Jesus had begun preaching the good news of God, that the time was fulfilled, and that the kingdom of God had come near. I close my eyes, and through the words written in Mark, I travel back in time to see what Jesus’ ministry looked like. How did the Son of God begin His ministry? Where and how was the message to repent and believe in the good news proclaimed?
It seems appropriate that Jesus would start on the Sabbath in the synagogue. The people there didn’t know who He was, but what they did know was that He spoke with authority. The demons knew where that authority came from. They recognized the Holy One of God. However, Jesus silenced them and released the man in whom they had taken up residence from their control. Even in the synagogue Jesus came with more than words. He came with the power to set the demon-possessed man free.
Jesus’ ministry was so much more than simply preaching on the Sabbath. As soon as He left the synagogue He went to Simon and Andrew’s house. It was not the house of nobility, it was the house where two fishermen lived with their family, including Simon’s mother-in-law who was lying in bed with a fever. Jesus went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. Woven into this story is a woman whose husband is gone and who is now sick and living on the mercy of her son-in-law. Jesus’ compassion and kindness did more than restore this woman’s health, He restored her dignity.
How did people respond? When evening came, after the sun had set and their travel was no longer restricted by sabbath law, they flocked to Jesus. All those who were sick and those bound by demons came to Him seeking for relief and release. In fact, the whole town assembled at the door. The kingdom of God had come near. The king, though cloaked in human flesh, had come with authority and the power to set men free. He came with the message to, “Repent and believe in the good news!” (Mark 1:15)
Recently I was with a friend, and during the course of our conversation she asked me a question that I’ve been thinking about ever since. She told me how she appreciated the sermons she heard on Sunday. She acknowledged that the church was trying to reach out to its members. But it was what she said next that really convicted me, she asked what we were doing for the hurting people outside the church. “How are we reaching out to the sick and hurting people in our community?” My mind went back to what Jesus did as soon as He left the synagogue. My response is that I need to repent and show that I believe the good news by following Jesus’ example.
Saturday, December 8, 2018
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
He Spoke with Authority! (Mark 1:21-28)
In the synagogue in Capernaum the people would come out of duty and listened with dull minds and glazed eyes as the scribes would drone on and on about the endless laws and traditions that had been written to fence the word of God. The fence they had built to keep anyone from getting close to breaking God’s word had become so complicated and verbose that they had long since stopped talking about God’s word itself and had simply begun to discuss each other’s interpretation of their own words. The fence now, instead of keeping people from breaking God’s word, simply kept everyone away from the word itself.
“He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach” (Mark 1:21). The very Word of God Who had taken on human flesh now spoke. Their dull minds were awakened; their glazed eyes came into focus. When He spoke, the darkness of their minds was illuminated. They felt as if the very breath of life was in His words. Now that they were fully awake they were struck with panic and amazement! They asked one another, “Who is this? Where did he get this authority?”
However, there was someone in their midst who knew where His authority came from. Suddenly, there was a scream of recognition! “What do You have to do with us, Jesus-Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24)! The Holy One of God had authority not only to speak the truth of God but to silence the unclean spirit.
“Be quiet, and come out of him” (Mark 1:25)! Jesus used the same words and authority to muzzle the unclean spirit that He would later use in silencing the wind and the waves that threaten the lives of His disciples in the storm on the Sea of Galilee. In both stories the people were left wondering who this was who had the authority to calm the storms that raged both in nature and in the hearts of men. With one last blast of fury the unclean spirit convulsed the man. But he had to leave, because the Holy One of God had spoken.
Have you ever dozed in church? Have you ever sat with glazed eyes as if you were listening but hearing nothing, simply being in church because, after all, isn’t that what Christians do? But I want to ask you something. If that is what people who follow God do, why was the man with the unclean spirit there? In Revelation Jesus again speaks to the church, and again He finds those with evil spirits present. Jesus also calls His church to wake up! If we will listen to the Word of God and surrender to His authority, we will become fully alive.
Monday, December 3, 2018
”You Follow Me!”( Mark 1:16-20)
Peter remembers. He was a fisherman with no higher goal than to provide for the needs of his family by doing what he knew to do, fish. But the memory now of Jesus passing alongside the Sea of Galilee is so vivid that he pauses and sees again the scene as if it is happening in the present. Mark is listening, waiting, wanting to capture in writing the words and emotions of Peter as he recounts the the three and a half years that he spent with Jesus. In the book of Mark we see the story of Jesus through Peter’s eyes.
“‘Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him” (Mark 1:17,18). Immediately the choice was made, and the course of Peter’s life changed. Jesus had come with the message that the time was fulfilled, and the kingdom of God was at hand. Then Jesus took note of a lowly fisherman and invited him to have a place in the kingdom. Jesus issued this invitation not to the proud and haughty religious rulers but to a fisherman on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
Peter remembers with awe how he himself was there when Jesus received honor and glory from God the father. Peter is silent for moment, and in his memory he hears again the voice of the “Majestic Glory: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him” (2 Peter 1:17)! With a voice husky with emotion Peter shares this memory with Mark and marvels again, as he has marveled so many times before, that Jesus the Son of God exalted a humble fisherman by the invitation to follow him.
Peter shares how for three and a half years he followed Jesus. He told Mark how he had walked away from his nets and his fishing with the bold assurance that the kingdom would come and that Jesus himself was the Messiah. But something happened that he hadn’t expected. Jesus was arrested and taken to the high priest. Still, Peter had followed Him there. With an aching heart Peter told Mark how, while Jesus was being mocked and spit at, Peter warmed himself by a charcoal fire. He was confronted again by the feelings of confusion he had had about what happened. This was not what he had expected when he began to follow Jesus. Nothing was happening the way he had envisioned it, and Peter humbly shared with Mark how in his confusion and fear he had denied Jesus three times.
In the book of John it is recorded how after Jesus’ death and resurrection Jesus met Peter again on the shore when Peter been fishing. This time the invitation to follow Jesus didn’t include being a fisher of men but instead a command to feed and tend Jesus’ sheep. Jesus told Peter to follow Him after He told Peter by what kind of death he would glorify God. Peter didn’t immediately respond this time as he had to the first invitation to follow Jesus. This time he looked around at John and asked, “What about him?” Jesus responded by saying to Peter that what He planned for John was not Peter’s affair. And then Jesus said again, “You follow me” (John 21:21)! And Peter followed.
“‘Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him” (Mark 1:17,18). Immediately the choice was made, and the course of Peter’s life changed. Jesus had come with the message that the time was fulfilled, and the kingdom of God was at hand. Then Jesus took note of a lowly fisherman and invited him to have a place in the kingdom. Jesus issued this invitation not to the proud and haughty religious rulers but to a fisherman on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
Peter remembers with awe how he himself was there when Jesus received honor and glory from God the father. Peter is silent for moment, and in his memory he hears again the voice of the “Majestic Glory: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him” (2 Peter 1:17)! With a voice husky with emotion Peter shares this memory with Mark and marvels again, as he has marveled so many times before, that Jesus the Son of God exalted a humble fisherman by the invitation to follow him.
Peter shares how for three and a half years he followed Jesus. He told Mark how he had walked away from his nets and his fishing with the bold assurance that the kingdom would come and that Jesus himself was the Messiah. But something happened that he hadn’t expected. Jesus was arrested and taken to the high priest. Still, Peter had followed Him there. With an aching heart Peter told Mark how, while Jesus was being mocked and spit at, Peter warmed himself by a charcoal fire. He was confronted again by the feelings of confusion he had had about what happened. This was not what he had expected when he began to follow Jesus. Nothing was happening the way he had envisioned it, and Peter humbly shared with Mark how in his confusion and fear he had denied Jesus three times.
In the book of John it is recorded how after Jesus’ death and resurrection Jesus met Peter again on the shore when Peter been fishing. This time the invitation to follow Jesus didn’t include being a fisher of men but instead a command to feed and tend Jesus’ sheep. Jesus told Peter to follow Him after He told Peter by what kind of death he would glorify God. Peter didn’t immediately respond this time as he had to the first invitation to follow Jesus. This time he looked around at John and asked, “What about him?” Jesus responded by saying to Peter that what He planned for John was not Peter’s affair. And then Jesus said again, “You follow me” (John 21:21)! And Peter followed.
Saturday, December 1, 2018
Come Just As You Are
I was irritable and angry! I was so frustrated that I wanted to scream! I rushed about the house preparing to go where I didn’t want to go in order to do something that I didn’t want to do! I didn’t want to feel the way I was feeling, so in this state of full blown irritability I began to pray.
I went to God in prayer just as I was, miserable and in need. “Father! I need help! I don’t want to feel this way! I want to obey You!” I thought about how Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father, in heaven, may your name be kept holy” (Matthew 6:9). I translated how Jesus taught us to pray by saying, “Father, I believe that You love and care for me and that Your ways are higher than my ways. I don’t want to dishonor Your name, but I am miserable and I need help!”
Jesus said to pray, “Your kingdom come.” I prayed, “I know that You are the king. I want You to rule and reign in my life, my heart and my mind. Please help me to get my emotions under control.” Jesus said, “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.” I prayed, “Father, I know that to murmur and to complain is the same as to be in rebellion against what You have ordained for my life. Right now I’m full of rebellion! I don’t know how to stop. I don’t like what You’ve planned for my life today. If I needed physical surgery on my heart, I know that I would be incapable of performing open heart surgery on myself. I also know that I am equally incapable of removing my stony rebellious heart. Please! Help me!”
Jesus said to ask for daily bread. Where can I go when I am being tormented by my inability to be who I want to be? What can I do when I don’t have the resources to accomplish what is required of me? How do I find the strength to wrestle with my own rebellious heart that doesn’t want to be told what to do? It’s a daily struggle. Daily I am invited to participate in holy communion through prayer.
I continued to walk in obedience and prayed that God would change my heart. And then it happened! I was having a conversation with my granddaughter Lena. I told her that Mary probably wasn’t much older than she is now when Gabriel announced that she was to be a mother. Lena was shocked. Then I said, “Just think about how Mary responded. 'I am the Lord’s servant, let His will be done in my life.'” The words left my mouth and entered my heart. I was set free! The misery of rebellion was replaced by the joy of true obedience. The transformation took place through prayer.
I went to God in prayer just as I was, miserable and in need. “Father! I need help! I don’t want to feel this way! I want to obey You!” I thought about how Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father, in heaven, may your name be kept holy” (Matthew 6:9). I translated how Jesus taught us to pray by saying, “Father, I believe that You love and care for me and that Your ways are higher than my ways. I don’t want to dishonor Your name, but I am miserable and I need help!”
Jesus said to pray, “Your kingdom come.” I prayed, “I know that You are the king. I want You to rule and reign in my life, my heart and my mind. Please help me to get my emotions under control.” Jesus said, “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.” I prayed, “Father, I know that to murmur and to complain is the same as to be in rebellion against what You have ordained for my life. Right now I’m full of rebellion! I don’t know how to stop. I don’t like what You’ve planned for my life today. If I needed physical surgery on my heart, I know that I would be incapable of performing open heart surgery on myself. I also know that I am equally incapable of removing my stony rebellious heart. Please! Help me!”
Jesus said to ask for daily bread. Where can I go when I am being tormented by my inability to be who I want to be? What can I do when I don’t have the resources to accomplish what is required of me? How do I find the strength to wrestle with my own rebellious heart that doesn’t want to be told what to do? It’s a daily struggle. Daily I am invited to participate in holy communion through prayer.
I continued to walk in obedience and prayed that God would change my heart. And then it happened! I was having a conversation with my granddaughter Lena. I told her that Mary probably wasn’t much older than she is now when Gabriel announced that she was to be a mother. Lena was shocked. Then I said, “Just think about how Mary responded. 'I am the Lord’s servant, let His will be done in my life.'” The words left my mouth and entered my heart. I was set free! The misery of rebellion was replaced by the joy of true obedience. The transformation took place through prayer.
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
What Did Jesus Say? (Mark 1:14)
The first words that Jesus spoke in the gospel of Mark were, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near.” I hear the words of Jesus and I see in my mind what Daniel saw in the night visions. “I saw One like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before Him. He was given authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom; so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13,14). The time had come for the curse to be broken. When the curse was broken the arrogant words of Satan would be silenced and dominion would be given to the rightful king.
I hear in the words of Jesus the long-awaited fulfillment of this prophecy for the coming of the rule and reign of the Son of Man. This is good news! However, I also look with wonder at the setting in which Jesus made this proclamation. John has been arrested. Israel is under the heels of Rome. It doesn’t look like a picture of the Son of Man establishing His kingly rule - His dominion - His sovereign government. But what did Jesus say? “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near” (Mark 1:15).
Those who had been waiting for the coming of messiah believed that he would come and break the yoke of Rome, but there was a greater plan. The messiah had come to break the yoke of Satan in the heart of every man. His rule and reign would include ruling and reigning in the lives of every people, nation and language. In order to establish the kingdom of God, the serpent’s head must be crushed and the Son of Man’s heel must be bruised. The kingdom of God was near because the time had been fulfilled. Jesus had come to break the curse by His death on the cross.
But there was more to this proclamation of good news. There was a call to respond. “Repent and believe in the good news.” Repent, to change the mind, to accept the will God. This was the message of John, who had gone before Jesus to prepare the hearts and minds of the people for the kingdom of God. Those who had repented were able to hear the good news, but those who didn’t humble themselves with repentance rejected the messiah.
Jesus not only said to repent, He also said to believe in the good news. What does it mean to believe? It means that you put your confidence and trust in the One who came to set up His kingdom. Satan came into the garden offering man the right to rule himself and be his own god. He lied, and man’s rebellion against the dominion of God brought death. Now, at last, the time was fulfilled for the curse to be broken. Jesus came saying, “Believe the truth, reject the lie. The kingdom of God is near.”
I hear in the words of Jesus the long-awaited fulfillment of this prophecy for the coming of the rule and reign of the Son of Man. This is good news! However, I also look with wonder at the setting in which Jesus made this proclamation. John has been arrested. Israel is under the heels of Rome. It doesn’t look like a picture of the Son of Man establishing His kingly rule - His dominion - His sovereign government. But what did Jesus say? “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near” (Mark 1:15).
Those who had been waiting for the coming of messiah believed that he would come and break the yoke of Rome, but there was a greater plan. The messiah had come to break the yoke of Satan in the heart of every man. His rule and reign would include ruling and reigning in the lives of every people, nation and language. In order to establish the kingdom of God, the serpent’s head must be crushed and the Son of Man’s heel must be bruised. The kingdom of God was near because the time had been fulfilled. Jesus had come to break the curse by His death on the cross.
But there was more to this proclamation of good news. There was a call to respond. “Repent and believe in the good news.” Repent, to change the mind, to accept the will God. This was the message of John, who had gone before Jesus to prepare the hearts and minds of the people for the kingdom of God. Those who had repented were able to hear the good news, but those who didn’t humble themselves with repentance rejected the messiah.
Jesus not only said to repent, He also said to believe in the good news. What does it mean to believe? It means that you put your confidence and trust in the One who came to set up His kingdom. Satan came into the garden offering man the right to rule himself and be his own god. He lied, and man’s rebellion against the dominion of God brought death. Now, at last, the time was fulfilled for the curse to be broken. Jesus came saying, “Believe the truth, reject the lie. The kingdom of God is near.”
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
How?
My friend and I were talking about diets. Linda is very practical. I sent her a link to a diet that I was interested in. Her response was, “Very sensible stuff. The trick is just to actually DO it.” So, what is the difference between knowing something and doing it? Why is it so difficult? How do you take something you believe and make it something that you live?
I confess there are things I want to do, goals I want to reach. I want my life to be well-lived. I don’t want to be simply a dreamer who wakes up when my life is over to find nothing but disheveled bed sheets produced from sleepwalking. In Colossians 3:2 it says that we are to set our minds, we are to have understanding, to seek for, things above. How?
My first step is faith. Is that right? Is that really the first step? I remember when I was a young teenager telling my mother that I wanted to have more faith. She told me that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. She invited me to wake up with her the next morning at 5 a.m. if I wanted more faith and begin reading the Bible. That was over 50 years ago. How did my actions affect my faith? By hearing the word of God I learned who it was that I was putting my faith in.
Faith isn’t just an idle belief. If I simply fill my mind with lofty ideas of who God is, and I am constantly thinking about how much Jesus loves me, but not allowing those thoughts to affect how I live, then it is the same as being a glutton with a library filled with books about healthy eating. True faith involves action. My faith is seen when I take the intangible truths that I believe in and make them tangible by my actions.
Again I ask, how? How do I take something that I believe in and make it something that I live? Is it because I’ve been waking up early ever since I was a child seeking truth, seeking God? Is it my efforts to act on what I believe that breathes life into my faith? No, it’s more than that. To be more than a dreamer, to be fully awake, you must be made alive in the spiritual realm. It is only when you have put your faith in the word of God, concerning the Kingdom of God, and received the breath of God that is the Spirit of God, that you can be fully alive.
I confess there are things I want to do, goals I want to reach. I want my life to be well-lived. I don’t want to be simply a dreamer who wakes up when my life is over to find nothing but disheveled bed sheets produced from sleepwalking. In Colossians 3:2 it says that we are to set our minds, we are to have understanding, to seek for, things above. How?
My first step is faith. Is that right? Is that really the first step? I remember when I was a young teenager telling my mother that I wanted to have more faith. She told me that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. She invited me to wake up with her the next morning at 5 a.m. if I wanted more faith and begin reading the Bible. That was over 50 years ago. How did my actions affect my faith? By hearing the word of God I learned who it was that I was putting my faith in.
Faith isn’t just an idle belief. If I simply fill my mind with lofty ideas of who God is, and I am constantly thinking about how much Jesus loves me, but not allowing those thoughts to affect how I live, then it is the same as being a glutton with a library filled with books about healthy eating. True faith involves action. My faith is seen when I take the intangible truths that I believe in and make them tangible by my actions.
Again I ask, how? How do I take something that I believe in and make it something that I live? Is it because I’ve been waking up early ever since I was a child seeking truth, seeking God? Is it my efforts to act on what I believe that breathes life into my faith? No, it’s more than that. To be more than a dreamer, to be fully awake, you must be made alive in the spiritual realm. It is only when you have put your faith in the word of God, concerning the Kingdom of God, and received the breath of God that is the Spirit of God, that you can be fully alive.
Monday, November 26, 2018
A Life Full of Days
I did the math and was surprised to find that the “ripe old age” that David died at was less than five years older than I am! This stopped me in my tracks. It seems like most of my life is lived in a mad dash focusing more on where I’m going than where I am at the moment. My next thought was that if I will be reaching the age that the Bible considers a full life within the next five years, I should make a five year plan. But wait a minute. Wasn’t my response a continuation of looking more into the future than gazing at the present?
I looked again at the verse that told about when David died, and I was struck by the phrase that he had lived his life, “full of days.” What would my life look like if I focused more on the days of my life than I did the years of my life? God revealed Himself to Moses as “I Am.” In Revelations we are offered grace and peace from, "the One who is, and was, and is to come” (Revelations 1:4)"
There is grace and peace from the One who is, but what else can I discover if I live in the present? “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). I wonder if I sometimes miss the refuge and strength, grace and peace of the day because I’m focused on the worries of tomorrow?
I find a blessing in Deuteronomy 33:25, “As your days so shall your strength be.” Now here is my question, can I claim that blessing too? I think it is available if I ask for it. I think perhaps this is what is meant when Jesus taught us that in prayer we are to ask for “daily bread.”
So, here I am at the dawning of a new day, watching the sun rise and filled with the knowledge of my inadequacies. Do I really believe in a God who calls Himself “I Am”? Do I really believe that there is “grace and peace” for me from the “One who is”? Is God really my “refuge and strength”? Is He “a very present help in trouble” and can I trust Him to provide the strength that I need for this day? He told me to ask for “daily bread,” and so I will. I will also ask that when my days come to an end, whether it’s five or twenty five years from now, that each day will be full and satisfying. I pray that I might live each day in communion with the One who is. Because isn’t daily communion the same as daily bread?
I looked again at the verse that told about when David died, and I was struck by the phrase that he had lived his life, “full of days.” What would my life look like if I focused more on the days of my life than I did the years of my life? God revealed Himself to Moses as “I Am.” In Revelations we are offered grace and peace from, "the One who is, and was, and is to come” (Revelations 1:4)"
There is grace and peace from the One who is, but what else can I discover if I live in the present? “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). I wonder if I sometimes miss the refuge and strength, grace and peace of the day because I’m focused on the worries of tomorrow?
I find a blessing in Deuteronomy 33:25, “As your days so shall your strength be.” Now here is my question, can I claim that blessing too? I think it is available if I ask for it. I think perhaps this is what is meant when Jesus taught us that in prayer we are to ask for “daily bread.”
So, here I am at the dawning of a new day, watching the sun rise and filled with the knowledge of my inadequacies. Do I really believe in a God who calls Himself “I Am”? Do I really believe that there is “grace and peace” for me from the “One who is”? Is God really my “refuge and strength”? Is He “a very present help in trouble” and can I trust Him to provide the strength that I need for this day? He told me to ask for “daily bread,” and so I will. I will also ask that when my days come to an end, whether it’s five or twenty five years from now, that each day will be full and satisfying. I pray that I might live each day in communion with the One who is. Because isn’t daily communion the same as daily bread?
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