Tag: Mark 4

The Kind of Fear That Frees You (Mark 4:35-41 Devotion)

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On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How [is it] that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

– Mark 4:35-41 (NKJV)

It was a terrible thunder storm. We were stuck on a sandbar sheltering under our aluminum canoes in a creek surrounded by tall trees! I have never been in the middle of such a storm before or since. People were huddled around us on that small little sandbar trying to escape the storm. Some of them were literally crying in fear. The electricity was in the air around us… Yet, I remember a peace like no other. I went from canoe to canoe and talked with folks the best I could. I shared the hope I had in Christ and the hope they could have too. You might ask, what gave me peace in that moment and I would tell you, not what, but who. The who is Jesus. I knew where I stood with God and was ready to die. Sure I was scared of death, but I was confident in Jesus to see me through the storm.

You never know how you are going to react in a situation like that until you are in it. I am grateful that on that day, all my confidence was in the Lord. The truth is that sometimes we become familiar with God and we forget just how great He is. We forget that he has the power to calm the wind and the waves in his voice. We forget that even in a storm we are safer with him.

The disciples in this account are afraid of the wrong thing and they don’t know it. They are afraid of a storm. Don’t get me wrong, storms are scary. But you have to notice in the English we get an interesting juxtaposition in the language here and I think we should lean into it because it helps us see a principle… Mainly that we need to order our fears. We will be afraid of losing our life unless we properly know and respect God. Jesus reminds us to bring our fears in order in Luke chapter 12:

“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 “But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!

Luke 12:4-5 (NKJV)

We may go through some scary situations in life. We may find ourselves afraid, but let us not forget to look to Jesus. He is the one through whom we find the confidence to face the storm. He is the one whom we should really honor and respect. We may feel like the storm is set to do us in, but our real and righteous fear doesn’t belong to the storm, it belongs to the one who saved the disciples from this storm and the only one who can save us from our sins.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. Help us to order our fears today. When we honor you in our lives, the other things fall into place. Though storms come and the winds blow and we go through scary situations in life, we trust in you to be our strength and our peace. Give us wisdom to always seek you in the storm. Please guide us in your will and direction for us. In Jesus Name, Amen.

How Do You Receive The Word of God (Mark 4:26-34 Devotion)

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And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, 27 “and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. 28 “For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. 29 “But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” 30 Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? 31 “[It is] like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; 32 “but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.” 33 And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear [it]. 34 But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples..”

– Mark 4:26-34: (NKJV)

I was at a public school and I heard a student read a gospel presentation to a group of his peers. It wasn’t a conversation. It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t deep. He just simply read what amounted to a gospel tract. As far as presentations go, I had selfishly in my heart already judged it to be one of the worst ones I’ve ever seen… but do you know what? Two students gave their lives to the Lord that day!

What happened? While presentation is important, when it comes to the gospel there are a few more important elements at play. One is, as we have been talking through the parable of the soils, the receptivity of people to the word of God. A ready heart and the truth of the gospel, even in small doses, goes a lot further than how well or poor we might judge the gospel to be presented. The second is never underestimate the power that is in the seed (Word of God) that will come out in the soil of our lives under the right conditions.

Jesus continues with these garden metaphors and I’m glad He does because he shows us that the power is in the word of God and ready hearts. As we go out sharing God’s word this week we need to pray for ready hearts to receive the gospel and share God’s word with confidence. If we share and someone doesn’t receive the gospel, the defect is not with the seed, it’s with the soil.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. Thank you for the confidence we can have to share your word. We are grateful that the power for fruitfulness comes from your word at work in our lives. We pray for receptive hearts both for ourselves and others. Please guide us in your will and direction for our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Ears To Hear! (Mark 4:21-25 Devotion)

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Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? 22 “For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 23 “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 “For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

– Mark 4:21-25 (NKJV)

This is the second time Jesus has shared the words, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” He intends of the disciples to “get it.” It’s one thing to be told something and it’s another thing to hear it. He has told them truths encapsulated in parables. It is now up to them to “get it” and now go do something with what they have been told.

They need to cultivate their hearts to receive the word. They are being given a light and there will come a time when they need to shine it. Some things will be secret for now, but they won’t stay a secret, the world will know. The question is, what will they do with what they have seen and heard?

The more we respond in faith to what we have heard from Jesus, the more we can expect to hear and understand. If we don’t respond in faith, but rather pretend we haven’t heard Jesus or we ignore what he is saying, the less we will understand and know of his word. Jesus is placing responsibility at the feet of the disciples and those who have heard him to put his words into practice. He isn’t sharing theory, entertainment, education, or mere rhetoric. He is sharing the words of life and the more you grasp it, the more there is to grasp… but take heed, if you ignore what he has said, you won’t derive any benefit from what little you do have.

This if helping us further understand the parable of the soils we have just read; Treasure the word, let it penetrate your heart, remove distractions, and in due season it will bloom… harden your heart and what little you have… Satan will come and snatch it away. When you receive the word into your heart, it is doing a work that is hidden or can’t be seen, but it won’t be hidden for long as the seed sprouts, the work God is doing will come into the day light. Do you have ears to hear? Will you cultivate your heart to receive God’s word today?

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. Thank you for your word. I humbly ask that we all come ready to hear your word today and give it the room it deserves in our heart to grow. We pray that you would take your word and produce an abundant harvest in our lives. Use us for your kingdom and your glory. Please guide us in your will. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Three Things That Work Against Fruitfulness (Mark 4:10-20 Devotion)

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But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 11 And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, 12 “so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And [their] sins be forgiven them.’ ” 13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 “The sower sows the word. 15 “And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 “These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 “and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 “Now these are the ones sown among thorns; [they are] the ones who hear the word, 19 “and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 “But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept [it], and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

– Mark 4:10-20 (NKJV)

A good gardener wants plants that produce fruit! Jesus wants his word to produce fruit in the lives of people, but there are at least three things that can hinder fruitfulness. One is if you never fully receive the seed. Some people have hard hearts and are overly skeptical, not even giving the word a chance. Jesus compares these heart to those like a beaten down path unready to receive the word and making it easy for birds (who represent Satan) to come and snatch the word away before it even has a chance to germinate. We need to guard against having hard hearts and pray for the Lord to soften hard hearts like he has done with people like the Apostle Paul.

The second is one in which growth appears quickly, but the root system never goes very deep. Then when persecution comes there is nothing really holding them to faith in the Lord. Their faith was more in themselves than anything and so when trials happen they fall away. We see this in the situation of those who first received the book of Hebrews and many were tempted to leave the faith because of persecution. Or possibly the situation of John Mark where he abruptly left the company of the apostles in Acts 13 (for reasons we can only speculate about) but is later recommissioned.

The third is where the cares of this world choke out the life of the first response. In these cases it is the sad reality of misplaced priorities take over. Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24) and the soil of your heart doesn’t have room to produce both fruit and weeds. One must go. If you don’t pluck the weeds they will choke out your gospel ambitions and keep you from every producing real fruit in your life. These are like Demas (2 Timothy 4:10) who at one moment was in ministry with Paul, but has deserted him for the love of the world.

To have the world of God produce fruit in my life I need to cultivate my heart to be ready for it. When I go to hear the word I need to ask God to make sure my heart is not hard against him for any reason. I might pray for brokenness to where I am willing to receive his word. I should examine my life to see if I have anything beneath the surface that doesn’t allow the word to penetrate my heart. For the word to really take root I must have more hope in the Lord than I do in myself. Then I must also make sure my heart is free from competition. There are many things in this world that would compete for my affections for the Lord. I must take the idols I used to worship and sacrifice them to God. I must allow him to take the things in my life that don’t please him out…. and it is in this environment that real fruitfulness takes place.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. Lord guard me from having a hard heart. I don’t want to be skeptical of things that are true. Give me grace and discernment to see the things from you and to have fruit in my life. Keep me from being content in my own ability to hold on to you and let me trust in your ability to hold on to me so when the storms of persecution happen, I am not shaken because my faith goes deep in you. Lord examine my life to see if there is any competition with you in my heart. Make me into a fruitful Christian. Prepare my heart for your word. Please guide us in your will. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Growth Vs. Fruit (Mark 4:1-9 Devotion)

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And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat [in it] on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. 2 Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching: 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 “And it happened, as he sowed, [that] some [seed] fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. 5 “Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 “But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 “And some [seed] fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 “But other [seed] fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” 9 And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

– Mark 4:1-9 (NKJV)

When you plant a tomato plant, what are you looking for come time for harvest? Tomatoes! When you plant a pepper plant? Peppers! When you plant any sort of garden plant, the purpose is to produce a harvest! Gardeners don’t grow plants for growth sake, but they grow plants to yield a harvest. There are all sorts of things that can stop a plant from reaching maturity and producing fruit. In today’s passage we see some problems with a harvest begin with the type of soil where a seed is planted.

A problem in the soil is a problem for a plant being able to produce fruit. It is sufficient for today to remember that the goal of planting is not growing alone, but is for harvesting! A wise farmer prepares the soil for a good harvest.

Growth alone is not a good indication of a harvest. There are three types of soil in the parable where seeds sprout and grow in some sense, but only one soil produces the harvest! In our lives we can experience what we might call growth and that can be exciting, but we must be intent on seeing it cultivated into fruit. We might be able to grow in all sorts of ways, numerically (if we’re talking about a church), educationally (we might know more about the bible today than we did yesterday), passionately (if we’re talking about our enthusiasm for all things related to Jesus), but these things don’t always transform into real and lasting heart change exhibited in loving God and loving others.

If our lives are the soils mentioned in this parable (and we trust that they are as we read ahead in Mark) then we need to cultivate our life in such a way that when we receive the word of God, it produces fruit in our lives. We can’t be content with a measure of growth that produces anything but fruit.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. Thank you for the power that your word has to transform our lives. We want to be fruitful Christians. We are excited by every step of growth that we see in our own lives, but help us not to be content with growth alone, but to see fruit. If there are things that need to change in our lives, please change them so that we can be more fruitful for you! Please guide us in your will. In Jesus Name, Amen.