Tag Archives: Obedience

Rejection of God’s commands: the place of traditions in following God

And He said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! Mark 7:9 We looked at creating fences last week, but there are other ways we substitute our own ideas for God’s. That passage above continues: For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles…
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Whose Fence?

And He said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!  Mark 7:9 The Pharisees were known for their righteous rule keeping. In fact, they had made more rules than God. They had decided what righteousness looks like and it was different than what God had…
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Joseph Considered

Joseph finds himself with a pregnant fiancé who, by all outward appearances, appears to have been unfaithful. Would your first response be to sit down and passively reflect on the situation? Mine wouldn’t. Yet that is what I picture Joseph doing. He seems untouchably pious - more of a caricature than a real person. But…
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Excited to Serve

When God appears to Abraham, his excitement is apparent. I picture the elder patriarch sitting quietly, finding shade from the heat and catching whatever little breeze might come his way in the doorway. He is quite old at this time and may even be nodding off a bit. But then the unexpected – God shows…
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