February 20, 2023 – Our Daily Bread Devotional Message || ODB for Monday
February 20, 2023 – Our Daily Bread Devotional Message || ODB for MondayRead February 20, 2023 – Our Daily Bread Devotional || ODB for Monday Message
READ MONDAY ODB DEVOTIONAL, OUR DAILY BREAD 20TH FEBRUARY 2023 WRITTEN BY KATARA PATTON (OUR DAILY BREAD MINISTRIES)
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TOPIC: What’s Truly Needed
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Leviticus 26–27; Mark 2
KEY VERSE: You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions. – Mark 7:8
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Mark 7:8–13
INSIGHT: Mark’s gospel is unique in several ways. It presents the Savior as the divine Servant. It’s held by many conservative scholars to be the recollections of Simon Peter and is the most action-oriented of the Gospels, causing many to see it as intended for a Roman audience. This assumed Roman audience may also account for Mark’s concern in explaining some Jewish ritual practices (see Mark 7:3–4)—explanations which aren’t needed in Matthew’s gospel and its assumed Jewish audience. Ultimately, Mark’s account, which begins, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God” (1:1), reveals Jesus as the One who said, “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (10:45).
Our Daily Bread Devotional 20th February 2023 MESSAGE
While preparing a meal, a young mother cut a pot roast in half before she put it in a large pot. Her husband asked her why she cut the meat in half. She replied, “Because that’s the way my mother does it.”
Her husband’s question, however, piqued the woman’s curiosity. So she asked her mother about the tradition. She was shocked to learn that her mother cut the meat so it would fit in the one small pot she used. And because her daughter had many large pots, the act of cutting the meat was unnecessary.
Many traditions begin out of a necessity but are carried on without question—becoming “the way we do it.” It’s natural to want to hold on to human traditions—something the Pharisees were doing in their day (Mark 7:1–2). They were distracted by what seemed like the breaking of one of their religious rules.
As Jesus said to the Pharisees, “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions” (v. 8). He revealed that traditions should never replace the wisdom of Scripture. A genuine desire to follow God (vv. 6–7) will focus on the attitude of our heart rather than outward actions.
It’s a good idea to consistently evaluate traditions—anything we hold close to our heart and follow religiously. The things that God has revealed to be truly needed should always supersede traditions.
REFLECT: What are some of the traditions you hold fast to? How do they line up with what’s revealed in Scripture?
PRAY: Heavenly Father, help me to follow Your commands and to forgo any tradition that conflicts with the Scriptures.
Our Daily Bread Devotional 20 February 2023 || ODB for Monday Message . Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. our daily bread devotional for today audio our daily bread booklet.
