Following at a Distance

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

FOLLOWING AT A DISTANCE

Mark 14:53-54

53 They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law came together. 54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.

NIV

At least Peter followed him at a distance, surely far enough not to be noticed by the gang who arrested Jesus. Peter sort of melted into the crowd of people but he did follow all the way into the courtyard where the temple guards were. Farther in this whole account we do find other people there as well, those who asked Peter about his involvement with Jesus, so we can surmise he melted into the crowd, not wanting to get too close to Jesus, so that he too would be questioned, or possibly arrested. It is difficult to determine if Peter was following at a distant because of his love for Jesus for because of his fear for himself. We know from the whole of the account of Peter’s life, he did love Jesus more than his own life, but for now, before the infilling of the Spirit, he is still Peter the man who followed Jesus at a distance and who we will see does deny being involved with the Jesus movement. Perhaps the lesson we should see here is just what we see in the life of Peter. Without the infilling of the Holy Spirit in our lives we are simply people who follow Jesus at a distance, and cannot give a powerful testimony of our involvement in the Jesus movement, in fact by default we are denying our love for Jesus. If Peter experienced such a radical change in his witness for Jesus because of the infilling, or what some call the baptism, of the Spirit than we should be desire that same baptism. The question of course is if we are not a powerful witness for Jesus, if we are more like the Peter we now are seeing, following Jesus at a distant then we could assume we do not have the infilling of the Spirit in our lives. Sure, just as Peter we love Jesus, but also just like Peter we are not going to get too close perhaps out of fear for our own lives. Peter liked the life he has had for the past three years, being with Jesus, going out and sharing the message, healing people, driving out demons, being a part of the inner group when crowds gathered to hear Jesus teach. Peter must have felt pretty important, especially after being the one who proclaimed to Jesus that he was the Christ. Life was good, but it was now looking like it was all going to fall apart, so Peter stayed his distance and maybe that was because of the lack of the power of the Spirit in his life. We cannot afford to follow at a distance, we must be right there with Jesus all the way, giving a powerful testimony of our love for him, and the truth of the gospel message. The power of the Spirit, the infilling of the Spirit, the baptism of the Spirit is available to all of us, and we either are or are not filled to the brim with the Spirit, it is not a sort of, half way experience, we either are filled and full of power, or we are not filled and following at a distance. 

No Desertion

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

NO DESERTION

Mark 14:43-52

43 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard." 45 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Rabbi!" and kissed him. 46 The men seized Jesus and arrested him. 47 Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 48 "Am I leading a rebellion," said Jesus, "that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."  50 Then everyone deserted him and fled. 51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

NIV

This is the rest of the well-known story of the betrayal and arrest of Jesus. It would be good for us to focus on the actions of all those who followed Jesus throughout the years he was teaching and healing people. When the times are good many followed him. We have seen over five thousand sitting all day in the heat listening to him before he feed them all with the fish and loaves. We have seen crowds upon crowds gather every time he went someway. People lined the streets to catch a glimpse of him in such mass that sick woman could but only reach out to touch the helm of his garment, a blind man had to yell at the top of his voice so Jesus would hear him over the deafening sound of the crowd around Jesus. We saw so much happen with so many following after Jesus, but those were the good times, and now things are looking pretty grim. A crowd shows up, one who opposes Jesus and he is taken, captured, seized and arrested. Sure a little excitement from Peter with the ear chopping off thing, but after Jesus calms the situation everyone who was among those who followed him scattered, they deserted him, they did not follow alone with the arresting crowd to see where they were taking Jesus. They just deserted him. We should focus on the good times and the bad times here. It would appear we for the most part are enjoying the goods times now. Sure we have some bumps in life, such as losing a job, losing a loved one, or being sick, very sick, or injured seriously or having a financial set back, or a dozen other things we could say would be bumps in life, but nevertheless we follow Jesus, we surely would not desert him in those tough times, like his followers did back then. In fact, in those tough times our faith turns stronger and we pray even more, seeking the help of Jesus. The reality is that it is easy to follow Jesus in the good times, but it is more difficult to stay the course when things go wrong, horribly wrong. We have seen some turn their backs on Jesus because life delivered them a very hard blow. What we need to learn is to stay the course no matter how life happens, knowing that all things work for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose. No desertion. 

Stay Awake

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

STAY AWAKE

Mark 14:37-42

37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."  39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. 41 Returning the third time, he said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!" 

NIV

Three times Jesus got up from his prayer time to return to his three that he had taken a little further into the garden with him only to find them fast asleep. Jesus certainly was distressed and was overwhelmed with sorrow, but it appears Peter, James and John were not so distressed and as the hour was late, they were tired and could not stay awake to keep watch with Jesus. We are not sure exactly how long it was that Jesus was praying but we do know that those three could not stay awake, so we might guess that Jesus spent considerable time praying. To some extent it is pretty boring just sitting waiting for someone, especially if what they are doing is not very exciting. Yet What Jesus had said to them was not really about them falling to sleep in the human sense, he told them not to fall asleep spiritually, but to instead watch and pray so they would not fall into temptation. Yes, Peter, James and John actually feel asleep in the human sense, and it was not a spiritual sleep, but in some sense it was. They knew Jesus was troubled, they knew he was, as he told them, about to face very difficult times. They knew Judas had gone to the chief priests to betray Jesus, because of the conversation and his actions at the supper. They knew things were going to get dicey and that Jesus needed to spent personal time with God. Peter had even proclaimed he would die with Jesus before disowning him, so they knew the time was about to go ballistic and they could not stay awake and keep watch, praying in the spirit with and for Jesus. Their spirit was willing but their bodies were weak.  The truth is we have every intention not to fall into temptation, our spirit is willing to be obedient to Christ, to remain above the fray of sin, but our bodies are indeed weak, for even with the best intentions, we fail. It is our bodies which betray our spirits. Yes we should be able to control every aspect of our bodies, our mind with its thoughts, our mouth, with its words, our eyes with their lusts, our ears with what they hear, our bodies with what it does, but the truth is no matter how hard we try to control it all, we fail, for we are indeed weak. Now that is no excuse it is just a fact and so we need to know and acknowledge. If we refuse to accept that fact then we might fall into the trap of not staying awake, spiritually, keeping watch, praying that we do not fall. We might be lulled into a false sense of security by him who desires to betray us to Christ. We need to stay awake. 

What You Will

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

WHAT YOU WILL

Mark 14:32-36

32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray."  33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch."  35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." 

NIV

This is a well-known and often told story about the time Jesus prayed and his disciples fell asleep and we are only looking at the first half of that whole story for now. The truth within this portion, which again is a well-known truth about Jesus is about his distress and his prayer. Most often the focus is on the fact Jesus tells the Father nevertheless not my will but yours. We see that even Jesus is not looking forward to the hour of his death. He knows he is going to be killed, and perhaps even in the horrible way he was, including being beaten, tortured, mocked and then nailed, not tied, to the cross. But at the end of his prayer he resigns himself to the will of the Father. It does seem that many believers really are not looking forward to the hour of their death either. Many believers spend an enormous amount of effect to live as long as they can, taking extraordinary measures when faced with what appears to be a terminal situation. It seems many believers fight with every ounce of energy to stay alive as long as possible prolonging the hour of their death. Nevertheless it is not our will but the will of the Father. He has our days numbered as is explained in Job, in fact, a number of days we cannot exceed, so why do believers try so hard to exceed them? Jesus said that his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow; he was deeply distressed and troubled. Perhaps it is not an uncommon feeling to be overwhelmed with sorrow and deeply distressed when facing death. It is the end of all we have ever known, which of course was not the case for Jesus, as he has always been, even before the beginning and all things were created by him. Yet he was at the end of spending this kind of quality time with people he drew onto himself, made deep relationships with some of his creation, loved and cherished the times he had with them, even if he knew that one day they would be with him again in paradise. For Jesus it had was about those relationships because he did not own any material goods, no home, no car, no closet full of close, no hobbies, no investments as he did not have attachments to things, but to people. It may not be easy for some believers to say goodbye to their lives, because of the things they have spent the entire life accumulating and it is not easy to say good-bye to those who we love, even if we know someday we will once again be together, yet we will not be in the same kind of relationships. As we are not like Jesus, this life is all we know, the other side, even though it has been clearly explained for us, is still really unknown to us. We believe in faith that it is there, we have written evidence of it, we have the sense or confirmation of it because of the Spirit within us, but in reality, in our humanity, we have never actually had anyone come back and tell us it is truly there. This may be why some are distressed and overwhelmed at facing death, saying goodbye to what we know, stepping into what we believe we know. But nevertheless it is the will of the Father which will be accomplished. 

Emphatically

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

EMPHATICALLY

Mark 14:27-31

27 "You will all fall away," Jesus told them, "for it is written: "'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'   28 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."  29 Peter declared, "Even if all fall away, I will not." 30 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "today — yes, tonight — before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times."  31 But Peter insisted emphatically, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the others said the same.

NIV

We enter into the last days of Jesus and the series of events or moments which define the very purpose for him coming, the salvation of our souls. These moments in Christ’s life here on earth are not pleasant in many ways, but at the same time they are the events which bring about God’s plan for our redemption and therefore they should also be pleasant for us, in that through them we can be saved from death and enjoy eternal life. As difficult as it is to remember those times, and watching the ‘Passion of Christ’ gives us such a visual rendering of those moments, a rendering almost to vivid to watch, it is also a time which we should be thankful and full of joy to God for sending Jesus to die for us, although it is a sobering thought as well. AS we begin these events, these moments we see Peter being very emphatic about his not ever disowning Christ. It is interesting that Jesus has been telling them the truth for the past three years or so and Peter has believed everything Jesus has said. Peter was even the first to proclaim that Jesus was the Christ, the messiah, the Son of the living God. One denomination has proclaimed that this great man Peter was the first Spiritual leader of their church. We know from later accounts Peter was indeed a man full of the Spirit and did great things, but we also know Peter was but a man, not a god, not any different than us, just a plain ordinary man trying his best to follow Christ. But here we see Peter being emphatic, “Even if all fall away, I will not”. How prideful and full of foolishness to believe Jesus all those years and then turn around and call Jesus a liar. Of course we will see Jesus did not lie, and Peter sees the error of his foolishness, but for now we should focus on this emphatic proclamation of Peter.  

There is something about being emphatic which makes what is said look like a sure thing, but we know that is not the case with Peter. It is a good thing that we are all so much stronger than Peter and more emphatic about our never ever denying or disowning Christ, except we know in our hearts that is also not true. There are some believers who are emphatic about their not sinning anymore now that they have been justified, sanctified and whatever else, but the simple fact is, Jesus tells us the truth, we will all fall away in some manner at some time, denying him in some many by our continual yielding to certain temptations. Peter’s denial of Christ did not lose him his salvation; in fact it made him more aware of his humanity and brought about a deeper trust in Christ which allowed him to do great things for the kingdom of God. If we could but realize our humanity and see our weaknesses and know our failures and understand they do not lose our salvation either, but can make us stronger in our trusting Jesus. When we look to our righteousness in any way we might lose, but when we learn to trust Jesus completely for all things, especially our salvation then we too can do great things for the kingdom of God. It is far better to be humble then to be emphatic. 

Eat and Drink

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

EAT AND DRINK

Mark 14:22-26

22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body."  23 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. 25 "I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."  26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

NIV

This is a passage which is repeated or quoted many times a year within many Christian churches all over the world yet it never gets old or becomes meaningless,  or perhaps we quote what Paul wrote instead to the Corinthians. We engage in a sort of last supper with Jesus every time we share what we call the communion elements. Some believe the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus, some use wafers, some use unleavened bread, some use little cracker like chips, some use normal store bought bread, some use grape juice,  others use real wine, but all of them consider it a privilege to partake in memory, or remembrance of what Jesus did. Some pass the elements around to the people, some have tables for people to come and take their elements back to their sits, others use a few deacons or priests to give each person their share to take immediately but they all believe they are sharing the experience together. But a truth within this passage which may be overlooked by the event of communion is what Jesus said in conclusion. He told them and us the truth, that he would not drink wine again until that day when he drinks is anew in the Kingdom of God. The fruit of the vine, is indeed wine, and if Jesus will drink it anew in the Kingdom of God then it only makes sense that we too shall drink this fruit of the vine when we arrive in the kingdom of God. It is true we are already living in the kingdom of God here on earth, but what Jesus was referring to was the heavenly kingdom of God, the place where the Father is. It is not clear why some Christians make such a fuss about not drinking wine while we are here on earth, when we will all drink it when we get to heaven, or at least when we live in the new city of Jerusalem on the new earth. Still the real truth which lies within is the reassurance Jesus will be once again in the presence of the Father and that if he is we will be also. He is assuring us there is life after death. This is what we should remember every time we eat of the bread and drink of the wine.

Whats Important

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

WHATS IMPORTANT

Mark 14:17-21

17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me — one who is eating with me."  19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, "Surely not I?" 20 "It is one of the Twelve," he replied, "one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born." 

NIV

Other accounts make mention that each man asked, “is it I?” which when Judas asked Jesus replied, “Yes”. We certainly are seeing a record of a historical event and one that had to be played out accounting to the words of Jesus when he said, “The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him”. But are we seeing anything that would have a bearing or effect on our lives? Surely Judas was one of the twelve who seemed to love Jesus as much as the others, yet here he is about to do something which brings the death of Jesus. Again we have to ask if he was predestined to be the one to betray Jesus, or simply that Jesus knew eventually Judas would decide to make this kind of choice. Surely we are aware that Jesus, being God, has the power to see into the very heart of man, knowing his thoughts and choices before they are even made. Jesus had not treated Judas any different than the other eleven; even if he did know in advance Judas would be the betrayer. That is how Jesus treats us, all the same, the respecter of no person, or he does not show favoritism. Jesus treats us all with every ounce of love he has, even if we decide to betray him. Now surely we are not going to hand him over to the chief priests as Judas did, but we can still in some way betray Christ. Could we betray him by not speaking out against sin? Sure we like to think we are righteous and holy, and we come to church and act as if we are righteous and holy, but are we truly living the gospel out loud in the world where it counts? It is not the people of the world, the unsaved who are the betrayers of Christ; it is the ones who eat with him, those who partake in the communion at church, who would be capable of betrayal. If we confess we love him, but live for our own benefit is that a form of betrayal? If we confess we follow Christ, but follow after the material goods of this world, which takes on so many different views, is that a form of betrayal? If we profess our faith in Christ but look to self for security, is that betrayal? If we love Jesus but love our life more, is that betrayal? If we try to make our churches look like non-churches, so the unsaved will not be threatened, even if we say we are doing this so they will come in, is that a form of betrayal? If we soften, or dilute the gospel message in any way, is that betraying Christ? We have to be on guard at all times and be aware of not being like Judas in any manner at all. We need to take our stand no matter the cost. Maybe Judas thought being a follower of Christ was not all it was cracked up to be. Maybe he though Jesus was going to overthrow the Romans, or even the king of Israel, and set up a great powerful reign of his own in which Judas would have a starring role. Maybe Judas felt betrayed by Christ and wanted to regain the graces of the chief priests. Maybe the worlds way seemed better then Christ’s way. What we know is that we cannot ever afford to allow anything to be more important in our lives than Jesus. 

Specifically

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

SPECIFICALLY

Mark 14:12-16

12 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?" 13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' 15 He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there."  16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

NIV

It is notable that Jesus did not tell them to just go find a place suitable for the whole group of thirteen. Jesus was very specific in his instructions as to what they should do. In fact even to the point that a man would be carrying a jar of water and that man would meet them. They were to follow that man to an exact location where they were to go into the house and tell the owner the teacher what to know where my guest room. This room was already furnished and ready. It is just as, if not more specific then when they were told the donkey for the entrance into Jerusalem. Maybe we are living too much of our lives within the realm of our own specifics rather than waiting to hear what Jesus tells us to do. Maybe we think we are doing what we think he is telling us to do, but in reality we have not listened to his specific instructions. It certainly appears Jesus knows exactly how things should play out and in this case as with the donkey he was very clear as to exactly what his followers were to do and say. How much of our lives are based on exact instructions from our Lord? Do we simply live our own lives, doing our own thing, living where we want to live, working where we desire to work, go to church based on what we like in a church, or the personality of the pastor and even serve in the church based on what we enjoy doing? Maybe we should be waiting to hear from our Lord as to the specific place he wants us to live, the specific job he wants us to work and attend the exact specific church he desires us to be a part of serving in the specific area he has called us to. Do we justify all those things we are doing based on our own likes as living for Jesus? Do we tell ourselves and others that he has giving us specific instructions regarding all those areas of our lives? Jesus is specific and perhaps we should learn more how to listen before we make any move, any choice, and any actions in our lives. Yes, of course, we are to make all the adjustments regarding our personality, our relationships and our behaviors, based on the specific instructions Jesus has already laid out for us in the scriptures. But should we not also apply that kind of specific instructions to our whole life? We should live specifically. 

No Betrayal

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

NO BETRAYAL

Mark 14:10-11

10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

NIV

It would seem that Judas decided that his own personal gain was of far greater importance than what Jesus was about.  Did Judas understand Jesus was the Christ? Did he do this so as to fulfill prophecy? Was he descended by God to be the one who would cause Jesus to be killed on the cross? Certainly Jesus knew what Judas was going to do which we know from the conversation at the table latter on. The question which has been debated for centuries is about whether Jesus picked Judas because the Father had preordained Judas to be the one to betray Jesus, or Jesus knew Judas would be the one that would betray him, but it was Judas’s choice to do so, Jesus knowing beforehand the choice Judas would make. The importance of this has a definite on our lives. If we have the choice, which many of us believe, then we could decide to betray Jesus as well. If we have no choice in the matter, then we would always have to live in fear that God had decided we too would betray Jesus as some time in our life and all our righteous living would have been for nothing, as we were destined to perish as Judas did. But if we have the choice to decide for ourselves our destiny, then we can be like the eleven being faithful to Christ even onto death. There are those who say God picks the winners and the losers, and use Judas as the example, but we know that is not the case, but that Jesus simply knew what Judas would decide to do and pick him because that was what was needed for Jesus to be able to accomplish what he came to do. Certainly during those preceding years traveling around with his twelve, Jesus did not treat Judas any different than the others. He loved him as one of his own; he did not exclude him from his teaching, or from being a part of his ministry. He sent him out to preach the gospel, heal the sick and drive out demons. If fact Jesus even died for the sins of Judas as he did for our sins. But the fact remains Judas had decided to betray Jesus. Other accounts indicate that Satan entered Judas, other accounts indicate Judas bargained as to what would they give him to betray Jesus. Other accounts indicate thirty pieces of silver which is the exact amount paid to an owner of a slave who was accidently killed as compensation. So we must blame Satan, the devil made him do it and that is exactly what we must be on guard against. Satan is still trying to get to us and tempt us to betray Jesus by our living, not as believers, but as the same as non-believers. If we are not standing up tall, proclaiming the truth of the gospel, healing the sick, so to speak, driving of demons, so to speak, but just living a life in the same manner as everyone else we could have decided to betray Jesus. Some even use Jesus for their own personal gain, as Judas did, although allowing Satan to win in his temptation to betray Jesus drove Judas to kill himself. We must stand firm against any type of betrayal. 

Pour it all

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

POUR IT ALL

Mark 14:3-9

3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. 4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly. 6 "Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." 

NIV

We know this is about Jesus telling them he is going to be killed, or die thus being buried, but there is also a truth here about the poor. We will always have the poor with us, and we can help them anytime we want, but the fact remains we will always have the poor with us. There will never be an end to having the poor with us, any suggestion about a war on poverty in simply rubbish. Now it is not that we should not help them for Jesus tells us we can do that just anything we want. It is interesting how the guests were indignant about her using such expensive perfume. First their indigence was about her using it on Jesus, and that it could have been used to help the poor, like they really were actually going to help the poor. Most likely they were just putting on a front to show Jesus, or the other guests, how righteous they were, being so concerned about the poor. Now, of course, we have the alabaster jars every so often to collect for the poor, which if we are not mistaken is in memory of this woman. But perhaps we should be breaking our own expensive perfumes and pouring on the head of Jesus. That seems silly as he is not here with us in the physical and he already died and was buried and rose and ascended and is now at the right hand of the Father preparing a place for us so some day he can return for us to take us to that place where he is. But this woman, who may not have been very wealthy and had in somehow come into the having this expensive perfume which she could have sold to buy the needs of life for herself, gave it up simply to pour it all over Jesus. Perhaps in a sense she is like the widow who gave all she had. Perhaps we too put up a front of righteousness in our filling the alabaster jar, to help the poor, but we really do not pour all we have on Jesus. Sure we have to keep some wealth for ourselves to pay for housing, cars, clothing, food, entertainment, vacations, things, and savings for some future we are certain we will have, but do we also keep a portion of our self for ourselves instead of pouring all we are on Jesus? Shouldn’t we pour it all?

No Facades

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

NO FACADES

Mark 14:1-2

14:1 Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. 2 "But not during the Feast," they said, "or the people may riot."

NIV

Doesn't appear to be anything in here that is real exciting for a devotion, as it is merely an account of some activity or rather thoughts of the chief priests and the teachers of the law. But it does tell us something about the human nature which resides within us all. Even though they hated Jesus and want to kill him, to rid themselves of his influence over people who they have had control of for so many years, they were very concerned about what people thought of them. Even though Jesus was teaching what surely was opposed their system of religious self-righteousness and the people were certainly more attracted to what Jesus was teaching them what the chief priests of teachers of law were imposing upon the people, they still needed to look good in front of the people. Of course if Jesus was out of the way, then they could regain their followers. But it was all about looking good, looking religious, and looking righteous in the eyes of others. That may be the truth in here for us. Surely we do not have thoughts about wanting to kill Jesus, he was already killed, but of course we know that was God’s plan. Yet are our thoughts mainly dominated by what people will think of us or by what would Jesus do? Do we act all righteous and holy in front of others, so they will approve of our life, while within our thoughts are of self-gratification? Do we present one image and live another? Sure we are not plotting to destroy Christianity as those chief priests were, but are we more concerned about what other think of us then doing what Jesus thinks of us. He knows we are sinners, even in our religious activities, it seems we want others to think we are free from sin, that we do not sin anymore, now that we are saved, justified, sanctified and holy and whatever other adjective we could cover ourselves with. Jesus knows we are sinners and he died so our sin could be accounted and atoned for. Sure we should not go about looking to fine new and exciting ways to sin, that would be simply wrong, but we should not only see ourselves as Jesus does, but allow others to see us for we are, not who we want them to see. The phrase, “You are not who you think you are, you are not who I think you are, but you are who you think I think you are” says it all about that human nature within us. But that should not be the way it is, we should be open and transparent living life together as fellow believers in Christ. Jesus tells us to confess our sins one to another that we might be healed, admitting the truth, acknowledging who we are and our need for Jesus. No facades.

Keep Watch

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

KEEP WATCH

Mark 13:32-37

32 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. 35 "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back — whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'" 

NIV

There have been some even in our time who have declared the time has come for the end of the world, stating the exact date of when it will happen. How absurd of them, and anyone who listens to them, especially in light of these words of Jesus, the one person who knows the truth about the end of the world as we know it. If any of us, which then would be all of us, knew the hour and the day that Jesus would return to gather his elect from the four corner of the earth, we could then live a life of complete self-gratification up to the night before and the knee down and ask for the forgiveness of our sin and turn the remaining twelve hours left of our lives to Jesus. We could be just as that thief on the cross. But that is not the case, even Jesus who knows all things, does not know this thing. The Father is the only one who has made that decision and he alone knows when it is. Jesus uses the words “Keep Watch” several times within this short portion of his long response to the question of when will all this happen. No of course Jesus was not inferring that we should not lie down at night and sleep, but he was telling us that we should not be lulled to sleep spiritually by false teachers or prophets, or because we get so accustom to our lifestyle here on earth that we are not watching for his return. His return should be the foremost thought on our minds and we should always be cognizant of the fact it could happen at any moment. We would think that should keep us on guard, on watch, always looking out the door or window looking for the master to come back for us. But it would appear at times that we have become so entangled in life, even church life, which we never much talk about the return of Jesus. We even spent more time talking about what we should be doing before between the time he left and the time he comes back, then we do about the fact he is coming back and we should be ready. Being ready does not include a list of deeds we should be doing, but being ready is being ready, keeping watch for his return, our staff in our hand sitting on the edge of our sit and ready to go in an instants notice. Now sure, we should not just actually sit and do nothing at all, but spiritually ready is ready to go in a moment’s notice. Yes we should serve our Lord, but not get so busy serving that we are not watching. Therefore let us keep watch. 

A Day is Coming

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

A DAY IS COMING

Mark 13:28-31

28 "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30 I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

NIV

There seems to be a twofold truth which resides within the words of Jesus. First we know that about thirty-five years after he said this Jerusalem was destroyed and in fact the current generation which Jesus was speaking to, his disciples, all were killed for they faith, and gone, except for John. Those they trained, like Paul trained Timothy, a much younger man, saw this come to pass. But as we can also interpret the Greek phase ‘this generation’ to mean this period of time of mankind living on earth, the words of Jesus could be speaking of things yet to come. Scholars are not in agreement concerning which of these two is the correct way to see it, but we can be sure of one thing and that this heaven and this earth will pass away, but his words will never pass away. There is a time coming, the destruction of Jerusalem for the Jews, and the end of all things for all mankind. Jesus’s words, not passing away are for all generations, the whole of mankind. We can only conclude he is speaking of the end of all things. Surely Jerusalem was destroyed but Israel has also once again become a nation and the city, although missing the temple, is once again a thriving business center. We should learn the lesson Jesus tells us to, in that a time is coming and we should prepare ourselves for it. There will be indications of the end, but even if we do not personally see them, we must know it is at the door, it is near. God is not going to hold back his wrath on the evil of this world forever. We should do all that we can to resist being a part of it. True we will never be completely free of sin, nor will we every be worthy of our own merits to escape his wrath, but we have been set free by the blood of Jesus, for it is by faith are we saved, and not by any deeds we could every do. A time is coming the whole earth will be destroyed, and all that is in it. The living and the dead will be judged, that is all, every single person who has lived upon the face of the earth, throughout all of history will stand before God and give an account of whether or not they accepted the salvation God offered. True many lived before Jesus died for their sins, and unlike us, they could not have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they could not have been born again, but at the same time God says that they are without excuse for what may be known about him was plain to them by all that he created. Thus all will have to give an account, not of deeds, but of whether or not each accepted what God offered, and gave their lives to him, rather than to self. A day is coming and we need to be ready to give our account. A day is coming. 

The Gathering

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

THE GATHERING

Mark 13:24-27

24 "But in those days, following that distress, "'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'   26 "At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

NIV

This is the day in which we leave this place once and for all, except of course when we return to rule and reign with Christ for those one thousand years. If we took the time to read the whole of the section of Isaiah which Jesus is quoting from we would see a horrible day for those who are classified as sinners, or those who have refused to accept Jesus as they Lord and Savior. We, of course are part of his elect which will be gathered by his angels from all over the world where we will meet our Lord in the clouds. This is what is referred to as the rapture of the church, which of course those words do not appear in the scripture, but nevertheless, that is what is going to happen. We will be gathered, or collected in one place, taken up to where Jesus is. Certainly some people might use this passage to claim we will go through the times of distress, and maybe we will, but there have been times of distress for the people of Israel many times from the time of Christ to the present day. They have been taken in to captivity and they have been slathered by the thousands. They might say they have experienced many years of distress but they will survive until the day of the Lord. We might also consider they are the ones who are the elect or the favorite who are gathered, as the Jews have been his chosen people, if it were not for the fact that God has told us through Paul that the true Jews are not those who are merely circumcised in the flesh, but the true Israel is made us of those who are circumcised of the heart. Thus we would have to conclude the elect are those who have been circumcised of the heart. That is for each of us to determine for ourselves whether we have allowed God to circumcise our hearts, to cut away that portion which covers the most sensitive portion of the body. This is the core of who we are, the heart, the center of our being, our very inner most self. Are we truly looking for this day of the Lord to come, or do we still want more of our own life, to accomplish more for our own self, to gather more things, to still improve our lot in life, to strive for a greater amount of material goods, to desire, to lust, to want? Have we truly been circumcised of the heart? Can we say with confidence that we are God’s favorite people? Have we put our whole heart into trusting Jesus or have we kept a portion of it for our self? It may well take the whole heart to make it into the gathering. 

On Guard

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

ON GUARD

Mark 13:14-23

14 "When you see 'the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong — let the reader understand — then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out. 16 Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 17 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 18 Pray that this will not take place in winter, 19 because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now — and never to be equaled again. 20 If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. 21 At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, there he is!' do not believe it. 22 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect — if that were possible. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

NIV

It certainly appears Jesus is talking about the time that the anti-Christ will stand in the temple claiming his reign over mankind. We cannot be certain his disciples understood this to be about their lifetime, or that they would have thought the words of Jesus were about some distant future, that even in our lives is yet to come. We do know from history that Jerusalem was invaded and the pagan symbol of Rome, an idolatrous thing did in fact occupy a place it did not belong. Jesus might well have been talking about the Roman desolation of Jerusalem. Many believers always see this as the future event of time of the Anti-Christ. But once again the main theme in what Jesus was telling them was to be on our guard against anything that would appear to be righteous and holy and that would represent itself as being Christ-like. Yes, they have been and are and will most like be people who we could call false Christ’s and false prophets. They have existed in history and will continue to attempt to deceive people into following after them, giving credence to their so-called pseudo-religious beliefs, in fact the Greek word for both these words Jesus used for them starts with pseudo. We need to know they are out there and some are doing signs and wonders so that it might be possible to deceive the elect, which is us. But we will not be deceived by those claiming to be so perfect, so Christ-like, so prophetic in what that say, claiming to have all the truth, the real truth, the only truth. We will not be deceived into following after them like mindless drones paying them homage and supporting their lavish lifestyles. If we allow ourselves to be deceived by all these little pretenders, how much more we would fall prey to the true Anti-Christ when he is revealed, as he will come as an angel of light, a great truth telling, a powerful silver-tongued, smooth talking good looking evangelist, telling just enough truth mixed in with all his lies, and he will indeed have power to do what we think are miracles. We must stay the course, stay true to the word of God, to the words of Jesus. We must not be swayed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, by every teacher, or preacher who has his opinion of what the scripture truly means, the hidden meanings that us little mindless people cannot see or comprehend, so we need them to tell us what to believe. We must stay the cause; listen to the Holy Spirit who is the only one who can lead us into all the truth. As an expect fencer dressed in all their defensive garb takes their stand with the blade in hand and says, “On Guard”, we must cloth ourselves with the armor of God , stand out stand and be “On Guard”.

Being Hated

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

BEING HATED

Mark 13:12-13

12 "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

NIV

It would seem these kinds of relationships are rather harsh and for the most part it does not appear, at least on the surface to exist in our country, our cultural, but in some sense they may. Surely if one member of the family is a born again believer and continually attempts to bring the others to salvation a certain sense of bigotry on the part of the non-believers could occur. There is no doubt a strain in the family when one member has accepted Christ and the rest have not. But as far as betraying to death, we are not yet at that point. Jesus could have been taking about what his disciples would experience and we know from history that Rome did some awful things to Christians. Jesus could also have been talking about what will still come in those last days before his return when the anti-Christ begins to exert his power upon the world. This could happen at any time; in fact we are seeing some small amounts of pressures put upon Christians by our society. We are called bigoted, closed minded and unwilling to accept the abominations of this cultural as normal and acceptable. There are people who push to have any resemblance of God, or Christianity being displayed in the public square. Court cases have been filed against believers for have such displays. Yet we have not come to the place yet where a family member will have one of his own put to death for their faith. Now that might be in other parts of the world, but not yet in our country. It is true in this country that men do hate us because we believe in God, but would only be true if we were telling them about God, about Jesus. The truth of Scripture shines a bright light on their lives and Jesus has already told us some men prefer the darkness so to try to hide their sinful life which they desire to maintain. The light of Christ reveals their way and therefore a hatred for us is a natural expression of self-defense. They may even try to discredit the scriptures, discredit the validity of what Jesus taught and attempt to invalidate our lifestyle as being foolish and weak-minded, needing religion as a crutch. If we are not hated, perhaps it is because we have not stood our ground for Christ. If we are not hated maybe it is because we look and live so much like them they perceive to be no different than them. If they do not hate us it could be because we are not telling them about Jesus, but simply trying to love them into the kingdom, or changing our approach so as not to offend them in any way, in hopes they might like us, and what to be with us. But if we stand firm, and preach the gospel as we have been commanded to do, then maybe we will be hated. 

Go Tell Them

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

GO TELL THEM

Mark 13:9-11

9 "You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

NIV

It is doubtful that we know of anyone who has been or will be flogged in a synagogue, so what are we to make of this portion of Jesus’s dissertation? We do know from history that those men were handed over to local councils and most likely flogged and in fact died a very violent martyr’s death. But we also know those men did not personally preach to gospel to all nations, so in part Jesus is speaking to more than just those men. Now it may also be true those men actually preached the gospel wherever they went and stirred up the people so much they were arrested and brought to trial. That is something we surely have not had to experience, at least yet. Now that might be due to the fact we do not actually preach the gospel, but we just go to church on Sunday. As far as sharing the gospel message we people we come in contact with, some of us simply leave a pamphlet of the four spiritual laws somewhere, never actually seek to find out if that person knows about Jesus, about salvation, about the freedom  in Christ. That could be the reason we have not been flogged or brought before judges and asked about our faith where we would have to rely on the Holy Spirit as to what to say. These men actually did experience all that, but not us. Is that part still going to happen? It might if we were actually actively preaching the gospel as much as those men were, but it is doubtful that we have to apply this portion of the scriptures to our lives. If we were actually preaching the gospel, we might experience some difficulty in life, at least in this present culture we live in. We could lose our job, we could lose some friends, or acquaintances, we could lose something we hold dear, but it is doubtful we would lose our lives. Now it is true on some parts of the whole true believers have lost their lives for the sack of the gospel, but so far, not in our part, our country, our culture. But still we could apply the part about preaching the gospel to all nations. Sure we pitch in some dollars to send someone else to some foreign land to act as a missionary, but even then they may not be actually going around preaching the gospel as the disciples did. Sure we have to change the method of presenting the gospel based on the society we are in, and the times and the culture and then whatever else we determine will be more palatable for the people to hear. More recently we, the church, has determined we must make ourselves look like we are not a church, so the non-churched will come into our not-church service in our non-church building, so they can hear about how we believers ought to act, instead of hearing the gospel message. It just doesn’t look like we in anyway are actually preaching the gospel, but we live a safe life and that is what counts. But is doesn’t, we should be preaching the gospel to everyone. We should be always telling people about our experiences in Christ, we should forever be telling of the great miracles we have experienced, the healings, the power of the Holy Spirit as he leads us, speaks to our hearts and minds, guiding us where to live, where to work, where to worship and how to live a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. Everyone needs to know and the only way that will happen if we go tell them. 

Watch Out

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

WATCH OUT

Mark 13:3-8

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 "Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?" 5 Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

NIV

This is only the beginning of a very long answer Jesus gave to the question asked by Peter, James, John and Andrew. Of course their question was in response to what Jesus had said about the stones of the temple. Certainly some of the response Jesus is about what we now know as a historical fact, was a little disconcerting to those four. We can read this response and think Jesus is predicting the future of those four men, as well as what will still come to be yet in our future, in fact the future of all mankind, and there are truths within which we can certainly apply to our lives, such as watching out that no one deceives us. Perhaps Jesus was saying that many would come claiming to be the Christ, but the original text does not clarify that, so we might also think he was warning that many would come in his name claiming to have the truth about the salvation, that they were he, the one who knows the truth. It is doubtful that we can find in history anyone who actually claimed that he was Jesus Christ returned from the resurrection, except perhaps a few crazy people that no one would have taken seriously or been deceived by. But someone coming in the name of the Lord seemingly being either very spiritual or very intellectual, could deceive many with their fine sounding words. Later on in his response he does tell about false prophets and even false Christs and the fact they will deceive many. But we could determine neither those four nor us have seen those the days of the false prophets and false Christs, for it seems we have not yet seen the days of distress. But we certainly can be sure that many have come in an attempt to deceive us for their own personal gain. As far as the wars and rumors of wars, nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom, earthquakes and famines, we have had all this since the time of Jesus and it is still going on today and most likely will continue until the designated time God has determined to send Jesus back for us. We cannot point to any of these things as predictions of Jesus return now, for they have been happening since he left. Jerusalem was crushed, Rome was crushed in those times, and we certainly can point to many historical wars and rumors of wars, such as  the crusades, the hundred years was between the Catholic and protestant church and many as well as many others. But what we can be sure of is that all throughout time men have been trying to deceive other men for their own personal gain, and especially in the matter of controlling another man’s spiritual life. Our faith is something especially personal and it runs deep and determines the course of our life.  If someone can deceive us and manipulate our faith, our beliefs then that person can control the course of our lives, and if that course is changed from the true path of Christ, then we are in extreme danger. Jesus has given us all the truth we need, and he has sent the Holy Spirit to lead us into all the truth, to give us the understanding of that truth, as thus we cannot afford to be drawn in by those who would deceive us. So we must be alert, we must not grow dim or lazy, we must watch out. 

The End of What Was, The Beginning of what is.

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

THE END OF WHAT WAS

THE BEGINNING OF WHAT IS

Mark 13:1-2

13:1 As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!" 2 "Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." 

NIV

We are about to enter a great discourse by Jesus regarding the end of what was and the beginning of what will be, but first we should deal with this first statement regarding the great temple that had been built in Jerusalem. It is said by historians that stones referred to here were made of marble and each stone was fifty feet long, twenty-four feet broad and sixteen feet thick. So we can imagine how magnificent the temple must have looked. Jesus was leaving it for the last time, he would never again set foot inside of it and as leaving when his disciples were calling his attention to the greatness of this place, he makes this statement. Well, once again because we have perfect hind sight, we know the temple was destroyed, but that was not all. Jesus may have been speaking just of the temple, but he may also have been speaking of the whole of the Jewish system. It was going to be over, no more sacrifices, no more economy, no more of anything that looked like what was. Christianity would be on the raise, it was being built, while all of Judaism was going to be destroyed. Mankind certainly builds kingdoms for itself. Some, who profess to be great preachers of faith, build for themselves great empires, mini-cities, for their followers to come and visit, spend money, enjoy the greatness of their kingdom. But each one of us also could be guilty of building our won little kingdoms. We might gather onto ourselves all the material goods we can, even more then we have room enough to contain so we rent a storage place to store more treasures of our kingdom, or we buy a bigger home with enough storage space of its own. The Jews placed a great deal of value on their temple, it was no doubt a great place, and even though they had built it for God, it was their most prized possession. Jesus said it would be broken down, not one stone upon another. We have to be careful not to make anything in our kingdom of more value than our relationship with Jesus. Perhaps once before we knew Jesus as our Lord and Savior our treasure was all our material goods in our kingdom, but now all those have been laid to waste and we have given up our kingdom to become citizens of his. That was the end of what was and the beginning of what is.