Today’s reading is, at least to me, one of the more informative passages in all the Bible. Listen to what we are told in 2 Corinthians 4: 1-4: 1 Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged … Continue reading
One the reasons in life, I believe, that we are afraid is that the thing the are afraid of feels bigger than whatever it is that makes us feel secure. Our fear seems bigger than our security. Think about that as you read our passage today from 1 John 1:16-18:
16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.
So many things in this passage to understand. First, this important notion that God is love. Scripture paints for us so many pictures of who God is. But the two defining characteristics of who God is, is found here (God is love) and found all through the Bible, God is holy.
God is both. We all fall towards a deeper appreciation of part of God’s character, but for us to fully understand who is, we must understand that He is love, but He is also other and different from us, He is holy.
But notice today what this text says about love and about fear. We are told that there is no fear in perfect love, because perfect love casts out fear. How is that possible? How does perfect love cast out fear?
What this means, to me, is this. Of all the things that you are afraid of, things that aren’t minor things, things that are big things, things that may plague and worry and scare us, God is bigger than them.
God’s love is bigger than them.
God’s love is bigger than whatever may happen to you. God’s love is bigger than whatever mistakes lay in your past, your present, your future. God’s love is bigger than whatever may come.
You don’t have to be afraid. God has seen it all. God knows it all. God is aware of it all. He really is.
And He loves you. Don’t be afraid. You are loved. You are perfectly loved today. God loves you.
And that love is light, and that light drives out fear.
Love is greater than fear. It is. Lived loved, not afraid.
Do not fear today. God loves you. No matter what.
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Today in Mark, we look at Chapter 14: 26-42:
26 When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 27 And Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters; for it is written,
‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.’
28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 29 Peter said to him, “Even though all become deserters, I will not.” 30 Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” 31 But he said vehemently, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And all of them said the same.Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 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.” 37 He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? 38 Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. 41 He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”
A couple of things stand out to me about these passages. First, let us remember, that it wasn’t just Judas that betrayed or didn’t stand up for Jesus in the moment. Everyone (but for John) deserted. And here is the thing to remember about Jesus in this. He still loved them. Even though the failed, even though they weren’t faithful, His love for them did not change. Remember, Jesus love for us is not based upon our actions or our faithfulness, His love for us is based upon who He is.
We are not loved because we are good. We are loved because He is good. And it is His goodness that in time makes us good.
We see this the most in Peter. Peter was the leader and after Jesus says that He will be left by everyone, Peter says, no, not I. And Jesus says, you will deny me three times.
We see the disciples begin to fall away, when Jesus was praying. And to me, that’s the second thing that stands out in this passage. Look at how Jesus prayed. Look at the passion, the pain, the hurt. Remember that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. He knew the cross was coming. He knew what was going to happen. He knew what awaited.
And He still chose it. Because He loved us. He loved His disciples that would deny Him soon, and He loves us, who do much the same. He knew what must be done for the salvation of the world.
No one took Jesus life from Him. No one murdered Him. He willing chose the cross.
So when you read the story of the Garden, remember the prayer He prayed, remember the help He sought from His Father, remember the passion and strength it took.
Remember the choice He made, for us and for the world. Remember God’s plan, from the very creation for our redemption.
Remember how much you are loved.
Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 14:43-52.
What questions do you have? How does this strike you? Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.
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Today in Mark 8:1-10 we see Jesus feed another multitude. Earlier in Mark He fed the 5000. Today, He feeds the 4000:
Feeding the Four Thousand
8 In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, 2 “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way—and some of them have come from a great distance.” 4 His disciples replied, “How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?” 5 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” 6 Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd. 7 They had also a few small fish; and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed. 8 They ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 Now there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
Ok, so why does Jesus feed large crowds twice? Not to be trite, but the simple answer is that Jesus loved people, and this is at least twice in His ministry when large crowds were with Him, and He knew that if He was to send them away without food they may not make it home. So, why did Jesus do this twice? The simple reason is because people needed it twice.
But there is something deeper and bigger going on here, as there is with almost all that happens in the Bible. There are two things that jump out to me in this reading that I think are significant. First, look at the “faith” of the Disciples. Remember, they had already seen Jesus feed an even larger crowd before. But when He says that the people must be fed, they say, how can we feed this many people here in the desert?
They’d seen Jesus do it before. They knew that He could do it, they saw it with their own eyes, the experienced it, they helped. And yet, they still doubted.
Aren’t we like that? Don’t we know what God can do? Haven’t we seen Him do it before? Aren’t we aware of His power? Yes. Yes we are. And yet, don’t we doubt, as they did? Don’t we forget, as they did? They did. And we do.
On one hand, we need to learn, as they did, to have faith, to not doubt, to remember the faithfulness of God. Remember how He has been there. Remember what He has done. Remember who He is. Remember His faithfulness from generation to generation.
But when we do, we need to show ourselves grace as well. Because we weren’t the first to doubt. The very ones that walked with Jesus doubted as well. And He didn’t give up on them. And He won’t give up on us either.
Second, many scholars believe that the first feeding of the multitude (the 5000) was a Jewish crowd, and many think that this crowd, if not mainly Gentile, had many Gentiles within it. This was on the western side of the Sea of Galilee, which was the more Gentile area. We cannot say for 100% certain that there were Gentile there, but reading into the context of scripture, it’s a safe assumption.
So, we have seen Him heal Gentiles. Now we see Him feed Gentiles. We are seeing more and more that Jesus Christ came to redeem the world. All the world. All that call upon His name. All
And in a world that is so, so, so very polarized and full of hardening lines, I think it’s important for us to remember that Jesus Christ came for the world. The entire world. For all who believe.
Today, may we live out that grace with all that we meet.
Friday we’ll look at Mark 8:11-12.
What questions do you have? How does this strike you? Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.
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Today we are going to look at one of those passages in Scripture that frankly, no one really understands. Listen to what happens in Mark 7:24-30:
The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith
24 From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30 So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Ok, there’s a lot happening here. In Mark’s Gospel, for the first time, we see Jesus heal a Gentile. We see Jesus talking with a women (who is a Gentile) which went against the customs of the people by like 1,000%. But these things aren’t out of the ordinary, we see Jesus do things like this quite often. This is what is different about it. The language that He uses when talking to the woman.
First He says that the children, which in this case refers to the Jews, must be feed first. That’s not too unusual in Jesus ministry, several times He sends the Disciples out only the Jewish village. Jesus is following through with the echoes of Genesis 12 where God tells Abraham that his descendants (the Jewish people) will be a light to the world. In other words, the call of Abraham was ultimately that the Jewish people would be that light to all the world. This is God calling out once again to His people.
But what happens next is the part that is hard to understand. He says to her “it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” In other words is seems to be implying that Jesus is calling Gentiles dogs. Now some Biblical commentators will say that the word Jesus was using there was more the word for puppy, a play thing, a term of affection. But that really doesn’t seem to be the case.
This is the part that we struggle with, why did Jesus use that term?
Well, let me give you my opinion. And like I say all the time with my opinion, it and a $1.50 will get you cup of coffee.
I think the first reason He called here that was for her benefit. Let there be no doubt, He loved her. He loves the world, He created the world. So know this. He loved and valued her. So, why then did He do it this way? I think He wanted here to know that she was of great worth to her. He “tested” her. And here’s the thing about when God tests us. The test is never for His benefit, it’s always for ours. He knows what we will do. He is not surprised by our choices. He knows what we will decide.
The test is not for Him. It’s for us.
Jesus knew she was beloved and His. She didn’t. In this conversation, she said out loud that she matters. And she found within her strength that she didn’t know that she had. This conversation pushed her to look within herself and say out loud who she was. She was a child of God. Jesus knew it. Now she knew it.
And the second person, or persons, this benefited was the disciples. They had seen very little interaction with Gentiles. This would have been one of their first encounters with a Gentile. And now they see a Gentile WOMAN speaking to Jesus, arguing with Him and now being rewarded by Jesus saying that she has the type of faith that everyone should have.
Could there be any doubt now that Jesus came for the entire world?
This conversation and healing wasn’t just for her benefit, but it was the benefit the Disciples and those that followed Jesus. He guided the conversation to a place where she had to say out loud what Jesus knew to be true. She mattered. She was valuable. She was His.
He knew that. In saying it, so does she. And so did all those that followed.
Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 7:31-37.
What questions do you have? How does this strike you? Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.
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If you could ask Jesus what was the most important thing to do, what do you think He’d say? What do you think he’d tell you is the most important thing for us to do as Christians? Lots of choices, lots of options, huh? Lots of things that He could say.
Well, you know what? That scenario happened in scripture. We actually know what He’d say. Listen to what happened in Mark 12: 28-31:
28 One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’ 29Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel:the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”31The second is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’
He was asked, what is the greatest commandment? What matters most? What is most important?
There were a lot of things that Jesus could say, lots of places that Jesus could go. And what did He say?
Love the Lord with all your heart, your soul, your mind, and your strength. In other words, love God with all that you are. Love God with every fiber of your being. With your intellect. With your emotions. With your body. With everything. Love God with every inch of who you are.
But that’s not all He tells us. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. So there, we see two more loves. Love your neighbor. And of course, we’ve seen Jesus tell us that this doesn’t mean our physical neighbor alone, but it means all the folks we come in contact with.
Love. As Christians, we are called to love. We have to love the people we come in contact with. We have to show them that love. It’s our command as Christians. Love.
But, there is another love. As you love yourself. You matter. You are important. God loves you. That means you are to love yourself. Stop beating yourself up. God believes in you. You believe in you. You are His precious and His beloved. And honestly, you can’t fully love your neighbor, until you love yourself.
CS Lewis said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”
We are called not just to love God, love our neighbor, but love ourselves too. Because God does.
So, we see what mattered to Jesus. And we see what should matter to us. Today, may we live out that love towards God, others, and ourselves, that He has called us to!
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Sometimes when you read a familiar passage of the Bible, you’ve really got to slow yourself down and pay attention. Sometimes it’s so easy to just think, I’ve read this before, and quickly read through it, and then move on to the next passage. When we do that, we can miss that unique thing that God may want to say to us today.
For instance, one of today’s readings was like that for me. So I had to go back and reread Mark 10: 13-16 several times. Listen to what it says:
13 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 14But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 15Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ 16And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
When I was reading today this is what jumped out to me. In verse 15, if you don’t receive the kingdom of God as a little child, you will not enter it. I just sat and stewed on that for a little bit today.
By the way, that’s one of the ways that you can really hear God’s voice in Scripture. When you are reading, what jumps out to you? What catches your eye? God back and stay there for a while. Go and listen. Keep going back to it. And listen to what jumps out. Pay attention to words. To thoughts. To ideas. To images. What pops off the page at you? That’s where God is speaking to you.
Today for me, it was receiving the kingdom like a little child. Know what I thought about? Christmas morning. The excitement. The joy. The anticipation. The “waking up at 3 in the morning” type of passion that every child has a Christmas Eve. The fact that you can’t wait, you can’t can’t wait, you can’t wait to get that present.
Look out work, here we come!
Our kids feel that way about Christmas, don’t they? Honestly, don’t we still?
Do we feel that way about the Kingdom? Do we feel that way about grace, about mercy, about Jesus?
This world makes us grow up, doesn’t it? And that’s a little sad. We can lose that that joy for Jesus and His gift. This world as a way of dampening that fire.
Jesus today wants to light that fire in our hearts.
Today, you are not condemned. You are forgiven. You are loved. You are treasured. You are valued. You are His prize, His joy, His love.
And He wants you to receive that today. With child-like joy!
Today, may we receive His love like a child.
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Has something ever come along at just the right moment for you? You know, like that feeling when you are driving down a country road and your gas light comes on. You begin to think, am I going to be able to make it to town where there is gas? And then, out of nowhere, you find a gas station?
Or maybe you’ve been looking for something that belongs to your child or grandchild and they are THISCLOSE to having a meltdown. And then, boom, out of nowhere, you find it? Disaster averted.
It’s that a great feeling, to know that at just the right moment, you had what you needed. I think about that a lot when I read today’s passage. Listen to what it says in Romans 5: 6-8:
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
I love that passage. At just the right moment. While we were weak, while we were frail, while we were at our most unlovable. It was at that exact moment that Jesu died for us. Not because we deserved it or earned it.
In fact, the exact opposite. At that moment, that moment of our failure, our mistakes, our weakness, at that moment Jesus died for us. Not because we earned it. But because He loves us.
At that moment when we were the most unloveable, that was the right moment. That’s when grace was applied.
You are loved today. You just are. You can choose to live in that, or reject. It’s your call, it’s my call. It’s up to me and you to decide what we will do with God’s love at this moment. But regardless of your choice, know this.
You are loved. Because at just the right moment, at just the right time. At that moment when we were most unlovable, at that moment Jesus died for us.
You are loved. Never forget that. You are loved.
Live in that grace today.
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It’s really good for us to remember that the Lord has forgiven us. That’s a good thing, a really good thing.
Why? Well, first it helps us remember our worth. Remember how valued we are. Remember that our identity, our hope doesn’t come from ourselves, but from God. That’s so big, in a world that is so intense, filled with such pressure and worry, that’s huge to remember.
Second, that truth reminds us to lay down our burdens. We don’t have to carry them around forever. You are forgiven. Yes. You are. You are forgiven. Lay those burdens down. Let them go. Lay down your shame, your worry, your fear, your doubt.
You are forgiven.
Man, we need to drill that truth into our brains. We are forgiven.
And here’s the cool thing. When we understand that we are forgiven, it totally changes our walk with God. We stop trying to make God love us, but we live freely out of the love that He has already given us. It changes our walk with God. It really does. But that’s not the only walk it changes. Listen to what it says today in Colossians 3:12-13:
12 As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
We have been forgiven. That means that we are supposed to forgive each other. God has looked at our worst, and failures, the things we have done wrong, and shown us mercy and grace. As Christians (as tough as it is) we are supposed to do the same things.
One of my favorite quotes from CS Lewis is from his book The Weight of Glory – “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”
But how? Only through God’s power. We can’t forgive apart from God’s Spirit working through us. Only the Holy Spirit can empower us to forgive as we are call. We can’t do it ourselves. But through God, all things are possible.
When we accept God’s forgiveness, we lay down our burden. When we forgive others, we lay another burden down. That’s our call today as Christians. To accept forgiveness and to give forgiveness. Today, through God’s strength, may we live in that freedom and power.
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I’ve been trying something recently. I read somewhere that one of the reasons that we get tired in the afternoon hours of the day is because we are dehydrated. So, what I’ve been doing is drinking more water, especially in that afternoon time. See, what I used to do was just drink more coffee, that’s kind of my answer to everything – more coffee. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.
So I’ve been drinking more water, and you know what? I think it’s working. I was thirsty, but I didn’t really even realize it. Drinking that water has helped me feel better and have more energy. And I didn’t even know that I needed it.
Listen to what it says today in Psalm 84: 1-4:
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise.Selah
I love that verse – my soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord. Our souls are thirsty for God. Our souls long for that communion with God, that worship of God. That’s what we are made for; that’s what we are created for. To know God. To love God. To worship God. To be in relationship with God.
That’s our purpose. That’s what we are made for.
But here’s the thing. We get so busy, we don’t realize that we are thirsty for Him. We know something is wrong, we know that we don’t quite feel right, we know that something is off, but we aren’t sure what it is.
What is it is that our souls are thirsty for God. And we have tried so many other things, and nothing satisfies. No work, not pleasure, not status, nothing. We remain thirsty.
Our souls long for God.
But here’s the thing. God desires you, as well. He wants you to be in relationship with Him. He is love, and being love, He desires for you to walk with Him. So, today, if your soul is thirsty, and really, all our souls are thirsty, know that there is living water that will satisfy. Our souls have been crying out, but we may not have realized it.
Today, drench your soul in His grace, His presence, His worship. You are loved, you are valued, you are pursued. Today, we need God. And God desires us.
Today, may we find our strength and our life in Him.
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