Tag Archives: Jesus

Day Nine with Mark: Mark 3:7-11

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Today in our daily readings with Mark, we look at Mark 3:7-11, entitled A Multitude at the Seaside and Jesus Appoints the Twelve:

A Multitude at the Seaside
7 Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; 8 hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. 9 He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; 10 for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. 11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!”

slide-10-jesus-on-boatIn these this passage, we people drawn to Jesus.  And you know who they were?  Everyone?  All types of people were drawn to Jesus.  We see in the first section we see where people came to Jesus from.  Everywhere.  Judea, Jerusalem, across the Jordan, everywhere.  People came to hear Jesus from everywhere.

And here’s the thing about that, coming to Galilee to hear Jesus was not an easy thing to do. It wasn’t easy to get there, people had responsibilities and jobs to do and there weren’t just able to take off and go off to hear Him.  And above all that, who wants to go up to Galilee?  People were used to going to Jerusalem to the Temple. They were used to and accustomed to that.

But to Galilee?  That’s beneath so many of them. Nope.  No reason I’d do that.  Not gonna happen.

Except there was a reason.  And that reason was Jesus.  They needed healing and life. And Jesus had that.  And they were willing to go wherever they needed to go to find that healing and life.  They were attracted to Jesus.

And I think there are two major things we need to be aware of in this.

First, are we drawn to Him in that same way?  They knew that Jesus was the hope that they need for their life. And so they came to Him, from near and far, seeking that hope, seeking that life.  What about us in our lives?  Do we know, do we truly know, that Jesus is that hope in our lives?  And are we willing to do what we must to be in relationship with Him?

Now, for us, that may not mean traveling across America.  It may mean waking up a little early to pray.  It may mean inconveniencing ourselves in some way to seek Him.  It may me changing some things in our lives to know Him better.  The people in the text came from near and far and went through much to know Jesus.  How about us?

And second, see how people are always attracted to Jesus.  That’s one of the things that I always notice in scripture, people that don’t know Jesus are attracted to Jesus.  Are others drawn to Him through us?  As His Body, here on the earth, as those that have indwelling of the Holy Spirit, are people wanting to meet Jesus because of us.

That doesn’t mean that we are perfect, it means that we are different.

Today, do we desire to truly know Jesus?  And do others desire to know Jesus because of us?

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 3:13-19.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Eight with Mark: Mark 3:1-6

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Today we take a look at Mark 3:1-6.  This is entitled The Man with a Withered Hand

The Man with a Withered Hand
3 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” 4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Christ_heals_tne_man_with_paralysed_handWe see Jesus heal a man on the Sabbath.  Remember, this is after His teaching on the Sabbath and religion, religion is a good thing, but it doesn’t save.  Only Jesus saves.  The text here says that people were watching to see if He would heal, not to celebrate that someone was healed, but so that they may accuse Him.

Also, notice in verse 5, Jesus gets angry.  Did you expect to see that?  Two things.  First, being “angry” is not a sin.  If getting angry was a sin, then Jesus just sinned, and we know that Jesus didn’t sin. So, there are times in our lives when are going to get angry.

So, here’s the second thing, and a question.  What is it that makes us angry?  Why are we angry.  For Jesus, it is when people are harmed or abused.  When people are harmed or abused, we should be angry.  We should be angry at sin.  At things that are destructive.  We should be angry when children and families are endangered.  We should be angry at things that destroy.  But never act out of vengeance.  Be angry, but do not sin.

I want to unpack for you why the Pharisees were so against Jesus healing on the Sabbath and seemed to be a constant trouble to Jesus.  Believe it or not, they meant well.  They were trying to do what they thought was wrong, but man oh man, did they miss it.

To understand this, we’ve got to go back in the Old Testament. We see in Genesis 12, God called Abraham.  And we see what God promises him.  A land and a people (and that he will be a blessing to all the earth).

As we move forward through the Old Testament, in the Law and the Covenant, we see this Word over and over again to the people.  If you keep the covenant, you keep the land.  If don’t, you will lose it. And that’s what happened. The people didn’t keep the law, and ultimately the nation of Israel divided to the northern kingdom Israel (which was destroyed by Assyria) and the southern kingdom Judah (which was destroyed by Babylon).

Babylon took from Jerusalem the young, the brightest, the smartest, and brought them to Babylon with the intent of making them Babylonian.  That’s where the book of Daniel happened, it’s where Ezekiel wrote his prophecy, Psalm 137 was written then, and then Ezra and Nehemiah chronicles the process of restoration after the Babylonian exile.

What happened during the exile was a group of religious leaders rose up and said this (I’m paraphrasing).  Ok, y’all, last time we were home, we didn’t keep the law. And look what happened. We lost everything. So, when we get back, we are going to keep the law. We are going to keep our promises to God. And we will make sure the do it right. That’s where the Pharisees came from.

And you know what? What they wanted to do was a good thing. They wanted the people to keep their promises. They wanted people to keep the law. They wanted people to be true. But they guided by fear. They were afraid of what would happen when people broke the law.

So, we see Jesus heal on the Sabbath, which they considered work. And the law is clear.  Do not work on the Sabbath (by the way, they had built extra laws that would define what “work” was, how far you could walk, things such as that).  So instead of celebration that someone was healed, they would say YOU BROKE THE SABBATH!  REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME WE DID THIS!  YOU CAN’T DO THAT!

Their intent started off good. But what happened was this. They mistook the law for God.  The focused more on their man-made laws than they did the revelation of God – Jesus Christ – standing in front of them.

They were guided by fear.  And that’s a dangerous, dangerous thing.  They were actually trying (in their own way) to honor God. But they missed the point.

And that can be a reminder to us today that truly want to worship God and honor Him. Let’s keep the main thing the main thing.  Let’s focus on following Jesus. And let’s do all that we can do to bring glory to His name.

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

Monday we’ll look at Mark 3:7-11.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Seven with Mark: Mark 2:18-28

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Today we are looking at Mark 2: 18-28, two sections that have a very similar theme, a theme we are going to see emerge in the coming days’ readings. They are entitled “The Question about Fasting” and “Pronouncement about the Sabbath.”

The Question about Fasting
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. 21 “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

Pronouncement about the Sabbath
23 One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? 26 He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” 27 Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; 28 so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

Spiritual_Discipline-1024x640We see two questions here that deal with the law.  One with fasting, one with the Sabbath.  Both of these things are spiritual disciplines.  Spiritual disciplines are very important.  They help us grow.  They help us become more faithful.  They are commands of Jesus Christ.  He tells to fast, and He tells us that we are supposed to keep the moral law of the Old Testament.

So, yes, these things are important.  But these things do not take the place of loving and following Jesus.  When Jesus called Levi yesterday, and Peter, Andrew, James, and John, He didn’t call them to fast or pray, but to follow Him.  Now stay with me here.  Here’s the thing.  If we love and follow Jesus, we will fast.  We will pray.  We will the disciplines.  Not because we have to.  But because in doing these things, we are being drawn closer to God.

Religion is not bad.  I know it’s cool to do that, to put down religion.  Religion is not bad.  It’s a good thing. I’m religious about things I love.  Like, for instance, Jesus Christ.  Religion doesn’t save.  Jesus saves.  But in following Jesus, we follow Him religiously.

So, in this passage, He doesn’t say don’t fast.  He says now is not the time to fast.  He doesn’t say don’t keep the Sabbath; He says that the Sabbath was made for man.  Fasting and keeping the Sabbath are very important. But they don’t save you.  Jesus saves.

Here’s the thing, though.  They are for our benefit.  Our good.  Our faith.  Our life.

But we do them not do make God love us.  We do it because God loves us.  Hear that again.  We don’t keep these disciplines to make God love us.  We keep them because He loves us, and we love Him and we want to know Him better.

With religion, we never need to put the cart before the horse.  I love Jesus.  And I love religion.  And I am thankful for both.  But I want to keep them in the proper order.

Today, may you be faithful.  May you be religious.  And may your religious lifestyle help you to love Jesus and love your neighbor more and more and more.

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 3:1-6.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Six with Mark: Mark 2:13-17

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Today in our sixth day walking together through Mark, we look at Mark 2:13-17.  This passage is called Jesus Calls Levi.

Jesus Calls Levi
13 Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. 14 As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.

15 And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples—for there were many who followed him. 16 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

jesus-calls-matthew-2Levi is Matthew the tax collect, the Apostle and author of the Gospel Matthew.  Matthew is the Greek form of his name, Levi is the Hebrew form of his name.  Well, why would Levi (Matthew) go by two names?  Especially when unlike Peter, Jesus didn’t change his name?

Well, that had a lot to do with his job and why the Jews HATED the tax collectors.  We joke about tax collectors and the IRS and how no one likes tax collectors.  This isn’t that.  There were no more despised by the Jews than tax collectors.  Maybe the Samaritans, but it would be close.

Why were tax collectors so hated?  To the Jewish people, the tax collectors were traitors. They were Jews who betrayed their people and worked for the Romans. And even worse, the majority of tax collector were seen as thieves. What the tax collectors would do would be they that tell someone they owed a certain amount of money to Rome. Then, they would go and collect from them double or triple that amount.  And if the person could not pay it they would suffer the consequences from the Roman army.

So basically the tax collectors use the power of the Roman army to steal from their own people.  So, in short, they were thieves, they were traitors, and they associated with Gentiles.  Religiously, socially, politically, economically, every possible way that you could be hated, they were.

In Jesus day, tax collectors were truly despised.

If you were able to worship with us Sunday at St. Matthew’s, in my sermon we talked about how in Jesus’ culture, and still today, to share a meal with someone is a powerful thing, it is an act of acceptance, of friendship, of basically become family.  So, what then does it say that Jesus shared a meal with Levi (Matthew) and other tax collectors?  By the way, pay attention in all the Gospels to who all Jesus shares a meal with.  He eats with everyone, tax collectors, “sinners,” Pharisees.  He loved and loves the world.

In this act of eating with Matthew and his fellow tax collectors, Jesus is saying this.  I love you.  But notice this.  He doesn’t just accept them and it ends there.  Levi (Matthew) leaves behind tax collecting and follows Jesus as a Disciple.  He doesn’t just leave him there, but Jesus comes, loves, and calls.  Calls Levi to follow Him.  Calls him to leave behind his past, his mistakes, all that he has done. And follow Jesus. And Levi does.

Now, look at the response of the religious leaders.  They can’t believe that Jesus is doing this.  I’ll unpack later why the religious leaders get so upset at Jesus, but for now, just know this, its misplaced passion. They actually, in their minds, are trying to honor God, but they are doing it completely, totally, wrong.

And Jesus says this, He has come for this sick, not the righteous.  Now, we know that none are righteous, so Jesus is speaking hyperbolic here.  He’s making a point.  What is that point?  It’s better to know that you are weak and sinful and need help than to think you are stronger than you really are, and never ask for the help you need.

Today, Jesus calls and eats with tax collectors. And He calls us wherever we are.  May we be like Levi.  May we follow, wherever He calls us!

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 2:18-28.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Five with Mark: Mark 2:1-12

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Today we are going to be looking at Mark 2:1-12. It is entitled Jesus Heals a Paralytic. Also, this past Friday I did a video blog going a little deeper into Mark 1.  If you’d like to check it out, you can click here.

When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. 3 Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’? 10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.” 12 And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

6793887902_15fa696a37Looking at today’s text, a couple of things to notice. The text here tells how the friends of the man who is paralyzed dug through the roof.  And that’s a pretty good description of what they actually would have done. These houses would have had thatched or mud roofs, roofs that would have been able to be dug through.

So, digging through the roof was not the hard part. This was the hard part.  In a culture where pride mattered a great deal, you didn’t just go up onto someone’s roof and dig a hole.  It just wasn’t something you did. But, their friend needed help. And Jesus could help. And they were desperate to see their friend get the help that he needed.  So, they did what they had to do.

They valued their friend above all else. And that’s one of the themes of this passage.  Notice if you will, two groups. The friends, that would do anything to see their friend healed, and the religious leaders that grumbled about this healing because Jesus forgave his sins.

In this, we see two groups.  One valued that relationship and one that valued religion.  This is someone you need to understand about the religious leaders. They weren’t “bad.”  They were doing what they thought was right.  They were trying to keep the law.  They really weren’t all bad.  But, they were more in love with the religion than they were with the God of the religion.

May we not make the same mistake.  May we love Jesus above all.

 

Jesus calls Himself in this text the “Son of Man.”  This is a reference prophecies in Daniel that pointed to the coming Messiah.  So each time Jesus called Himself the Son of Man, He is saying that He is the Messiah.

And notice what the true power of the Messiah is in this text. Not the physical healing.  What was the first thing He told the man.  Your sins are forgiven. And then why did He heal?  To show that He has the power to forgive sins.

Jesus shows us what true healing is.  It’s not always physical.  It’s spiritual.  Jesus healed this man’s body.  But more importantly, He healed His soul.  He forgave him.  And honestly, above all else in our lives, that’s what we need.

Spiritual healing.  Forgiveness.  Grace.

That is what Jesus gave this man today.  He healed him.  And today, through His grace, He longs to heal us as well.

Today, may we know the grace of forgiveness.

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

Tuesday we’ll look at Mark 2:13-17.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Three with Mark: Mark 1:16-28

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Today in our journey through Mark, we will be looking at Mark 1:16-28.  These sections are entitled Jesus Calls the First Disciples and The Man with an Unclean Spirit:

Jesus Calls the First Disciples
16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

The Man with an Unclean Spirit
21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

In our first section, we see Jesus calling His first disciples. There are a couple of interesting things that we see in this passage. First, notice a word that you will see over and over again in the Gospel of Mark – immediately.  Jesus calls them and they immediately leave and follow behind.  In Mark, Jesus is a man of action.  He is always moving, always going, always calling, always teaching.  He moves with purpose. And He calls us to do the same.  He comes, and immediately, people follow Him.  As Christians, we are called to be like Him, to be active, to go, to serve, to take that “Good News” with us!

We see who he calls – fisherman.  Common, ordinary, uneducated, fishermen.  He didn’t go to the expected places to call His disciples.  He went to places where they were willing to follow.  He calls all of us to follow; likewise there is no one that He doesn’t call.  Just because you aren’t perfect or powerful or a preacher doesn’t mean that He hasn’t called you.  That also means that there may be someone who you wouldn’t think to call, that God has called.

When he calls them, they leave behind their family. That doesn’t sound like a big deal in our culture, almost all of us leave home and make our way in the world. That didn’t happen in their world. That wasn’t the way that it worked.  You didn’t leave home.  You didn’t depart from  your family, especially to follow a preacher that you just met.  But they did.  Immediately.  Why?  Well the next section tells us.

20060904-xt-in-synagogueWe see in verses 21-28 that Jesus teaches with authority.  He is different from the religious leaders of the day.  He taught differently.  He was different. And that is THE thing we see in these two passages.  The disciples, they realize He is different.  The people in the synagogue, they realize He is different.  Even the unclean spirit, he knows that He is different.  He has authority.

Jesus is the king of kings.  The Lord of Lords.  He is God Himself.  He loves us, but He is not just a common ordinary person.  He is God in the flesh.  He is King.  He is savior.

And He demands our worship.  Our obedience.  Our devotion.  He is a lot of things.  But is not common.

He calls us to attention.

Today, does Jesus Christ have our attention?  Or is just background noise?  Is He the Lord or our lives?

Jesus demands that we pay attention.

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 1:29-45.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Two with Mark: Mark 1:9-15

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Today in Mark 1:9-15 we look at three different sections, 9-11 is Jesus’ baptism, 12-13 is His temptation and 14-15 is the beginning of His public ministry.

The Baptism of Jesus
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus
12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

8d0a002b383ff76491fcfa467dac4087First the baptism of Jesus.  Yesterday we met John the Baptist.  I’ve had people ask me before was John “inventing” something new in Baptism?  The answer is not really.  In the Jewish tradition there was the tradition of mikvah baths, these were ceremonial baths that would be taken before times of worship or for purification.  Many scholars believe that these washings were the forerunners to baptism. But these were normally not done in a river, and were not done out of a heart of repentance, so John was not just doing what had always been done either.

Notice what happens after the baptism though.  In that moment we see the Spirit descend on Jesus and the Father speak from heaven, so here we see all three persons of the Trinity in their “element” in relation with each other.  The Trinity is at its core a relationship.  The relationship between the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit.

And if God is Trinity, and Trinity is relationship, and we are made in the image of this Triune God, it means that we are made for relationship.  We were not mean to be alone or to walk alone.  We were meant and created to live in relationship with God and with each other.

So Jesus has this high point and then from there, He was led (or driven) by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He was tempted by Satan.  A couple things here.  First, temptation in itself is not sin.  Jesus was tempted, but He did not sin.  So, there is nothing “wrong” with temptation.  Temptation can lead us into sin, but temptation is not sin.  We are all tempted, and we will all face temptation.  You will be tempted.  If Jesus was, you and I will be too.

Second, He was not tempted by the Spirit.  We are never tempted by God.  He was tempted by Satan.  There are times God may lead is somewhere for testing, but always know that testing is for our own benefit, not for God’s.  God knows what we will do and what we will decide.  So when we face temptation or testing, know it’s for our benefit and for our strengthening, not for God’s benefit.  Jesus was going to face many trials and tough times during His ministry.  He would be abandoned and betrayed by His friends, He would be beaten and mocked.  This temptation may have been a time of “practice” or “preparation” for that.  So may our temptations be.

And in our final section, we see Jesus’ message to people.  Repent and believe the Gospel.  Repent.  Just like temptation is not sin, we often mistake conviction for repentance.  Conviction is when we feel bad about our sins.  Repentance is a turning from our sin.  Jesus is saying this. Stop doing things that are hurtful and destructive to you and to others.  Turn from them.  And turn to me.  Repent and believe the Gospel, or Good News.

What is this Gospel?  We are broken and sinful. God sends us His son to love us, teach us love, show us love, die for our sins, be resurrected for our life, ascend for our glorification and one day, return for our victory.

So, turn from things that are destructive. And turn to Jesus.  That’s the Gospel. That’s the good news.  Jesus preached it. And we are called to as well!

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 1:16-28.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day One with Mark: Mark 1:1-8

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As we start our journey through Mark together, today we are going to look at Chapter 1:1-8:  In the NRSV this section is entitled The Proclamation of John the Baptist

1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

stjohnA few things that jump out to me in this passage.  First, in verse 1, the “good news.” That’s what the word Gospel means.  It is good news.  Jesus is Good News.  The grace of God is good news. When we tell folks about God, we are telling them about good news!  God loves you!  Do we communicate that “good news” like it is actual good news?

In verses 2-3, we see a quotation from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah.  Mark’s Gospel doesn’t have as many Old Testament quotations as Matthew does, but he does quote from the Old Testament a good bit.  Why? Well, a couple of reasons.  First, this shows the Jewish believers that this “new” Christian faith is really the same faith that their ancestors were pointing to.  It is actually what Abraham and Moses and others were hoping and longing for.

And second, it shows us non-Jewish (i.e. Gentile) believers that God was at work for a long time.  We aren’t the first believers in God ever.  God was working all of history towards the coming of Jesus Christ.  And we as Christians, we should not forsake the Old Testament. We should treasure it and read it as well.  It is our story as well. We believe that all the Bible is inspired.  The Old Testament matters to us as well!

In verses 4-8, we see the entrance of John the Baptist.  Can’t you just picture him with this description. And you know what?  He looks different, doesn’t he?  Mark makes it clear to us that he is not like the other religious leaders.  Not in his dress, not in his actions (baptism of repentance) and not in his message – the savior is coming.

John was different. But what was his purpose?  To prepare the way for Jesus.  To get folks ready for Jesus.  To make sure that people knew Jesus and were ready to follow him.

In fact, you and I have the same purpose.  To make Jesus known.  So, we too have a different message and a different purpose.  Just like John, we are called to be different. And we are called to point folks to Jesus.

Today, we share that same mission as John.  To point folks to Jesus.

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 1:9-15.

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Prayer

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prayerPrayer is an experience.  It’s a conversation.  It’s a heartfelt movement of the spirit when God is drawing us closer to Himself.  Some prayers are prayers that expressions of the heart that flow from our mouths.  Other prayers are prayers that have been passed from generation to generation, that have been played by our parents and grandparents.  Some of these prayers are even prayers that have been passed down to us by Jesus Himself.  Other prayers are simply said in silence, with no words expressed.

No matter the prayer, no matter the place, no matter the movement, these prayers are precious.

And sometimes it feels like our prayers are bouncing off the floor of heaven, not ascending to God.  We’ve all been there.  And I think Jesus Himself even knows what that feels like.  Listen to what happened today in Mark 14:33-36:

33 He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. 34 And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” 35 And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.”

Jesus, before He goes to the cross, goes to the Garden to pray.  And He knows what is coming.  He knows it’s going to be hard, and He knows it’s going to be necessary.  And He goes to pray.

And He says, take this from me.  But not what I want.  What you want.

And I think in this prayer, we learn a HUGE prayer concept.  Prayer is not just us telling God what we want Him to do, or who we want Him to bless.  Prayer is taking that attitude of Jesus.

Not my will, but yours.

Not my stuff, but yours.

Not my life, but yours.

That’s the key to a truly powerful prayer life.  It’s not just about us giving our requests to God.  But it is about us, receiving our directions from God.

In our prayer life, may we give to God our hurts, our loss, our fear, our worry, our doubts. But may we also take that attitude of Jesus.

Your will, God.  Your plan, God.  Your life, God.

May that be our attitude and our prayer today!

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Light Has Come

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Feels dark sometimes, doesn’t it?  Feels like there is darkness in the world, darkness in ourselves, darkness all over.  In the news, in our communities, all over.  It just feels dark sometimes.

Every morning I read and reflect from the Morning Office, which gives a listing of an Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospel Lesson (or reading) for the day.  Between those passages, you can read other acts of worship or readings of scripture.  And one of those daily readings is from Isaiah.  And that reading jumped out to me today.  It’s from Isaiah 60: 1-3:

1 Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
3 Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

sunriseArise.  Shine.  Light has come.  Darkness covers the earth, thick darkness over the people.

Yeah, that’s how it feels sometimes, huh?  Dark.  Thick darkness.  A hopeless darkness.  Things are bad and they aren’t getting better.  Yeah, we feel that sometimes.

So that’s why I think it’s cool that every day, there is this reading.  Every day, we are reminded that light has come.  Every day we are reminded that as dark as the darkness is, the light is brighter.  The light is stronger.  The light is more powerful.

The light is stronger than the dark.  In our world.  In our souls.  In all that is happening.

Don’t given into the lie that darkness wins or is great than the light.  It is is not.  Light has come.  Light wins.  Light brings hope, peace, power, and light.

Feel the light today.  I think of the words of Psalm 139:12:

even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

That is true, because even in the darkness, God is there, we can’t flee from His presence.  And if He is there, then the darkness will be driven out.  Hope hope today.  God is good.  Trust in Him.  Cling to light.  And know that no matter how dark it seems, His light has come.

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