Today's Bible Verse: Mark 7:14-15
 
    "Then he (Jesus) called the crowd again and said to them, 'Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.'"
 
Today's Reflection Questions:
 
    What kinds of things "defile" you?
    In what ways do you "listen" to Jesus?
    
Today's Prayer Topic:
 
    Pray for God to help you to keep from becoming "defiled".

Today's Bible Verse: Mark 7:11-13
 
    "But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, 'Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban' (that is, an offering to God)--then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this.'"
 
Today's Reflection Questions:
 

    In what ways do you "support" your parents (or other family members)?
    How do people make "void the word of God" in their lives?
    
Today's Prayer Topic:
 
    Pray for God to help you keep His word.

Today's Bible Verse: Mark 7:10
 
    "For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother' and 'Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.'"
 
Today's Reflection Questions:
 

    In what ways do you "honor your father and your mother"?
    How does this verse speak to the issue of capital punishment?
    
Today's Prayer Topic:
 
    Pray for God to help you to "honor your father and your mother".

Today's Bible Verse: Mark 7:9
 
    "Then he (Jesus) said to them, 'You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition!'"
 
Today's Reflection Questions:
 

    In what ways do you "reject the commandment of God"?
    What "traditions" are important for you to keep?
    
Today's Prayer Topic:
 
    Pray for God to give you the ability to "reject" those things that are contrary to the "commandment of God".

Today's Bible Verse: Mark 7:8
 
    "You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition."
 
Today's Reflection Questions:
 

    What is the "commandment of God" for your life?
    To what "human traditions" do you hold?
    
Today's Prayer Topic:
 
    Pray for God to help you to know the "commandment of God" in your life.

Today's Bible Verse: Mark 7:6-7
 
    "He (Jesus) said to them, 'Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.'"
 
Today's Reflection Questions:
 

    How do you "honor" Jesus?
    How "close" is your "heart" to Jesus?
    
Today's Prayer Topic:
 
    Pray for God to keep your heart close to Jesus.

Today's Bible Verse: Mark 7:5
 
    "So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him (Jesus), "Why do your disciples not live according tot he traditions of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?'"
 
Today's Reflection Questions:
 

    According to what "traditions" do you live?
    What causes your life to become "defiled"?
    
Today's Prayer Topic:
 
    Pray for God to help you to sort through those "traditions" which are helpful to you and those which are not.

Today's Bible Verse: Mark 7:3-4
 
    "For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles."
 
Today's Reflection Questions:
 

    What kind of "traditions" do you observe?
    Who are the "elders" who have helped set the "traditions" in your life?
    
Today's Prayer Topic:
 
    Pray for God to help you to understand the "traditions" in your life.

Today's Bible Verse: Mark 7:1-2
 
    "Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him (Jesus), they noticed that some of the disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them."
 
Today's Reflection Questions:
 

    What do you "notice" about "disciples" of Jesus?
    What kind of characteristics do you think a disciple of Jesus ought to have?
    
Today's Prayer Topic:
 
    Pray for God to help others "notice" that you are a disciple of Jesus and that they might see the positive things you do.

Today's Bible Verse: Mark 6:56
 
    "And wherever he (Jesus) went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed."
 
Today's Reflection Questions:
 

    Where does Jesus "go" today?
    How does Jesus bring about healing in your life?
    
Today's Prayer Topic:
 
    Pray for God to give you the gift of health, so that you might be healed of your diseases.