Posts Tagged ‘Mark’

Day 64: Numbers 8:5-22 — Salvation

Friday, March 5th, 2010

waterI have a preacher friend from another tradition that likes to tease me. When he sees me, he will say something like, “Hey Randy, you still baptizing people or have you learned about grace?” I will answer back something like, “Yes, grace has taught me to baptize.” I don’t think we will ever come to terms with this but when I read our text from Numbers 8:5-22, it makes me think about why cleansing is so important to God. I mean God has already shown His grace to the people by saving them from the Egyptians. He brought them out of Egypt and saved them from Pharaoh at the crossing of the Red Sea. Well then after He shows them His grace, why does He give them the Ten Commandments, expect them to build a tabernacle, and then in our reading tell the people to cleanse themselves for purification of sins? In this long list of things to do, never do the people question God’s grace nor his commandments.

Next time, I see my friend, I am going to yell, “you still telling people to call on the name of Jesus to be saved or have you learned of grace?” I mean if grace saves us why do we need faith, or to call on the name of Jesus, or confess, or repent, or be baptized, or to give money, or to live morally? It seems to me if we understand grace then we understand judgment. The just thing for God to do is to annihilate us from the face of the earth. I mean we have all sinned. We are all guilty. Yet, Jesus died for our sins and saved us from our sins. Jesus is so much greater than the sacrifice and purification in the Old Testament in our reading. I think His call for us to obey His Word today is even greater.

I believe that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). I confess Him (Romans 10:9-10) and call upon His name (Romans 10:13), I repent of my sins (Acts 2:38), and I submit my body to be immersed (buried in water – Colossians 2:12) into Christ (Galatians 3:26-27). I believe that coming up out of that grave of water, that I am born again (John 3:3-5). I am forgiven of past sins (Acts 2:38 and Acts 22:16). I am saved (1Peter 3:21 and Mark 16:16). I am added to the church which Jesus built (Matthew 16:18, Acts 2:41, and Acts 2:47). I have received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as a seal of my salvation (Acts 5:32, Ephesians 1:13-14, and Romans 8:9-11). I am called to live a life worthy of Christ everyday (Ephesians 4:1-6).

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Baptism, Cross, Discipleship, faith, Forgiveness, God, Grace, Numbers, Repentance, Salvation, Sin | Comments Off

Day 63: Mark 6:45-51 — Jesus was going to just pass them on by!

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

I love this story. Jesus has just fed the five thousand (Mark 6:30-44) and then He gets the disciples in a boat and sends them off. He dismisses the crowd and then He goes off for some quiet time with the Father in Prayer. He walks on the water and sees they are having a little trouble with the headwind and decides to just pass them on by.

pouting kidDid you catch that in Mark 6:48? He meant to pass right by them. It kind of reminds me of one time at Wal-Mart. I saw a Christian brother and decided to pass on by around another aisle but he looked up and caught me so we visited for a while. I guess it is biblical to pass your brother and sister by on some occasions. Anyway, Jesus catches up with His disciples and they think they are experiencing a segment from the radio show Coast to Coast because they think their Lord is a ghost and they are terrified. Jesus quiets them down and gets into the boat and calms the wind. I wonder if he calms the winds for the disciples or because the boat is moving slowly and he needs to get to the other side? Oh well, the interesting thing is that the disciples are astounded and they are fretting over the loaves (Mark 6:51-52).

What a story — you see your Lord feed five thousand and then He walks on the water and you get your heart all hardened because you didn’t get what Jesus did with the loaves. I wonder if they were mad because they wanted to send the people away and Jesus told them to feed the people (Mark 6:36-37). Do we ever harden our hearts because Jesus tells us to do something and we don’t understand?  Do we ever get a little upset because we don’t get our way? NAAAAAH!

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Discipleship, Jesus, Mark | Comments Off

Day 62: Mark 6:1-6 — Jesus Christ involved in a Scandal!

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

This is an action news report. Jesus Christ, the proclaimed Son of God is involved in a scandal. In our contemporary world, we have become accustomed to these kind of reports. However, as I write these words, I feel a little uncomfortable. In Mark 6:1-6, Jesus goes back home and teaches. He does such a good job that his home town folks can’t believe it. They take offense and Jesus marveled at their unbelief. The interesting thing is that the word “offense” comes from a Greek word σκανδαλίζω (skandalízō), it is the word from which we get “scandal”. It can be translated as “a trap,” “stumbling block.” It is not often used with classical Greek writers. It is used more often in the Biblical text figuratively as a stumbling block to someone; to cause to stumble at or in something; or to give a cause of offense to someone. In Mark 6:3, it is used as a scandal of offense at Jesus and Jesus marvels at their unbelief (Mark 6:6).

Earlier, I said I was a little uncomfortable to say Jesus is involved in a scandal. I am not uncomfortable from the biblical standpoint because Jesus was involved in many scandals (e.g., the cross was a scandal). I am uncomfortable because the Christian faith seems to water down the scandal of the cross into a nice clean faith system. I am confused by our desire to attend church to experience a nice clean sanitized rendition of worship. Mark will use this word again with His disciples. They will stumble and fall away because of the cross (Mark 14:27). It was a scandal to believe in Christ. It was a radical change of life to follow Jesus. I wonder which Jesus we really worship? Is it Jesus the stumbling block or Jesus the pacifier that makes us all feel good? I am uncomfortable because I am afraid Jesus is no longer a scandal for we have already taken offense and run him out of town like his hometown did (Isaiah 8:14; Matthew 16:23; 1 Corinthians 1:23; Galatians 5:11).

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Cross, Discipleship, faith, Jesus, Mark, Worship | Comments Off

Day 61: Mark 5:21-43 — “Who Touched Me?”

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Have you ever been interrupted? I have! There are always interruptions in my day. There was a time in my life when I would lament over the fact that I could have finished all my work if it weren’t for the interruptions. In our reading of Mark 5:21-43, Jesus experiences some interruptions. I know traditionally, we like to talk about the miracle stories that happen. Yet, I was reading and became captivated by the interruptions. Jesus is interrupted by a father who has a sick daughter. Jesus leaves to help the father and then he gets interrupted by some woman touching him and his power is drained. Jesus stops and asks what the disciples think is an absurd question in the midst of a crowd…”Who touched my garment?” It is kind of like being at the end of a Texas football game when Texas A&M is being beat again. All the Aggies flee in shame and are pressing all around and you stop and ask, “which Aggie just touched me?”

Jesus stops in the midst of a crowd and the need to go save a little girl and renders a personal touch to a woman who has suffered for years. We ought to stop and put a little thought to this action. We live in a world of fast paced living that teaches us to ignore what we think is insignificant like faith. Jesus helps me to see our faith and others’ faith may be more important to him than a death of a child. That is hard to comprehend but then again Jesus overcomes death with resurrection, but he never makes us have faith. The advent of faith in a person seems more miraculous to me than the healing of a disease. I wonder if Mark wants us to see that too?

Oh by the way just for fun, the next time you are in a crowd and people are pressing in all around you, stop and yell, “Who touched me?”

Tags: , ,
Posted in faith, Jesus, Mark | Comments Off

Day 57: Mark 3:13-35 — Family

Friday, February 26th, 2010

familyI didn’t have a traditional family life. I joke about my Dad seeing me when I was born and left. I say that just to cover the pain of being abandoned. I read this passage in Mark 3:21 and I see that Jesus has a family that cares enough to try to intervene. They think Jesus is “out of his mind.” Jesus is on a collision course with confrontation that will lead to the cross. Jesus knows it, His family knows it, and we all know it. However, it does not alter Jesus in anyway. In fact, it intensifies. Jesus in Mark 3:31-35 redefines family. This does not mean that Jesus does not love His physical family but He reframes it and re-prioritizes it. Family is important but the family that follows the will of God is paramount.

The struggle of my family life has been a blessing in that it has helped me to see the truth Jesus proclaims about the priority of the spiritual family of God. It has allowed me to embrace the church and with all our faults find a family that goes beyond the physical to the eternal. However, I am curious about those who have close families and the struggle that this passage may create. I have known those who have been ostracized from their family because of their desire to follow God’s will. Discipleship is difficult because even though we may love our families, there is still the uncomfortable call that to follow Jesus, our families must come second. This is easy for me but for others I see the cost of discipleship is great. May God bless those of you who struggle today with the call of Christ and an unbelieving family.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Discipleship, Family, Jesus, Mark | Comments Off

Day 56: Mark 2:18-3:12 — Jesus is Angry

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Have you ever had your buttons pushed? I worked for many years in the mental health field and this is one of the favorite terms of clinicians. The ironic thing is that mental health professionals love to talk about how clients push buttons but they never like to discuss how they themselves push their clients’ buttons. I guess that in remembering this, I have allowed my button to be pushed. I digress. Today, I want to try a different kind of post. Read Mark 2:1-3:6 and when you get to Mark 3:5, you will find that Jesus gets angry, why? We often get angry (assuming we are not neurotic) because we are passionate about something. I heard a quote once from John Lloyd Ogilvie that says, “Tell me what ticks you off, and I will tell you what makes you tick.” What makes Jesus tick? What ticks Jesus off? I will give you some hints. Look at the questions in Mark 2:1-12; Mark 2:13-17; Mark 2:18-22; Mark 2:23-28; and Mark 3:1-6.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Anger, Jesus, Mark | 1 Comment »

Day 54: Mark 1:14-39 — The Disappointment of Jesus

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

I hope the title of this post brings a few questioning eyebrows. I hope it makes you think and question your view of Jesus. It seems in a general sense that we see Jesus as a healer. We like the exorcism stories because we read them in the context of our illnesses and those we love. I have heard the question on many occasions. Jesus healed others, so, why doesn’t He heal me or my loved one? If you read Mark 1:14, you find that Jesus came to proclaim the gospel of God — the good news of what God is doing. It is clear that Jesus’ primary mission was to preach (Mark 1:38). He accomplishes that mission. In addition He teaches and heals. He sends his disciples out to preach and teach.

Our disappointment may be that Jesus’ primary mission was not to heal and exorcise all of our demons. So, why does Jesus heal and exorcise demons? He did it because He had compassion (Mark 1:41). It was a sign of His authority (Mark 1:27). We may be disappointed because Mark tells us that healing and exorcisms distracted Jesus from His primary purpose (e.g., Mark 1:45; Mark 3:7-12; Mark 7:24-30, etc.). Of course, He used healings and miracles as teaching tools (Mark 2:5-12; Mark 3:1-6; Mark 8:22-26; Mark 11:12-25). Yet, He would avoid the healing-hungry crowds (Mark 3:9-10; Mark 4:1; Mark 4:35-36; Mark 6:31-32; Mark 7:24).

Would we not be disappointed today, if Jesus avoided us and our need? Jesus was focused on the salvation of all souls and not just the temporary healing of a few physical bodies. Please don’t get me wrong, Jesus cares for us when we are ill or dying. But He cares more for our souls and His preaching and teaching was a cure for our greatest disease: the disease called sin that separates us forever from His Father.

We spend a lot of time in our churches doing “good works.” Are these “good works” the work of Jesus? We may be disappointed if they are not accompanied by the preaching of the Word because Jesus came to preach and teach and His mission for us is to do the same. Jesus cares about our sufferings but He is too good of a doctor and savior not to triage past a minor injury to treat the more severe condition that plagues mankind. He is a Savior of souls.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Forgiveness, Jesus, Mark, Salvation, Sin | 1 Comment »