The Old and The New

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

THE OLD AND THE NEW

Mark 2:21-22

21 "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins." 

NIV

This is a continuation of the discussion with the Pharisees and their disciples fasting, while Jesus and his disciples did not fast. We already looked into the doctrines of the Pharisees as according to their rabbinical writings in the Ta’anit with its thirty-five various reason and days of fasting. This is in essence under what Jesus referred to their doctrine as the old covenant, which he is now comparing to an old garment and an old wineskin. His doctrine is new and it cannot be contained or matched up with the old doctrines. If his new doctrine were to try to patch up the old doctrine it would tear it wide open making it worse than the hole that is already in that old doctrine. It is the same with the wineskin as it is old it is soft and already stretched out, a new wine as it ferments would put too much strain on the old skin and it would burst. Again the new and the old are incompatible. This is all about Jesus establishing a new covenant with the two greatest commands of loving the Lord our God with all our being and loving our neighbor as ourselves. If we were to examine all the laws in the Old Covenant we would find that all of them would be covered under the doctrine of love. We could even take the Ten Commandments, which although we regard as sacred, are still under the Old Covenant which is completely covered under the doctrine of love. If we loved the Lord with our whole being, we would have no other gods, no idols in this world. If we loved others as ourselves then we would not dare to commit adultery, besides, Jesus actually expanded that concept as well as many others of the Old Covenant, the Ten Commandments, by saying that if we even look at another with lust in our mind, we have committed adultery. Again, if we loved each other, and our love was ever on the increase as Paul tells us in his letter to the Thessalonians, then we would not even lust, ever. When it comes to not stealing, how could we steal anything from someone we love as ourselves? If we loved everyone as ourselves we would never even think of testifying with a lie about them or give false witness, that is gossip. Again, if we loved each other as we love ourselves then we would not covet anything of theirs’ in the least little bit. On and on we could go through all of the Ten Commandments and see how Jesus replaced them or covered them under his New Covenant of love. It always comes down to the New Covenant is not compatible with the Old Covenant. This does give us a reason to ponder why we were given all the Old Testament as part of the canon, except this Old Testament reveals who God is and how God works in his creation, with his creation, and how his creation should live in compatibility with Him. However, because they and we cannot possibly live under the Old Covenant and by trying to do so we will never be compatible with God and that is why much of that old record is showing us the need for Jesus and His New Covenant of love. The Old was sent to show us the New.

Dining With Jesus

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

DINING WITH JESUS

Mark 2:18-20

18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?" 19 Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

NIV

First off, we should deal with this idea of fasting. Why did the Pharisees fast? Why were the disciples of John fasting? Why wasn’t Jesus and his disciples fasting? What we have discovered is the Pharisees had many different reasons for fasting, such as to have a lucky dream or ward off bad dreams or to interpret a particular dream, or to obtain the things they wished for. There is an ancient text called the Ta’anit, Rabbinical writing which has over thirty-five reasons and thus days of fasting. It may have more to do with tradition more than truth. We modern-day Christians may have developed far too many traditions to live by rather than living by the truth. Nevertheless, there is far more here than meets the eye about fasting. This question, this reason for questioning why Jesus and his disciples do not fast, as they do, gives us a clue as to how not to live as a believer. What we see the Pharisees doing is that they busied themselves with censuring the conduct of others, rather than rectifying their own. In addition, it appears as they set themselves up as an example for others to regulate their piety just like the Pharisees. They wanted people to take on their customs and traditions. And if that isn't bad enough, it seems they compared themselves with others, only so they would be able to distinguish and exalt themselves. This was religious but may have had nothing to do with spiritual worship of God. We too should be careful not to think more highly of ourselves than we should, after all, we are but sinners saved by the grace of God. When we start thinking in terms of our lists we make of how to live a holy life, we may be getting more into traditions of past believers thinking than actually looking at the truth. What we also need to consider is how Jesus answered their question. Jesus was not concerned about the traditions of the Pharisees or their rabbinical writings. Life is about surrounding the truth of God. Of course, Jesus used an example they would be familiar with. He spoke of the bridegroom and his guests. While Jesus is here, or the bridegroom, why would anyone fast, it is time to eat, drink and be merry. As far as Jesus being taken from them, it did happen, at least in the physical sense. But Jesus also said that he would never leave us nor forsake us. We just considered a while back about the words given to John in the revelation when Jesus stand that he was at the door knocking, and if we hear his voice and open that door, he would come into us and dine with us and we with him. So then, in the context, we still have the bridegroom with us and there seems no reason for us to be sad and put on sackcloth and fast. Yes, maybe some things we are told need much prayer and fasting such as when His disciples asked why they could not drive out the demons. We will get to that in the ninth chapter of Mark, but what we need to see is that Jesus did not say, prayer and fasting, in the Greek the words and fasting were added, as some manuscripts include them, but not the ones used in the canon. So then, Jesus did not say that they had to pray and fast. However, he did teach that if or when we do fast, for some spiritual reason, not to ever look like we are fasting, or tell anyone that we are fasting, our fasting should be done in secret, then our Father will reward our fast. That is the truth about it. So then let us live by the truth and enjoy our time dining with the bridegroom.

Sinners

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

SINNERS

Mark 2:15-17

15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" 17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." 

NIV

It is interesting that here Jesus is sitting having dinner with Matthew the dreaded tax collector, as well as some of Matthew’s fellow tax collectors and his disciples are there eating as well. They had to think to themselves, well as long as Jesus is fine with eating with these people then we are too. But not those self-righteous religious Pharisees, they just had to say something, but not to Jesus, but to his disciples. By their question, it is obvious they did not consider themselves to be ‘sinners’. What exactly did the Pharisees consider being a sinner? They kept the law, did the tax collectors not keep the law, and after all they were Jews as well? It must have something to do with considering that the Pharisees were far better at keeping the law and through that law they found righteousness. However, Jesus heard them question his disciples, and he responded in a very interesting manner. By what he said, was he saying that tax collectors were sinners, and the Pharisees were righteous? On the surface that may appear as to how he responded, but if we look at it with our spiritual sight we can see that he was saying that all are sick, all are sinners, and he came for all mankind, who are in need of the doctor, of the need of His divine purpose. We have no other way to see this considering that Paul, in his letter to the Romans wrote, as he was inspired by the Spirit, that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no not one. We should take a clue from this when we get too distracted by considering the measure of our faithfulness, our righteousness, by how much we follow all the rules, or commands we think there are. Again, that is certainly true that we should not go about finding ways to sin or disobey the commands of God. But if we are going to measure anything then we should measure how much we love the Lord our God with our heart, our mind, our spirit, and our body, and how much we love our neighbor. Those are the words of Jesus when he said that those two commands cover all the law and the prophets. When we start relying on our own efforts to be righteous, or religious by trying to follow what we think are things we are not supposed to do and things we are supposed to do, we are in danger of becoming a little like the Pharisees. What we need to remember is that we are sinners, saved by grace. Sure, we try to live in a manner that will bring honor and glory to our Lord, but that is not by acting all high and mighty, all holy and righteous. We bring honor and glory to our Lord by being human, open and honest, being a tax collector, a “sinner” who Jesus has come to dine with us. Just as the words were given to John through the revelation when Jesus said, “Be honest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Jesus wants to have dinner with us sinners, so he can save us. Those that stand judging those sinners, thinking how righteous they are, they are indeed in deep trouble. Let us not judge anyone as a sinner except ourselves, and let us dine with Jesus, let us enjoy the wedding feast of the Lamb.

"Follow Me"

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

“FOLLOW ME”

Mark 2:13-14

13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

NIV

Thus Levi is undoubtedly Matthew as the one who also wrote a gospel that bears his name and records this same account indicate this was indeed Matthew who was the tax collector. These tax collectors were not liked by most of the Jews as they were working for the Romans. So this was thought of as being in cahoots with the enemy. So when Jesus walked from that house where he had healed the paralytic down to the sea of Tiberias also known as the Sea of Galilee which Capernaum is located on its shore, he passes by this dreaded tax collector’s booth. There sat Matthew doing what he was paid by the Romans to do, and Jesus simply says to him, “Follow me,” and Matthew gets up and follows him. We are not clear if by doing so, he automatically quits his job, or that he just closed up for the day. From the following verses that tell us Jesus went to Matthew's home and sat and ate with him along with other tax collectors, we cannot be certain that Matthew had given up his job as of yet. We would think that eventually, that would be the case, but then we do not give up our jobs just because we decided to follow Jesus. We heard the call in our hearts. We heard Jesus tell us to follow him, and we did, but of course, this is that different time and Jesus did not actually walk past us and told us to follow him. Jesus also was not alone, as we would have to believe Peter, Andrew, James, and John along with many others were right behind Jesus.  It would be sort of like following a parade. As Jesus arrived at the shore he stopped, and perhaps this may have been the time he got in a boat and taught from the boat while all the people sat or stood on the beach, or shoreline listening intently to his every word. That is the clue for us as we follow Jesus today. We should be listening intently as we read his every word. Of course, the whole of the Bible is the Word of God as he inspired men to write, and we also know that far more happened in regard to Jesus and perhaps things he said, that are not recorded for us. The question that we need to consider is what exactly does it mean to follow Jesus. Those of that day heard a lot more of his teaching than we have recorded for us, yet we have enough, all that we need to know about following Jesus, about accepting Him as the Son of God who came to earth in the same form as we are and died for us to take away our sins. We know enough to have an understanding of that meaning and that as a result we have been given eternal life. But is that all there is in regard to following Jesus? Sure, we have taken a lot of the word of God and found many rules and regulations that we attempt to abide by and say that is following Jesus. So then as long as we do many of the right things and we avoid doing as many as possible of the wrong things, we are up to snuff with being a “Good Christian” and that means we are following Jesus. We cannot be sure that is what Jesus meant when he called people to follow him. Did that mean to follow after him, that is just follow after and watch and listen to him? Did that mean to follow his lifestyle, follow his example, do what he did? If this is the case then how well are we following him? Do we heal people? Do we cast our demons? Do we preach the good news? Do we lay down our lives for others? Of course, that does not mean we have to die, although many who serve in the armed forces do that exact thing, they are willing to lay down their lives for our freedom. But do we actually put others' needs ahead of our own? How well are we actually doing after hearing Jesus say, “Follow me”?

Amazed

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

AMAZED

Mark 2:11-12

11 "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home."  12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

NIV

We have already considered the words of Jesus, but we did not deal with two other issues. First, the man on the mat. Let us remember that he was a paralytic, that he was paralyzed, he could not move. We do not know the extent of his paralysis other then we are sure he was not able to walk, so we would have to believe his legs did not work, he could not move them and because he was on a mat and had to be carried, he was not able to move himself about by his arms, dragging his paralyzed legs behind him. Thus it would make sense that he was completely paralyzed, except that perhaps he could talk, and eat. The Greek word carries the meaning of having the nerves of one side relaxed, so then he may have had one side working the other side not, either way, he had to be carried on a mat by others. Nevertheless, at the command of Jesus, he simply got up, took up his mat, and walked out of the house in full view of everyone. Certainly, he had some expectation because he and his four friends must have discussed getting him to see Jesus. He must have expected to be healed, he was hoping to be healed. Then he could walk and live a normal life being a productive member of the town. It would make sense that he did not want to be carried about by others, and cared for by others. So then when Jesus told him to get up, he had to experience feeling in his limps immediately and knew that he was healed, and he got up. We are not told if he thanked Jesus, or gave praise to God, or said anything at all. However, the crowd praised God, there must have been a great cheer of jubilee throughout the crowd, amazement that this man, who could not walk but was carried on a mat, now walked carrying his mat. Praise God, we have never seen anything like this before. This Jesus has the power of God, for only God could do something like this, but they had never ever seen God do anything like that. The fact is many who believe have never seen someone healed from some debilitating disease, yet they believe. Many believe simply through having faith in Jesus without any evidence that Jesus is real. These people were Jews and believed in God because of having been told what God did for their forefathers but have not seen any evidence themselves until they saw Jesus heal this paralytic. Many say that Jesus is their hope. It is said that faith is the substance of things hoped for, yet not seen. Why did Jesus give them evidence of the reality of God? The fact is we do have evidence, we have all the first hand recorded evidence of the reality of Jesus and in addition to all that, we have actually experienced his healing power, on various occasions, in our own body, I speak of myself here. In addition to that, we have had miracles that can only be explained as the hand of God at work in our lives, again I speak of myself here. There is no doubt, Jesus heals, the question is when he does, why are people amazed?

Get Up and Walk

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

GET UP AND WALK

Mark 2:6-12

6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11 "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home."  12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

NIV

We had just started this narrative with page one, when the four friends of this man tore open the roof and lowered him, on his mat, right in front of Jesus. We know how Jesus had compassion on him and when he saw how much faith they had, by going to the kind of extreme effort to get their friend in front of Him, he said,
“Your sins are forgiven”. Of course, at this point, the man was still laying on his mat, as he had not gotten up and walked, but was just forgiven of his sin. Now, page two. It is interesting that with all the people cramming in to see Jesus, there were some teachers of the law among them, and of course, they were sitting, they were important and needed seats, while all the common folks were crammed in standing hoping to get close to Jesus. Most likely everyone was hanging on every word that Jesus spoke, but these teachers of the law were only being critical, at least in their thinking. We wonder as to how many people are silently critical of our words. We may never know, but Jesus, being divine, knew immediately in his spirit what they were thinking. So he questions them as to why they are thinking that way. There is no question from what Jesus said that he indeed has the power to forgive sin. We have taken that into our personal life and live in the truth that our sin is forgiven. All the sins of our past, the sin of the present day, and all our sins that we will most likely commit in the future are all covered by the blood of Jesus. Of course, that does not mean we should go around looking for a way to sin so that God’s grace can abound. That is not the point, but we have to know that guilt and shame only come from the accuser and not from Jesus. What we know is that not only does Jesus have the authority to forgive our sin, but he also has that authority to tell us to get up, pick up our mat, and walk. Jesus does not intend to leave us with our infirmity. From all we know reading about all the people he came in connect with, he healed them, he relieved them of their illness and their infirmities, such as a withered hand, or blindness, or lameness, or whatever other deformities they might have had. So then, what we have to wonder, did he stop doing all that when he ascending to sit at the right hand of God or is He still able and willing to heal us from all our sickness and infirmities. The answer has to be, yes he is willing and, yes He always will, if we but have the faith to believe. Many times, such as the woman with the issue of blood, Jesus told her that her faith has made her whole. He noticed the faith of these four men getting their friend down through the roof. Faith has to play an important part in our receiving healing from the hand of Jesus. It is very doubtful that we would ever hear Jesus say that because of your doubt, pick up your mat and walk. So, then as it is God who gives us a measure of faith, we need to use that faith and believe and, come to Jesus and be healed.

Forgiven

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

FORGIVEN

Mark 2:1-5

2:1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." 

NIV

We will get to the rest of the story, page two, so to speak, but for now, let us simply consider the depth to which friends went to get this paralytic in front of Jesus. When Mark said that Jesus entered Capernaum and the people heard that he had come home. We know that Nazareth was the place of his first home, but as it has been said that he was not welcomed or accepted as the Messiah in his own town, he went to Capernaum to make that his base of operations, if we could call it that. Nevertheless, upon his arrival, the crowds gathered, most likely in the courtyard of the home he was staying in. The crowd was so large no one else could get close enough to see or even hear Jesus. Mark tells us that Jesus used this opportunity to preach the word to them. Now, what exactly Mark meant by the word, we would have to gather was about the kingdom of God, or at least about how to live as if the kingdom was at hand. We have to remember he used a lot of parables to talk about how the kingdom of God was different than the present world system, as well as he taught about life itself, such as what we call the beatitudes. Again, we should take our cue from how Jesus lived, that is if we are followers of Jesus. Sometimes, it seems we spend a whole lot of time thinking about the way we should live as if by some laws, or rules and regulations, regarding the do’s and don’ts that are so often thought to be the way we follow Jesus. But Jesus was not concerned about those things as much as he was about the souls of men. Although, he did speak about the attitudes and the love we should have in living with each other. However, here we are not sure exactly of his words, but we are sure of the subject matter. Now to the depth of friendship. There was no way these four men were going to be able to carry their friend through the crowd. Now, that is saying something about the crowd. These people wanted to be near Jesus, but it appears all out of selfishness, not being concerned about anyone else. So these guys lifted their friend up onto the roof somehow and began removing a portion of what is most likely a thatch roof. Somehow, again, we are not told, they had gotten some rope and lowered their friend on the mat that he was laying on right down in front of Jesus. How ingenious was that? Where there is a will that has to be a way. So here this man gets lowed right in front of Jesus and He notices how much faith in Him those four men and this man had in order to go through all that effort to get in front of him. Now because of the rest of the story, and we know that Jesus knew in his spirit what the teachers of the law were thinking, we have to think that Jesus was setting it all up by not simply healing this man by telling him to get up, pick up and mat and walk, but to tell him his sins are forgiven. Now, some might want to make hay with the fact that the reason he was a paralytic was because of his sins. But, let’s be real here, we all are sinners saved by grace. We all have sinned and not all of us are paralytic because of our sin, and we would have to agree that sin is sin and we cannot put degrees on sin and say this man’s sin had to be worse than ours. So, it comes down to Jesus making a point that he has the power, the authority to forgive sin. When we come to Jesus he forgives our sin. It is that simple. Now, as Paul said, should we continue to sin so that grace may abound, God forbid. But the point still remains, that when we do, not if we do, that Jesus has the power and the desire to forgive our sin, to make us clean, to present us to himself as holy and blameless in His sight. That man became just that at that very moment, holy and blameless in His sight because he was forgiven.

He Touched Me

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

HE TOUCHED ME

Mark 1:43-45

43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them."  45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

NIV

First, we have to note that Jesus did not command, but sent him away with indignity, as the Greek word here means, and is translated as a strong warning. Other translations use sternly warned, straitly charged, strictly charged, and told him sternly. It would seem this is important because Jesus thought is best for the man to follow the law of the land and do that which was needed to be pronounced clean by the priest as well as bring the appropriate sacrifices. It is thought by some of our scholars the main reason was so that it would have been proven by the law that the man was indeed cured of leprosy, which would say that Jesus had that kind of authority to cure this man and in fact, he was cured. But the man did not follow that warning, but of his own delight and excitement, he went immediately spreading the news that Jesus has cured him as it was apparent he no longer was a leper, as his skin was absolutely clean and free from any of that horrible disease. How could he not want everyone to know that he had a miracle happen to him, that this Jesus touched him while he was still a leper, which it would have been considered to be unclean by the law to touch a leper. The leper had to live without any human contact at all. It had to be a very lonely existence, not being about to even walk freely about town, or hold a dear one even by the hand. To be a total outcast living outside the city. Maybe they touched each other, in an effort to comfort each other. We simply don’t know that much about how they actually lived. But this man was now clean, he was cured, he was healed and he freely moved about the city telling everyone, I was a leper, but now I am not, Jesus healed me. We are told that because of this man’s testimony all over town, Jesus thought it best not to go into the city, as it might cause such a crowd and disturb the daily lives of those earnestly trying to make a living, so he stayed just outside of the city and the people still came to him, after hearing the news the leper had shared. What we get from this is that we need to be sharing everywhere the healing we have received by the hand of Jesus. Certainly, everyone, every believer has one healing that they should share everywhere. We all have been healed from a life that leads to death. We all have been saved from that penalty of death and given eternal life. However, many of us have also had the hand of Jesus touch us in a physical way and we have been healed of some ailment, disease, or infirmity and we should be telling everyone all the time, all over the place, that Jesus has healed us. How can we hold that in? How can we not share it? If we don’t share our healing, will anyone come to Jesus? Not just the town’s people, but our other fellow believers who are still suffering from some physical difficulty. Yes, some would quote about Paul and his problem and that the Lord told him that His grace would be sufficient. But that was Paul, only one man, and it was for a reason the Lord has not shared with us. But if we look at Jesus, he healed multitudes, hundreds of people from a myriad of diseases. Whoever came to him, he healed. We have to conclude that we are one of those people who when we come to Jesus, asking him to heal us, surely he will not say, no, or just suffer in silence because my grace is good enough. Now if he did say that, then we never need to ask for continued prayer, because we have our answer.  If that is his answer then we need to stand up and speak up that we heard from the Lord and he wants us to remain in pain as a testimony of his authority in our lives, and get on with being like Paul, spreading the good news all over the land. However, if we want to be healed, like all the other people, then he will simply say, I am willing, and he will heal us, he will touch us. We will be able to say the same thing that leper said, He touched me.

I Am Willing

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

I AM WILLING

Mark 1:40-42

40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"  42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

NIV

What difference is there between that man who had leprosy and us who have some other type of ailment or disease? There are only two differences that stand out, first, he was physically in the presence of Jesus and, secondly, he begged on his knees and asked if Jesus was willing, He could make him clean. There wasn’t any doubt in his mind whatsoever that Jesus could make him clean, the only question was if Jesus was willing. As we can see Jesus was indeed willing and Jesus did make him clean. So, then as for us, we are not physically in the presence of Jesus and maybe we are not on our knees begging. It is obvious this man really, really wanted Jesus to make him clean. This then begs the question, how much do we want Jesus to heal us? Are we willing to beg on our knees, or is that going too far in our relationship with Jesus? It seems we prefer to be more comfortable than on our knees as well as begging. Our prayers are a little more sedate and are we really that confident that Jesus is willing to make us whole? Do we just go through the motions of asking for prayer from the church, or do we really want Jesus to make us whole?  If we truly are desiring Jesus to heal us, then why don’t we just ask him and expect that which he does, heal those who ask? Maybe it is the doubt issue. Maybe we really don’t believe, first, that he is willing, and second, that he does heal us when we ask, or beg on our knees. It is certain that when Jesus said, “I am willing” He meant it, because he reached out his hand and touched that leper, and said, “Be clean”.  That has to mean that Jesus is willing to make us whole, to heal us from whatever it is that we are ailing from. Then if he is willing, why are we not healed? It has to be because we are not asking or that we have doubts that he is willing to heal us. Let us get rid of any doubt, let us come to him and beg if we have to, and get healed. There is no question about his willingness, for he said, “I am willing”. Just think about that, the I AM is willing. 

So I Can Preach

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

SO I CAN PREACH

Mark 1:35-39

35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" 38 Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else — to the nearby villages — so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."  39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

NIV

It is interesting that we say that we want to follow Jesus, what does that mean? If we want to follow him so that we have eternal life, it seems sort of selfish, doesn’t it? But, if we follow Jesus as in doing that which Jesus did, then we are following in his footsteps and that would mean we are here to serve, for Jesus did not come to be served but to serve. Here we see that it was very early in the morning while it was still dark he arose and went to a solitary place, where he prayed. Interesting that is what we are doing right now as it is still dark and we are up in our solitary place, in prayer and writing as we are inspired. It is good to be alone with our Lord, we need that before the hectic pace of our day. Mark does not tell us what Jesus prayed, that is not as important as it is to know Jesus needed that alone time with His Father, just as we need that alone time with Him. There is something else here that we find to be of interest. Simon must have gotten up a little later and did not know where Jesus was, so he and the others set out to search for Jesus. That is what life should be all about, searching for Jesus. But it seems the opposite is true. Jesus sent the Spirit to find us and convict us of our sin and inform us that we need Jesus. God searches for us. Nevertheless, at this time they looked for Him and when they found him, they told him that everyone was looking for him. We are not told why everyone is looking for him, however, it most likely is because of his healing people and driving out demons. They want more of that. They want more of Jesus and his miracles. But Jesus told them that they should go on to other villages and do that which what he did here, to preach the good news about the kingdom of God. Surely Jesus did not preach about himself and maybe we should take a hint from that and maybe it would be best if we just talked to people about the kingdom of God, rather than telling them they need Jesus. Jesus told him that preaching was the reason that he came. We have thought the reason Jesus came was to be that perfect sacrifice for our sin, which he did unless he preached about the Kingdom of God, no one would understand why he had to die on the cross, no one would know that He is the Son of God. However, again, Jesus did not talk about himself, but about the kingdom of God, that people needed to know about this kingdom for they had gotten off track, and became distracted by religion, by trying to live by the law, by all the rules that had developed from the law. Jesus preached the grace of God, the good news that the kingdom of God is at hand. What a wonderful story we have to tell about the kingdom of God. Let us preach on! Let us tell people! The Kingdom of God is at hand. Let us be like Jesus, so we can preach.

Jesus Heals

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

JESUS HEALS

Mark 1:32-34

32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

NIV

Mark does not give us too many details, but he does give us enough to know that Jesus healed many, or as the Greek word means, a multitude of people that evening after supper. Mark tells us what we need to know, Jesus heals and has authority over all the demons. Looking at the Greek word translated as a demon, it is interesting that it means a deity, a divine power, a spirit being inferior to God, superior to men. This would make us think these are indeed the fallen angels that Lucifer influenced to rebel against God at some moment in time, perhaps even before the creation of man, but after the creation of the world, as they were cast down along with Lucifer, who now is called the devil or Satan. The record of his previous post in heaven and his fall is given to us through Isiah and Ezekiel, so we have to think these demons, these divine powers knew full well who Jesus is. But why did Jesus not want them to reveal His true identity, as the divine Son of God, the one whom without, nothing would have been created? It is just interesting to ponder, but the truth we can live by here is that Jesus has absolute authority over all things, sickness, various diseases, and all demonic powers. His authority covers it all. What we do not know from this account is how Jesus healed and cast out these demons. Did he touch people, or simply say a few words, such as “Your faith has made you whole” or “Go, you are healed”. Perhaps he just put his hand on their head, saying nothing at all, and as he passed by them touching them there illness, or ailment, of disease just left them, disappeared miraculously. We do know he had to speak to the demons, telling them to keep quiet and go away. What is also interesting is that Jesus did not do away with them, as they are divine beings, which means eternal beings, unable to actually die, but He told them to leave the person they were possessing at that time. Where they went is unknown, only they were told to shut up and go away. Again, we go back to the fact that Jesus healed many people, and today Jesus is also in the healing business. We can expect to be healed if we go to Jesus, or if we are brought to Jesus. It seems we would have to conclude the reason we have an ailment or disease or we are not being healed, is that we really have not been brought to Jesus, or we have not gone to Jesus ourselves. That sounds really harsh to even say or think that, but is it not true? We have to believe the truth that Jesus heals.

Take My Hand

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

TAKE MY HAND

Mark 1:29-31

29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

NIV

It is interesting to consider the hometown and the homes in which the Apostles lived before they meant Jesus and here according to Mark as well as Luke Jesus went to the home where Simon and Andrew lived. Some believe this was the town of Bethsaida by the sea, not far from Capernaum where we are told about Jesus teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath and with authority. What is so special about this account that Mark tells us about is that it is just an ordinary day in an ordinary home and the mother-in-law of Simon, who will be renamed by Jesus later as Peter, was not feeling well, as she had a fever. All we are told here is that after Jesus was told about her, he simply went to her and took her hand and helped her up and the fever left her. There was no big fanfare, no long drawn out prayers for healing, no special words, but only that he took her hand and she was healed. That is not to say that there might be times when we need to petition the Lord with long-winded elegant words, but in reality, all we need is for Jesus to take our hand and we will be healed. Of course, Jesus was physically present in that home and he was able to physically take her by the hand. We would expect anyone that Jesus touched, or that even touched the hem of his garment, such as that woman with the issue of blood, would be healed instantly. But what is the reason that we are told all about the times that Jesus raised people from either their sickbed or even their death bed? It has to be so that we can have the faith that Jesus will heal us as well. However, all we need for this healing is to have Jesus take us by the hand. We can only do this now through faith, as Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father consistently making intercession for us who believe in Him. So what keeps us from being healed? Why do we persist in suffering from pain? Why does it seem that our prayers are always the same day in and day out for the same people who are suffering some illness or ailment? We know Jesus heals, we know there is healing in the name of Jesus. We know that he told us to ask anything according to the will of the Father and he would give it to us. Here in this account according to Mark, they simply told Jesus about Simon’s mother-in-law. They did not need to say anything else for Jesus went to her. So then, maybe we just need to tell Jesus what we need, that we have a pain, that we have a fever, that we have an illness, that we have some ailment, or whatever, and he will come to us, and take us by the hand and help us up, and we will be healed. Maybe the simple reason why we continue in our suffering is that we have doubt, that we really don’t believe he will actually heal us. Maybe we just want people to have sympathy for us, feel our pain, so to speak, or we just like to complain, who knows what lurks in the heart of man? Jesus does! So let us simply tell him what our problem is and allow him to take us by the hand and help us get up, so we can wait on him.

Living With Authority

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

LIVING WITH AUTHORITY

Mark 1:21-28

21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24 "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!" 25 "Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!"  26 The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. 27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching — and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

NIV

Where else would we expect to find the Lord on the Sabbath other than in the synagogue? Who else would have any authority that would exceed that of Jesus? He has authority over everything and everyone as nothing that was created that wasn’t created by him. This would then mean we should yield to his authority in our lives. Mark points out from the very beginning that Jesus even has authority over the evil spirits. There is no question the spirit world knows who Jesus is and this evil spirit proclaim Jesus was the He is the Holy One of God. Is it any wonder it questions if he came to destroy them? However, what we have to consider is the authority of Jesus. Jesus has the absolute authority over all creation which includes us. Are we living in a manner that reflects His authority in our lives? How should our lives look if we are living submitted to his authority? Maybe that is the key as God gave us the ability or the freedom to choose. Although Jesus has the ultimate authority we have to choose to live within his rule. How much of our life reflects our choice to live under His authority? Do we have the right to make decisions on our own? If so, what, if any, limits do we have on our choice to do something or not to do something? Have we taken on any rules to live by that are of our own making, rather than because of His authority? Do we use Him to be the author of those rules, when in fact he is not? Do we ignore certain aspects of his reign in our lives because of our own desires? The thing is that because of the authority of Jesus in his teaching and command over this evil spirit news traveled all around the whole region of Galilee. Now, yes, He is God and has mighty power over all things, however, what if we were truly living with all the authority He gave to us. Would news spread about us all over the area where we live and work? Do people say that we live with should authority and that what is this a new teaching? Are we teaching something new, or is what we teach the same old stuff? Because we have the Spirit of the Lord dwelling within and because He has given us His word, should we not be teaching with the authority of God and having command over the evil spirits in this world? We do have to remember to get dressed every morning in His armor and pick up that sword, which is the word of God and step out onto the battlefield and win. So then our lives would reflect Jesus being our Lord. We would live with authority.

Fishing For Men

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

FISHING FOR MEN

Mark 1:16-20

16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."  18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

NIV

We do not know how much time has elapsed since Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and the imprisonment of John the Baptist, and this time Jesus is walking by the Sea of Galilee. From what we gather here, this is the first time he has called men to follow him, although from the other accounts it seems that some of the disciples of John had gone to follow Jesus. Nevertheless, here is where Peter and Andrew come on the scene as well as James and John, the sons of Zebedee. What is interesting is that when Jesus calls them he tells them he will make them fishers of men. Was that just because they were fishermen and he used their trade as an example of how he would transform their lives, or does he call all of us to be fishers of men? Certainly, there are some people today that enjoy the sport of fishing, and they could apply this calling to themselves. But are we not all supposed to be witnesses for Jesus? Are not all of us who believe called to share our faith? Surely, we have been called to do something other than continue doing what we have always done, only having been transformed for our own benefit. Are not all of us supposed to be fishers of men, no matter what other skills, or profession we have? But how do we cast our nets? Of course, today we might say as to how do we bait our hook? What type of lure do we use? Do we use a casting pool, with a large lure, or do we use fly fishing as our means of fishing for men. The point is that we should be fishing for men, we should be using some sort of lure to entice men to bite. Jesus trained his disciples on how to share their faith. He transformed them. He said he would make them fishers of men. It is not up to us to figure out how to be a witness or a fisher of men. Jesus will transform us, train us on how to do that which he has called us to do. Maybe we all are not supposed to be fishermen. Maybe he calls some of us to some other method to catch men, but it would seem the point is the same, we are all supposed to lure others into the kingdom of God. That would mean we cannot just go about just being a Christian and live life like we always have, except now we are a believer. We would certainly have to admit that Peter changed from just being an ordinary fisherman to a powerful man of God, so much so that after the Spirit was poured out on them, Peter stood up in the city and preached a great sermon and thousands responded, and became believers. That is a transformation into being a fisher of men. Are we not transformed? Should we not go fishing?

Good News

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

GOOD NEWS

Mark 1:14-15

14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" 

NIV

Once again Mark leaves out a whole bunch of information about John the Baptist, such as when he told his disciples that he must decrease and Jesus must increase, or how it happened that he ended up in prison and finally was beheaded because of the vengeance of a woman. No, Mark moves right to the heart of the issue of showing Jesus as both a Servant and Sacrifice. Much of what Mark records show us the Servant Jesus moving about doing the will of His Father, so it would seem right that Mark moves past all the events surrounding John the Baptist and starts with Jesus on the move. The first words of Jesus that Mark records for us are that of Jesus proclaiming,  "The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news! “. This is the message for every one of all nations, of all times, at least until the Day of Lord arrives. What we have to realize is that the Kingdom of God is here. In the sense of being near, as Jesus puts it, it is near as repenting and believing the good news. Once we do repent and believe we become citizens of the kingdom of God, so then it is near, so near that we can be in it. Just the thought that we are living in the Kingdom of God at this very moment gives us shivers up and down our spine. It warms our hearts as we live in His kingdom, it gives us a sense of calm and delight. Being a citizen of the kingdom of God allows us to be called the children of God, it gives us an identity of which we cannot find in this world. It is true that both worlds, both kingdoms exist on earth at the same time, but are realms that are also far apart. The realm of this world under the influence of the deceiver exists and we once were a citizen of that kingdom. We lived in that kingdom of darkness and death, but the light of Christ penetrated that darkness, at least at the place we lived and we saw the light and followed it across that bridge, the cross of Christ, and we were moved from the darkness into the wonderful light of Christ, and he relocated us and gave us a new passport indicating our new citizenship. That passport allows us to enter his kingdom, and to live for all time within the kingdom of God. This passport we were given never expires, it is good for all eternity. Our old passport that showed us to be citizens of the kingdom of darkness and death was revoked the movement we repented and believed. This is indeed good news. With all the bad news that is associated with the kingdom of darkness and death, we have accepted this good news and now we live in the kingdom of light and life. That is no greater good news.

Truth Trumps Lies

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

TRUTH TRUMPS LIES

Mark 1:12-13

12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

NIV

Mark simply does not give us the details of those forty days other than giving us three points. One, it was the Spirit who sent him out into the desert, and two, it was Satan himself who tempted Jesus, and three, He was attended to by angels. Well, actually Mark also tells us Jesus was with the wild animals. From the other gospel accounts, we know Satan tempted him with at least three areas and that Jesus always answered those temptations with the word. What we are not reminded of is that Satan was once Lucifer the angel and at one time was in the presence of God, where Jesus was before the foundation of the world. So what we have to know is that these two have history, in fact, Jesus is God, or one of the three in one was involved in the casting of Lucifer, as his rebellion, to earth. Satan thinks he can trick Jesus now that He is in the form of man, but Satan is wrong, for Jesus did not yield, but stood His ground. Jesus knew all that Satan was saying was a lie, for that is all he can do, lying in his native language. But, here is where we need to pay close attention to. We too have a history with Satan, for he was once our ruler. Perhaps we did not actively proclaim him as our ruler, but if we were not proclaiming Jesus as our Lord, we were living in sin, then Satan was in charge of our lives. We were living a lie, as we were not living as God had intended us to when he created man. God created us in His own image, which means we were created to be holy and blameless, as He is. We were not created to be a god, but to be like Him, in His image, three in one. We are a spirit, with a soul, who lives in a body. It is this human nature we have that fell to the temptations of Satan and we lived under his influence for a number of years. So, in that sense, we have a history with Satan, we know his ways, his lies, and his deception. However, as we now know Christ, and have rejected Satan by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we will be under attack with temptations to draw us back away from Christ. Just as he tried to trick Jesus, he will try to trick us. But he can only speak lies. He cannot tell us any truth at all, but we know the truth, we know Jesus, who is the truth and the way and the life. When we stand firm, take our stand against his schemes, we too are attended to by angels. Perhaps not in the same sense Jesus was, but we can be assured that we are attended to after having a battle with Satan. When we overcome his temptation, we feel a sense of calm, a sense of the Spirit soothing us, comforting us, assuring us, that the battle was his, that He always overcomes Satan. Jesus quoted the word and the word is truth, so truth always trumps lies.    

And There are Three

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

AND THERE ARE THREE

Mark 1:9-11

9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

NIV

This is one of the most monumental moments in time. Of course, we would consider the creation as the very first and most important moments in time, as this is when time also began and all events are relative from that moment. However, we cannot be sure that all three of the trinity were present at one time in one place, other than before they decided to create man in their image, but then they were somewhere other than on earth and a moment in time. Here, Mark tells us that Jesus arrived on the scene at the Jordon River where John was baptizing. Mark, just gets to the point and gives us no details about the conversation between Jesus and John, which is recorded in another gospel. However, the important information Mark does record. When Jesus was coming out of the water heaven was opened and the Spirit descended on him like a dove. Now that does not mean it appeared as a dove, but that the Spirit descended in the same manner as a dove would. However, it could have been in the image of a dove, but then the people would have only seen a dove, a common sight, but still a common emblem of peace and tranquility. So the Spirit could have been in the physical form as a dove, or simply descending in the manner a dove does. Either way, the Spirit came upon Jesus when the heavens were opened. This phrase was also used then Stephen was being stoned, the heavens were opened. This could have been as if the clouds rolled away with lighting and thunder, perhaps allowing a vision of that which is above beyond normally out of sight. It must have been a very impressive moment for those who were there. But then if that was not enough, the very voice of God, the voice of the Father was heard proclaiming Jesus as his Son, whom he loves and is well pleased. We have to know that everyone heard this voice, otherwise how would Mark know to record it, unless Jesus relayed all this information. But we would think when God spoke everyone there heard it, just as they saw the Spirit. What we learn from all this is that we too should be baptized because we follow Jesus. There is a great debate over the form of baptism regarding immersion. We will leave that debate to others, as what we know is that we too went down into the water and came up out of the water, which for us meant we were immersed in the water, as we believe Jesus was immersed. Nevertheless, we too received the Spirit, as did Jesus. What we notice is that the Spirit descended, but Mark nor the other gospel writers tell us the Spirit left him, ascending back into heaven. We also know the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where he faced the temptations common to man. The Spirit is still resting upon or within us and is still leading us, however, not to be tempted, but to see the truth. Then we also have to consider, have we ever heard the voice of God. What I know is that I have heard a voice several times in my life, and each time a miracle followed. This is my personal testimony, of which I write in the first person. We can be sure of the three persons of God, so that is why we would be Trinitarians in our theology. We can also be sure that the Spirit is still at work in this world as we know without a doubt that he is within us as this seal of our salvation, our redemption, and our future resurrection. This story, this record of the trinity being present all together is not for the benefit of Jesus, but for us, to know God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. What a powerful moment in time, yet each day of our lives is just as powerful because we are in Christ and He is in us and we have the Spirit dwelling with us, and the voice of God speaks into our life. He says to us, you are my son, and I am pleased with you. 

The Lord is Coming

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

THE LORD IS COMING

Mark 1:5-8

5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

NIV

So we have John the Baptist out in the wilderness, or desert as Mark refers to it. Having been to Israel, we can understand this wilderness area is not that far from Jerusalem. It is very possible for people from all around Jerusalem to hear about John out near the Jordan River proclaiming repentance for the forgiveness of sin. Certainly, they are aware it is the Lord who forgives sin for they are so aware of all the sacrifices outlined in the law as to which type of sacrifice was for certain sins. So then if all they needed was to be baptized by this man who wore clothing made of camel’s hair and their sins would be forgiven. This strange man must have some special connection with the Lord to have the power to forgive sins by merely baptizing people. However, while John was attracting many people, and baptizing them, he was proclaiming a message about someone who would come after him, that had more power, more authority and in fact would not just baptize with water, but with the Holy Spirit. The other account in Matthew has more to say about all this, but we will restrain ourselves to what Mark records. The point is that John had some knowledge of the coming of the Lord. He was aware that the Messiah was going to reveal himself and it would be soon. We know, because of having knowledge of the whole story, that Jesus is going to show up and John would baptize Jesus and the world would know then who He is. It is interesting to wonder because John and Jesus were cousins and lived in close proximity to each other, as Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Elizabeth, the mother of John had been together when both of them were with child, well at least Mary had visit Elizabeth that one time which is recorded for us, that if John and Jesus knew each other as young boys. Perhaps they even attended each other’s Bar mitzvah as they both would have been the same age. What we take as our lesson from all this history, is that we too are a little strange, although we wear normal clothing. Our strangeness is in our way of life, as it does not fit the norm of our culture. However, we do have a message, much as John did, and our message is not much different, make yourselves ready for the coming of the Lord. John proclaims the first time Jesus came to earth, to be the Messiah, to die for our sins. He was the Lamb of God, the ultimate sacrifice. But our message is about the coming of the Lord, full of power and majesty, the coming King of kings, Lord of lords and he is coming for His people those who He baptized with the Holy Spirit. He is now the baptizer and He has been baptizing people with the Spirit as they come to him with a repenting heart. So our message is that of hope for a world that is doom to destruction. There is a way to escape this coming doom. There is hope in the name of Jesus. That is our message today. Make ready the coming of the Lord.  

A Voice

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

A VOICE

Mark 1:1-5

1:1 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.   2 It is written in Isaiah the prophet:

"I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"— 3 "a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"   

4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

NIV

And so came John. Mark does not spend any time regarding the birth of Jesus, nor about that time when he was about twelve when his parents had to come back to find him in the temple. Mark does not give us any record of the time when Jesus’s mother Mary visits her cousin, the mother of John who becomes the Baptist, and John, still in the womb leaps and his mother makes that great prophecy regarding Mary, the mother of the Christ. No, Mark starts off right out of the gate with, and so John came. He does give us the words of Isaiah who prophesied about John being the messenger, and that would prepare the way for Jesus. John was simply a voice in the desert, proclaiming to the people they should repent and make ready for the Lord. That is what John was all about, making people ready for the Messiah. There is something special about John the Baptist, as when his mother heard the voice of Mary, we are told Elizabeth was filled with the Spirit. The Spirit had to have some effect on John even while he was still in the womb. He certainly was a man filled with the Spirit, speaking the words of God to the people. Proclaiming words about Jesus. That is also our calling. We are called to tell people about Jesus, but we cannot do it without the Spirit. Yes, we have been called to be a witness and we always say that all we can really tell is our story, what we have seen and heard or witnessed. But we have seen and heard Jesus, as we are in Christ and He is in us. We and Jesus are one, as He and the Father are one. So we can tell people about who we are one with, Jesus. We know all there is to know in order to proclaim him to the world we live in, the place we work, the place we live, our neighborhood, the place we play, and even the place we worship. We have to remember there will be people who attend church, who either do not have the Spirit or have become one with Jesus yet. So we should take our cue from John and simple by one voice in the wilderness of this world, a desert, void of the fruit of the Spirit, of bearing any fruit at all, but barren, like that fig tree that had no figs, and was then found to have withered. That is the world, it is withering without Jesus, fruitless, and without figs. So, we have but one voice, just a voice, and we should use our voice to give praise and honor to Jesus in worship and to proclaim him to this withering world before it perishes. Let us be that voice.  

Doing What is Right

 

DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE THESSALONIANS

DOING WHAT IS RIGHT

2 Thess 3:11-15

11 We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people, we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 13 And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

NIV

 These would be Paul's last words of instruction to these people, as the next few words to follow is simply the valediction. Here, again Paul uses this word to describe those who are walking disorderly among the church, or irregular, not working with their hands to support themselves, but he also now calls the busybodies. This Greek word translated as busybodies carries the meaning to bustle about uselessly, to busy oneself about trifling, needless, useless matters. The picture we see from that description is like someone hammer away on wood along with others who are building a church, but he has no nails. He just looks busy but accomplishes nothing. He adds nothing to the group’s efforts. Instead, Paul urges these types to settle down and actually earn the bread they eat. Actually, get involved in helping the cause. We are not sure if we know anyone like that within the family of believers we fellowship with, and in all reality, it is not up to us to try to find them either, for we are admonished to pay attention to our own labor and to never tire of doing the right thing. This goes right along with looking for a speck of someone’s eye when there could be a log in ours. It is a needless effort as well as taking away our efforts of doing with is right by searching around looking for that idle, disorderly, busybody. However, on the other hand, Paul tells us if anyone is not paying attention to the instructions in this letter we should take special note of him or her. That seems to indicate those idle, busybodies really stick out and are glaring brightly that we cannot miss them, even if we were not looking for them. If there are such people within our community of faith, and hopefully there are not, we are to have nothing to do with them, for a specific reason for making that person feel ashamed, however, still love them as a brother or sister in the Lord. That would be the most difficult part of being a believer, having to treat someone as an idle person. But then still loving them which we come right back to all those aspects of love as defined in his letter to the Corinthians. Every relationship we have with every other believer no matter if they are doing everything right, or just being a busybody, has to be based on love. So if we have any of those idle people, we still need to warn them, but love them as well. It is always about doing what is right.  

No Work, No Food

 

DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE THESSALONIANS

NO WORK, NO FOOD

2 Thess 3:6-10

6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."

NIV

Two types of people are being described for us here that we should not fellowship with. The first is this idle man, which again having seen this word before we understand the original meaning of the Greek word is a disorderly person, one that does not conform to the ways of Christ but lives without order in their lives. These are not just lost souls that we should make an effort to share the gospel, but these are souls who have heard and rejected the orderly life of following Christ. They are, in some sense anti-Christ, for they are against the ways of Christ, therefore against Christ. Stay clear of such people, have nothing to do with them, for evil reigns in their hearts. The second type of people we see Paul referring to are the takers. He made sure, that although as a minister of the word, it would have been rightful to receive some compensation, at least been fed and housed while he and his companions were there with them. However, he makes sure they remember that he supported his own keep, working, most likely as a tentmaker, even while he was proclaiming the gospel. Paul says he was being a model for them. Work, to labor for our sustenance, is a biblical principle. He makes sure they know it is even a command or a rule, that if someone does not work, labor for his own food, he should not eat. This means unless that is something wrong either physically or mentally, and they simply are unable to work for their own food, no one should live dependent on others for their food. The idea here is that we should live an orderly life, according to the ways of Christ, and work, labor for our own daily food. Yes, we could depend on God to supply all our needs.  But that does not mean sitting on our duff and living off the work of others and thinking God is giving us our daily bread. If we do not work, then we do not have money to put food on our table, which is as plain as Paul puts it. From the very beginning after the fall, God told man, Adam that because of what he had done the ground will be cursed and through painful toil he would eat from it all the days of his life. God told Adam the ground will produce thorns and thistles and he would eat from the plants of the field. It was by the sweat of his brow that he would eat his food. This goes for all the descendants of Adam because we are all fallen, and in need of repentance and the salvation of the Lord. So then Paul is saying the same thing just shorter and to the point, if a man does not work, he should not eat. Does that mean we should not help those in need? If the need is real, absolutely, if the need is because of a person not able to work because of some physical, mental, emotional, or some other real condition, then feed them, sustain them, offer assistant, it is the Christ-like way. Jesus fed the people several times. However, the reason was that they were listening to his teachings. So we come back to, if a man is able to work, he should, otherwise, he does not eat.

He Directs Us

 

DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE THESSALONIANS

HE DIRECTS US

2 Thess 3:1-5

3:1 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.

NIV

We are coming to the closing statements and there are still some short and sweet sayings that give us reason to spend time looking into. The word, the gospel has spread all over the world and it seems it has happened fairly rapidly, but then it has been some two thousand years since the gospel happened. We do honor it, we revere its message for the gospel tells us about our salvation, it contains the very words of our Lord and how he suffered on the cross in order to take away our sin once and for all. How could we not honor that message? Paul also wants prayer that he and his companions would be delivered from wicked and evil men. He says that not everyone has faith. So then we would have to conclude that if a person does not have faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation, that is they are not born again, then they would be considered by God as wicked and evil men. There are plenty of them still around today and that includes those who would fill positions in government. We know there has been and still is a certain among to persecution against Christianity among some of the leaders of our country. We certainly need that prayer that we would be delivered from those wicked and evil men and women who are opposed to the truth of the gospel message. We can be sure they lack faith in the Lord, but we also can be certain that God is always faithful and He will ensure that we are not harmed by those who would oppose the message. God puts a hedge of protection around us. He isolates us from their evil attempt to cause us harm. We put our faith in the one who is faithful and we are confident in his faithfulness. He has never failed to keep His hand on our lives. He is never going to leave us nor forsake us, he will always be with us, even onto the end of this age and then we will forever be in his presence. We always keep this in mind and it gives us a peace that passes all understanding. We have a calmness within our hearts and mind, no matter what happens in this life. God also directs our hearts, of that we can be sure. However, we must be open at all times in his direction, we cannot close him out because we want to do something. We must know that we are and will be doing that which he directs us. His word is light onto our feet, he shows us the way we should go or the place we should stay. Just as he led the children of Israel through the desert by the pillar of fire and smoke. When it halted, they pitched their tents, set up the tabernacle, and stay in that one place until the pillar began moving and then they packed up and followed. God directs us much in the same way, as he moves us at times and then he has us pitch our tents and camp out for as long as he directs. He can do that in every aspect of our lives, as to where we live, where we work, and where we gather together to worship. He also can and does direct us to certain people in order for us to have some impact on their lives. He directs us as to what part of the body of Christ we are to be, where we fit into his plan, and how we are to minister to others. Most of all he directs our hearts into his love and his perseverance in our lives.

Divine Influence

 

DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE THESSALONIANS

DIVINE INFLUENCE

2 Thess 2:16-17

16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

NIV

 

As we read these words, we are becoming convince more and more that every aspect of our lives is due to the grace of God. Again, we remind ourselves that grace in this context as well as in many other scriptures can be seen as His divine influence upon our hearts and how that is reflected in our lives. So then, because he loves, he gives us his divine influence upon our hearts, which gives us eternal encouragement and good hope. This eternal encouragement in the Greek reads as everlasting calling near, or summons or exhortation. God is always doing all of that. He always calls us near to him, he always summons us and exhorts us or, that word could also be seen as comforting us. All of those are indeed an encouragement, as God is working in our lives, and how awesome is that. To know the maker of the whole universe, the creator of life, is at work in our heart, influencing us with a good hope that, in fact, does encourage our hearts and strengthens our resolve in all we do and say so that our life will reflect his glory to the world around us. This is a good remember to us that in and of ourselves we cannot do and say anything that is good. If we rely on ourselves, we are going to fail time and time again. However, we do not have to rely on ourselves for God’s divine influence is working in our hearts and he is the one who started that work, and He is the one who will complete it. What we have to do is simply yield to his influence. Sometimes that is the most difficult thing to do, as our “self” likes to have its way all too often and even likes to have some of the credit for what we do and say. We want to have that control over how we live our lives and we even make up certain rules to live by so we can feel good about ourselves because we are abiding by our own set of rules for Christian living. That is not to say that we should live free as the wind and do whatever we desire. By no means should we throw all caution to the wind. But, we do need to yield to the divine influence of the Lord upon our hearts and then we would naturally do that which is good and use the right words, to build each other up until we all reach the unity in the faith. When we can admit that we are weak, He is the one who gives us strength. God is the one who works in and through us so that we reflect his glory. Apart from Him, we can do nothing, but as long as we are connected, as long as we are being influenced by Him, drawing our life from Him, we will do and say that which is good.