March 2, 2014: Wicked!

Mark 7:14-37

Amplified Bible (AMP)

14 And He called the people to [Him] again and said to them, Listen to Me, all of you, and understand [what I say].

15 There is not [even] one thing outside a man which by going into him can pollute and defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him and make him unhallowed and unclean.

16 If any man has ears to hear, let him be listening [and let him perceive and comprehend by hearing].

17 And when He had left the crowd and had gone into the house, His disciples began asking Him about the parable.

18 And He said to them, Then are you also unintelligent and dull and without understanding? Do you not discern and see that whatever goes into a man from the outside cannot make him unhallowed or unclean,

19 Since it does not reach and enter his heart but [only his] digestive tract, and so passes on [into the place designed to receive waste]? Thus He was making and declaring all foods [ceremonially] clean [that is, abolishing the ceremonial distinctions of the Levitical Law].

20 And He said, What comes out of a man is what makes a man unclean and renders [him] unhallowed.

21 For from within, [that is] out of the hearts of men, come base and wicked thoughts, sexual immorality, stealing, murder, adultery,

22 Coveting (a greedy desire to have more wealth), dangerous and destructive wickedness, deceit; unrestrained (indecent) conduct; an evil eye (envy), slander (evil speaking, malicious misrepresentation, abusiveness), pride (the sin of an uplifted heart against God and man), foolishness (folly, lack of sense, recklessness, thoughtlessness).

23 All these evil [purposes and desires] come from within, and they make the man unclean and render him unhallowed.

24 And Jesus arose and went away from there to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He went into a house and did not want anyone to know [that He was there]; but it was not possible for Him to be hidden [from public notice].

25 Instead, at once, a woman whose little daughter had (was under the control of) an unclean spirit heard about Him and came and flung herself down at His feet.

26 Now the woman was a Greek (Gentile), a Syrophoenician by nationality. And she kept begging Him to drive the demon out of her little daughter.

27 And He said to her, First let the children be fed, for it is not becoming or proper or right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the [little house] dogs.

28 But she answered Him, Yes, Lord, yet even the small pups under the table eat the little children’s scraps of food.

29 And He said to her, Because of this saying, you may go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter [permanently].

30 And she went home and found the child thrown on the couch, and the demon departed.

31 Soon after this, Jesus, coming back from the region of Tyre, passed through Sidon on to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of Decapolis [the ten cities].

32 And they brought to Him a man who was deaf and had difficulty in speaking, and they begged Jesus to place His hand upon him.

33 And taking him aside from the crowd [privately], He thrust His fingers into the man’s ears and spat and touched his tongue;

34 And looking up to heaven, He sighed as He said, Ephphatha, which means, Be opened!

35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak distinctly and as he should.

36 And Jesus [in His own interest] admonished and ordered them sternly and expressly to tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.

37 And they were overwhelmingly astonished, saying, He has done everything excellently (commendably and nobly)! He even makes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak!

After reading about the ugliness inside of us, I want to share my own testimony again.

The Ugly Chalkboard

Proverbs 14:9, 28:13

“Fools mock at making amends for sin, but goodwill is found among the upright. He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

Over the past few months I have been shocked to learn that I have been filled with bitterness, anger, and an unforgiving spirit.

Say what????? Me, the little church girl, who has never drank a drop of alcohol, never smoked anything, was a virgin when I married in 1980, never cheated on my husband of 32 years, and the list of nevers goes on.  I was born and raised in church!

For most of my life not a day has gone by that I haven’t prayed God please clean out my heart. I have faithfully used the prayer guide written by my childhood pastor who baptized me, G.A. Mangun, “Praying Through the Tabernacle to the Throne.”

In the past months, I found myself getting stuck at the repentance portion of the prayer.  I literally couldn’t move forward. I began to really relate to Psalm 51:3, King David’s lament. “For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; my sin is ever before me.”

It was if a giant chalkboard was raised up in front of me, halting my prayers. On it were many names. Beside each name were hash marks, representing wrongs against me.  I pleaded with God every day, please help me to forgive! There were so many names and so many hash marks! And they were accumulating daily because I hauled the chalkboard around with me all the time! I even propped it up by my bed at night. Every time someone looked at me funny,  ignored me or made an offensive comment, I angrily grabbed the chalk, searched and found their name, and recorded it.

This went on for months. I became exhausted and discouraged. Keeping the list current was hard work!

One Wednesday morning, I awakened at 3 a.m. tossing and turning. I got up around 4:15, grabbed the ugly chalkboard, hauled it down the stairs, propped it up by the couch and sat down and tried to pray. I said for the thousandth time Oh God please clean out my heart!  Please help me to forgive all these people!  I was losing hope. The list of the people and their wrongs was just too long.

Finally around 6:30 my heart began to melt. With tears flowing, I felt God’s presence surround me. I walked upstairs and sat beside my husband, Scott as he prayed. I knew he had been fasting and praying for a number of days. He said Vicki, I’m very concerned about you. I’ve been praying for you. You have bitterness and anger. You’ve got to get rid of it!  It will destroy you!

Something happened that day that I couldn’t explain. I finally embraced the fact that even though I couldn’t and may never be able to change my situation, I had the Holy Ghost inside of me giving me the power to change myself. I felt tears behind my eyes all day as I realized God had heard my prayers! He was doing a cleansing work in me. I felt different; I felt new! I was able to lay the chalkboard at the foot of the cross, and leave it there.  

Now I can sing this childhood hymn with deep soul stirring joy: Rolled Away! Rolled Away!  I am happy since my burdens rolled away!

"Dear Jesus thank You for cleansing me! However, I still have some residual junk. I would really like for it all to be gone. I'm feeling desperate. All I want in  my heart is love. I don't want any room in there for hurt and bitterness. Or any of those other things You mentioned. In Jesus name I ask You to complete the work in me. It's a big task, but I have faith and I know together you and I can do it. You are my Healer and my Deliverer. I worship You! I love You! I long to see Your face! AMEN."