Mark 7
v1 they gathered around Jesus.
Today around the world there are many gathering around the body of Christ looking for salvation, for a healing, for love.
But there are equally many gathering around the body of Christ for other reasons.
This week I talked with a European Missions team leader who had just returned from Georgia. Her team of young people had been chased out of one of the towns as they were helping the local Christians with their faith. Who did the chasing? The main town church leaders! Their crime? They were giving out Bibles!
The situation in Iraq and Syria is beyond desperate for many Christians. Churches have been destroyed. The religious have gathered around the body of Christ to destroy it and it looks destroyed.
You may know the experience of being gathered around. Those of other faiths and no faith may press in against you with their many objections and opinions.
When they gathered around Jesus He referred to the Scriptures in Isaiah.
He showed that he had studied their practices, their beliefs, he had placed himself into a place of knowledge to speak with authority.
He then walked away from them.
The hypocrites will always be with us.
Missions Paul 