Mark 8:34-38, Psalm 25

Jun 042011
 

I need God too!
Mark 8:34-38, Psalm 25

If you recall, or maybe you don’t, I originally wrote these devotionals three years ago.  As I reread this, it showed me how faithful God has been in my life.  I am in a very different place than I was three years ago! I have a new job (the old one folded), I graduated from college, my devotional time has become much more stable, and I’ve grown closer to God.  Things that tripped me up then are less likely to now, and I only have God to thank!

I am clueless about the ways of God!  The more I learn, the less I understand.  This week’s “life lesson” in my life has been a good example.  I had every intention of typing up Psalms 25 over the weekend, then sending it out on Monday, but I never did because I was too busy doing the things I felt I had to do.  The fantasy football league was drafting this weekend, so I spent all Friday night and Saturday doing that.  I had thrown out my back on Friday, so I was in a great deal of pain.  Sunday was church then an enjoyable outing with friends that lasted well into the evening.  Somehow during the day, I had developed a rash all over my body that was now itchy, puffy and painful.  Oh well, it would go away, I thought.  My Master’s thesis was due on Tuesday so I spent 14 hours at work on Monday on my “day off” trying to print seven copies, only to find that my computer wouldn’t work and the color printer was out of toner.  I went home frustrated.  My wife asked if I had prayed about any of these situations.  I hadn’t, and I was embarrassed and ashamed.  I prayed.  The next day, my computer miraculously worked, and I was able to find a five foot tall stack of toner cartridges that I just didn’t see the previous evening in the same 8 x 8 cubicle!  My back was better.  I thanked God for my thesis and my back, but I still couldn’t find time to type up my devotional for Psalm 25.  With my recent promotion, my workload had gone from zero to the work of three men.  Everything seemed to be due yesterday.  The first thing I cut out was my morning devotionals because I saw them as a time waster.  I had no time for God because I had “stuff” to do.  Well, here it is two days later and I have accomplished absolutely nothing, and my rash is so bad that I’m going to the hospital right after I send this.  Ya, it could be coincidence that all this happened at once, but I don’t believe that at all.  God wanted my attention.  Well, He got it!  I’m to the point where I need God again, and I think that’s where He wants me.

I finally prayed and did my devotionals this morning and wow, what a message!  Read Mark 8:34-38 and see if it doesn’t describe what I’ve been going through at least a little bit.  Incidentally, when Jesus was talking about taking up a cross, He had not yet been crucified, so you might see this as prophetic on Jesus’ part.  In my reading of this passage, I could see that I was placing all of my “stuff” and worries ahead of God, yet I would not let God help me in any way.  I was being selfish and God put me in my place.

I next read Psalms 25, since I hadn’t got to it all week, and wow! what an excellent prayer for what I was going through!  The timing was just perfect; had I done my Bible study earlier this week, I would have missed the “ashamed” connection between these two passages, which is what I needed to see and hear from God this morning.  God truly does give us the answers we seek through the reading of His word.  I encourage you to always look for the answers you seek as you read.  God is talking to you.  Praise God that He takes such good care of us!

Mark 7:31-8:26

Jun 042011
 

Jesus: Savior of the whole world
Mark 7:31-8:26

Verse 31, which starts this passage of scripture shows, among other things, that Jesus really wanted to reach the people.  He moved around the country like our presidential candidates do, trying to reach as many places as He could in the period of time he had so He could spread His message of love.  In this verse, He travels 80 miles, on foot, from one semi-Gentile region to another.

In this new region, called the Decapolis, Jesus healed a deaf mute.  He then told the people not to tell anyone.  Why?  I don’t know.  Either he wanted to get some work done in peace, which seems unlikely, or He was using “Child Psychology” much like we would tell a child, “whatever you do, don’t touch that red button” knowing full well that that’s exactly what the child will do next.  No one can resist a red button.

After three days in the wilderness, preaching to another multitude, Jesus had compassion on them and asked the disciples to feed them.  They (again) said that they could not feed such a group, but Jesus blessed the seven loaves and they reaped seven large baskets of leftovers.  Jesus scolded His disciples later for not realizing that if He could feed the people once, He could do it a second time.  And why is this second story of a mass feeding recorded so soon after the first mass feeding?  The first time, He was feeding Jews, and He reaped 12 baskets, which is the number of tribes in Israel.  This time, He was in Gentile country and He reaped seven baskets, which is the number of Gentile churches John writes to later in Revelations.  Jesus came to feed Jews and Gentiles, or the whole world.

In 8:11, the Pharisees wanted a sign that Jesus is of God.  Jesus said “no signs for you!”  What He was really saying was this: “Geesh, I sent a bunch of prophets, made it pretty clear in the Bible that I’d be here at this time, I even sent John the Baptist to prepare the way.  What did you do?  You killed the messengers and ignored My teaching!  If you don’t already get it that I’m the Messiah, you never will.”  Jesus had a hard time with Pharisees.  He later warned his disciples of the “leaven” of the Pharisees (hypocrisy) and of Herod (worldliness).  The disciples thought He was talking about bread (you notice that Jesus sighs a lot in this passage).

At the end of this passage, Jesus healed a blind man in stages, showing that sometimes healing is gradual rather than immediate.  Healing can be a process.

Well, I’m sold.  Jesus healed people with infirmities, fed the whole world, patiently taught those who would listen, scolded those who wouldn’t.  It’s pretty clear to me that Jesus demonstrated His love for humanity through acts of service and by the words that came out of His mouth.  And He’s still doing these things today!  God’s not dead.  He is alive.  Thank Him for all He’s done.

Mark 7:24-30

Jun 042011
 

Jesus on time management
Mark 7:24-30

In this section of scripture, Jesus has departed to a neighboring region called Phoenicia, and runs into a woman who is Syrian/Phoenician, which means that she isn’t Jewish.  Anyone who wasn’t Jewish, in Jewish terms, was called a “Gentile.”  I sometimes think that the word “Gentile,” to the Jews, might today be associated with other words like “heathen,” “pagan,” or “barbarian.”  They definitely weren’t a part of “God’s chosen people” in the eyes of the Jews.

Jesus, whom we might associate with fairness and impartiality, says something that is quite startling to me as a Christian in verse 27 – He essentially says, “The Jews are my top priority.  I should not be taking care of you (a Gentile) at the expense of the Jews.”  Does this mean that Jesus had that Jewish bias towards outsiders?  Not really – Jesus was dealing with the issue of scope and time management in His statement.  Let me explain.

Have you ever been in a situation where there was way too much to do in way too short a period of time?  I’m pretty sure you have – it’s called “work.”  When faced with a daunting task, your choices are to panic and try to do everything, which means you will accomplish nothing, or you can be wise and use your “time management skills” like organization, breaking large projects into discrete tasks, prioritizing, and delegation.  We know that Jesus had a plan.  Jesus knew that He only had three years to influence others, so He had to limit His scope to gain maximum efficiency.  His chosen scope of influence was the Jews.  Why?  Because the Jews were the most highly trained people in God’s laws, being that they WERE God’s chosen people.  Their learning curve wasn’t so steep.  Jesus could teach these people within the timeframe allowed, and then delegate His authority to them so they could carry out the mission of saving the rest of the world.  Jesus’ statement was eminently logical.

If we read on though, we find that Jesus is not “Spock,” for He still cares for the Gentiles and He has genuine feelings for these people, for He heals the woman’s daughter – FROM A DISTANCE.  Her persistence showed her faithfulness, and God rewarded her.

Here are some points we can make from this:  1) Jesus does care for all people; 2) Jesus has great time management skills; 3) persistence in prayer pays off; 4) Jesus is not a local phenomenon – we can pray for people on the other side of the world (like the Dungan) as intercessors (people who pray for other people who don’t pray) and get results.

If you’ve never thought of time management skills as Godly, or your job as a work for God, maybe now is the time to think of it that way.  If you think that persistence in prayer doesn’t pay off, or that you can’t change the world, you’re wrong.  God rewards persistence; God has no limits; God invented time management; and God loves us Gentiles too.

Mark 7:14-23

Jun 042011
 

In or out?
Mark 7:14-23

Jesus was a straight foreword kind of guy, and sometimes it could get him into trouble.  It looks like he avoided trouble in this section of scripture, but He could have just as easily been stoned for the statement he made.

In a thinly veiled parable, Jesus said that “what goes into a man doesn’t make him unclean, but what comes out.”  So what’s wrong with that? Well, Jews were brought up with the understanding that there were things you just didn’t eat – things that were “unclean” like pork and shellfish (for a complete list, read Leviticus 11).  His disciples needed clarification on this statement too, because of their Jewish upbringing.  Was Jesus saying that it was now OK to eat these things – that it didn’t matter?  Let’s see…  I’m sure that Jesus and his disciples never broke from the Jewish menu. Jesus was a good Jew after all and he did not want to cause an uproar in this area.  His plate was already full with more pressing concerns.  Verse 19 does state in parenthesis, “thus He declared all foods clean,” so, yes, Jesus was saying that all food was fine for consumption, but not that it didn’t matter, for it did to the Jews. Jesus, being sensitive to his surroundings, would have kept with Jewish tradition by not eating “unclean” food. (This shows us that we need to be sensitive to cultural traditions, provided that they are not against God, when we witness so that people may concentrate on God’s good Word rather than our cultural offenses.)  Let’s not miss the point of His lesson though.  Jesus was not talking about abolishing God’s word, nor was He speaking against God (also called “blasphemy,” a stoning offense) when talking about things going in and out of the body.  Jesus was talking about thoughts and feelings in the hearts of men.  Jesus did say that anything going into the body went to the stomach, not the heart, so eating “unclean” food in and of itself did not make one unclean, but it was disobedience towards God in thought and deed that made one unclean.

We need to clean ourselves from the inside out today and every day by asking for God’s forgiveness.  This will work a whole lot better than a careful diet, because a careful diet doesn’t bring salvation.  Only Jesus does.

Mark 7:1-13

Jun 042011
 

Just what do you mean by clean?
Mark 7:1-13

In this portion of scripture Jesus and his disciples were eating and apparently, there were some Pharisees in their midst.  The Pharisees decided to question Jesus about the disciples’ eating habits – they were eating with dirty hands!  Not that they had dirt on their hands, for they probably had washed, but they didn’t wash their hands according to Jewish tradition, which would then make their hands “ritually clean.”  Jesus, in his ever-loving tone, called the Pharisees hypocrites.  What was Jesus’ beef?

What was Jesus’ beef?  Read verses eight and nine.  The Pharisees were giving preference their oral traditions, rather than the laws of the Old Testament.  This hand washing stuff wasn’t even in the Old Testament!  It was a commandment of men.  Jesus illustrated their hypocrisy by using an example, not a parable, so that they would understand.  Jesus wanted these knuckleheads to get the point.  He used one of the 10 commandments as his starting point:  Honor your mother and father.

While this commandment was one of the foundational elements of the Jewish Law brought down by Moses, the Pharisees had an oral tradition that circumvented this commandment – a loophole if you will.  If your parents had a need, probably financial, you could say to them that whatever might have helped them, like money, had been set aside for God’s purposes (the Jewish word for “to set aside for God” is “Corban”).  Their parents could not have that money, but it was worse than that…

Say you wanted to make your wealth untouchable. You would go to a legal office and declare that your wealth was “Corban.”  Scribes would write down the amount set aside for God, declare this amount in a legal document, THEN they would also give you a second document that exempted you from any duty to take care of your parents because you no longer could.  Your money was now God’s money.  Well, at least the money was going to God, right?  Wrong!  Evidently, according to another law, they were not obligated to give the money to the temple.  They could keep it and use it “for God.”

I’ll tell you, if my generation knew about this “Corban” rule, it would already be on the books.  Can you imagine the religious fervor as millions of Baby Boomers devoted their wealth to God?  We are a very selfish generation.     Wow, I guess Jesus was a pretty good lawyer (or was he the anti-lawyer), and he certainly knew the hearts of men.

Do you use laws and loopholes to avoid doing what is right; and then feel justified about it?  God calls us to be honest with ourselves and to treat everyone fairly.  Jesus summed it up best when he said “love the Lord your God… and love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”  In other words, if we follow these two commandments, we can’t go wrong.

Mark 6:30-44

Jun 042011
 

A leap of faith
Mark 6:30-44

Have you ever told God, “I think you’re nuts!” when He asks you to do something?  I sure do.  If I have not personally witnessed some miracle, I tend to think it can’t be done.  If I am asked to do something out of my comfort zone, I’m likely to say, “I can’t do that, it would be too stressful.”  If asked to take a leap of faith, I’m likely to first think of where I’m going to land.  These are human flaws brought on by weak faith.

We tend to seek and do what we see and know.  Things that require faith are almost always unseen and unknown.  They’re scary.  This is the case in today’s Bible Study.

Jesus and his disciples had been with a huge crowd all day and had not eaten.  The crowd probably had not eaten either.  Jesus, hungry and tired, said to his disciples, “Let’s get out of here,” so they left by boat.  Well, the crowd saw them go and ran along the coastline to where Jesus was going.  They beat Him there!  No rest for the weary I guess (can you imagine our entire congregation stalking pastor Mike in the hopes that he might give us another sermon?).  Jesus saw the need of the crowd and had compassion on them, so he taught them some more until it was quite late.  It was the disciples that saw (or felt) the next need – they were hungry.  The disciples asked that the crowd be dispersed so they could go buy something to eat.  Jesus said, “No, we’ll feed them.”  In a “see where you are landing” leap of faith, the disciples said, “but that would cost us 200 day’s wages just for the bread!” (There was a really big implied “no way!” in that statement).  Jesus asked what was available and the disciples produced five loaves of bread and two fish.  Hmm, that might not even feed the twelve disciples.  Jesus got the crowd to sit in groups of 50 and 100, He then blessed the food and had his disciples distribute the food baskets.  Everyone ate until they were full, and there were twelve baskets of leftovers.  With just five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus fed 5,000 men, not to mention the women and children as well (for Jewish tradition only counts the men).

It was a miracle, and practical at that.  Jesus not only fed the people spiritually, but physically as well.  He took care of all their needs.  Jesus takes care of all our needs as well.  There is nothing He can’t do.  So if He asks us to do something that is “nuts,” trust that He will be faithful to help us through it.  God has great follow-through.  Trust in him and you will be blessed.

Mark 6:7-16

Jun 042011
 

Spread it around!
Mark 6:7-16

In witnessing, Christians are like manure.  Put them all in one place and they stink.  Spread them around and they can do a lot of good.
–  Chuck Swindol, Insights for living

I heard this on the radio this morning and it made me glad because I knew that this was the topic of today’s study — The commissioning of the twelve disciples.

Fairly early in Jesus’ ministry, Jesus sent His disciples out two by two to spread the message of Jesus as sort of a training mission for later, when Jesus would depart this earth.  There were two things that Jesus told his disciples:  trust Me to take care of you (bring no food, money, shelter, extra clothing – all basic necessities) and be prepared to do a lot of walking (bring staff and shoes).  He then told them to find lodging in a town and stay there until they left the town.  If a town did not receive them or the message, “shake off the dust from the soles of your feet as a testimony against them” (verse 11b).  This act of shaking the dust off meant that you had no further responsibility towards them — a symbolic break in fellowship.

We as Christians are called to spread the Good News about Jesus, just like the disciples.  Sounds scary doesn’t it?  We feel so unprepared; we would probably just sound foolish in our attempt to describe something we ourselves barely understand.  This should not stop us though; God will help us succeed despite ourselves.

We as messengers for Christ will not be well received wherever we go and to everyone we talk to.  That’s OK, but we can still make the effort.  We are called to be God’s hands and feet; to do good works and spread His message.  We’ll let the Holy Spirit do the rest.  God will also place us where we need to be, sometimes kicking and screaming I suppose, but hopefully with a submissive heart.  What we need to do, as the disciples did, is trust that God will provide for our every need, and prepare for a lot of walking between accepting cities (in other words, lots of patience between triumphs in witnessing).

So, Hey, How did the disciples fare anyway in their training exercise?  Read verse 13 for one result, then 14-16 for another!  (You can also read the John the Baptist story in verses 17-29 if you want; I will be skipping it next week.)

Mark 6:1-6

Jun 042011
 

You can never go back
Mark 6:1-6

When reading the first six verses of Mark 6, I am reminded of the phrase “you can never go back” when referring to where you grew up, and in associations with your family.  Not that you shouldn’t visit your hometown or your family, you should, but it won’t be as it was.  Your life’s journey apart from your hometown and your family has changed and matured you, yet your hometown and your family can only remember you as you last were, or heaven forbid, as you were in your youth!  This is what Jesus was experiencing in verses 1-6.  Jesus grew up in Nazareth with his family.  Now he was back.

In his adult life, Jesus moved to Capernaum.  While in Capernaum, he began his ministry and became recognized as the Son of God.  Now Jesus was back in the town of his youth and with his siblings for the first time since starting his ministry.

I’m sure Jesus was a good little boy when he was young, and that the townsfolk of Nazareth remembered him fondly, as did his family, but they remember him as a child.  To come back to his hometown and preach with the authority of God, as the Son of God, was too much for everyone to handle.  Jesus’ statement in verse four pretty much sums up his experience:  “A prophet is not without honor except in his home town and among his own relatives and in his own household.”  I’m sure that the town and his family were a little upset that this “kid” was now telling them how they should live.  And where did he get off healing people and forgiving sins?  He never did any of that when he was a boy.  How dare he!  Jesus was somehow being disrespectful to his elders… wasn’t he?  They could not accept what they were seeing and hearing.

Jesus knew something we should know when witnessing to family and old friends – it’s an uphill battle.  They know us too well, and remember our past — a past that probably no longer represents who we now are.  Not that it’s impossible mind you, but it’s not easy.  Even Jesus’ half brothers did not believe that He was the Son of God while he was alive, but at least two brothers believed when they saw him after his crucifixion — they wrote the books of James and Jude in the New Testament.  Extra prayer will be required when witnessing to family and friends, but it is certainly worth the effort.  These are, after all, the people we most want to be with in heaven next to God.

(And boy, do I feel weird knowing that some on this site knew me in my youth [like my parents]!  Just know that I love you and I pray daily for you.  You are worth the extra effort.)

Mark 5

Jun 042011
 

Jesus has the power!
Mark 5

Mark 5 is a very powerful chapter, or should I say, a chapter about power.  There are two stories in chapter five that deal with the power that Jesus has — power over demons, and the power to heal — even over death!

Mark 4 ends with the tired disciples and the well-rested Jesus getting across the Sea of Galilee in a storm.  They land in the country of the Gerasenes at a seaside graveyard.  At the graveyard is a man of incredible strength who is possessed by many demons.  The demons call themselves “legion” for they are many (a legion is the largest unit in the Roman army, around 4,000 troops).  Wow, that’s a lot of demons!

The man runs up to Jesus.  Will he attack Jesus? No, he bows at Jesus’ feet and says “What do you have to do with me Son of God?”  The demons in the man wanted to be left alone.  They figured that if Jesus was at his graveyard, He must have a purpose.  The man, or rather the demons, already knew who Jesus was even though they had never met.  Jesus had power over them and they knew it.  They were scared.

Jesus sent the demons into some pigs (2,000 of them, so you can assume that there were at least as many demons), which no Jew would eat anyway, and then He sent the demon possessed pigs off a cliff and into the sea.  Boy, I bet that pig herder was mad.  Anyway, the pig herder went to tell the townsfolk what Jesus had done (kill his pigs!), and they came to see Jesus to invite him out of their city.  They did see the demon possessed man healed and in his right mind once again, but Jesus had just killed thousands of worthless livestock to save him; how dare He!  Jesus left for his current hometown, Capernaum.  The formerly possessed man went off to tell the entire region called the Decapolis what Jesus did.

Story two deals with a synagogue official, Jairus, who had a sick daughter.  He came to Jesus and asked if Jesus could heal her.  Jesus said “No problem,” but he took his time getting there; perhaps because of the massive crowd that was surrounding him.  As this large procession processed, a woman who had been bleeding internally since around the time of Jarius’ daughter’s birth (12 years) touched Jesus’ garment and was healed.  Jesus, in what must have been one of the funniest one-liners in the Bible, said: “Who touched me?”  Jesus’ disciples respond with something like, “You are, like, totally surrounded yet you ask ‘who touched me?'”  Jesus knew what he was talking about, and so did the woman.  That “touch” was the release of healing power that the woman had received because of her faith.  She confessed, and Jesus confirmed that it was her faith that made her well.

While this exciting event was going on, Jairus’ daughter died.  I’m sure that Jairus felt a wave of grief and hopelessness at this announcement, but Jesus simply said “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.”  Jairus, Jesus and a few others left the crowd behind to go to the house.

By the time Jesus got to the house, the wife had already hired professional mourners who were wailing away.  When Jesus announced that the daughter was merely sleeping, He was met with skepticism in the form of laughter, presumably from the hired mourners.  Jairus and his family would not be the ones laughing.  The fact that Jesus was even at their house after the announcement of the daughter’s death told us that Jairus still had some hope that Jesus could do something miraculous.  Jesus had changed water into wine in a neighboring city.  Jairus may well have been the “pastor” at that event.  In all likelihood, Jairus was Jesus’ pastor.  (What, and you thought Jesus didn’t go to church?  Jairus was an elder in the synagogue at Capernaum that Jesus would have regularly attended.  Jesus knew Jairus and his daughter!).  Jesus, probably shaking his head at the mourner’s disbelief, went in with a small contingent and brought Jairus’ daughter back to life.  He told the family that the daughter was probably hungry and to give her some food.

So… Jesus has the power to exorcise demons, heal the sick, and even raise the dead.  Well, that’s great, Jesus is God, so… so what?  Matthew 10:5-8, among other places, shows that Jesus granted these powers to common men and women like us as well.  All we have to do is believe that Jesus still has the authority to do these things today (He does!), and demons can still be sent packing, cancer patients can be restored to health, and, amazing as it seems, even the dead can be raised.  Nothing is impossible for God!

Mark 4:35-41

Jun 042011
 

Are you tired?
Mark 4:35-41

In this passage of scripture, Jesus has just completed a long day surrounded by throngs of people.  He basically says “let’s get out of here.”  One purpose getting in a boat and going to the other side of the Sea of Galilee was so Jesus could rest.  He was human after all, and therefore physically tired.  About half-way across this five mile wide lake, a big storm comes up.  Where is Jesus?  He’s asleep on the sail of the boat, known as “the cushion.”  Hmmm, let’s stop right there. . .

So wait a second, if Jesus is sleeping on the sail, then his disciples must have been rowing this whole time.  When the storm came, they were probably a little tired from rowing already.  Their boat was filling with water and they couldn’t do much about it.  They were already worn out!  DOESN’T THIS SOUND A BIT LIKE YOUR LIFE FROM TIME TO TIME?  Sounds like a teachable moment for Jesus to me.

Just as the disciples are “about to perish” (v 38), they decide to wake up Jesus.  Why?  So he could help row?  So he could get off the sail?  It didn’t look like the disciples were expecting Jesus to do much more than administer last rites!

Then something amazing happens, often told this way:  Jesus then stands up, takes in a deep breath, then shouts “STOP!” and the wind obeys.  (My favorite reading of this version comes from my son Jeffrey’s children’s Bible.  Now whenever I ask either of my kids what Jesus said to the storm, they both get stern expressions on their faces; they hold out their hand and yell “STOP!”  It’s really cute, but I digress…)

 

Here’s how I see it:  Jesus, barely awake, whispers in his drowsy state “Hush, be still,” and there was a sudden peace.  He then asks the disciples why they were so cowardly (the literal translation for “timid” according to my Bible notes) and why they lacked faith.  He then presumably rolls over and goes back to sleep.  Jesus doesn’t have to be dramatic to get the attention of his disciples; the miraculous events that just occurred left them dumbfounded.  It says that they were “afraid” because of what Jesus did.  “Afraid” in this sense means a new founded respect for Jesus and His authority.  They now “feared” and respected him as one who could do mighty deeds.  Good!  Now maybe they could learn from him.  Fear of the Lord is, after all, the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10a and Psalms 111:10a).

Do you have a problem you can’t handle?  Do you feel as though you are “about to perish?”  Put your trust in the Lord and he will give you peace.  Believe that God can do anything, and you will be blessed.

 Older Entries  Newer Entries