Message: In Genesis 47 the Jacob (AKA Israel) moved to Egypt to be protected from the famine. They were given the best of the land because they were the relatives of Joseph. As the famine progressed, the people of Egypt became more and more dependent upon Pharaoh until they had sold all of their livestock, their land, and finally themselves. From that point on they were given seed to sow, and 1/5 of it was to be given back to Pharaoh, and the other 4/5 was for them to live on. The Egyptians were grateful for this arrangement because it saved their lives. This looks and sounds familiar right? As we depend completely upon God he owns everything we have. We sow the seed he provides into our lives, and as we harvest we return 10% to him and live on the 90%. The tribe of Israel lived in Egypt as foreigners. They followed this arrangement too, but eventually became enslaved laborers because their multiplication was considered a threat to Egypt. God knew all of this would happen and he prophesied this to Abraham before Isaac was even born. The same is true of us living here on earth. We are foreigners living on this earth because Heaven is our real home. Just like God led the tribes of Israel out of the enslavement and captivity of Egypt, he is leading us out of the enslavement and captivity of this world.
Command: God has given us favor here on earth, but we are to remember that this earth is only our temporary home, so we can’t be too attached to the life and the things we have here. We can’t allow ourselves to be enslaved by it, or dependent upon it. God wants us to be dependent on Him, just like he wanted this for Israel.
Promise: God wants us to depend on Him, and when we do, he will never leave us in need. He is perfect and he wants what is best for us.
Warning: If we put our trust in the government and the systems of this world, we will live under the rule of fallible mankind.
Application: This reminds me that my trust does not belong in the hands of mankind. Even the best human being is fallible and the worst is corrupt. God will undoubtedly lead me through some difficult things, but his ways are perfect, and his purpose for me is for my good and for his glory to grow me, mature me and make me like Him.
Message: Jesus was God in the flesh and as he grew, his wisdom and authority became more prominent. When he was 12 and his parents lost him in Jerusalem and questioned him why he had “treated” them like this, Jesus responded with wisdom, and his parents didn’t understand at all. Even so, Jesus went back with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them.
Command: Our wisdom and knowledge will never supersede the authority we have been placed under.
Promise: If we honor authority, God will be able to promote us.
Warning: If we don’t honor authority, we can’t be trusted to be in authority.
Application: Jesus set a huge example here. He was God in the flesh and even at age 12 he had surpassed his parents in wisdom, knowledge and understanding. In spite of that, he submitted to their authority and obeyed them. This reminds me of the importance of this kind of honor when I am in job positions, or even leadership positions that it doesn’t matter what my level of wisdom and understanding is. I am to honor the authority that I have been placed under.
Message: In Genesis 45 when Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers he tells them not to be angry at themselves for selling him to Egypt because he recognized that it was GOD who sent him there to preserve life. Thinking back through this story I specifically remembered that Joseph had those dreams depicting his place of authority and showing his family bowing before him. It was God who gave him those dreams to reveal the future. The dreams definitely fueled his brothers’ anger and resentment towards him, but ultimately their actions facilitated the plan of God. I think we struggle with this in our own minds because we want to assume that anything difficult or painful comes from Satan, but we are unable to see the bigger picture and we give Satan a bit too much credit for orchestrating things.
Command: It is not necessary to assign blame for things we don’t understand, and I think that when we do, it causes us to miss the bigger picture. We can’t possibly know what God has planned through some of the hard things we face.
Promise: Regardless of the hard things we encounter, we know that God has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us. Joseph had the favor of God all over his life even while he suffered through what felt like the hardest opposition!
Warning: When we assume that every hardship we go through is coming from the enemy, we tend to position ourselves to battle against what very well could be a move of God. Remember that Peter had the same response when Jesus told him he was going to have to die on the cross. To him it sounded like negative opposition but it was actually God’s plan for redemption! If I am viewing every interruption or difficulty as opposition I might get stuck praying for and waiting for God tor reverse something that he is actually trying to send me through!!
Application: This reminds me that I don’t need to assign blame to the hardships in my life. I don’t even need to know whether it is God or Satan at work! I just need to go through every experience with my eyes on Jesus and allow him to work whatever he needs to work in me through it. If I do this I will be ready for whatever God wants to do in me and through me.
Message: In Mark16 after Jesus resurrected he appeared to Mary Magdalene. When she told the disciples they didn’t believe her. He appeared in a “different form” to two of them walking on the road, and when they told the others they didn’t believe it. I find it fascinating that the Jews, who didn’t even believe he was the Messiah, had heard what he said about his and believed so strongly that they took precautions in the hopes of covering up his resurrection. His own disciples, whom he spent so much time with didn’t believe it, even though Jesus had gone into so much detail warning them. This actually blows my mind a lot! When Jesus finally revealed himself to his disciples they still didn’t believe him and it says that that he rebuked their unbelief and the hardness of their hearts before he gave them the great commission and ascended.
Command: The hardness of my heart is what causes unbelief. If hardness of heart comes from pride. I need to destroy the pride in my life that causes the unbelief.
Promise: Jesus has told us a lot of things that we don’t understand, but our unbelief does not cause them to cease to be true.
Warning: Pride causes a hardness of heart and an unbelief.
Application: Lord Jesus, please reveal the pride in my heart that hardens my heart. I don’t want to miss the things that you promised! Help me to see what you have spoken and give me eyes to see and a heart to believe that even if I don’t understand it, and illuminate my spiritual eyes to understand
Message: Blessings are difficult to receive when there is guilt on your conscience. In Genesis 43 Joseph’s brothers were already tormented by their guilt as they went through the questioning in Egypt. It had been more than 20 years since they had sold their brother to slavery and for all of those years they kept their big nasty secret from their father-who grieved his son’s death. The guilt could not have looked more fresh than if it were the week after as they were questioned. Without even knowing the identity of their brother Joseph, they immediately attributed this trouble directly to their guilt ridden consciences and believed they were being punished for their wrong doing. Because of this tremendous guilt, they were terrified when they discovered their money had been returned to them in their sacks of grain. This blessing did not bring joy, it brought terror to them all.
Command: Honesty is first important step in rectifying guilt. Guilt is an important and necessary emotion, but unchecked and unresolved guilt becomes a gigantic and debilitating burden of shame that we drag through life and it filters every blessing we receive with a lens of fear and unworthiness. No matter how much time passes, that unresolved guilt will never subside until the truth is confronted. This may be the hardest step of all in the moment, but the tremendous weight lifted from acknowledging the truth is absolutely immeasurable!
Promise: Once truth is acknowledged, that tremendous weight is lifted. There may be lots of reconciliation work to do from there, but the truth sets us free so we can walk this out.
Warning: Fear lies to us and will try to hold us in our tormenting bondage.
Application: We all have felt the burden of guilt in some way and in some form, but the shame in our secrets will distort every blessing until we finally expose it and deal with it. This is often a long haul battle because guilt and shame will try to sneak in and lie to us not only about what people see, but what God sees. This story reminds me that it’s not enough to just know that God knows the secrets of my heart. I need to be real with God and walk this stuff out with him so that my heart can be free of the burden of guilt, and so I can see the blessings in life without the lens of shame or the fear of retaliation. So I can stop speculating on the motives of other people who I believe may be trying to retaliate or keep me in the dark corners of shame. Thank you Jesus that you are so kind and gentle as you cleanse our shame and clothe us with humility instead. Thank you that there is no secret too big or too terrible that you can’t walk us through the healing. Help me to acknowledge the things in my life that I have been afraid to address.
Message: Today I couldn’t help but notice the irony of opposites in Mark 14. We have the woman with the alabaster jar of expensive oil pouring out her very best over the feet of Jesus. Her very expensive offering and her dramatic gestures of gratitude offended those in the room. They called it a waste and speculated how it could have been used for the poor. Jesus commended her offering of worship and even went as far to say that her offering would be remembered all over the world. On the contrary, his very own disciples, who were close to him had one who completely betrayed him, and the rest who abandoned him. I think we often misunderstand the reasons they denied him. Sure, one did it for gain, and maybe not even just the financial gain, but for the gain of favor within the religious system, but the others did it in fear for their lives. Jesus was being brutally tortured and killed right in front of them. The crowd that was once following him around in awe of him had turned on him and was relentlessly chanting for his death. The disciples knew they were targets and they feared for their own lives too. None of them understood that the things Jesus had been warning them about were happening exactly the way they were supposed to. They had their own ideas of what a Messiah should be and that image was completely destroyed. In their disillusionment they unknowingly fulfilled every word of that prophesy when they crucified Jesus.
Command: Jesus gave me his absolute best and he alone deserves my absolute best.
Promise: Even when I betray him, and become disillusioned, he continues to be there and he doesn’t repay may unfaithfulness with unfaithfulness because he can only be who he is.
Warning: There are so many things the bible warns us about. We think we know what to expect but when we form our own ideas of what that should look like, we miss what God is really doing. In my disillusionment, I betray the one who deserves all of my worship and all of my best.
Application: I see myself in both scenarios. I know that Jesus deserves my very best and I want to worship him with my whole life, but I see so often I see where I am more like the one who betrayed him, or even the ones who ran. My own ideas cloud my vision and I don’t understand the plans of God. I fear what I don’t understand and don’t realize when I am fighting against the very plan of God. Lord Jesus, please help me to see what you have been trying to show us all along. Help me to honor you with my life. You alone are worthy of my best.
Message: Today I saw a parallel between Genesis 41 and Mark 13. Both are warnings from God about the times to come ahead. In Genesis there were warnings that there would be abundance and then famine. In Mark Jesus is warning of the signs that will happen in the world as indicators before his coming. Both warnings require preparation. In Genesis, Joseph proposed a plan and Pharaoh gave him the authority to carry it out. In Mark 13 they were given the warning to stay focused and pay attention to the signs of destruction to come. They weren’t instructed to prevent the destruction, but to pay attention to the signs and stay aware so nobody is caught sleeping when the time comes.
Command: Pay attention to the signs of the times, but don’t get caught up in them.
Promise: Jesus is coming!
Warning: The signs are there to point the way, but if we get caught up in them we will become distracted and could easily find ourselves off track.
Application: To me, this is a reminder that the political arguments and the culture we are seeing today point toward the signs we should expect to be seeing. We know that each of these signs brings us a day closer to the coming of Jesus. Although we are each responsible to do our part in what’s right, we can’t fix the brokenness of this world and we weren’t called to try. If I obsess the over the signs and get involved with the arguments, I miss the mission entirely. My mission is not to correct the immorality of the world and set them straight. My mission is to introduce people to Jesus and allow Jesus to cleanse them from the inside out.
Message: Some little observations I picked up today were these: We know Joseph was unfairly thrown into the prison dungeon, and we know that even while in the dungeon God gave him favor with the warden so he had authority to the point that the warden had no worries because God caused everything Joseph did to succeed. I’ve heard plenty of “pit to the palace” messages on this but I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of duties and what kind of authority he had in there. What skills he already had from running his master’s house before he was thrown in there, and what new skills he developed while he was in there. But here is what kind of got me in a funny way this morning. After the baker and the cup bearer landed in the dungeon with Joseph, he was assigned to attend to them. They both had dreams on the same night and Joseph (who would have had his own feelings about being wrongfully sentenced to the prison dungeon) noticed that the two were distraught, and asked them why they were sad. I couldn’t help but almost laugh at the mental picture of them in this dark, smelly, dungeon speaking as if it was a clear beautiful morning as Joseph asks them why they are sad. Joseph understood the gravity and the reality of where he was and he had no indicators that his circumstances would change any time soon. Regardless, he lived with the same sort of excellence and attitude that he had as a slave in charge of his master’s estate, and this prepared him to continue to live with the same level of excellence when he became the second in command to the Pharaoh when he was eventually released and promoted. Joseph was literally the same guy in all three of those scenarios and the circumstances he was in changed nothing.
Promise: If I live with excellence in everything I do and in every circumstance I am in, I will always be ready for what God has in store. I don’t know when or where that might be but if I live a life of continuous excellence I will never be caught unprepared.
Warning: If I change my ways based upon where I am, I will not live in excellence and I will be caught ill prepared when the time comes for promotion. Even worse, my attitude will both shape and expose me.
Application: This story reminds me of the person I want to be. A person who rises to the occasion and does not waste time and energy complaining. I want to be found busy making the environments I occupy better than they were when I arrived. I want to be known as a steady and reliable person that can be counted on, not swayed and moved by my emotions. I want to be an encourager, an empowerer and a problem solver. Lord Jesus, help me to be a person of excellence in everything I do. Help me to identify and eliminate behaviors that contradict this mindset, and help me to lead with influence, not influence with my emotions.
Message: This morning I noticed a parallel between two stories in Mark 11. The first is when he is hungry as he is walking along and he discovers a fig tree with no fruit so he curses it and later on when they come back around the disciples see that the tree he cursed had withered. We see a lot of stories of Jesus healing people, but this is the first time we see Jesus curse anything. The purpose of the tree was to produce fruit, and since it was not producing fruit, Jesus cursed it. Then when he reaches the temple complex he sees the temple being used as a marketplace and he becomes enraged and flips the tables and runs the merchants all out of there. He reminds them that the purpose of the temple was for prayer, and they had defiled it’s purpose. In both cases Jesus observed things that were not being used for the intended purpose and he had the authority to destroy the things that opposed the intended purpose. We have a purpose too and we need to destroy the things in our lives that are not being used for their intended purpose and when we do, God will cause them to thrive.
Command: Destroy the things in my life that oppose my purpose because they will make me unfruitful.
Promise: When I am walking in my intended purpose, God will cause those things to thrive and grow.
Warning: When there are things in my life that oppose my intended purpose, I become unfruitful.
Application: I need to evaluate the “trees” in my life and destroy the ones that are unfruitful. Which trees am I spending my resources on watering that should be used in other places. I need to evaluate each one and determine whether they oppose my purpose, or whether they accomplish my purpose. If they oppose my purpose they will cause me to be unfruitful and those things need to be destroyed. For me personally, I need to eliminate the time wasters. When I waste time on pointless things it takes away time I need to complete the fruitful things in my life and I can’t get that time back. I need to have time to relax and recharge but those times need to be intentional, and not just me slipping off into non productive distractions when I should be fruitful. This is a really big one for me because when I waste time on unscheduled and unfruitful things, I struggle to balance the other things in my life that I am trying to maintain. This adds unnecessary stress and it limits my creativity.
Message: In Mark 10, we read once again the paradoxical statements of Jesus as he tells them all how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. He had just had the encounter with the rich young ruler and after the young man tried to tell Jesus he had followed every command since youth and asked him what else he lacked. Jesus responded by telling him to sell all of his possessions and give it all to the poor. This was the non-negotiable in his life, so he ended up walking away sad. Jesus didn’t stop there after he left, he was making a point. The point being that whatever we are hanging onto tightly in our lives will be the thing that keeps us from giving our all to Jesus. It’s the things we are unwilling to surrender in our lives. Not everyone struggles with the “burden of wealth” so we may feel safe from this one, but if it’s not wealth, it could be something else. The point being, anything we are reluctant or refusing to let go of to follow Jesus. It reminds me of some of those “this or that” memes that go around social media. One popular one shows different mansions or cabins in secluded places suggests-you could live here, BUT you would have to give up your phone, or the internet etc. Most of us wouldn’t want to permanently give up our phones and internet, but we also recognize the greater value of living in the mansion or the cabin. It sounds absurd to compare this meme to salvation but what Jesus is communicating here is that there is a high cost for the weightier things. We see it in basic life all the time. If we want to feel well and look good, we will need to make some sacrifices of things we enjoy to obtain the benefit of health. I struggle to give up my freedom to eat whatever I want in order to be healthier. In the case of salvation, Jesus is telling us that our decision to follow Jesus will cost us our freedom to do what we want. It will cost us the securities we want to hang onto because he requires all of us. This is where the disciples asked him in verse 26 “then who can be saved?” Jesus responded “with men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” We aren’t capable of doing what Jesus commanded on our own, but we he will accomplish it through us if we choose to follow him. On an ironic side note…this scripture is often used to back up things that WE want to accomplish, but the context here is actually salvation and it’s all about giving up what we want to do and trusting God in our fulfillment. After telling them to surrender it all Jesus responds back in verse 29 telling the disciple that those who have surrendered all of those things will gain 100 times what they sacrificed in salvation.
Command: I need to surrender everything in order to follow Jesus.
Promise: Jesus promises that what we sacrifice in order to follow him will be gained back 100 times more.
Warning: We can’t hang onto things that we are commanded to sacrifice and still follow Jesus.
Application: The application of this is incredibly individual and personal. There can’t be anything in my life that Jesus is not allowed to touch. My family, my finances, my position or even my physical body and abilities. There is no salvation without complete surrender so I need to be willing to surrender it all with nothing held back. The paradox of it all as that when I do surrender my rights to it all, he makes something of it that I could have NEVER accomplished. He is not out to punish us, he is teaching us to trust him, but in trusting him we can’t have anything held on reserve.
Message: Reading though Mark 9 I could really see the struggle in disciples’ understanding of what Jesus was trying to prepare them for. He revealed his glory privately to Peter, James and John in a powerful transfiguration with guest appearances from Moses and Elijah and the voice of the father speaking to them through a cloud. This is clearly a moment they didn’t understand, but yet Peter (probably trying to cover up his awkward lack of understanding) recognized that it was a significant moment so he felt the need to say something. Afterward, Jesus firmly instructed them to tell nobody about this encounter… until after he was risen from the dead. Verse 10 tells us that they kept this to themselves and discussed amongst themselves what “rising from the dead” meant. Jesus had told them about this more than once and here again in Mark 31 he was telling them that he was going to be betrayed my men, he would be killed and that after three days he would rise. Verse 32 tells us that they didn’t understand this statement but they were too afraid to ask Jesus about it. Jesus had to have known because he responded to their thoughts constantly, and even redirected them with teaching in response to it. This happened in verse 33 when he asked them what they were arguing about, and then after their guilty silence he began teaching them that being the greatest meant being the servant of all. There are stories all over the place where he healed and performed miracles, and then he told people not to tell anyone about it. They almost never followed his instructions, so I always wondered why he did this. He even silenced demons who recognized him and forbid them from blowing his cover. What I pick up from these patterns is that Jesus was making landmarks for them to remember. He KNEW that they didn’t understand it then, and he didn’t expect them to so he didn’t try to explain it to them. He knew that after the resurrection things would make more sense and they would remember all of these landmarks along the way that he had been pointing out.
Command: Stop trying to understands the things that God does in our lives. We just won’t because we don’t have the proper context of understanding for it to even begin to make sense! Jesus does not expect us to understand things right now. They are landmarks for us to look back on later on.
Promise: Jesus will reveal everything we don’t understand in his perfect timing.
Warning: Jesus does not expect us to understand what we see and when we try to speak to the things we don’t understand, we sound like Peter did on that mountaintop when he blurted something out simply because he was afraid and he felt like the moment called for words. We all have these tendencies, but I have observed a pattern with people who try to figure out the “why” and “how” behind everything in their lives. They struggle and struggle to make sense of what they see and they think their way into an explanation. As soon as they think they have it figured out they speak it out and have this tremendous mountaintop moment where they feel like everything is clear and makes sense to them. As quickly as that moment comes, something else happens that completely busts open their understanding and they crash from that mountaintop moment right back down to complete and utter despair. We weren’t intended to understand everything right now, and there is plenty in the word of God for us to understand right now.
Application: I am fascinated with learning and understanding, but this reminds me of the importance of staying grounded in the truth of the word. There are lots of things to think about and wonder about. Lots of things to speculate about. Things we will never truly understand until the full context is revealed to us. We don’t see the full context of the picture where we are now, so God is placing landmarks in our lives that won’t make sense now, but will light up with understanding when the timing is right.
Message: When I read Mark 8 all I could think of is “groundhog day!”! Haven’t we seen this before? The first time Jesus fed 5000+ people it was the disciples who seemingly instigated things by trying to convince Jesus to send them away so they could get themselves food. Jesus flipped in on them and told them to feed the people and as they obeyed the ridiculous directive to start passing out 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread to over 5000 hungry people, Jesus performed a miracle of multiplication and they had 12 baskets of leftover pieces. This time around there are 4000+ people and it is Jesus telling the disciples that the people were hungry, and once again he commissioned them to feed the people. In my own mind I feel like I would be saying “Jesus, are you gonna do the thing again??” But instead, the story plays out much like the first time. Almost like they had never experienced this before. Once again the disciples challenged Jesus, but this time instead of bringing up how much it would cost, they asked where anyone could possibly find that much bread there “in that desolate place” to feed that many people. Jesus asked them how much bread they had and this time it was 7 loaves. Jesus gave thanks for it and began breaking it and passing the pieces of bread to his disciples to pass out and fed them all. In the middle of that they found they had a few fish too so they passed that out until everyone was fed. They collected 7 large baskets of the leftover pieces. They started with 7 loaves, and after feeding everyone until they were full they actually had 7 large basket full of pieces left. I love that we saw that not only was this not just a one time deal, but both times they had to be obedient when it looked ridiculous and rather than them seeing a sudden miracle of tons and tons of bread for them to pass out, they watched the supply from the 7 loaves just never run out and not just until it was gone so you could wonder if they really had enough, but so they could see that everyone was full and there was still a multiplied amount leftover.
Command: Obey God when it looks ridiculous and even when you’ve seen this before. We don’t need to see the provision before we move. God wants to see us move before the provision.
Promise: When God provides he doesn’t come up short.
Warning: If we wait for the provision to show up before we begin to obey, we will miss the miracle.
Application: I have seen this in my own life. I remember times that our debt to income ratio was out of sorts. We even saw a financial counselor to try to come up with a plan and the counselor looked at us and said plain and simple…”you need more income”. I’m not saying that this was not irresponsible of us, and God definitely didn’t allow us to stay that way, but as we walked out our obedience we saw everything get paid and we lacked for nothing. It was a supernatural provision that made no sense on paper but we lived it out. I love that this kind of story almost identically shows up twice- just to remind us that God can do this all day! He is just waiting for our obedience and when he has that he can help us walk out the rest. This doesn’t even have to be just money. It can be any kind of resource that we need. God is our provision and if we make him our source for everything he will take care of us every day like groundhog day!
Message: The scribes and Pharisees were at it again and wanted to know why some of the disciples of Jesus did not follow the Jewish traditions of the hand washing ritual. Jesus pointed out an example of another manmade rule they had followed so closely that it actually caused them to dishonor something else that was actually written in the law of Moses. We see some of this in our Christian culture where we have taken such an obsession with an appearance of clean-cut modesty or sexual morality, but we actually abuse and dishonor people who we don’t believe are following our form of morality. This is not to say that we shouldn’t examine ourselves and be accountable in these areas, by why do we believe it’s ok to dishonor people made in the image of God? An example our pastor often uses is cussing vs gossip. There are people who would never utter a single cuss word, yet they have no issues gossiping or verbally assaulting someone.
Command: We need to know why we do what we do. The convictions we hold need to come from a place of meaning in our hearts, not simply because it’s the religious thing to do. In some ways this gives us tremendous freedom, but more than that it should take on a deeper meaning.
Promise: God sees the motives of the heart. This is a relief when I am acting out of obedience from the heart level and asking God to show me what I need to see about my motives and attitude.
Warning: God sees the motives of my heart. Yes, this is both a promise and a warning that should terrify me. I can’t hide the condition of my heart from him so it doesn’t matter what I outwardly do that looks moral or right if the motive of my heart is filthy.
Application: This is a reminder to me that walking with Jesus is so much deeper than keeping a moral and modest appearance. God is most concerned about the condition of my heart. If my outward obedience comes from a desire for reputation, I might look good, but I might not BE good. If my obedience comes from a place of surrender, I will let God deal with things from the heart level, and the outward expression of that heart change will show up without effort.
Message: Mark 6 tells us that after Jesus miraculously fed the 5,000+ people with 5 loaves and 2 fish, he sent his disciples off into the boat while he went off into the mountains to pray. Night time came and Jesus was still on land when he saw them in the middle of the sea struggling to row their boat, fighting through and being battered by heavy winds. By 3am he started walking toward them on the water and they didn’t recognize him. They were terrified and cried out because they thought he was a ghost. He spoke out to them and identified himself, and then once he climbed into the boat with them the wind stopped and they were astounded. This is the same story we read from Matthew’s perspective in Matthew 14 where we also read that Peter walked on the water with Jesus. Luke skipped this story entirely, but we will see it again in John 6. Each account came from the different perspectives of who those who were there, and each perspective reveals little pieces of insight to the surrounding events. Mark’s account adds on something interesting at the end in verse 52 that almost sounds out of place. After he tells the whole story about the storm and Jesus calming it when he climbed into the boat he said it was because “they had not understood about the loaves, and instead, their hearts were hardened.”
What I got from this, is that the miracle that took place with the fishes and loaves triggered some questions that left them confused. Their unresolved questions caused a hardness of heart. Because of their hardness of heart they were distracted and feeling distant, which, ironically are grounds for a perfect storm. The physical storm they experienced was a mirror reflection of their spiritual condition so when things got rough and intense they did not see Jesus and they did not recognize him in the midst of their storm. Once they heard his voice things changed, and once he boarded the boat with them the storm stopped. In fact, John’s account of this story is fascinating because he actually says that as soon as Jesus boarded the boat and the wind stopped, they were immediately back at shore where they had started! Almost like they woke up from the nightmare and discovered that everything was as it should be. I really related to this story because I have felt the spiritual and emotional distance from God when my questions begin to consume me. By nature, we want to understand the why and the how of our situations, but we will never understand the bigger picture because we don’t have the mind of God.
Command: Don’t allow my questions and confusion to create a distance and a hardness of heart. Bring those questions to him and talk to him about the giant elephant in the room I am trying to ignore.
Promise: Jesus is nearer than I will ever realize, even when I can’t see him and when I don’t recognize him in my circumstances. Verse 48 describes how Jesus saw them struggling in the boat with the wind and waves. This was BEFORE he started walking toward them. He saw them in their struggle because he was never far away in the first place, and when they struggled, he came even closer.
Warning: Questions are to be expected, but when our questions cause confusion, it also causes a hardness of heart and a distance from God because we become offended by what we don’t understand. Offense leads us into isolation and when we are offended and isolated, we can’t see clearly, so we don’t see him and we can’t hear his voice even when he is right there with us.
Application: This brings to mind a very specific situation in my life where a long period of enduring a storm in my life started to wear me down and raise some questions. I allowed the questions to sit there unaddressed and I felt a gradual distance set in. I knew the distance was coming from me and not God, but because I also had a hardness of heart, my prayer life got quieter and even when I was praying it felt distant. I would say things like “I just feel like being quiet right now.” I knew in my heart that I was offended by God because I was overwhelmed by the storm going on around me and I didn’t understand why I was still in it. My mind played tricks on me because I knew my thinking was wrong, but clearly my emotions were running the show. I also knew that the thing I needed most was to be in the word, but my hardness had consumed me so deeply that my reading had gone from steady and consistent to few and far between. When I did read, the joy, the hunger and the fascination was gone because of the questions lingering beneath, but when I committed myself back to reading consistently and when I started writing again, I could hear God’s voice again. I still have some questions to work out, but I know that every time I have brought my questions to God with an authentic desire for understanding, and not an offended heart, I have been able to see the things he had always been trying to show me- one layer at a time. I need the fog of offense to lift so I can see clearly. Lord Jesus, thank you so much for your patience and your kindness as I work out hard questions with you. As I struggle to understand a complex and infinite God with my finite mind. Thank you for never leaving me, even when I lose focus and drift off. Help me to run toward you and not away from you when my questions come so that I stop wandering around in a foggy isolation. Thank you for bringing back the hunger and the love for your word.
Message: One of my favorite NT stories is the man delivered from the “legion” of demons and although I understand that the town lost 2000 pigs that day which probably destroyed their lively hood, I am always surprised at how disturbed they were. Was the dysfunction so normal for them to see this man whom they could no longer restrain, living in the cemetery naked, crying out and cutting himself? Now seeing him fully dressed, sitting there in his right mind they are afraid? I get that it disrupted their town and cost them 2000 pigs but his restoration scared them so badly that they begged Jesus to leave! What kind of dysfunction have I learned to live with so long that I would resist the change? Is it the cost it would take for the change that I’m afraid of? Maybe the disruption? On a side note, I couldn’t help but be sad for this guy when he wanted to go with Jesus after he was restored, and Jesus told him to stay there and tell everyone about it. These were the people that were so afraid of his transformation that they begged Jesus to leave and now Jesus wanted to stay with them and tell them about it. The cool part about it is that he did stay and tell them all about it and verse 20 says that they were amazed. I think people resist change they don’t understand but when they see someone they have always known to be in disarray, suddenly, or even gradually transform, they are impacted by it.
What also stood out to me more than anything else in Mark 5 is that the “woman of the issue of blood” we have heard about in so many sermons received her healing after touching Jesus. When Jesus asked “who touched me?” the disciples made a very obvious and valid point…’literally this entire crowd is touching you Jesus- and pressing up against you for that matter!” What was different about the woman? She touched him from a place of absolute desperation and she believed that she didn’t have to even have his attention. She could just reach out touch him quietly and be restored. She didn’t need a production, she wasn’t there to be seen. She just desperately wanted to be healed. I thought about this in the context of worship. We all gather and we all press in and worship, and we all want to see Jesus and be healed and changed, but there is something powerful about pressing into Jesus desperately and quietly with no audience. Our desperate determination unleashes a level of faith in us that touches God.
Command: Worship with a desperate and completely honest heart and don’t let the fear of the cost of transformation hold me back from grasping that change.
Promise: God sees my heart and he knows when I am just going through the motions with the crowd, but he also sees me in my honest desperation when nobody is around.
Warning: I can resist my own transformation and healing if I am hung up on the cost of it or the disruption of my life, or even my own idea of how it should happen.
Application: Lord, Jesus, if I am honest, I know I am not pressing in to you with the same kind of desperation that I have before. I see myself pressing into you like one of the crowd, but Lord, I want to have the kind of intimacy with you that transforms my heart and disrupts the norm. A transformation that will be noticed by those who know me best.
Message: As I was reading Genesis 32 I couldn’t help but notice some of the similarities and some of the stark contrasts in how Jacob handled Laban vs how he handled Esau. With Laban, Jacob was fearful that he would not be able to leave peaceably with his wives, children and livestock so he left without saying goodbye. But when Laban caught up to him he was bold and confident. He knew he had worked hard and served Laban well and even caused him to prosper because of his faithfulness to God, so he had a clean conscience and he challenged Laban to search his things to prove he had nothing to hide. He made the covenant with Laban and went on his way. His approach with Esau was much different. He was afraid for himself and his family because he had cheated his brother out of his birthright and his blessing and his brother had vowed to kill him- 20 years prior. He had been carrying the weight of it for 20 years, he was hoping to win his brother over but he just didn’t know how he would respond. He sent gifts ahead with his servants, he split his caravan into two, and he even hid his wives and children across the creek just in case things went south.
Command: Deal with issues as they come. Don’t let time separate me from resolving situations. They don’t dissipate over time. They build more tension and cause more anxiety.
Promise: Walking free of guilt allows me to walk with confidence without wondering what awaits me.
Warning: Hanging onto unresolved issues does not get better with time. It multiplies the dread and depletes my confidence.
Application: Walk in honesty with myself , with God and with people and I will be able to maintain confidence that God will take care of me. I do not have to avenge myself, cheat or deceive anyone. My clean conscience will make room for God to work.
Message: Jacob made built an altar and made a commitment to God before he met his uncle Laban. He honored his commitment even when he was cheated, abused and taken for granted and because of this, God honored that commitment and blessed everything Jacob put his hand to. We all want that kind of blessing and favor but what stood out to me here is that there were long periods of continued honor and obedience to that commitment, and at first, God’s favor benefited his uncle WHILE he was cheating Jacob and before that favor benefited Jacob. Jacob honored his commitment because it was right, and he didn’t become impatient with God’s timing. He continued to be honorable when it wasn’t appearing to benefit him. He knew that God’s favor on him was benefiting Laban, but he was also confident that God’s favor would bless his own family when he was finally free. Not only was this true, but God also protected Jacob by warning Laban in a dream.
Command: Honor my commitments and be obedient to God regardless of circumstances. My commitment to God is non-negotiable and is not contingent upon my circumstances.
Promise: God’s favor will follow me when I honor and obey him even when it doesn’t appear to pay off for a while, or even when I am treated unfairly, cheated or abused.
Warning: Don’t give up on doing the right thing just because people or circumstances don’t look favorable. Jacob endured many years of building someone else’s wealth while being cheated, misused and lied to. Imagine how things might have changed had Jacob decided to vindicate himself.
Application: This reminds me of Galatians 6:9 where we are reminded not to grow weary in well doing because in due season we will reap if we don’t faint. Jacob had the same promise in the first 20 years of faithfulness before he ever saw any of it benefit him. In fact, he watched HIS favor benefit the person who was cheating him and he never once questioned God about it. If my obedience and commitment to God is non-negotiable, than I can’t choose to stop being faithful, or blame God when his favor on my life doesn’t seem to feel like a benefit.
Message: In Mark 2 some men brought their paralytic friend to Jesus on a mat lowered through the roof where Jesus was teaching. In response to their faith, Jesus told them “son, your sins are forgiven.” The scribes who were sitting nearby were THINKING to THEMSELVES “why does he speak like this? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Verse 8 tells us that Jesus understood in his spirit that they were thinking these things and he responded out loud to them a very direct answer. He asked them why they were thinking those things (so now everyone gathered there knows that Jesus is responding to their inner thoughts) and then he asks them “which is easier, to say “your sins are forgiven or get up and walk?” Then he took it a step further and told them that so they would know that he has the authority to forgive sins, he would do both. As soon as he told the paralytic man to get up, pick up his mat and go home he did just that. He had been lowered in so dramatically through the roof by his four friends in front of everyone. The house was packed with people so his entrance was probably a huge interruption and now he was completely healed and walking out in front of them all too. Verse 12 tells us they were all amazed. What I’m wondering about is the miracle that the people didn’t see. When the scribes were thinking those thoughts Jesus did all of that in response to them. Did they understand the personal miracle that just happened with them? I saw the my own cynicism in the scribes when I read this. I am not quick to believe anything, and sometimes I have to reel in the critic inside me to hear Jesus respond to me. Some of the biggest miracles I have experienced in my life were personal responses to the questions I have had. Those things I was pondering in my heart that Jesus responded to in ways that were so powerful and so personal to me, that nobody else would even know about.
Command: Honest questions are very important, but I need to silence the critic and the cynic inside me so I can hear Jesus respond.
Promise: Jesus is not just after the big crowd pleaser miracles. He speaks to our hearts in powerful and personal ways that nobody else could possibly know or understand. He responds to our questions and shows us things on a personal level just to let us know that he sees us.
Warning: If I don’t reel in the critic and the cynic within me, I may miss the response from Jesus, and fail to see the miracle he is trying to show me.
Application: When I am feeling critical or cynical, I need to separate my emotions from it and begin to ask the bigger questions and then ask God to show me. I really have to approach these kinds of questions from a place of humility because this is where God’s grace shows up. God is not offended by my questions, but my attitude can pollute my questions into something else and when pride is in the way, I will not hear God’s voice.
Message: John the Baptist was the voice preparing people ahead for the ministry of Jesus. We are the parallel of John the Baptist preparing people for the coming of Jesus. Our message is the same “repent and be baptized.” Jesus set the example for discipleship. He had 12 disciples and a select few of them were with him for the deeper levels of intimacy and learned things about him that the rest were not privileged to witness. Peter, James and John were the only ones with Jesus on the mountain of transfiguration when Elijah appeared to them, and it was here that he had the revelation that Jesus was the Messiah. There were other disciples following Jesus who were concerned with their status and who would sit on the right and left hand of Jesus.
Command: Prepare people for the coming of Jesus. Make disciples.
Promise: Jesus is coming.
Warning: Don’t be concerned with status. Don’t lose sight of the vision.
Application: I don’t have to run around the wilderness and eat locusts and honey like John the Baptist, but my mission is still to follow Jesus and go to the deeper, more intimate places with him, while also making other disciples to follow Jesus.
Message: At what point are you so convinced of the truth that you intentionally lie and cover up to deny it? The scribes and Pharisees knew enough truth to want to discredit Jesus during his ministry. They were crafty about the types of questions they asked and they set up other people to also ask these questions also. They used attorney type tactics in the hopes to set a trap for Jesus that would contradict the law of Moses or himself. Even when he was crucified they were trying to stay one step ahead. They knew that Jesus had said he would rise from the dead after three days so they set up guards at the tomb. Then after he did resurrect and the guards told them what happened they moved on to their next cover up. They paid the guards to lie about what happened and tell them that they fell asleep and the body was stolen. Contrast this with the disciples who walked with Jesus. Jesus had been warning them and preparing them for everything that would happen and they seemingly didn’t believe it or didn’t understand it. They fled when Jesus was taken and they were hiding and mourning after his death when you would think they would be looking for his resurrection. Or were they? Verse 16 tells us that the 11 disciples (minus Judas who betrayed Jesus and hung himself) traveled to Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. Verse 17 tells us that when they saw him they worshipped him, but some doubted. Ok that’s fair. Wouldn’t that be hard to take in?? Verses 18-20 is where Jesus gave what we call the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” This was their instruction and ours too. This is the point of it all.
Command: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” This was their instruction and ours too. This is the point of it all.
Promise: Jesus promised he would be with us always.
Warning: There will always be those who want to discredit the truth. Even those who are most convinced OF the truth will try to deny it. Regardless, this is our mission and we can’t allow it to distract us from that mission.
Application: This chapter reminds me that there are people who see all of the facts, and are so dedicated to what they want to believe, or a lifestyle they want to preserve that they will fight it all the way. The religious leaders had position and authority that they didn’t want to lose. They were fighting to keep that life even if they were able to see that Jesus was who they believed he was. There are also people who may not comprehend all of the facts, but they have had an encounter with Jesus that they can’t deny. My mission is not to debate with people. It is to share my own testimony and make disciples- not to follow me as a person, but to follow my example as I follow after Christ. Jesus had plenty of people trying to distract him from his mission. He didn’t allow these distractions. He recognized the difference between honest questions and distractions. I don’t have the capacity to judge the heart, so I shouldn’t, BUT Jesus promised he would be with me and he gave me the Holy Spirit to lead and guide me so I need to listen to him when I speak with people. I need to set my own opinions to the side and ask God to show me the questions behind the questions that people are really asking. The questions coming from their hearts because that is where he meets us.
