Thy Rod & Thy Staff
Nondenominational Church
A place to serve, not sit.
What We Do
Church Purpose
Our purpose at our Bible base church is to get people to be like Christ and turn from that which is contrary to Him. We would like very much to lead others to make Christ the foundation of their lives. We would like to show Jesus as a faithful friend, a loyal companion, as someone who will stand by our side when no one else will.
As a body of Bible based Christian believers, we see our whole purpose as doing the will of God so that His Spirit might be manifested in our midst. With His hand we hope to convince others that Christ is our Lord and Savior. We want to show that if we trust in Him, He will very clearly show us that He is who He claims to be.– a Provider who can supply whatever we need whenever we need it under any and all circumstances, a Physician with no limitations in His healing power, a Counselor with infinite understanding and wisdom. We would very much like to reflect Christ in our midst as the Good Shepherd (Psalms 23 and John 10:1:18), as the one and only way to God, our Father in heaven.
Consequently, our Bible based churches goal is to get others to see the love of God and act accordingly. Undoubtedly God wants us to do His will but He wants it to be done out of love. God wants us to serve Him not because we have too but because we want too. God wants us to serve Him because we see Him as He is. He wants us to do His will because we see that doing His will is for out good. This is the purpose of our church and the platform on which it stands. We want to weld together a body of believers who love Jesus Christ so much that they want to be just like Him.
What Jesus Did
‘Twisting the Most Basic Truths’ – Mark 7:9-13
Then [Jesus said to the religious leaders he had accused of being hypocrites], “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition. For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.”
Key Thought
In these verses, Jesus cites an example of the teachers’ and Pharisees’ hypocrisy concerning the Mosaic law. In this case, the hypocrisy was finding a legalistic rationale for withholding support from parents, thus disobeying one of the Ten Commandments. The brazenness of such rationalization for disobeying one of the ten bedrock truths of their existence just proves how deeply the practice of hypocrisy can become. Hypocrisy, especially legalistic hypocrisy, abounds in all sorts of religious practices and religious experiences. Let’s obey, not rationalize. Let’s respond graciously to God’s grace and not seek to work our way out of our responsibilities to each other and to him.
Today’s Prayer
O God, thank you for such clear examples of legalistic hypocrisy and of your hatred of it. I regret that Jesus had to see hypocrisy in his day, but it helps me see what I need to avoid and what your heart hates. Purify my heart and keep a right attitude in me through your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Related Scripture Readings
Psalm 51:2, 7Zephaniah 3:9-13James 4:8Ⓒ 1996-2024 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware and is available in book form. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.