Tag Archives: Mark

But I don’t like to fish! (Mark 1:17) July 5, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 2 Kings 1-5

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

Today’s Devotional

Mark 1:17
Jesus: Come and follow Me, and I’ll send you to catch people instead of fish.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Several years ago I had a couple of fishing poles. They sat in my garage. I think I used them twice in the years I owned them. I finally threw them away after they were broken in one of my several moves. I wasn’t sad. I might have been fishing twice in the last forty years. I’m not a fisherman. I really don’t much enjoy fishing.

Fishing isn’t a very exciting sport to me. I suppose if I was good at it and could catch fish easily and it didn’t take much time to get my limit I might enjoy it, but it never happens that way for me. The last time I went fishing I spent a lot of time baiting lines and hooks and caught…nothing. I saw a lot of water. Got a pretty good sunburn. And got pretty bored with the whole thing. Like I said, I’m not a fisherman. If I never wet another line, it wouldn’t break my heart. Fishing again is not on my bucket list.

So when I read in Mark that Jesus tells Simon and Andrew, “Follow Me and I’ll send you to catch people instead of fish.” I wasn’t so impressed. These were fishermen and I didn’t belong with them. They knew how to catch fish and probably enjoyed their jobs. Jesus was pulling them away from their livelihood, one in which they prospered. He was going to let them keep their jobs but change their catch. If I had been there, I would have been a visitor and frankly His appeal to fishermen would not have impressed Me. I would have just gone home.

Have you ever thought about that? Would you have jumped at the chance to follow if Jesus asked you to go fishing? Now, knowing what I know about Him, my answer would be a resounding yes, but before I knew Him? I doubt it. So where am I going with all this? What’s the point?

I think it’s important to understand who Jesus is talking to as He asks Simon and Andrew to follow Him. These two men are fishermen. They love to fish. They know just about everything there is to know about fishing. It’s their livelihood. They own multiple boats. They hire others to help in their business. These guys love fishing! Jesus uses their love to explain what He wants them to do.

If Jesus came to me to invite me to join Him the same way He came to Simon and Andrew, I think He would appeal to my love of teaching or my love of technology or my love of strategic planning. He would pick something I do that I’m currently engaged in and enjoy. I think He would invite me to do those things for Him and use those skills to bring others into His kingdom.

Jesus talked about agrarian things in His parables, fig trees, olive branches, sheep, harvests, because the people around Him lived in an agrarian society. They understood His metaphors. They knew the language and signs and symbols because they lived with these things every day. They grew gardens in their yards because that’s how they got their food. They had sheep in their fields because that’s how they got their meat. They lived the parables Jesus used to teach the people around Him.

Today, I think Jesus would use traffic jams and unions strikes and political campaigns and pollution generators and wind and solar powered generators and all sorts of things we see and hear every day to explain the kingdom of heaven at hand and God’s desire to show us His grace and mercy. I think Jesus would share with us in ways that speak to our hearts using tools that help us clearly understand just how He wants us to live and share the message with others.

He would call us to follow Him just as He called Simon and Andrew. But He might not ask us to be fishers of men. He might ask us to follow Him to be taxi drivers and carry people to the kingdom or pilots to fly them away to heaven or who knows what occupation He might use to help you or me better understand He has a specific role in mind for us. He created each of us with a purpose. God’s plan will be fulfilled and we can choose to be part of it or not. But if we choose to follow Him, He has a plan for us, too. He has work for us to do in His plan. We can be part of the good work He does.

I will bring others into the kingdom, but not as a fisherman. I just don’t like to fish. That’s not what I do. Jesus knows that about me. But He does know what I like and what I do best. That’s where He calls me and that’s where He uses me in His great plan. What a Savior, Master, and Lord we serve!

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.

It’s time! (Mark 1:15) July 4, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Leviticus 10-12

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

Today’s Devotional

Mark 1:15
Jesus: It’s time! The kingdom of God is near! Seek forgiveness, change your actions, and believe this good news!

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

It’s time! It was true when Jesus first came to earth in the likeness of sinful man to tell us the good news about redemption. It is still true today. It is time! But time for what? That is the question people seem to miss as we go about our busy days.

I saw an article the other day about a new clock developed in a crowd funded firm that will be interesting if it takes root. The premise of the company is that we have changed the way we measure almost everything in our society except time. All our instruments have become more exact, measured in different ways and by different methods, but time is stuck in seconds, minutes, and hours. We watched the hands on the clock spin around every day monotonously the same way for centuries.

This company decided to take a new view of time. The clock has a single hand that takes twenty-four hours to sweep around the dial and that is only for those that must have some link back to the old way of telling time. The real time keeper is a band of yellow light that moves across the face the clock as the face changes from blue during the day to purple at night. Sounds like the sun moving across the sky during the daylight hours and the moon transiting the sky at night, doesn’t it?

The premise of the company is we need to stop being so bound by the ticks the sweep by on the timepiece on our wrist and wall and start enjoying each day. We need to breathe a little and not let time enslave us. It is time we not be slaves to time.

It sounds good, but how do you stop a world driven by calendars and clocks? My last position in the Army certainly required good time management when every day was packed with meeting from 7 am to 6 pm with no breaks in between. Plus social events, inboxes, email, church, and family. The calendar was overflowing every day of the week from before sunup to after sundown. But that pace seems to be more and more common these days for the up and coming, the entrepreneurs, and those struggling to get by. Everyone is busier than they should be.

It’s time! But that’s not what Jesus is talking about, is it? He had a very simple but very important message tied to the clock. It’s time to do three things He says. Seek forgiveness, change your actions, and believe this good news.

The first, seek forgiveness, requires us to first recognize we are sinners, apart from God, in violation of His laws, disobedient and unworthy of His grace. Until we see ourselves in light of His holiness and understand just how sinful we are compared to Him, not someone else, but Him, we will not seek forgiveness. We might be sorry we get caught at something, but we won’t seek real forgiveness. Seeking forgiveness takes more than just saying I’m sorry. It means contrition. It means repentance, which leads to Jesus’ second point.

Change your actions. You can’t remain in God’s favor doing the sinful things you’ve always done. Repentance means turning away from the evil and turning toward God. It means turning your back on the past and turning toward a different future. It means letting go of those things you wanted before and grabbing hold of God and the things He has in store for you. Repentance is so much more than just crying a few tears and saying I’m sorry. It means, as Jesus says, changing your actions.

The third thing Jesus tells us to do is believe this good news. What news is that? The kingdom of God is near. So often we think we must die and move on the the next life before we can experience heaven, the kingdom of God. But we don’t. Jesus tells us the kingdom of heaven is near. In fact, when He came to earth, the kingdom of heaven came to earth. It is where He is. We can enjoy a piece of heaven here, in this place, right now.

How is this possible in the middle of all the evil around us? Where Jesus is, heaven is. If He lives in you, heaven is in you. We can experience the peace and joy of heaven even in the middle of all the evil that takes place around us. We are not dependent on the external circumstance we face for the peace and joy we have in our lives. It comes from within and when Jesus is Lord of our lives, He brings that peace. He gives joy. He makes heaven possible for us now, in this place, when we put our trust in Him.

It is time! The kingdom of heaven is near. Seek forgiveness, change your actions, and believe this good news!

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.

Nothing is impossible (Mark 14:27-31;66-72), November 3, 2015

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Mark 14:27-31; 66-72

Set – Job 25; Mark 14

Go! – Job 25; Mark 13-14

Mark 14:27-31; 66-72
Jesus: ²⁷ All of you will desert Me tonight. It was written by Zechariah,
I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will scatter.
²⁸ But when I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.
Peter (protesting): ²⁹ It doesn’t matter who else turns his back on You. I will never desert You.
Jesus: ³⁰ Peter, mark My words. This very night before the cock crows twice, you will have denied Me three times.
Peter (insisting): ³¹ No, Teacher. Even if it means that I have to die with You, I’ll never deny You.
All the other disciples said similar things.
^66-67 While Peter was waiting by the fire outside, one of the servant girls of the high priest saw him.
Servant Girl: You were one of those men with Jesus of Nazareth.
Peter: ⁶⁸ Woman, I don’t know what you’re talking about.
He left the fire, and as he went out into the gateway, a cock crowed.
⁶⁹ The servant girl saw him again.
Servant Girl: Hey, this is one of them—one of those who followed Jesus.
Peter: ⁷⁰ No, I’m not one of them.
A little later, some of the other bystanders turned to Peter.
Bystander: Surely you’re one of them. You’re a Galilean. We can tell by your accent.
⁷¹ And then he swore an oath that if he wasn’t telling the truth that he would be cursed.
Peter: Listen, I don’t even know the man you’re talking about.
⁷² And as he said this, a cock crowed a second time; and Peter remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the cock crows twice, you will have denied Me three times.”
He began to weep.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Be careful about making promises you can’t keep. Peter thought he would never deny Me when he made his declaration. It was just a few short hours, though, and he not only denied Me, but sealed his denial with an oath. Fear for his life caused him to forget the thin boast he made that he would die before he would leave My side. It only took the sight of the soldiers’ swords in the night to dissuade him from following further to his own crucifixion.

It wasn’t that Peter didn’t believe he would stand with Me until the end, but he didn’t have the strength by himself to do so and because My Spirit had not yet come to stay with you and in you, he just couldn’t do it. He fled just like Zechariah said all of My disciples would. None had the intestinal fortitude to stand by Me in those darkest hours. They had all witnessed crucifixions. They had all seen the floggings and beatings inflicted by the Romans. They knew what could happen if they didn’t escape … and quickly. So they ran. All of them.

It was partly because of Peter’s experience he became such a fervish missionary for Me. Once he learned to lean upon Me and trust in My strength instead of his own, Peter discovered he could keep his promise and not fear physical death. Once Peter saw Me after My resurrection and had My Spirit living in him, he knew nothing could keep him from following Me wherever I led him. Even to the cross where he requested he be crucified upside-down because he felt he didn’t deserve to die the same way I did.

What was the change in Peter? The upper room was the change. He and those who spent time with him in that room waited for the third person of the triune Godhead to invade their lives. The Holy Spirit came to them after they prayed through. What does that mean? They gave up everything. They emptied themselves of self and let Me have control of their lives. They vowed to do what I asked them to do…whatever it might be or whatever it might cost. Peter and those with him held nothing back.

You can do the same. It’s not just the words, “I give myself to you,” though. It means you have to really do it. You really pray through and give Me everything…everything. It’s not always easy to give everything up, but you must give Me everything if you expect to have the strength of those like Peter, Paul, James, John, and so many others through the centuries.

Peter couldn’t keep his promises until I lived within him. Neither will you. But once you let Me transform you with My mighty power, there is nothing impossible through Me.

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.

God knows your thoughts (Mark 12:1-12), November 2, 2015

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Mark 12:1-12

Set – Job 23; Mark 12

Go! – Job 23-24; Mark 11-12

Mark 12:1-12
¹ Then He told a story.
Jesus: There was a man who established a vineyard. He put up a wall around it to fence it in; he dug a pit for a winepress; he built a watchtower. When he had finished this work, he leased the vineyard to some tenant farmers and went away to a distant land.
² When the grapes were in season, he sent a slave to the vineyard to collect his rent—his share of the fruit. ³ But the farmers grabbed the slave, beat him, and sent him back to his master empty-handed. ⁴ The owner sent another slave, and this slave the farmers beat over the head and sent away dishonored. ⁵ A third slave, the farmers killed. This went on for some time, with the farmers beating some of the messengers and killing others until the owner had lost all patience. ⁶ He had a son whom he loved above all things, and he said to himself, “When these thugs see my son, they’ll know he carries my authority. They’ll have to respect him.”
⁷ But when the tenant farmers saw the owner’s son coming, they said among themselves, “Look at this! It’s the son, the heir to this vineyard. If we kill him, then the land will be ours!” ⁸ So they seized him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
⁹ Now what do you suppose the owner will do when he hears of this? He’ll come and destroy these farmers, and he’ll give the land to others.
¹⁰ Haven’t you read the Scriptures? As the psalmist says,
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the very stone that holds together the entire foundation.
¹¹ This is the work of the Eternal One,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
¹² The priests, scribes, temple leaders, and elders knew the story was directed against them. They couldn’t figure out how to lay their hands on Jesus then because they were afraid the people would rise up against them. So they left Him alone, and they went away furious.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

The Pharisees and their cronies have been working behind the scenes to try to get Me alone to kill Me. They think their plans are secret, known only to the select few who plotted My execution by their hands. Since they think My statements blashemous, they certainly cannot understand I know their thoughts and know the plans they laid out for Me. I know they wanted to stone Me in Nazareth. I know they wanted to destroy Me in the Temple on the day I healed the man with the withered hand. I know they wished Me dead when I told the paralyzed man to pick up his mat and walk away on the Sabbath.

I broke their rules and helped people understand what God meant by the laws He gave Moses on Mount Sinai during those forty days on the mountain. I showed those who would listen that God is not just a God of love, but that God is love. His laws help people understand His love by showing you how much you need Him and how much He extends His grace and mercy to you to redeem you. In fact, God gives His greatest gift to redeem you – Himself.

The parable of the vineyard owner let the religious leaders around Me know I knew their thoughts. I didn’t need spies in their camp. I know everything they did and everything they were going to do. You read in the gospels where they tried to take Me several times, but they couldn’t until I let them because until the time was right, I wouldn’t let them. I knew what they were doing at every turn, because I’m God. I knew them better than they knew themselves.

I know you too. I know your thoughts and I know your actions. I know when you are passionate about following Me and when you just play the religious game with your words and actions. I know how you pray and how you listen to Me when I talk to you. I know when you try to do what I tell you and I know when you let Me give you My strength to help you through a task.

You can try to hide what you do, just like the Pharisees tried to hide their schemes from Me, but it won’t work for you, just like it didn’t work for them. They discovered I knew their plots and schemes when I gave them the parable of the killing of the vineyard owner’s son. You know because for 2,000 years you have had the witness of those who followed the truth of My word. Those who believe in Me for salvation can tell you I know their inmost thoughts before and after their salvation. But when you give your life to Me, I can transform your life and you’ll not need to try and hide from Me anymore. You can’t hide, anyway, so just quit trying. Come to Me and live in freedom.

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.

Learn to let God work (Mark 9:1-29), November 1, 2015

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Mark 9:1-29

Set – Psalms 121; Mark 9:1-29

Go! – Psalms 121; Mark 9-10

Mark 9:1-29
Jesus: ¹Truly, some of you who are here now will not experience death before you see the kingdom of God coming in glory and power.
² Six days after saying this, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up onto a high mountaintop by themselves. There He was transformed ³ so that His clothing became intensely white, brighter than any earthly cleaner could bleach them. ⁴ Elijah and Moses appeared to them and talked with Jesus.
Peter (to Jesus): ⁵ Teacher, it’s a great thing that we’re here. We should build three shelters here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
⁶He was babbling and did not know what he was saying because they were terrified by what they were witnessing.
⁷ Then a cloud surrounded them, and they heard a voice within that cloud.
Voice: This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.
⁸ All of a sudden, they looked about and all they had seen was gone. They stood alone on the mountain with Jesus.
⁹ On their way back down, He urged them not to tell anyone what they had witnessed until the Son of Man had risen from the dead, ¹⁰ so they kept it all to themselves.
Disciples (to one another): What does He mean, “Until the Son of Man is risen”? ¹¹ (to Jesus) Master, why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?
Jesus (thinking of John the Baptist): ¹² Elijah does come first to restore all things. They have it right. But there is something else written in the Scriptures about the Son of Man: He will have to suffer and be rejected. ¹³ Here’s the truth: Elijah has come; his enemies treated him with contempt and did what they wanted to him, just as it was written.
¹⁴ When they reached the rest of the disciples, Jesus saw that a large crowd had gathered and that among them the scribes were asking questions. ¹⁵ Right when the crowd saw Jesus, they were overcome with awe and surged forward immediately, nearly running over the disciples.
Jesus (to the scribes): ¹⁶ What are you debating with My disciples? What would you like to know?
Father (in the crowd): ¹⁷ Teacher, I have brought my son to You. He is filled with an unclean spirit. He cannot speak, ¹⁸ and when the spirit takes control of him, he is thrown to the ground to wail and moan, to foam at the mouth, to grind his teeth, and to stiffen up. I brought him to Your followers, but they could do nothing with him. Can You help us?
Jesus: ¹⁹ O faithless generation, how long must I be among you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy to Me.
²⁰ They brought the boy toward Jesus; but as soon as He drew near, the spirit took control of the boy and threw him on the ground, where he rolled, foaming at the mouth.
Jesus (to the father): ²¹ How long has he been like this?
Father: Since he was a baby. ²² This spirit has thrown him often into the fire and sometimes into the water, trying to destroy him. I have run out of options; I have tried everything. But if there’s anything You can do, please, have pity on us and help us.
Jesus: ²³ What do you mean, “If there’s anything?” All things are possible, if you only believe.
Father (crying in desperation): ²⁴ I believe, Lord. Help me to believe!
²⁵ Jesus noticed that a crowd had gathered around them now. He issued a command to the unclean spirit.
Jesus: Listen up, you no-talking, no-hearing demon. I Myself am ordering you to come out of him now. Come out, and don’t ever come back!
²⁶ The spirit shrieked and caused the boy to thrash about; then it came out of the boy and left him lying as still as death. Many of those in the crowd whispered that he was dead. ²⁷ But Jesus took the boy by the hand and lifted him to his feet.
²⁸ Later He and His disciples gathered privately in a house.
Disciples (to Jesus): Why couldn’t we cast out that unclean spirit?
Jesus: ²⁹ That sort of powerful spirit can only be conquered with much prayer and fasting.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Prayer and fasting. The secret to doing miraculous things in My name is to stay connected intimately with Me through prayer and fasting. The disciples who tried to expel the demon from the young man couldn’t do it because of their limited connection with Me. They didn’t have the deep connection that comes from knowing Me intimately.

Does that mean you must memorize every word of every book of the Bible? No, but you should read it. Read it through from cover to cover. It really isn’t that long, you know. In most translations, the Bible is only 1500 pages. That’s less than five average-sized novels. I guarantee you’ll get more out of My 1500 pages than you’ll ever get out of five novels.

Then talk to Me and use the time you would spend doing something else with Me. Fast for Me. In My time on earth, it often meant fasting from food because the time spent preparing meals for a day, eating, and cleaning up meant a great deal of time. Then you killed the animal, slaughtered it, roasted it, baked bread, and the process to eat took six to eight hours from start to finish. Fasting that time for Me meant spending that time with Me instead of spending it on the routine of preparing food and eating it.

What do you routinely that you can give up for Me? Maybe it’s a few hours of television each week. Maybe it’s those extra holes of golf or that Saturday afternoon ball game. Maybe it is a meal or two. The point is, spend time with Me and get to know Me. That’s how you learn to let Me work through you to do My will for others.

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 take someone else’s word for the truth (Mark 8:27-37), October 31, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Mark 8:27-37

Set – Job 22; Mark 8

Go! – Job 22; Mark 7-8

Mark 8:27-37
²⁷ As He traveled with His disciples into the villages of Caesarea Philippi, He posed an important question to them.
Jesus: Who do the people say that I am?
²⁸ They told Him about the great speculation concerning His identity.
Disciples: Some of them say You are John the Baptist, others say Elijah, while others say one of the prophets of old.
Jesus (pressing the question): ²⁹ And who do you say that I am?
Peter: You are God’s Anointed, the Liberating King.
Jesus: ³⁰ Don’t tell anyone. It is not yet time.
³¹ And He went on to teach them many things about Himself: how the Son of Man would suffer; how He would be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes; how He would be killed; and how, after three days, God would raise Him from the dead.
³² He said all these things in front of them all, but Peter took Jesus aside to rebuke Him.
Jesus (seeing His disciples surrounding them): ³³ Get behind Me, you tempter! You’re thinking only of human things, not of the things God has planned.
³⁴ He gathered the crowd and His disciples alike.
Jesus: If any one of you wants to follow Me, you will have to give yourself up to God’s plan, take up your cross, and do as I do. ³⁵ For any one of you who wants to be rescued will lose your life, but any one of you who loses your life for My sake and for the sake of this good news will be liberated. ³⁶ Really, what profit is there for you to gain the whole world and lose yourself in the process? ³⁷ What can you give in exchange for your life?

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

I asked Peter the ultimate question I ask everyone. “Who do you say I am?” It’s an important question that must have an answer from your heart, not just your brain. I asked the disciples who others thought I was to lead them into the question, but it’s always easier to answer that question. They didn’t look at each other or compare notes, they just answered. “Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, others think one of the prophets. It’s not hard to tell Me what others might be thinking about Me.”

What about you, though? That’s the heart of the message. Who do you think I am? Unless you understand that I am One with the Father and Spirit, part of the triune Godhead, present at creation, you’ll struggle all your life with who I am and what I can do in your life. I was fully human, but also fully God. I know it’s hard to understand. You don’t need to understand. You just need to believe me.

Listen to My word, watch the transformation in the lives of those who make Me their Lord, let Me make the same transformation in you. You will know that I am who I say. No one can do the things I do. No one can help you the way I can. No one can give you the peace I give. No one can wipe away guilt from your life like Me. Because no one else can claim the title Son of God.

But until you personally recognize Me as God incarnate, the one died to pay the penalty for your sins. The one who rose from the tomb to live forever at the right hand of the Father. Until you know Me as your personal Lord and Savior, you will not know in your heart that I am Christ, the long awaited Messiah. Only when I am Lord of your life will you be able to say with Peter that I am God’s Anointed, the Liberating King. Give your life to Me and discover the truth for yourself. Anything less means taking someone else’s word for it.

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.

God changes people (Mark 6:1-13), October 30, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Mark 6:1-13

Set – Job 21; Mark 6

Go! – Job 21; Mark 5-6

Mark 6:1-13
¹ Jesus went back into His own hometown where He had grown up, and His disciples followed Him there. ² When the Sabbath came, He went into the synagogue in Nazareth and began to teach as He had done elsewhere, and many of those who heard Him were astonished.
Those in the Synagogue: Where did He gain this wisdom? And what are all these stories we’ve been hearing about the signs and healings He’s performed? Where did He get that kind of power? ³ Isn’t this Jesus, the little boy we used to see in Joseph’s carpenter shop? Didn’t He grow up to be a carpenter just like His father? Isn’t He the son of Mary over there and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, Simon, and their sisters? Who does He think He is?
And when they had thought about it that way, they became indignant and closed themselves to His message.
Jesus (seeing this): ⁴ A prophet can find honor anywhere except in his hometown, among his own people, and in his own household.
⁵ He could not do any of His great works among them except with a few of the sick, whom He healed by laying His hands upon them. ⁶ He was amazed by the stubbornness of their unbelief.
Jesus went out among the villages teaching, ⁷ and He called the twelve to Him and began to send them out in pairs. He gave them authority over unclean spirits ⁸ and instructed them to take nothing with them but a staff: no money, no bread, no bag, ⁹ nothing but the sandals on their feet and the coat on their back.
Jesus: ¹⁰ When you go into a house, stay there until it is time for you to leave that town. ¹¹ And if someone will not accept you and your message, when you leave, shake off the dust of that place from your feet as a judgment against it. On the day of judgment, that city will wish for the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah.
¹² And so His disciples went out into the countryside, preaching the changed life as Jesus had taught them, ¹³ casting out unclean spirits and anointing the sick with oil to heal them.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Do you ever think back about some of your childhood friends and wonder about the change in their lives? Perhaps you see their face on a television newscast and think, “I remember him! I never thought he would do something like that, he was such a nice guy.” Or, “How did he ever make it to the top of his industry? When I knew him he was the laziest guy in the class.”

Maybe you remember someone you went to high school or college with and never thought they would amount to much because they were the worst student, biggest cut up, most ill behaved student you could imagine. But people change, and I change them even more. Take a look at Paul. He was in the business of finding, capturing, and killing Christians because he thought they were damaging the “true” faith of the Jewish people. But then Paul met Me on his trip to Damascus and I changed him completely. Paul suffered tremendously as a result of his change. The people he formerly worked for tried their best to kill him because of the message I gave him to spread to the world.

Others run from Me and the change is not pretty. Everyone has some good in them because I made you and everything I make is good. But people can turn from Me and like rotting meat begin to decay and spoil and smell. You may not see the decay physically, but you’ll see it in behavior, character, and relationship. You’ll see their life begin to fall apart spiritually and spiral into certain destruction until they turn again to Me.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe the transformation that some have had. That’s what happened with the people in Nazareth. Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t this the guy we went to school with every day? Isn’t this the kid we played with growing up? How can He be the Messiah? He grew up with us. He can’t be the Messiah, He went grew up in the same place we did, he just can’t be the Messiah. We know what His brothers and sisters are like. Surely, He’s the same. He can’t be the Messiah.

Well, I was and I am. Sometimes you just need to open you eyes and recognize I can transform lives. Maybe you need to go through the transformation yourself to realize just how much I can change a person. If you think I can’t change someone completely, try Me. Let Me change you and you’ll find that no one is too hard for Me to give a complete makeover from the inside out.

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.

Advantage – now! (Acts 4:1-20), October 29, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Mark 4:1-20

Set – Job 20; Mark 4

Go! – Job 20; Mark 3-4

Mark 4:1-20
^1-2 Jesus went out again to teach by the Sea of Galilee. When the crowd became unmanageable, He climbed aboard a boat and sat down to teach the people listening on the shore by telling them parables. One of His teachings went like this:
Jesus: ³ Listen! A farmer went out and sowed his seed. ⁴ As he scattered it, one seed fell along the hardened path, and a bird flapped down and snapped it up. ⁵ One seed fell onto rocky places where the soil was thin, so it sprang up quickly. ⁶ But when the hot sun scorched the fragile stems and leaves, the seedling withered because its roots didn’t go deep in the soil. ⁷ One of the seeds fell among the weeds and thorns, which crowded the seedling out of producing a crop. ⁸ And the rest of the seeds fell in good, rich soil. When they sprouted, the plants grew and produced a crop 30, 60, even 100 times larger than expected for every seed that the farmer had sown.
⁹ All who have ears to hear, let them listen.
¹⁰ When they were alone, the twelve and others close to Him asked why He always taught in parables instead of explaining His teachings clearly.
Jesus: ¹¹ God has let you in on the inside story regarding the workings of the Kingdom—the hidden meanings. But the crowds—I teach them in parables ¹² as the prophet Isaiah predicted,
So that when they look, they see and yet do not understand.
When they hear, they listen and yet do not comprehend.
Otherwise, they might really turn and be forgiven.
¹³ Do you mean to say that you didn’t understand My parable of the sower? That was the key parable. If you don’t see what I was trying to teach there, how will you be able to understand any of the others?
¹⁴ The seed the farmer is sowing is the good news, God’s word. ¹⁵ Some people are the seed thrown onto the path, and the tempter snaps up the word before it can even take root. ¹⁶ Others are the seed thrown among the rocks. Those people hear the word and receive it immediately with joy and enthusiasm; ¹⁷ but without deep roots, doubt, trouble, or persecution instantly withers their faith. ¹⁸ Still others are the seed tossed among weeds and brambles. The word has reached them, ¹⁹ but the things of this life—the worries, the drive for more and more, the desire for other things—those things cluster around close and choke the life of God out of them until they cannot produce. ²⁰ But those last seeds—those sown into good soil? Those people hear the word, accept it, meditate on it, act on it, and bear fruit—a crop 30, 60, or 100 times larger than the farmer dropped to earth.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

A lot of people will tell you that if they heard Me face to face they would believe, but they wouldn’t. You have a significant advantage over those who listened to Me on the hillsides of Judea. You have 2000 years of people who have interpreted My parables, lived the life I showed My apostles and disciples, and gave witness to the truth of the things I said.

The people of the land heard My words for the first time. My preaching was radical. I told them things that turned the religious thought of the day upsidedown. Many didn’t like the rules and regulations of the religious leaders of the day. They didn’t care for the mixed authorities of Jerusalem and Rome. Many weren’t sure which was worse, the dictates of the Temple or those of the Emperor. So, when I began to preach a message of love God and your neighbor and everything else would fall into place, it was a message they longed to hear. Yet it confused many and they didn’t understand what it meant.

Others thought I came to overthrow the bonds of the Roman oppression and final bring back the political freedom the nation longed for. Israel hadn’t enjoyed real political freedom since the Assyrians started collecting tribute. That was five centuries earlier. They were ready for freedom and longed to revolt against the tyrannical rule of the Romans.

The priests certainly were confused. They were happy with the arrangements they had with their priestly lineage and didn’t see someone from David’s line taking over their scholarly role of teaching others how they should live under the law of Moses. But there I was sharing with the people what the laws really meant. How hatred was the seed of murder. How lust sparked adultry. How carefully setting aside a tenth to give to the Temple didn’t mean anything to the Father when you let your father and mother starve.

I brought the reality and revelation of the law to the people and they didn’t know how to handle it. You benefit from the many letters my disciples wrote to the early churches, the commentaries and studies available today. You have no excuse for not listening to My instructions and following Me.

So now that your excuses are gone for wanting first-century experiences, how about getting into My word and learning about Me. Really let yourself go and let Me take control of your life. That’s what My word demands. Die to self and be born anew in Me. You won’t be sorry if you do.

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.

Watch the children (Mark 10:13-31), Mar 3, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Mark 10:13-31
Set – Exodus 32; Mark 10
Go! – Numbers 32-33; Mark 10

Mark 10:13-31
¹³ When the crowd gathered again, the people brought their children to see Jesus, hoping that He might grant them His blessing through His touch.

His disciples turned them all away; ¹⁴ but when Jesus saw this, He was incensed.

Jesus (to the disciples): Let the children come to Me, and don’t ever stand in their way, for this is what the kingdom of God is all about. ¹⁵ Truly anyone who doesn’t accept the kingdom of God as a little child does can never enter it.

¹⁶ Jesus gathered the children in His arms, and He laid His hands on them to bless them.

¹⁷ When He had traveled on, a young man came and knelt in the dust of the road in front of Jesus.

Young Man: Good Teacher! What must I do to gain life in the world to come?

Jesus: ¹⁸ You are calling Me good? Don’t you know that God and God alone is good? ¹⁹ Anyway, why ask Me that question? You know the Commandments of Moses: “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not slander, do not defraud, and honor your father and mother.”[a]

Young Man: ²⁰ Yes, Teacher, I have done all these since I was a child.

²¹ Then Jesus, looking at the young man, saw that he was sincere and responded out of His love for him.

Jesus: Son, there is still one thing you have not done. Go now. Sell everything you have and give the proceeds to the poor so that you will have treasure in heaven. After that, come, follow Me.

²² The young man went away sick at heart at these words because he was very wealthy, ²³ and Jesus looked around to see if His disciples were understanding His teaching.

Jesus (to His disciples): Oh, it is hard for people with wealth to find their way into God’s kingdom!

Disciples (amazed): ²⁴ What?

Jesus: You heard Me. How hard it is to enter the kingdom of God [for those who trust in their wealth]![b] ²⁵ I think you’ll see camels squeezing through the eye of a needle before you’ll see the rich celebrating and dancing as they enter into the joy of God’s kingdom!

²⁶ The disciples looked around at each other, whispering.

Disciples (aloud to Jesus): Then who can be liberated?

Jesus (smiling and shaking His head): ²⁷ For human beings it is impossible, but not for God: God makes everything possible.

Peter: ²⁸ Master, we have left behind everything we had to follow You.

Jesus: ²⁹ That is true. And those who have left their houses, their lands, their parents, or their families for My sake, and for the sake of this good news ³⁰ will receive all of this 100 times greater than they have in this time—houses and farms and brothers, sisters, mothers, and children, along with persecutions—and in the world to come, they will receive eternal life. ³¹ But many of those who are first in this world shall be last in the world to come, and the last, first.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

What a difference between the children who came to Jesus and the wealthy young man who came to Him. The children were dependent on others for food, clothing, shelter, knowledge, wisdom, health, everything. They needed others to meet their daily needs. The young man was wealthy and thought he needed nothing but his wealth to supply his needs. He thought he could buy his way through life. He could go to the market and buy the best food. He could buy the best clothes. He could buy the best housing. He could pay for the best doctors. He thought all he needed was his money.

When he saw Jesus, the young man discovered his money wasn’t enough. There was something missing. A hole existed in his life that money couldn’t fill. He tried various pleasures to fill the void, but nothing worked. When he asked Jesus how to gain the eternal life He spoke of, perhaps he thought he could purchase that, too. But eternity doesn’t work that way. Jesus hit home with the one demand the young man couldn’t fulfill. “Sell all you have and give it to the poor.”

Jesus knew the young man treasured his material goods more than he treasured God. He needed to abandon his false love for things and replace it with love for what was true, the Only True God. He needed to discover for himself that he must learn to trust in Me for what he needed, not on the fickle state of any given economy. Children don’t worry about such things. They just trust their parents to feed and clothe them and live from day to day without a care. That’s the kind of trust I want you to have in Me.

When you think you can depend on yourself, like the wealthy young man, you will find it very difficult to believe in Me. When you know you need Me for your next breath and learn to trust Me for the needs of each new day, you will begin to understand the trust I require from you. It isn’t hard. Just watch the children around you. Learn to think like them when it comes to trust, think the best in others, and believe in the impossible. You can learn a lot from watching children and their faith.

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.

What is prayer and fasting, really? (Mark 9:14-29), Mar 2, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Mark 9:14-29
Set – Numbers 30; Mark 9
Go! – Numbers 30-31; Mark 9

Mark 9:14-29
¹⁴ When they reached the rest of the disciples, Jesus saw that a large crowd had gathered and that among them the scribes were asking questions. ¹⁵ Right when the crowd saw Jesus, they were overcome with awe and surged forward immediately, nearly running over the disciples.

Jesus (to the scribes): ¹⁶ What are you debating with My disciples? What would you like to know?

Father (in the crowd): ¹⁷ Teacher, I have brought my son to You. He is filled with an unclean spirit. He cannot speak, ¹⁸ and when the spirit takes control of him, he is thrown to the ground to wail and moan, to foam at the mouth, to grind his teeth, and to stiffen up. I brought him to Your followers, but they could do nothing with him. Can You help us?

Jesus: ¹⁹ O faithless generation, how long must I be among you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy to Me.

²⁰ They brought the boy toward Jesus; but as soon as He drew near, the spirit took control of the boy and threw him on the ground, where he rolled, foaming at the mouth.

Jesus (to the father): ²¹ How long has he been like this?

Father: Since he was a baby. ²² This spirit has thrown him often into the fire and sometimes into the water, trying to destroy him. I have run out of options; I have tried everything. But if there’s anything You can do, please, have pity on us and help us.

Jesus: ²³ What do you mean, “If there’s anything?” All things are possible, if you only believe.

Father (crying in desperation): ²⁴ I believe, Lord. Help me to believe!

²⁵ Jesus noticed that a crowd had gathered around them now. He issued a command to the unclean spirit.

Jesus: Listen up, you no-talking, no-hearing demon. I Myself am ordering you to come out of him now. Come out, and don’t ever come back!

²⁶ The spirit shrieked and caused the boy to thrash about; then it came out of the boy and left him lying as still as death. Many of those in the crowd whispered that he was dead. ²⁷ But Jesus took the boy by the hand and lifted him to his feet.

²⁸ Later He and His disciples gathered privately in a house.

Disciples (to Jesus): Why couldn’t we cast out that unclean spirit?

Jesus: ²⁹ That sort of powerful spirit can only be conquered with much prayer [and fasting].

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Jesus spent time on the mountain with Peter, James and John where they witnessed His transfiguration. They saw His glory. They saw Him talking with Elijah and Moses in the brilliance of His heavenly appearance. They knew without a doubt at that point He was truly God incarnate. Now as He returned, He encounters the evil of the world again. His other disciples tried to exorcise a demon from a child possessed since birth without success.

Jesus speaks only a few words and the spirit obeys without hesitation. It leaves the boy and never returns. The crowd is in awe of the power of this man, Jesus, who has power over the evil spirits that no one else can control. They obey His every word. No one can control the behavior of the child, controlled by this demon, until Jesus steps on the scene. Then the demon bows to the power of the King of kings. When asked why they could not exorcise the demon, Jesus gives a simple but profound answer.

“That sort of powerful spirit can only be conquered with much prayer and fasting.” What does He mean, though? What kind of prayer and fasting is necessary to do this kind of work?

Jesus demonstrated His prayer life to the disciples every day. Paul talked about being in a constant state of prayer. Does He mean to stay on our knees constantly? Does He intend for us to remain at the church altar and pour out our voice to God in a continual stream of words? The answer is a resounding no. Remember Jesus said I am not interested in long prayers with flowing words. He gave His disciples a very simple formula for prayer.

But Jesus was in a constant state of prayer. He remained in tune with Me. He had His ear always focused to hear the slightest whisper from Me so He could respond to My commands. He read and learned the scriptures so He knew My heart. He knew from His head and His heart what I expected from those who follow Me. Jesus shared His heart, but He also listened and learned. Prayer is a two-way conversation. It involves sharing both directions. Sharing with Me your inmost feeling, hurts and joys, and listening to Me as I share My wisdom with you.

On the other hand, fasting involves giving up something to remind you to spend time with Me. So the time you would spend doing whatever you give up, spend with Me in focused prayer. Sometimes the fasting I see from you is laughable. Giving up an item and telling everyone about it, but then going about your life as if it is a great burden to give up that one thing. That’s not what fasting is about. It’s about finding time for Me. It’s about giving up something for Me.

The fasts in the Bible meant meals didn’t have to be prepared and eaten. That meant hours were freed to focus on Me in prayer, that two-way conversation with Me. I’m not sure the 1-minute microwave meal is quite the same today. Where can you find real time to spend with Me? What can you give up to find solid space in your day to focus on your relationship with the One who matters most to you? It’s about finding Me and letting Me teach you how to live more abundantly.

What will you give up for Me in the days ahead?

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.