Mark 13  Jesus talks about the day when He will come again, when everything will be changed forever.  That day will be preceded by "tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation.."  We cannot begin to imagine...
Worse than the holocaust.
Worse than the World Wars.
Worse than the terrorist attacks.
Even worse than the epic disasters that movie makers can imagine. :)

But, Jesus tells us:

".. do not be frightened.." v7
".. be on your guard.."  v9
" be on the alert"  v 33, 34,35, 37
" But take heed; behold I have told you everything in advance." v23

He will come "with great power and glory"!
He will send His angels to "gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth, to the farthest end of heaven." v27

We don't know when that day will be, but we know that He expects us to be ready and waiting for Him.  He exhorts us to "endure to the end" ( v13) so that we might be saved.

As bad as this world sometimes seems, I don't think we have seen a tribulation like Jesus is describing here.  We hope that the rapture of the church will happen before it gets this bad...
Yet, even if that happens, we need to turn our attention away from the non-essential things of this world - to the only things that really count - " And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations."  We need to know the True Christ, so that we are not led astray by those who will come claiming to be Him.  And, we need to be alert, on our guard, and ready. 

Father, I know that You know all things and You know the needs of our hearts .  You know that we get distracted by foolish things.. entertainment, people, money, etc.  You have told us that we need to lay it all down, pick up our crosses and follow You.  Help us.. help me.. to do that more faithfully.
May we seek Your Kingdom and Your righteousness and lay everything else down at Your feet.
We ask this in the Name of our Coming King, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Mark 11-12

As Jesus enters Jerusalem on the back of a donkey He is honored and received by the people.  Yet the Pharisees, scribes and priests only want to question Him and scheme against Him, to destroy Him.   Several times Mark mentions that they were afraid of the multitudes ( 11:18; 11:32; 12:12)   The people wanted to hear Jesus.   They were amazed by the Truth that Jesus spoke... in such contrast to the priests and scribes who had lost their way, making their own traditions more important than God's Word.

These last few days of His ministry were packed with important lessons for Jesus' followers.

In 11:15-17  Jesus taught them that the real purpose of the Temple was prayer and worship - not commerce and business.

In 11:22-26  Jesus taught that faith and forgiveness are vital in a real relationship with God the Father.

In 12:1-11 Jesus taught that those who had tried to take the Kingdom for themselves - would lose it all;  and the Kingdom would be given to others.

In 12: 13-17  Jesus taught that we should give to God all that belongs to Him - which is everything!

In 12:18-28  Jesus taught that God is the God of the living, those on earth and those in heaven.  He made it clear that those questioning Him did not understand the Word of God, that their thoughts were mistaken, and that they needed to repent of their errors.

In 12:28-34  Jesus taught that loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving your neighbor  - are the most important things you can do. 

In 12:35-37  Jesus taught that David's son would also be David's Lord...

In 12: 41-44 Jesus taught that giving from your surplus is not as great as giving out of your poverty. 

Father, let Your Name be honored and lifted up and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  May Your Kingdom come in all its fulness.   May many more come to seek You and find You today, entering Your Kingdom in the Name of Jesus.  Father, fill us with wisdom and understanding of Your Word that we may not err... that we may walk in all of Your ways, and that we may have faith and love, grace and hope in You always.  amen

Mark 10 ( again)

I have found myself thinking more about chapter 10..  The rich young ruler, who didn't want to give up all his riches,  needed what the blind Bartimaeus had.. faith.   Bartimaeus left behind his past (which, granted, wasn't very great) to follow Jesus.   The young man did not choose to give up anything at all.  He could not believe that what he would gain in following Jesus would be greater than his earthly wealth.   The discussion that Jesus had with His disciples in verses 28-31 brings light to this Truth - all we leave behind for His sake - is replaced with "a hundred times as much"!  

Paul understood this when he wrote in Philippians 3:8 ".... I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ."  Bartimaeus shows us how to "[forget] what lies behind and [reach] forward to what lies ahead."  To "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ."   The rich young man who could not let go of his present... lost the prize of his future, for  eternity..

This truth, this promise from Jesus, is so amazing.  He does call us to lay down our lives.. and follow Him,  but He tells us that we will have so much more!  Eternal, abundant life.. a hundred times.. a trillion times better than anything we leave behind.  

I have found this to be true in my own life.  We can never out-give the Lord.  Every sacrifice, every offering, every cent,  every minute that we have given to the Lord has been multiplied to us over and over again.
And still yet, I need to learn this lesson anew... to choose to believe it once again.. that all I leave behind and lay down before Him.. is nothing, compared with knowing Him.. for eternity!

Father, You are Worthy of all our praise and worship!  You are God alone. Holy and Infinite and Mighty.   Once again I "present [my] body, a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to [You]... (Romans 12:1)  I lay myself down, counting all as loss for the surpassing treasure of Jesus Christ, my Lord.
I press on.. in faith, in hope, and in love.. to eternal life with You.  Amen.

Mark 10  Jesus told the disciples.. and us.. to " have salt"  in ourselves. The Bible Knowledge Commentary suggests that this is the "ingredient" that distinguishes believers from non-believers; a loyalty or commitment to Christ that purges out all that is contrary to His will.  This chapter gives us illustrations of several ways that following Jesus contrasts with man's thinking.

Verses 1-12  Here Jesus reveals that God's plan and choice for marriage is much greater than man's.  Men wanted to be married and divorced as they chose.  But, Jesus said that their "hardness of heart" caused them to feel this way.  In reality, God made marriage to be the permanent joining of a man and a woman.. a miraculous and marvelous act of God.

Verses 13-16  Here Jesus teaches that the attitude towards children should be compassionate and generous.. receiving them and blessing them; not rebuking and sending them away.   Jesus expressed His deep love for children throughout His life and ministry by constantly reminding His disciples that "the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."  He healed them, He delivered them, He held them, and He blessed them.  And, He was indignant with those who harmed them.

Verses 17-31 Jesus is approached by a wealthy young man who wanted to be saved.  But, this man found it impossible to give up his riches.  Jesus makes an extraordinary statement, " How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God."   He goes on to explain that the rich have a harder time entering the kingdom than the poor.  This was a totally new way of thinking for His disciples and followers.  How can anyone be saved then, they asked.  Only with God!  Rich, poor, great, or weak... religious or not.. only by the grace of our God Who can do the impossible.. can anyone be saved.

Verses 32 - 45  As Jesus once again attempts to explain to His disciples what is about to happen to Him,  John and James ask for the privilege of sitting at His side in glory.   They wanted to share in His greatness, but Jesus calls for them, and all His followers to seek to be servants instead.   Again, this was such a contrary way of thinking for them, they could never seem to grasp this truth.  Who knows how many times Jesus repeated this same truth?  Probably even more than what has been recorded!

Verses 46-52  Here, Jesus heals Bartimaeus. By faith Bartimaeus would not stop crying out to Jesus even when the crowd tried to hush him up.

Could we say that to "have salt" means that we:
View marriage as God, the Creator made it to be?
View children in the way that Jesus did when He held them on His lap?
View wealth as a hindrance to following Christ and not as a way to be saved?
View ourselves as servants, or slaves, not leaders or rulers?
Keep crying out to Jesus even when others try to stop us?

Father, we also cry out to Jesus .... to save us, sanctify us, heal us, deliver us, and to come reign over us! Open our blind eyes to see the King of glory.  Fill our hearts with faith and truth and life.  May we exalt You with all our hearts and minds and voices.  Thank You for showing us grace and mercy.  Let us have salt that does not lose its flavor.. loyal to our Lord and Master always.  For it is in His name we pray. Amen.

Mark 9 - The transfiguration is a wonderful but mysterious occurrence.. making me wonder why it even happened.  Was the purpose to expose the 3 disciples to the supernatural aspect of Jesus' life? Or was it for Moses and Elijah to prepare Jesus for the coming crucifixion?  It should have given Peter a better grasp of who Jesus is, so that he wouldn't be so afraid later.. but he seemed to forget all about it until later.

Coming down from the mountain, they are confronted by a situation that the disciples could not handle, a father seeking deliverance for his son who was suffering greatly from an evil spirit.   It seems as this spirit was very powerful, for the disciples had been given authority to cast spirits out, yet this one would not obey. At the command from Jesus, it had no choice, but it went reluctantly, shaking the boy until he was almost dead.  Imagine this boy's life after this deliverance!  To have never been able to talk.. to have been constantly thrown around in great convulsions... and now, freedom and healing!  How he must have been thankful!  I hope he followed Jesus the rest of his life!

Jesus returns to his home in Capernaum and once again teaches His disciples that He is going to die and be raised again .  He also confronts them about their discussion along the way... about which one of them was greatest.   I wonder who this child was.. that Jesus took into His arms and used to illustrate that the best thing that we can do is to receive others with love.. serving and not ruling...

Jesus goes on to talk to them about stumbling and causing others to stumble.. He warns us to think about the future - entering "life" or going into hell.  "Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another", Jesus tells them.  Another interesting thing to think about.  

Father in heaven,  open the eyes of our hearts, to truly receive and understand Your Word.  Help us to live according to Your perfect, holy, and acceptable will and give glory to You always.  Amen.

Mark 7  Verses 1-23 deal with a discussion brought about because of the Pharisees and scribes who criticized the disciples for eating without ceremonial washing of their hands.  Jesus uses this to reveal to them that their traditions mean nothing in comparison with the truth of God's word.  Their sin was neglecting "the commandment of God" and holding to "the tradition of men".  Jesus says they do "many things such as that"... including taking what people could use to support their parents and using it for themselves while claiming it belonged to God.

I wonder what traditions we have followed that "invalidate" the word of God?   Does our lifestyle as "religious"  people honor God's word or contradict it?  When we come to church... do we do it out of habit or out of hearts of worship?  Do we sing to Him, or do we sing to sound good?  Jesus goes on to talk about the heart... where things really matter!  If our hearts are far from Him,  it does no good to pretend on the outside... like the Pharisees did.  This is something that we need to examine for ourselves often.. judging our own hearts... and not the lives of others.

Verses 24-37 cover two interesting events.  First, the request of the Gentile woman for the healing of her daughter, and then the healing of the deaf man.

In the first instance, we learn that the woman had great faith, trusting Jesus even when it appeared He might not answer her request.  This woman's faith brought a blessing beyond compare - her daughter was delivered of an evil spirit.

The second healing is interesting in that Jesus heals the deaf man with outward actions as well as words - a change from His usual way of just speaking or laying a hand on someone.  Here, He puts His fingers in the mans ears and touches his tongue with His saliva. This seems strange and even awkward... yet there must have been a reason that Jesus did this.  I would like to understand this more.

Father, help us to hear Your voice through Your word.  Thank You for the grace of Jesus Christ... given to a poor Gentile woman and her daughter.. and to a man who was in desperate need to hear and speak.  We need You, our Lord.. to be deliver us from evil,  to heal our diseases, and to lead us in Your righteous paths.  We need spiritual wisdom and understand, that we might walk in the way that pleases You, and bears fruit through every good work.  May grow in the knowledge of Your Word and know You more and more.  We ask this in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Mark 6  There is so much packed into every chapter of Mark that it is hard to meditate on it all at one time....

Verses 1-6 tell about Jesus going to His hometown with His disciples.  These people knew Him as the carpenter.  They knew His mother and brothers and sisters.  They were "offended"  by Him, for He was now well known as a Rabbi and Healer even though He had not taken the usual route of being educated by their teachers.  Because of their unwillingness to believe in Him, Jesus "could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them."   The unbelief of these people shut down the ministry that Jesus would have willingly done among them.

Is this why we do not see many miracles or healing in our country today?  Is there so much unbelief that Jesus can not do miracles among us?  Perhaps the few that were healed by Jesus in His hometown were those who had a bit of faith... a mustard seed -sized faith is enough... Jesus said later.
If those of us who do have faith continue to live by faith and proclaim the Lord's power at work in us, perhaps others would be more willing to believe too. We certainly need miracles in our world today!

Verses 7-13 tell about Jesus sending out His disciples on their own to preach and to heal those who were sick or demon possessed.
Verses 14-32 tell about the death of John the Baptist.
Verses 33-44 tell of the feeding of the five thousand.
Verses 45-52 tell of Jesus walking on the water, coming to the boat in the middle of the night.
Veres 53-56 tell of Him coming to Gennesaret and healing every one brought to Him.

Again, Mark is reminding us of the fact that Jesus had and has all authority in Heaven and on the earth.  Authority to heal, to deliver, to provide, and to even walk on the water.  There is nothing that He cannot do!  But, where there is no faith... He will not work.

Father, thank You for the life and light that comes in the Word as You reveal Your greatness to us in the works and words of Jesus.   Teach me today to know You more and to know Jesus more.  Help me not to be offended as the people in Nazareth were.. but to believe and to trust Jesus fully.   Do miracles in our lives that we might  proclaim Your greatness and power and authority.  In the Name and Power of Jesus Christ Amen!

Mark 4:35-5:43

Mark records 4 significant events that prove Christ's authority:

1.  He reveals His authority over nature as He stills the sea and the wind.
2. He reveals His authority over every other spirit as He allows the legion of evil spirits to leave the man and enter the pigs.
3. He reveals His authority over every disease as He heals the woman with the issue of blood.
4. He reveals His authority over life and death as He raises the 12 year old girl from the dead.

Jesus questions the disciples about their lack of faith (v40) when they panic in the storm.  The wind and waves still obey His command.  How is our faith in the midst of terrifying circumstances?

Jesus is recognized by the powerful evil spirits in the Gerasene man.  They are so strong that they caused the man to break every chain and shackle that ever was used on him. They caused 2000 pigs to rush down the shore and into the sea.  Yet they quivered with fear in the presence of the Lord.  The people who came out to see what happened were so afraid that they begged Jesus to leave their country.  The power of Jesus Christ is above all other powers!

Jarius, a synagogue official, went against the establishment to ask Jesus to heal his daughter.  Even when the news came that she had died, Jarius trusted the power and authority of Jesus.  When He took her hand and raised her up, they were astounded.  Now, they KNEW the authority that He has.

The woman with the terrible condition, who had hemorrhaged for 12 years, who had tried every other solution, but found no help... found that Jesus had the power to meet her need.  Not only was she healed but He blessed her also.

I wonder what happened to Jarius, the man from Gerasene and the woman healed by touching His robe?  Where were they when Jesus was led to the cross?  Where were the shepherds that had seen Him in Bethlehem?  Where were the multitudes that had been healed?

We know that Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth .. yet do we act with faith as these individuals did?  Do we come to Him in our times of need?  Do we reach out and touch His garment?

Father, teach us to act in faith and not fear.  May we not be timid to trust You in storms and disease and even death.  May we rest in the peace of Your presence and grace.  Increase our faith and help us to know Your power and authority... for we ask it in the Name of our Mighty Savior, Jesus Christ. amen.

Mark 4 Mark records a series of parables that Jesus taught.

Verses 11 -12  Jesus says, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God; but those who are outside get everything in parables; in order that :'While seeing they may see and not perceive; and while hearing, they may hear and not understand lest they return and be forgiven. ' "  This statement is really difficult for me, for why would God not want them to understand and turn and be saved?   One commentary suggests that Jesus is being merciful - for if they DID understand and still reject Him, their judgement would be worse than if they didn't understand.  Another commentary suggests that their rejection of Jesus was already known to Him, so He did not give them the gift of understanding .  This is a quotation of Isaiah who was sent by God, but told that they ( Israel) would hear without understanding too.  Holy Spirit, teach me what this means!

The parable of the sower reveals this truth :
some hear and don't even catch any of the Word - Satan snatches it away immediately.
some hear and receive it temporarily- but then there is no depth, so it doesn't last;
some hear and receive it, but allow worldly worries and temptations to destroy it;
some hear and receive it, and allow it to grow to maturity - reproducing its fruit;

I've heard people speak about this, indicating that all of us have these kinds of soil in us - we have hard soil that doesn't even catch the Word;   then we may receive some of it but go no deeper; we may try again, but let go in order to manage the cares of this world; but then eventually we realize the great worth of the Word and allow it to penetrate our lives and produce fruit in us.
I've also heard it explained that some people never receive it, for their hearts are forever hardened, or rocky, or thorny.

My prayer is always that the hard heart can be changed.  I have too many loved ones who have yet to receive the Word.  I have hope in the Lord that even those who have refused Him so long - will one day be changed by His great grace.

Father, give them ears to hear and understand, that they may return to You and be forgiven all their sins.  You alone can save, O Lord, for You are Yahweh, the self-existing One who reveals Himself!  Reveal Yourself to us once again Father, that we may all bow before You in repentance and worship.
I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Matthew 3

Jesus continues to display His authority, even though He is being watched and criticized .  As He goes into the synagogue He meets a man with a withered hand.  The Pharisees are waiting to trap Jesus.. their hard hearts without any compassion for the man they are using as bait.  " Is it lawful to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?"  Jesus asks.

Think about that question.  Sabbath or not... it is clear that Jesus chooses to do good and to save lives.  In spite of any law or tradition of man.  The fact that Jesus is angry about their hard heartedness shows how deeply He feels about their self-righteous and sinful behavior, their lack of compassion or love for each other.

But, the people get it.. crowds from all over flock to Him.  The word spreads far and near.  So many come that they need to have an escape route prepared so they won't be crushed by the multitude. Here is One who cares... Who acts.. and Who loves them.

Finally, Jesus withdraws to the mountain and calls for the twelve that He will appoint as His disciples. He gives them His authority and sends them out with His message.

As He comes back home, the crowds again surround Jesus and His disciples. Even His own family cannot get near.

Jesus is accused by the scribes from Jerusalem of being from satan because He casts out the demons. Jesus patiently explains that this is impossible and that they will be condemned for their blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, Who is the One Who does conquer the evil spirits.

Jesus also gives a gracious word to those who are following and believing in Him.. He calls them His "brother and sister and mother".   Doing the "will of God" is the way to come to Him.  It is not about biological relationships, but spiritual unity with God through Jesus Christ, for this is the will of God.

Father, all glorious , You are so gracious to us. The fact that You care about us in our brokenness and poverty and that Jesus came to do good and to save us... O what a Great and Good God You are!
Lord, we want to be like those who draw close to You, to even touch You, so that we might be healed and saved and blessed by Your Presence.  Thank You that now we have been given Your Spirit, to dwell in us and fill us so that we might do the will of God and be Your brother and sister and mother too!  What amazing grace! We give You all our praise and proclaim Your holy Name.  Amen.

Mark 2  There are three specific events here that establish or illustrate the authority of Jesus.

Verses 1-13 tell the story of the paralytic man who was let down through the roof by his friends.  Jesus establishes His authority to forgive sins on earth in this situation.  He could have simply healed the man, as He had done with so many before, but He doesn't.   He purposely says what He knows full well will be confrontational... " My son, your sins are forgiven."   Jesus does know that this is the man's greatest need.  He also knows that He will be questioned and even condemned for these words. But, it is necessary, vital really,  that His authority to forgive sins to be established.

Verses 14-22 tell the story of Jesus at Matthew's house, dining with "tax-gatherers and sinners".   Here Jesus shows His authority over the traditions of the religious leaders.  He has come to heal the sick and to save the sinners - this was His purpose and priority.  They were focused on avoiding the needy and showing off their self-righteous ways by fasting, etc.   Their priorities were focused inward on theirselves.  His were on those who needed a Savior!

Verses 23-28 - Here Jesus reveals His authority as "Lord.. of the Sabbath".   They questioned the disciples choice to pick and eat grain as they walked through a field.  Jesus teaches that the Sabbath was a gift, not a time for judging others. Even the Sabbath is His to rule!

As Christ's witnesses we are to proclaim His superiority and His eternal authority, as well as His power, grace, and truth.  He alone can forgive our sins, cut through vain religious practices and false teaching.  So, we give thanks for the One who has all authority in heaven above and earth below!

Praise to our God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who gives us life and grace and shows compassion upon all who call on Him.  Father , be ever honored and glorified by our words, actions, and lives.  Keep us walking with You today and every day.  I pray this in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Mark 1   Jumping right in to the ministry of Jesus, Mark covers a lot of ground in every chapter.  He goes from John the Baptist's introduction of Jesus to the calling of His disciples, and to the healing of many.   What strikes me as I read this chapter is that Jesus is noted for His preaching with
"authority".   Jesus spoke of the Kingdom, He commanded unclean spirits to leave and to not speak, and He healed all that came to Him.  But it is His teaching that amazes them the most!

Verse 15 " ..the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel" seems to summarize the message that Jesus came to preach.  (v38)  So, I find myself thinking... what exactly is He saying?  When we talk about the "gospel", we usually mean the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus and what He accomplished by dying on the cross for us.   But, this message is preached from the beginning of Jesus' ministry.   The Bible Knowledge Commentary says that Jesus is making two proclamations:

1) "The time has come" - is a proclamation that the Old Testament era has now been fulfilled.  As Paul wrote in Galatians 4:4-5 " But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that the might receive the adoption as sons."
and...
2) " ... the kingdom of God is at hand".  -  Kingdom - means "royal rule" or reign.  BKC says that this refers to " God's sovereign activity of ruling over His Creation."   It is near, "in the sense that Jesus, the Agent of God's rule, was present among them".

Jesus preached with authority and acted with authority, because all authority was given to Him by the Father.  Jesus gives 2 commands that required a response in light of His proclamations -

1) Repent - turn away from all other things that one has trusted in
2) Believe- trust in His good news - " to commit oneself wholeheartedly to an object of faith. Thus to believe in the good news meant to believe in Jesus Himself as the Messiah, the Son of God.  He is the content of the good news.  Only by this means can one enter into or receive (as a gift) the kingdom of God." BKC


Father in heaven, thank You for bring us into Your Kingdom, under Your rule and reign.  May we all repent and believe! There is nothing in this world that is worth our devotion, but Jesus only! Once again stir our hearts to be fully committed to following You. Be glorified and exalted in all the earth.  We need to know You more and more. May Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, we pray.  In Jesus' name.  amen