After He quotes Isaiah, Jesus goes on to pointedly say that what is in the heart is what pollutes a person, not dirty hands or what they eat. That which contaminates the human spirit and soul are attitudes like hatred, greed, covetousness, lust, pride and unforgiveness which lead to actions like murders, deceptive dealings, carounsing, mean looks, adulteries, slanders, etc. We all are scizophrenic to some degree. We put on a mask to please man, to hide our true selves. People can be fooled, but God cannot. He sees straight through our fabricated facades to our hearts. He pierces the false pretense with His Truth, not to harm us (though it may feel like it at times) but to set us free. To set us free from those things that are deadly, free to live as His children, His beloved, holy ones. He sets us free to enjoy "every good and perfect gift" from Him. He sets us free to worhsip Him, to follow Him to life--life without end. Think about it.

Ananias and Sapphira only told a little lie, only took a little of what belonged to God. But with God there's no "little" sin; and, what we consecrate to Him, He values very highly. This couple found out that God expected His infant church to be innocent and He was willing to remove that which would defile it.

It seems to me that today's Church has "trifled" much with God--divisions, divorce, thievery, scandal, immorality, etc. The Scripture says, in 1 Corinthians 11: 27-30, "That is why many of you are weak and sick, and some have even died." We must not "trifle" with the death of Christ, for it is God's most holy gift. To say as an act of worship, "I surrender all, I give all, to You, O Lord," then take it for your own is sin. God has judged sin through His Son. Do you think He will overlook a direct affrontery to His Son or His Spirit, whom He has sent to dwell with us and in us?

Will your death be a glorious homegoing or the beginning of punishment for trifling with God? Think about it.

Jesus Christ is the Life, and He brings people together in His life. As we commit ourselves to "the life together," dramatic change begins to occur. The Spirit of the Living God comes to "dwell in us." Sin no longer dominates us. We are filled with love for God and our neighbor. We no longer steal or lie or murder or hate without conscience. We begin to bless and not curse, do good and not evil. Our daily activities are now accentuated with the study of God's Word, prayers, worship and thanksgiving. Our lives begin to fill the fruit of the Spirit and empty of the deeds of the flesh. We find others who are like-minded with us in this "new life." We enjoy and encourage each other as we are truly knit together in the common bond of love and faith. We "weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice." We serve one another with the gifts that come with the Life. We, together, look forward to the day when "our faith shall become sight"--the beginning of eternity together. Think about it.

The prince of this dark world has lots of good things with which to tempt a person: Expanses of land and all its natural, mineral and liquid wealth, everything man-made (cars, clothing, buildings, idols); knowledge of the workings of creation, etc. All you have to do is worhsip and serve him (Satan) by giving any one, or all, of these things a preferencial place, over God, in your life and desire. Of course, there is a cost to this satanic generosity--death and eternal damnation of your soul. He's made the offer. What's your response? Think about it.

It is true, we will always have ample opportunity to help the poor for there will always be the poor among us. But, we will not always have ample opportunity to honor God. Perhaps the woman did help the poor. Perhaps, she was poor herself. Whichever the case, she came to extravagantly honor the Lord Jesus Christ. And what did she use in worship but an annointing oil for burial. She had believed what Jesus said about His impending crucifixion while the disciples were still in denial and/or concerned about "everyday" things. The disciples did get the concept that Jesus came to help the poor, the captive, the broken-hearted, but, they just couldn't understand that He came to do His Father's will and what that will was.

We modern disciples are no different. We can get so caught up with trying to solve our social ills that we forget, even deny, Our Lord and His will for us. Honoring Him does include helping the poor, but not exclusively. As you can see about you today, there are many people helping the poor but not honoring their God and Creator. There are not so many who help the poor and honor Our Lord with all their heart, soul and strength by doing His will. Think about it.

Jesus once said, “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” At any given time, could the Lord listen to our hearts and find what we’re considering acceptable to His holiness, righteousness, sinlessness?

If we are redeemed by God and given the surety that we are His and He is ours, does our attitude reflect that, our words confirm it? If we are to worship the Lord “in spirit and truth,” then we must pay attention to what the Lord reveals about our hearts’ content and deal with it accordingly. Think about it.