Don’t You Understand?

       

Don’t you understand? Jesus declared all foods pure—acceptable to eat. It isn’t the food that defiles us, but the sin we maybe harboring in our hearts. He lists the defiling elements as evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. Guard your heart and life that you do not partake in those vile things. What should we do instead? Although it is not easy, my solution is to think and do the opposite. Only with God’s help can that happen. Replace those vile things with Godly principles and the Fruit of the Spirit.

evil thoughts – pure thoughts

sexual immorality – righteous living

theft – respect for property and personal integrity

murder - forgiveness

adultery – honesty, respect and faithfulness

greed – generosity and patience

deceit – truth, honesty and goodness

lustful desires – respect, love and self-control

envy – kindness, joy and gentleness

slander – truthfulness, encouragement and honesty

pride – compassion and peace                                         

foolishness – wisdom and common sense

As Jesus said, “It's not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.” We have to be sure that our hearts are pure…undefiled. We can’t do that on our own, but with Jesus and the Holy Spirit guiding us, all things are possible. Do you agree? Is that possible for you in your life? The choice is yours.

 

Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. "All of you listen," he said, "and try to understand. It's not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart." ... Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the parable he had just used. "Don't you understand either?" he asked. "Can't you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn't go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer." (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God's eyes.) And then he added, "It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you." Mark 7:14-15, 17-23

 

Prayer – Lord Jesus, as David said… Don't keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me. Psalm 51:9-11. Thank you, Jesus, for teaching me this…and although You were sinless You gave up Your life on the cross for my sins.

 

Meditate. Consider understanding God’s guidance in scripture.

 

Verse of Salvation ~ Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Psalm 51:12

 

Friday’s Feast at the King’s Table

Food for thought. What food comes to mind when you think of the fruit of the Spirit?

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! - Galatians 5:22-23

When you eat, give thanks and ask God to consecrate the food you are about to eat. Remember what Jesus has done for you, as you break the bread at each meal. It doesn’t matter if you are alone or if you are dining with family or friends, Jesus is with you and He recognizes how you feel in your heart—thankful and grateful. In his book The Jesus Diet, by Terry Toler, he suggests eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full. That’s great advice that we’ve likely all heard before. The hard part is the stopping. When do you feel full? Usually, I’m past full when I realize it…and I’m past done. Not the ideal way to get to a good metabolism or normalize my weight. I’ll just need to slow down so that I don’t get too full. He had a hilarious idea about a soap diet where you wash your mouth out with soap every time you have a craving. Ha! That would curb anyone’s cravings although some of the soaps these days smell pretty good. Do they taste as good? I’m not going to try them out to see.

              What food is it that makes you crave more? Carbs—like pasta and donuts. My theory is that if you don’t buy it, you won’t have it in your home to entice your cravings! Don’t buy it, don’t eat it. Seems simple, right.

              Terry Toler shared an idea about making peace with one’s food. You can have whatever you want anytime with no restrictions. He reported one lady’s struggle that ended when she made peace with her food. Knowing that she could have that food removed the temptation. Sounds like a good plan. What is the particular food that is overwhelmingly tempting, with which you need to make peace? Ice cream, cookies, bakery, cake, or pie? Those are my “temptations” this week. Can you make peace with your food?

© 2025 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

Books by Mickey M. Hunacek

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