July 20 Wisdom Keys

 *EXCELLENT LIFE KEYS* 🔑🗝️

Wed/20th/July/2022

*Francis Reign* (Ap & Coach) 

_"Raising excellent agents of change and transformation, well equipped with Truth and Wisdom."_

*UNDERSTANDING THE ACTS AND WORDS OF JESUS CHRIST (133)*

_"And if you had known what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless"_ (Matthew 12:7). Matthew has quoted Jesus referring to this Old Testament passage once before. In that case, the Pharisees were asking Jesus' disciples why He ate with tax collectors and sinners. Then, as here, Jesus referred to the distinction between mercy and sacrifice. This section comes from Hosea 6:6. Again, Christ seeks to hold the Pharisees accountable for failing to do their job. They should have been providing spiritual care and leadership to the people of Israel. Jesus applied the quote from Hosea to their leadership. He insists their job is to show mercy to the people of God instead of weighing them down with burdensome rules and regulations that went far beyond a clear reading of God's requirements in the Law. 

Jesus tells these Pharisees their accusation of lawbreaking against His disciples for plucking and eating grain on the Sabbath is more evidence they don't grasp God's will. They don't understand the heart of God for His people. They still hold religious rule-following, a wooden and thoughtless adherence to tradition and literalism, as a higher value than showing mercy to the people under their care. Sacrifice was important. God had taught from the beginning that His forgiveness required the shedding of blood. That's why the shedding of Jesus' blood was so significant. He became the sacrifice "once for all" to save us from our sin (Hebrews 9:26). But the ritual of sacrifice was never first and foremost what God was after. It was the heart. 

God doesn't want hearts that have become numb by simply going through motions. He wants hearts that have been softened. He wants hearts that have turned away from self-centeredness and see the needs of others. In other words, He wants to see mercy in us, and voluntary surrender of our hearts to Him in love. Compassion is more important than ritual. Love takes precedence over legalism. It is possible to become enslaved in regulations to the exclusion of principle. 

*EXCELLENCE KEY* 🗝️

_Compassion is more important than ritual. Love takes precedence over legalism._ 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Excellence is within you. Bring it out >>*

#1513 ELK.