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Clearer than trees (Mark 8:23-26) August 7, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 2 Thessalonians

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Mark 8:23-26
Jesus: What do you see?
Blind Man (opening his eyes): I see people, but they look like trees—walking trees.
Jesus touched his eyes again; and when the man looked up, he could see everything clearly.
Jesus sent him away to his house.
Jesus (to the healed man): Don’t go into town yet. [And don’t tell anybody in town what happened here.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Have you ever thought about why Jesus had to touch this man twice? What was it about this encounter that required Him to work in the man’s life two times instead of just once? In almost every other occasion we see Jesus speaking to someone or touching someone or doing something and the word says immediately the person is healed. So what is it about this encounter that is different? Why the second touch before this man could see clearly?

Was Jesus off His game that day? I don’t think so. Was this man worse than others Jesus’ had seen? Probably not. Did the man have some strange disease Jesus didn’t know about and that’s why it took a double dose of His cure? I doubt it. Jesus is God incarnate. He can do all things. This was just another simple case of healing. So why the difference?

Let me give you my thought that will run contrary to what some of you might think, but here it is anyway. You can choose to agree or disagree as you see fit, but I think there are also a lot of people who will agree with me. So here it is.

I think Jesus uses this event to teach us what Paul will later tell us about salvation and sanctification. Some say they are the same thing. I do not. I believe they are two separate, distinct actions that take place in the life of the repentant follower of Jesus. Can they happen simultaneously? They can, but I think, as illustrated by Jesus’ encounter with this blind man, they don’t have to, and the more we seem to progress in this world the farther apart these to events seem to happen in people’s lives. I’ll explain why later.

The two events, salvation and sanctification, are separate and distinct. Salvation is forgiveness of our sins. We are made right with God. He forgives the past. He pays the penalty we should pay and covers the debt we owe with His own blood. He redeems our life with His own. We belong to Him because He has purchased us with the price of His blood on the cross. Forgiveness for the past, that’s salvation, a distinct immediate action that happens when we in true repentance ask Jesus to forgive. He does and we are saved from death, eternal damnation, eternal separation from God.

Sanctification is also a separate and distinct event in the life of the follower of Christ. Can it happen at the same moment of salvation? Yes. Does it always? No. Does it often? I’m not so sure it does and here’s why, particularly in our world today. Sanctification means the setting apart of something for a sacred purpose. To make holy. That means we commit ourselves completely, totally to God. Everything we have, everything we are, everything we gain is His. Nothing held back. He hold 100% stock in us. He is the CEO and president of the company called me. He is the chairman and the board of directors of the company. I can vote, but my vote doesn’t count. He’s in charge. Period. I’m set apart, set aside, given up to Him.

And here’s why I think that setting apart seldom happens when we are forgiven of our sins at the time of our salvation. At age six, I knew what sin was. I knew I needed to ask forgiveness from God if I did bad things. And I would go the altar and ask for His forgiveness. I know He forgave me for those sins. Was that salvation? Yes. Was that sanctification? No. As a six-year old, I had no concept of what it meant to give my life completely, wholly to God. Was God still guiding me and helping me? Sure. When I asked Him to forgive my sins at 8 or 10 or 12 did that mean I was confused about salvation or sanctification? No, but I still didn’t understand what total commitment of life meant.

At eighteen, I got tired of the roller coaster life Paul describes in Romans 7, I do what I don’t want to do and what I want to do I don’t do. What a miserable life. Who can rescue me from this up and down, in and out battle? Thank God, there is one who can, Jesus, who gives us His Spirit to live in us and help us live by the Spirit instead of living by the flesh! I committed myself to Him fully, completely, totally at an altar on a rainy Sunday night in March of 1973. That was sanctification. God had given all of Himself to me, but that night I gave all of myself to Him. I am set apart for Him. His instrument. His tool to use any way He wants. That’s sanctification.

Can it happen at the same time? It can. But more often, I think we must come to an understanding of what it means to commit ourselves completely to Him. Like the blind man in this encounter with Jesus, when our sins are forgiven, we see His kingdom and His truth around us more clearly, but when we give ourselves completely to Him, His word opens up in ways that make His will and His love crystal clear. Instead of seeing people like trees, we see every detail. Commit to Him, you won’t be sorry. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Don’t you see? (Mark 6:50) July 30, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – John 1-2

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Mark 6:50
Jesus (immediately calling out): Don’t be frightened. Do you see? It is I.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

So, today we have another familiar story. Jesus sends His disciples across the Sea of Galilee in a boat while He stays to prayer for a while. Then in the middle of the night as the disciples are battling yet another storm that comes up on the sea, Jesus leaves His place of prayer and decides to join His team. They are already afraid because of the storm, and Jesus figures the fastest way to get to the other side is to take a shortcut across the water.

The disciples look through the spray of the waves and the rain and see a figure in the mist. It looks like Jesus, but no one can walk on the water, so it must be a ghost. They do what most people do when they are afraid. They cower below the boat rail and pretend that if they can’t see the apparition , the the apparition can’t see them. That works, right? It’s like soldiers. Every soldier, including me, complains about digging a foxhole. You need a backhoe to dig one deep enough to really do the job right. That is unless the enemy is firing at you, then you can dig one with a spoon about twice as big as you really need it and about twice as fast as you think you can. If bullets are coming my way, I want them way over my head. To be honest with you, I don’t particularly want to poke my head up to see the whites of the enemies’ eyes, either.

So the disciples did what any of us would do when faced with something scary. They curled up in a ball and made themselves as small as they could in the hope they couldn’t be seen. Find the next guy, not me. None stood tall and leaned over the rail with their chest puffed out daring whatever or whoever that was out there to come on in. None were ready to take on this water-walker. They were afraid.

That’s why I like the words Mark records for us. “Don’t be frightened. Do you see? It is I.” Do you see? No, I’ve got my head buried under the blanket. I’m trying to be invisible to whatever you are. I’m trying not to be seen so how can I see? Do you see? I’m trying my best to keep my eyes closed as tight as I can get them so maybe that thing out on the water will go away. Do you see? What do you think I’m made of? I’m flesh and blood, I don’t know what you are. You can walk on water. I’m scared to death!

When I read those words of Jesus and thought about the natural response we have to fear, it dawned on me that we are just like those disciples in the boat. To many times, Jesus heads our way and we can see Him. But we are afraid of what’s next. We are afraid of what He might say, what He might do, what He might demand. We are afraid so we don’t look up. We let Satan blind us and we shut our eyes, cover our heads with a blanket, cower in the bottom of the boat. We hide thinking if we can’t see Jesus, then maybe He can’t see us either. We’re afraid of Him.

But Jesus says, “Don’t be frightened. Do you see?” Can you exercise just enough faith to open your eyes and see Me? Can you poke your head up above the rail just enough to recognize Me and see that I can do miraculous things in your life if you’ll let Me? Will you take the blanket off your head and see that I can help you, that I can calm the storms in your life, that I can bring peace to your troubled heart?

Satan wants us to keep our eyes closed. Oh, he’ll tell us that we are wise, just like he told Adam and Eve. They learned otherwise. He’ll tell us the One out there on the water is something to be feared, something other worldly, something impossible to exist. But if we will just sneak a glimpse of the Man who beckons us, we will find we don’t need to be frightened.

We will see Him walk out of the mist that the world tries to cloud Him in and we will recognize Him for who He is. We will see that Jesus is the Son of the living God. We will see that He can forgive our sins, fill us with His Spirit, and enable us to live the life He calls us to live. We will see the fog roll away and know that Jesus wants to do incredible things for and through us if we will just poke our heads above the railing. Or if we brave enough, like Peter to step out of the boat, we can be part of some wondrous water walking experiences of God’s hand at work all around us.

Don’t be frightened. Don’t you see? It is Jesus.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.