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Matthew 12:1 – 7
“I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” Jesus said to the Pharisees who were quibbling about the disciples picking grain on the Sabbath. The “Lord of the Sabbath” tells these religious leaders and experts in the law that they have missed the point of the law: to produce acts of mercy, to know God’s love and show it to others. Sometimes religion has a tendency to do that. It turns God’s good law into a ritualistic rule-keeping system that misses the heart of the Lawgiver in a vain attempt to earn his favor. The religious instinct is to make worship about what we’re doing — our sacrifice for God — rather than what he has done for us and desires us to do for others.
“I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” Jesus said to the Pharisees who were quibbling about the disciples picking grain on the Sabbath. The “Lord of the Sabbath” tells these religious leaders and experts in the law that they have missed the point of the law: to produce acts of mercy, to know God’s love and show it to others. Sometimes religion has a tendency to do that. It turns God’s good law into a ritualistic rule-keeping system that misses the heart of the Lawgiver in a vain attempt to earn his favor. The religious instinct is to make worship about what we’re doing — our sacrifice for God — rather than what he has done for us and desires us to do for others.
About this Plan
This is a 21 day extract of the NIV Once-A-Day Bible which organizes the New International Version Bible, the world’s most popular modern-English Bible, into 365 daily readings. This Bible includes a daily Scripture reading from both the Old and New Testaments, plus a Psalm or a Proverb, followed by a short devotional thought written by the staff at the trusted ministry Walk Thru the Bible.
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We would like to thank Zondervan for providing this devotional. For more information, please visit: www.facebook.com/OnceADayBible
