Tag: mark

Mark 7: keep the main thing the main thing

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional1 Comment

At the beginning of this chapter, Jesus’ disciples are taken to task by some of the religious leaders for not washing their hands. To be honest, washing your hands is very wise behavior. I was taught to wash my hands before meals as a child and still do on most occasions, even if I have to use hand sanitizer. I wash though to keep germs somewhat at bay and prevent disease. Again… Washing hands is very wise behavior. However, the issue arrises when the religious leaders raised the wise behavior to the level of the law and imposed it on the disciples.

Jesus immediately corrects the situation and calls the leaders on their hardness of heart. They were more concerned with what went in a person than what came out. Jesus declared that the heart was the issue. The disciples could have a right heart and practice some unwise behavior by not washing their hands. However, the religious leaders were in the habit of washing hands, but were far from God in their hearts as they were actually finding ways to dishonor heir parents while still appearing right with God.

The point is that God is most concerned with our actual obedience, not just the appearance of obedience. It’s easy to elevate wise behavior to the level of law and think that we are okay before God because we wash our hands, rinse our vegetables, and put a thermometer in our meat, but the real issue is are we testing God in obedience?

An Open Letter to all My Legalistic Friends

Mark 5: where are you going?

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional1 Comment

Mark 5:19 – “Go Home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

I used to beg God to send me as a missionary to one of the darkest places on earth. I’ve heard that some people dread that God might call them to Africa, that wasn’t me. I have several friends who are now on or headed to the mission field, some of them from my own ministry. I have to admit sometimes I wish it were me. Who knows maybe one day God will call me to leave my country and go.

However, the last time God said “Go” it was just an hour away. So we sold our house, uprooted our family and moved an hour away; still in the South, still on the gulf coast, and in a town very much like the one we left. In a sense, we are still home.

I used to think that perhaps we were second rate Christians just trying to reach our neighbors and teenagers and stuff. After all we didn’t have to learn a new language or customs or anything. We just had to find a way past the fence.

I’ve come to find that by comparison it isn’t the darkest place on earth. There are a lot of churches that talk about the gospel here. (note: Have you ever tried to attend one as a guest? I’ve been to various churches my whole life. When we are on vacation it’s still one of the most intimidating things to walk into a new church as a visitor.) But I’ve come to find that there is still a lot of darkness here. There are actually still a lot of people who have never heard the gospel on the gulf coast. I know because I’ve shared with dozens who profess that they have never heard it before.

I used to ask God if I was missing his call. I used to wonder if I was a second rate Christian for going “home” with the gospel. I heard a missionary once say the question isn’t weather or not God is asking us to go, but if He is asking us to stay. I know he was well intended, but even if God calls us to “stay” home with the gospel, He is telling us to “go home” with the gospel. We should always be going with the gospel, even when we are going home.

The demon possessed man at the beginning of Mark 5 found freedom in Jesus and wanted to follow Jesus wherever he went, Jesus instead commissioned the man to “go” home with the gospel. If you are a believer the question isn’t, “should I stay or should I go?” It is, “where has God called me to go with the gospel?” are you sharing the gospel where you are?

Mark 4: Can you hear me now?

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional1 Comment

Mark 4 opens with Jesus telling a parable. Most often this parable is called the parable of the “Sower,” however, the real action in this parable takes place in the soil.

At first the disciples don’t get it. They later ask Jesus what it means. Jesus responds that this was his plan… Those inside the Kingdom would know the meaning and those outside wouldn’t. Jesus had spoken this parable to a great crowd, but only a few wanted to really know what it meant. And this was exactly the meaning of the parable. I fear that many Sunday sermons in many churches are the same way. The pastor preaches, the word goes out just like the parable. Some hear, but their hardness of heart blocks them from really understanding the message perhaps they are bitter or angry and even though they receive the same “seed’ as everyone else Satan is able to immediately make sure that message is not understood or applied.

Others hear and are immediately excited about the implications of the message, but they are shallow and beneath the surface their is a hardness that won’t let the seed really take root. Satan doesn’t have to take this seed away their shallowness ensures that it will never come to anything.

The next group hears the word, and produce a plant, but at the same time other “weeds” are being cultivated in their life. These ones hear the word, practically understand it, but are unwilling to remove the competition from their lives. This is the rich young ruler who walked away from Jesus sorrowful because he had great possessions.

All of these soil/ heart types hear the same message, but it is obscured for various reasons. The word of God is unable to be cultivated because of the condition of the soil/ heart. So “they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear, but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven” (mark 4:12).

Those who actually receive the message without hardness, shallowness, or competition truly hear the word and run to Christ for forgiveness. They have a soil/ heart that produces fruit (evidence of the work of God in your life).

The point: are you actually hearing the word of God and letting have full effect in your life or are you dangerously hearing the word with no real fruit?

Take time today to examine your heart. What kind of response have you been giving to His word? Are you willing to confess a hard heart and ask God to break you? Will you confess shallowness, remove pride and ask God to take you deep? Will you take the idols in your life, the things that compete with with God’s word and remove them allowing God to truly reign in your life? Will you simply hear the word or will you truly seek to understand?

Mark 3: its your hard heart stupid

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

We pick up in chapter 3 with the religious leaders of the day staring at Jesus all through jewish church (synagogue) wondering if He’s going to help the guy with the gimpy hand. They really don’t care about the guys gimpy hand, they just want to see if Jesus will break one of their rules (don’t work on the Sabbath, because I’m pretty sure no one thought of the “don’t heal on the Sabbath” rule till Jesus came along so they tried to slide it under, “don’t work” which was really just a rule to help them “rest” and worship God.)

When did your relationship become all about rules anyway? I’m not saying ditch the rules, but have we gone out of our way to make things sin that aren’t really sin at all? Then do we get mad when other people cross our imaginary boundaries built on preference? Jesus was mad and grieved because the religious guys had perverted the grace and provision of God to keep their brothers from God.

Mark 2: its not what you want, it’s what you need

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

The chapter begins with the account of the how Jesus heals a paralytic man. The man’s friends show amazing faith by tearing up the roof and dropping the man in above Jesus. Jesus sees their great faith and forgives the man’s sin. This stuns the crowd. They expect a healing, many are doubtful that Jesus can even forgive sin. Jesus sees their doubt and authenticates his statement by healing the man.

It is apparent that the man needed healing, but his greater need was the forgiveness of his sins. I wonder if his friends knew this? I wonder if they would have been as aggressive to get him to Jesus if Jesus would have forgiven his sins, but left him a Paralytic? I wonder if we look at our neighbors, coworkers, and friends and don’t really see their greatest need is to trust in Christ for the forgiveness and remission of their sins? The good news is that Jesus forgives the sins of those who repent and turn to him. Who are you telling today?

Then Jesus calls Levi the tax collector to follow him. This outrages some of the religious people of the day. Tax collectors were considered to be great sinners. Jesus quickly shares his impression that just as sick people need a doctor, sinners need a savior and he has come to save.

Have you considered that Jesus came not to judge but to save? Great sinners need a great savior. When you see people apart from Christ living in great sin, do not be afraid. Jesus came to save sinners! You have great news to share. (Some people in my town are confused on this they think the gospel is shouting at people, “You’re going to Hell!” what they should really be telling people is that, “Jesus came to save you from Ever having to go to Hell.”)

Next the religious leaders come to Jesus because his disciples aren’t conforming to the religious pattern of the day by fasting. Jesus responds that when it’s time for them to fast, they will fast. There is a huge difference between conforming to tradition and genuine fasting. Genuine fasting will be wrought in the lives of the disciples over the next few years as they experience life with Jesus, witness his death and resurrection.

The religious leaders again approach Jesus over the issue of the Sabbath. Religious tradition had added so many rules to the Sabbath that they had obscured the real meaning. God made the Sabbath day as a gift for men, but the leaders had made it into a cumbersome burden for men to keep. People took great pride in being Sabbath keepers, but had lost the meaning.

Question: are more concerned with the appearance of righteousness than actually trusting God? Sometimes it’s easy for us to fall into the trap of trying to make ourselves look good by the things we do or no longer do. Jesus makes it clear that he didn’t come to help people who think they are doing well, but those who know that they aren’t.