Righteous Reading?

I'd love to show everyone pictures of all my family spread out all over our new porch enjoying it immensely, but - enough about our porch. Tonight is our last rehearsal for this year's musical Fearless: The Story of Esther. Tomorrow night is dress rehearsal, but it's a total show because we won't be stopping to correct anything or give Directorial changes, and there will be a small audience of those who can't be here for a show, or will be working as ushers, greeters, or parking helpers. So it's really more a performance than a rehearsal. And, we've got family coming and going all this week. All that to say - it's a busy week and I probably won't be blogging a lot. Maybe I'll get a few pictures up of dress rehearsal on Thursday morning. We'll see.
I did want to share one observation from this past Sunday's lesson. Mark 7 has always been an important passage to me. I've always loved the strong language of Jesus as he pointed out to the Pharisees that they were hypocrites, vain worshippers, heartless legalists, and essentially doing more harm to God's plan than helping it. It's a great passage to use to hammer traditionalism, legalism, and several others "isms" that should put the fear of God in us all - since they disappoint God. But, when you really look at the chapter through the lens of God, through the eyes of Jesus, and ask "What was it that they did that really disappointed God and Jesus?"- you see more than just good tradition bashing material. The real problem was the disconnecting of their hearts from God. What really disappointed Jesus was something that each of us need to be diligent to avoid. What saddens God is seeing his people REPLACE A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD FOR A RELIGION ABOUT GOD.
The Bible is a different book when you read it looking for what God has done, and is still doing, to bring about a relationship with man. We can never correctly understand it or interpret it if we don't read it under God's spotlight.