Friday 15 Jul 2022

July 15: Matthew 12:1-8

Key Verse: Matthew 12:5
Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent?

Devotion:
It is very easy to get carried away with the pomp and ceremony in any church service; normally people point fingers at the high church services, but there is ceremony in all services and people tend to do what has always been done or do what is supposed to be done instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to move freely amongst the people.

When Jesus was pulled up about the disciples picking and eating corn from the field, He reminded the people about what David had done and many more since – they broke the strict letter of the law but it was done out or urgency and not out of spite. Jesus wanted them to see the difference and to know that God will allow you to do things out of urgency or need rather than having to stick to the strict laws of the church.

The church services we go to are typically in celebration of what Jesus has done for us and how He gave everything so we can live! The purpose of the service is to worship God in three persons and not to see how close you can to getting things done perfectly in line with the law! Our purpose is to worship God with everything we have, not to try and impress Him how well we can stick to the laws!

Jesus wants us to have a loving relationship with Him, not a master/servant relationship where we have to do everything exactly right in order to get by. Jesus spoke freely and told the people He desired mercy and not sacrifice; this means showing mercy to people who get things wrong because they cannot help it and not sticking to what is lawful and stopping people from getting what they need!

Points to Ponder:
Do you stick to the law or stick to what is right?

The law should be right, but following God is more important?