Tag Archives: Mark

Where Do I Start Reading the Bible

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godwin_bible460I’ve been doing this daily blog for over a decade now.  It started out as an email and then has morphed a lot into several forms. But basically what I’ve always done is this.  I follow the Morning Office out the Book of Common Prayer.  Here’s a link to the website I use.  Each morning there are three passages (an Old Testament, a New Testament, and a Gospel. There are also Psalms and other readings.

I read from them, and then whichever one speaks to me, I write a devotional on it.

But I’ve had something happen a few times recently, and it’s made me one to do something a little different.  I’ve had different people in different places come to me and ask, Andy, how do I start reading the Bible?  Where do I start?  What do I do?

And this is the thing that I tell them, and I want to be honest, it’s my suggestion.  I’m not saying it’s perfect for everyone, it’s just what I suggest.

I alway say this.  Start with Mark.  Don’t worry about starting in Genesis.  We can get there later.  Start with Mark.  I say start with a Gospel, because if you want to know who God is, you need to know Jesus.  He is the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).  When you see Jesus, you see God.

So, start with a Gospel. But why Mark?  Like I said, this is just me, I like starting with Mark because it’s the shortest and quickest-moving.  Most scholars think it was the first Gospel written.  And I think it’s the easiest to understand.

Some folks say start with John, and that’s perfectly fine.  John’s got some of the passages that we love the most.

But I like starting with Mark.  To me, it’s the easiest to understand of the Gospels.

So, that’s what we are going to do. For the next, oh, I don’t know, until we are finished, we are going to read through Mark together.  Each morning, there will be a passage of Mark, and I’ll offer my own reflection from it.

I’m thinking about doing a podcast with it perhaps, and maybe even a vlog.

But I think this will be a nice change-up, and a way for us to really get into the Bible.

So, starting tomorrow, we’ll read through Mark. I’m going to be pulling the readings from Biblegateway.com and I’ll be using the NRSV, mainly because that’s the most commonly used Bible at the church I serve.

But the great thing about this website is you can read for any number of translations.

So, starting tomorrow, Mark 1.  If you want to get a head start, we’ll be looking at Mark 1:1-8.

What do you think?  I’d welcome any feedback.  Shoot me an email or connect with me through Facebook or Twitter!

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

Take Up Your Cross (SOAP Method)

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Since it was so well received last week, we’ll continue using the SOAP method of scripture for some posts this week.

Let’s start!

S – scripture

Remember to read slowly.  Don’t worry about the things that you have to do today.  Don’t focus on the problems of the day, or the regrets of the past.  In this moment, slow down, and listen.  Listen for Gods’ voice in Mark 8:34-37:

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

O – observation

urlTake up your cross

Jesus tells us that His disciples must take up their cross.  That sounds a little unpleasant to us, and our western ears, but in Jesus day, to take up your cross would be a terrifying thing.  The cross was a means of death in that day, a terrible, painful, humiliating, awful death.  It was the means that Rome used to make a example of someone.  It was the public hanging of it’s day.

And that’s what Jesus calls us to do.  He calls us to take up our cross.  The cross, in Jesus day, was not the serene symbol of peace that we have made it to be.  It was a means of execution. And that is what Jesus calls us to.

Living for the gospel

Jesus doesn’t just call us to death (thankfully!) but He calls us to live as well.  He tell us whoever lives for the Gospel will find life, and is truly alive.  He tells us that if we live for our life, we will lose it, but if we live for the Gospel, we will find more life than we could ever again.

So, first, we die to ourselves, because if we are living for ourselves, we will not be able to focus on anything but ourselves.  And then, when we take the focus off ourselves, we find something really worth living for, the Gospel.

What is worth your soul

Jesus poses as question in the end.  Is is worth it?  Is what you are living for, it is worth losing your soul. Because in the end, we each must make a choice.  We can gain the whole world, all the power, all the fame, all the wealth, everything. But, if in that process, we lose our soul, what have we truly gained?  Jesus asks us to consider that question this morning.

A – application

What difficult thing is God calling me to?

Today, we are called to take up our cross?  What does that mean?  It means taking the focus off of us, and our “stuff” and focusing on what God is calling us to do. And, today, He may be calling us to something challenging.  He may be calling us to something hard.  He may be calling us to somewhere that we don’t want to go.

And hears the thing. He has promised us, that place that we may not want to go, if He has called us there, that place actually is the way of life.  By taking up our cross, we will find life.  He has promised us.  By dying to us, we can live for Him.

Am I finding my life in God or my my stuff?

Simple and sweet.  What are we living for today?  Where is my life?  What is the point of my life?  Is it for me?  My stuff?  My dreams?  My life?  Or is it for God. Scripture tell us that the only way for life is to live for Him. That’s it.  That’s the only way. If we live for ourselves alone, in time, we will lose our soul.  If we live for the Gospel, we will live.

It’s our choice.  Today, what are we living for?  Today, are we alive, or are we running the risk of losing our soul?

P – prayer

Holy God, help us each to remember where our life is found, and help us to make sure that today, and each day, we are living for the right purpose.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phone.

Rest

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Mark is my favorite of all the Gospels. Each one of them has a different thing that they emphasize. Matthew make connections with the Old Testament. Luke looks at Jesus love and connection with the entire world. John answers the deep questions of faith.

But Mark is simple. Mark is shorter. Mark is fast. And in Mark, Jesus is always going. As someone that’s a little (or a lot) ADD, I really like the emphasis on action in Mark’s Gospel. Jesus and the disciples are always going, always acting, always on the move.

Except for the passage we read today. Listen to Mark 6: 30-32:

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.

Rest_Stop_Brown_Bear-insert-in-postThe disciples had just come back from doing ministry and they were excited. The way the text describes it, I can almost see them gathered around Jesus like little children talking fast and telling Him everything that had happened.

And He said, let’s rest for a while. They had gotten so busy, they hadn’t even had time to eat.

Let’s rest.

We are supposed to go. We are supposed to be active. We are supposed to do and take the Good News everywhere. We have kingdom work to do today! We are supposed to be on the move. Time and daylight is wasting.

But, sometimes, we get ourselves worn out. We can do too much. We can get too busy. We can get off track and sideways.

And we need to rest.

Listen to me friends, you don’t have to do everything. The fate of the free world doesn’t rest of your shoulders. I know it feels that way sometimes, anyone that knows me a little can tell you that I often feel that way. So I’m preaching to me as much as I am to you.

Rest. Rest in Jesus. Breathe. Calm down. Slow down. Rest.

He has a lot for us to do for the kingdom. He has a lot that we need accomplish for His work. But have to take care of ourselves.

Today, perhaps, today you need to rest. Rest in Him. Rest in His purpose and plan for your life.

Rest.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones

Work to Do

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I love the Gospel of Mark. All the Gospels are great, but I really enjoy Mark’s Gospel.

Each Gospel has a different viewpoint or appeal. Matthew is written to Jewish audience, so there are a ton of Old Testament quotes and references.  Luke is written to a non-Jewish (Gentile) audience so there are lots of first hand accounts from witnesses to what  happened.  John is a book of theology, seeking to answer not who, what, when, and where, but why.

But I like Mark maybe the most. In Mark, probably written to a Roman audience, Jesus is always on the move. He’s always on the go. He’s always doing something.The word immediately is mentioned over and over and over again throughout this Gospel.

You can almost see Jesus getting a cup of coffee and taking off, ready to defeat the powers of evil that day.  For some reason, that appeals to me 🙂

But, listen to what Jesus did first. This is from Mark 1:

Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him. When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus knew what He was called to do. That is why He came.  He had a calling, to reconcile the word to God, to call each of us into a relationship through Him with God the Father by the power of Holy Spirit.  He knew His purpose and His calling upon the earth.

And He knew that accomplish that, prayer was essential.  He knew He had to pray.  He knew He must pray.  He knew that His prayer life was vital to His ministry.

And He was Jesus.  You know, the very Son of God. And prayer matter to Him.

How much should prayer matter to us?  How vital must prayer be to us?  How important should it be in our lives?

Yes, we’ve got work to do. There are things God is calling us to. There are things that God has before us today.

But, the most important work to do is prayer. Today, before we can do anything for God, we must take time to pray.  To listen. To search. To seek.

Today, may we do the work set before us. Today may we pray.