Written by Mark Driskill:
Tuesday, October 26

Read Mark 7:1-13

The Pharisees lived in a world all their own. It was a world constructed with the shaky framework of fear covered by a thin veneer of greed and self interest. This was a world filled with religious activity that kept them insanely busy with protecting themselves from contamination and manipulating and debating the rules of religion. They lived in this parrallel universe of obsessive scrubbing and straining, posturing and plotting, rationalizing and reasoning. This religious universe they had constructed blinded them to the needs of the people around them and the heart of God above them. They had become so absorbed in their traditions that they were completely disconnected from the universe everyone else, including God, lived in. They debated the finer points of tradition with each other while the rest of the world was looking for hope in a crazy world. This religious game kept them insulated from God and his work of redeeming humanity. The only time the world paid this circus any real attention was when the Pharisees were raising a stink over some legality. These spiritual leaders had stopped being a source of true spiritual direction and become a nuisance instead. They had traded in the kingdom of God for a fantasy world.

The more I ponder this the more dangerously familiar it sounds. Is the church in the west heading down the same road?

Have we become so obsessed by our own traditions and positions that we are missing the kingdom of God altogether? Have we learned all too well how to clean the outside of the cup while we secretly fill it with the things of this world? Have we constructed a parallel religious universe that is so Christianized that we never really connect with the people on the outside? We measure our spirituality by our ability to keep away from anything or anyone who might contaminate us. We only watch Chrsitian TV, listen only to Christian music, eat only at Christian restaurants, and hang out only with Christian people. We are so OCD about keeping ourselves clean, at least in appearance, that we have little or no contact with the hurting and lost world Jesus came to save. At the same time we have managed, in our little sanctified bubble, to amass great wealth and power so that we can live our faith comfortably and conveniently. We sell the scriptures, merchandize the gospel, and politicize hope. The more we seek to live this way the greater the hole in our gospel grows. In our attempt to serve two masters I fear that we have lost much of our saltiness and are being tossed out by a culture that only pays attention to us when we are mad at somebody.

Jesus shows us how to live as his followers. While the Pharisees lived in fear of contamination, Jesus contaminated the unclean with grace and made them clean. While they spent thier time manipulating rules to their advantage Jesus focused on pleasing the heart of his father. While the pharisees were preserving thier own lives, Jesus was laying down his. If we are to follow him we must do as he did. Today may the Lord give us grace to break out of our fantasy world and live for his kingdom.

Mark also preaches in youth rallies and revivals upon request at no charge. Their vision is to see true spiritual awakening come to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and to the nation.

Contact information:
Email: driskill@hillbillymail.com
Facebook: Mark Driskill
Address: PO Box 1159 Jackson KY.