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/ephesians-