{"id":3144,"date":"2021-01-21T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/?p=3144"},"modified":"2021-01-11T07:33:16","modified_gmt":"2021-01-11T12:33:16","slug":"why-traditions-will-make-you-break-commandments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2021\/01\/21\/why-traditions-will-make-you-break-commandments\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Traditions Will Make You Break Commandments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

2 minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Daily Reading: <\/strong>Genesis 37-38 GW<\/a>; Matthew 15 GW<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditions can mislead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus is addressing the Pharisees in today\u2019s verse.  He\u2019s making a distinction between \u201cthe command of God\u201d and Jewish Tradition.  The Pharisees didn\u2019t understand why Jesus and His disciples didn\u2019t wash their hands before eating.  These were oral traditions passed down from generation to generation. In other words, the Pharisees are concerned with outward appearance more than inward cleansing.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is pointless, because their teachings are rules made by humans.\u2019\u2005\u201d (<\/em>Matthew 15:8-9 GW<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus is telling the Pharisees, \u201cYou\u2019re missing the point.\u201d  Because they focus on tradition, they miss what Jesus is trying to teach.  Living a life of faith requires a spiritual connection with our heavenly Father.  He\u2019s more concerned about our relationship with Him than any human traditions.  When we consume ourselves with tradition, we break God\u2019s commandments.  The Pharisees worried about making the physical world look good but were not concerned with the sinful nature that lives within all of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s commands cleanses us inside.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washing their hands put on a show for the people around the Pharisees.  They were trying to impress the crowd, not God.  What Jesus wants is for us to have a relationship with God beyond what people can see.  If all we care about is outward appearance, we\u2019ll miss the internal transaction God yearns for us to have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can only have one master.  In the simplest of terms, you will follow man or God.  If you get caught up in man\u2019s traditions, you\u2019ll miss God\u2019s commands.  Without God\u2019s commands, you cannot fully connect to Him.  Only as you practice Jesus\u2019s teachings will you find life to the fullest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Check out my new release on Amazon<\/a>. Learn how I used prayer to control my emotions and develop healthier relationships in my life. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lord, thank You for sending Jesus to show us the way.\u00a0 Thank You for His teachings; help take our focus off outward appearance and place it on Your commands.\u00a0 Forgive us the times we get caught in human tradition.\u00a0 Help us to identify the areas of our life where we\u2019re breaking commandments because of misguided focus.\u00a0 Our hearts are for You; our lives are Yours.\u00a0 Today and every day, draw us into a deeper relationship with You.\u00a0 IJNIP. Amen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Question for reflection:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What human tradition is causing you to break God\u2019s commandment?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2 minute read. Daily Reading: Genesis 37-38 GW; Matthew 15 GW Traditions can mislead. Jesus is addressing the Pharisees in today\u2019s verse.  He\u2019s making a distinction between \u201cthe command of God\u201d and Jewish Tradition.  The Pharisees didn\u2019t understand why Jesus and His disciples didn\u2019t wash their hands before eating.  These were oral traditions passed down… Continue reading Why Traditions Will Make You Break Commandments<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3144"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3147,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3144\/revisions\/3147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}