The Christian Worker's Spiritual Food

Facing life’s Storms.

2008-05-09T10:29:00.001-07:00

Facing life's Storms. Mark 4:35-41.

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side." 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. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 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?" Mark 4:35-38 (NKJV)

Would you ever expect Jesus to take you into the middle of harm's way? In the church we spend much time speaking about turning our problems over to Jesus, trusting in Jesus, and assuring each other that Jesus answers prayer; but did you ever expect that Jesus might purposely take you into the center of a storm?

Mark reflects on this story as he was coping with the fact that where Jesus goes, peril will arise and knowing this, a servant must be ready to go through tough times. When we do go through the storm, this is where we learn what trust and belief are all about.

God was not intentionally causing this storm to happen. Though their faith would be strengthened, the storm was not a predestined tool used to strengthen their faith. This storm was trying to stop them from getting to the other side. Evil did not want Jesus on the other shore and it pressured them to turn back. God only took a bad situation and used it for good in strengthening their faith.

Many people ask why God allowed a situation to happen; the truth is that God set the world in motion, man chose to sin, and now events take place that God neither orchestrates nor produces; storms are a part of life. Yet our reaction to them is a response that God wants to work on.

This storm was a great opportunity for God to build their faith. This is an excellent example how God can turn the tables on a bad situation and how all things can work together for good and it came at a no better time as they would soon face a staggering enemy.

Many times we face hard circumstances and walk away relieved that they are over. Inside we take notes on how not to let that happen again and from there on we carefully tread. Though this is good in cases where the temptation of sin has gotten us into trouble, we must be careful that we do not walk away from going through a tough time, be it your own or one of another's.

The tough times build faith in us and like an athlete trains for a game, we must go through the tough times so that we can face big events in our future.

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. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" Mark 4:39-41 (NKJV)

Their answer revealed their lack of understanding about Christ. The question, "Who can this be" reveled that in their heart they like Jesus, but did not know Him as the Son of God. This is often our problem too.

We try to avoid problems, because we know that they can wipe us out. A problem can take away our hard earned possessions, separate us from things we like, and even kill us. Yet God wants us to accept the problems for what they are and go with Him through them. He wants us to believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; not just "like them."

On a business trip the Lord opened my eyes to this passage as I met with a small group of Christians for an evening Bible Study. As the group leader spoke about God wanting us to go through the storms of life in faith, a gentleman entered the room taking a seat next to me.

He was traveling also and like I, he stopped in for fellowship. Though he looked well, inside I had warning flags going off that he was sick, but God was saying stay put. I knew then that I was about to go through a storm.

Over the next two days I would become so ill that after a miraculous trip home, I would wake the next morning dehydrated, kidneys shut down, having walking pneumonia and an intestinal infection.

Going first to the doctor's office, I was rushed to the hospital where I would experience congestive heart failure. Yet calmly I was awake, speaking with the doctors, and openly accepting that I might die.

Because of the faith God asked me to have on my trip, I was able to face the storm that I was in. Even before entering the hospital the Lord spoke to my heart saying, "Today, I will stand with you." That was enough to assure me that I should not fear and peace filled my mind.

The doctor looked across the table to the nurse and said "I don't think this guy is going to make it." I reacted, "Am I really that bad?" to which he turned to me startled saying, "You can hear me?" Then he explained to me that they were going to have to put me to sleep, stop my heart and try to restart it. Then he asked me, "Is that alright" and shrugging my shoulders I relied, "You're the doctor; do your job."

The doctor shook his head saying that in twenty five years of working in the emergency room he had never seen nothing like this and blurted out, "Aren't you worried." Of course the answer could only be no and I told him that I had peace with God.

After trying to bring me back two times, stopping entered their mind; yet the third attempt to restart my heart, it worked. They then battled to get me breathing again and after fifteen minutes I was awake and thanking them. As they wheeled me to the intensive care unit I looked over to the doctor's desk, raised my hand up and said, "See you, thanks." All he could do was shake his head in amazement.

I spent seven days in that hospital and people came from all over to ask me to tell them my story. My room was always filled with visitors and the faith of many was strengthened. The story does not end there and we will return to it as we continue in this passage that Mark wrote.

Before every good work of God there will be a tearing down, a stripping away, and many see this as painful. Yet in faith we must know that God is going to do a great work and through seeing the storm quieted by the Lord, He was building up their faith that they would need for what was about to happen.

In addition, from this passage we can learn that before every great work of the Lord, there will always be resistance and the dark storm has every earmark of evil coming against the Lord. But let it be known that evil is no match for our God.

Grown from a Seed.

2008-05-08T09:18:00.001-07:00

Grown from a seed. Mark 4:26-34.

And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." Mark 4:26-29 (NKJV)

According to this parable God views our lives much simpler than we do and for Christ to try to communicate to us His thoughts about the importance of our lives, means that we too must consider our view of life for we are the ones who are the seeds. People have a tendency to rate life good or bad depending on circumstances; but God sees all circumstances as what we need to mature to harvest.

Today, around the world, people woke up and entered their day without even thinking about God. These have totally missed the meaning of life. For many they have not considered that what they do with the life determines whether or not they will be gathered up by God at harvest time.

Each of our bodies is like a seed and when we are born we are as sprouted from the earth. Each day we grow taller and our lives grow foliage as we mature in age. There is a chance that we can blossom if the ground is carefully tended to. Like in the previous parable, if our ground is rock free and cleaned of weeds, we as plants can grow to blossom, develop fruit, and produce a wonderful harvest for God.

The wonderful thing about our lives is there is no premade formula for this growth, it just happens. The earth was made a tumultuous place and the plants on the earth suffer many different climate changes from wind and rain to sunny, hot and dry. Yet the plants need it all to grow properly. Therefore, we need to experience the events of our life to helps us grow tall and strong.

Facing dark circumstances, some people cry asking "Why God?" and the answer is always, "Why not?" The tough times of life are a process that helps us grow and though we go through our dark times, and stormy days, there are times that are sunny and bright; yet they all add up to us growing to bear much fruit. Therefore, to not think about every event of our days as being part of what it takes to bring a harvest, then we have missed out on a lot.

Have you ever heard the statement said, "If God is a God of love, how can He let this tragedy happen?" This statement was conceived and delivered after a tumultuous event has happened and it took the event for the person to ask about God. So far removed from God were they that a simple understanding about God is beyond them and though bitter, the event causes them to consider God. This is water on the seed. Sometimes our lives are as a series of rainy days and in these times considering God's love for us will help us grow.

The proper way to wake up is to realize that the day you face is to nourish you to become a stronger plant so you will bring a great harvest into the kingdom. Though the reality is that you are working towards the day that the sickle will cut you down and the fruit you have produced will help to build God's kingdom.

As a young Christian, I had the opportunity to hear Melody Green, the wife of Keith Green, speak about his death. Keith, she said, lived every day to the fullest and each day he drew closer to the Lord and became strength for others and a light unto the world.

Though he created Last Days Ministries, his job was over; he had reached the point where God had completed the work in Keith's life and God took Him home. The thought that one day God will see our lives complete shook me. In 1982 Keith died in a plane crash at the age of twenty eight. His ministry lives on to this day.

We all know that we can die at any time, but to have God see our life ready for harvest is the desire we should look forward too.

Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; 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." Mark 4:30-32 (NKJV)

Some people are like the seed mentioned here. They are small, tiny, and live humble lives; yet, if they are willing to take the work of the Lord serious they can grow to gigantic proportion filling the kingdom of God with a great harvest.

To those who watched Christ ministry start, they had a problem understanding how He and His followers would become a kingdom. In Christ's day to be a savior meant to be a crusader and the army to defeat would be the oppressing Romans. How was this to happen from such a small gathering of people?

Jesus spoke to that by the parable of the mustard seed. From the little work that He would do, it would only be a start. From there it would grow into a large bush and people would flock to it like the birds.

And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples. Mark 4:33-34(NKJV)

Many times we are like these people; we look at our own lives and think small. Yet from a small seed as us, there can be a large plant grow. There is no limit to the work that God can do through us if we only give Him a chance.

These people could not understand, nor hear the parable. Their logic overruled God's ability and they only considered what they could see with their eyes. But God wants us to not view with our eyes, but with our hearts and our focus to be His might and power.

An excellent example of the problem we face can be seen in today's workforce. There are those who can only conceive working in a business and so they live their life showing up each day for a low wage that is not very satisfying.

Only one person in their whole business thought big enough to break away from that lifestyle and that is the person who owns the business. They viewed themselves capable of more and therefore, took the steps to own a business. Our world is filled with the very special thinking people running the business that employ the world's workforce. Like these, God wants us to consider ourselves as capable of more.

God does not want us to only see ourselves as people who attend church, but people who build the kingdom. With that attitude of involvement much can happen. Our responsibility is to not get stuck into the mindset that will keep us small; but look to growing to large proportions.

God has great things for you and you need to think beyond you situation, looking to God to His desires.

Understanding what He means.

2008-05-06T09:30:00.001-07:00

Understanding what He means. Mark 4:10-20.

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 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, 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.'" Mark 4:10-13 (NKJV)

To start speaking in parables was a sudden change in the approach Jesus was using towards people. There was a great crowd of followers that kept showing up and the same faces were in the crowd with little to no change in their lives. They only wanted miracles, not what He preached and it was time to shake things up a bit.

The same situation is happening today in churches around the world where the pews are filled with people that are not truly serious, they are only coming because it is a good place to come and their theology is so simple they believe that coming to church will save their soul. Just being around Jesus was not going to save a single soul.

A large number of these people are confused about the word and they feed on trying to compare what the pastor is preaching to an event in their life; many times living over the event and establishing what they should have done different. But they know nothing about God, His divinity, the way salvation works, or the criteria of our judgment. Their Bibles are book that they carry, but barely read and many stop carrying them at all.

Then there are those who come, sit, and listen but are like baby sparrows with their mouth open making noise as if to say, "feed me, feed me." At no time will they expend the effort to open a Bible and study. These would never buy or pickup a commentary to help them in their understanding; they only want their theology simple and fed to them.

Of these situations we have mentioned, there are many other situations that have the same results where people learn to have a form of Godliness, but lack the power to allow it to change their life. Some of these even mass knowledge about the Bible, but it has no lasting effect on their life and to elevate their own perception of themselves. Yet in it all, God is not pleased.

Therefore, Jesus spoke in parables that were going to need some explanation. To truly grab hold of the truths He spoke, they were going to have to come closer and inquire of Him. This is what the first parable dealt with in much detail and therefore, there were those outside who would not come in.

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. 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. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 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. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 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. 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 4:14-20 (NKJV)

When hearing the word of God, there should be some growth in our life. Yet there cannot be lasting growth if we do not till the soils of our hearts and work to help the seeds planted take root and grow.

Nominal Christians miss the preparation that others do before coming to church. Many pray before ever coming to church; so that when they do hear the message, God will open their understanding. They confess their sins and ask God to cleanse them so they might hear from Him. Some even pray in spiritual warfare that the enemy be bound and unable to inhibit the words spoken from being understood.

These are very serious about knowing God and often will pray the same for others coming. These know the church experience can be a life changing event because that is what it is designed for.

At bear minimum, a Christians should prepare by keeping out of situations that lead to lifestyles darkened by sin. There is a great truth that if you yield yourself to sin, you are a servant to sin. Yet if you are yielding yourself to God, you are in the light and darkness flees. The lifestyle you live influences your ability to understand and hear God when the sermon is preached.

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? For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." 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. 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)

Why would God give to a person great wealth, when they were going to trample over it to grab hold of poverty? Why would God give understanding to a person who does not care to understand? Sure He could force Himself on people, but that would be against the laws that are in place over creation. People were made to have free will and to override a person's freedom to choose is not true freedom.

Every person has a choice to follow and just as there laws over the freedom of choice, there is a law governing what knowledge will be given to people as they come closer to Christ; therefore, it is important for us to realize that to who much is given, much is expected and from this we will build more on as we go through His word.

There will be no time in a person's life where He will have attained all the knowledge of God. The theologian owns only a small understanding. The pastor is a student Himself. God keeps us all humbly following a formula of dropping information before us that we must pick up and peruse Him on for a deeper understanding.

It is not hard to do. All we must do is take what we read and what we hear to the Lord with questions. In prayer and with His guidance, we will be led to understandings about our life that logic would never point us to.

When a man and a woman will diligently seek Him, they will find truths about themselves that they never knew and the result will be that their lives produce a better product than before. These gifts from God will become tools to be used in reaching others, helping others, and going into the entire world to preach the good news that Jesus Christ saves from sin.

A Stony Heart.

2008-05-02T10:20:00.001-07:00

A Stony Heart. Mark 3:31-35 & 4:1-9.

Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You." Mark 3:31-33 (NKJV)

This announcement came just after preaching that a house divided against its self will fall and here we see that it applies all aspects of life, even to a man's own family.

Now the word had gone out that Jesus was crazy and that the work He was doing was of the Devil. The gospels tell us that at times, even His own family did not believe in what He was doing and this reference here is a good example. We must remember that being a Christian may separate you from your family.

Mathew tells us that Christ also preached saying, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.' He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 10:34-39 (NKJV)

Though we do not know the true nature of their summons, they were not willing to come to Him; they wanted Him to stop what He was doing and come away with them. The interruption to preaching was not an honorable thing to do and His brothers were leading the family to act badly towards the preaching of the gospel.

But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?" And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother." Mark 3:33-35 (NKJV)

If you notice, He did not make any reference to "Mary, the Holy mother of God," but was ready to cast her aside for not being in submission to the work of God. The same applies to His brothers; if they were not ready to follow the work of God, they were not fit to be considered family. This did not mean that He did not love them; it only meant that they had set out in a direction that would lead to destruction, a place that He would not follow them to and this was a warning to all who listened.

This is a message that needs to be sent deep into the church; we do not throw away our families. Our love must be ever ready for them to come and follow Jesus; yet our attachment to them must be gripped with a soft hand allowing them to pull away if they desire.

Families can be very tight knit and loyalty is often a theme that many take sincere; but a Christian must not be bound to the family so that it pulls them away from the work of God. This is why the statement exists saying "A family that prays together stays together."

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. Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching: "Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 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." And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Mark 4:1-9 (NKJV)

No building, no rental fees, no permits, or planning, Jesus was able to preach in the open with very little concern. Yet so many came to hear Him that He had to sit in a boat off the shore to keep the people back.

There are people eager to know the Lord and after knowing the Lord, they are eager to do the work of the Lord. You will find them involved, being the light to their families, reaching out to their community, and participating to causes that drop the seeds of the gospel around the world. Yet though the seeds are dropping, it does not mean that a great harvest is going to happen.

Here Jesus wanted each person to consider that the understanding they were given needed to sink deep within their soul and to sprout and grow to fruition. Yet the problem in growth is not the seed or the way it was planted, but the ground to which it is planted in.

Some people have hearts that are stony. If you have ever planted a lawn, you will find that every rock must be removed or you will have patchy bear spots. The more rocks the more patches and the seeds falling onto stony ground cannot take root. Even when there is a little dirt on the surface, roots cannot grow past the stones below the surface and the sprouting grass will wither and die.

The person who goes to church to be blessed on Sunday, but during the week days does not expel the stones from their life can expect the seeds planted to wither and die. These are Christians who know not to drink to excess, but do regardless. Some do not bridal their tongue and if they are not debating in anger, they are spewing words of ill content.

Other stones in a person's life can be pornographic material, greed, the love of money, hate, gossip, cheating, lying, and that is only a few stones that we skipped across the water; yet when we drop them into our life, they may sink below the dirt, not to be seen, but the evidence will surface when seeds of the truth of God's word sprout and die.

In addition to stones that stop root growth are weeds that choke the nourishment to the plants and from these a good crop cannot be produced. Simply put, bad company corrupts good morals. The friends in our life need to be of the caliber that they fortify God's work in our life and help to water the seeds of the gospel planed in our hearts.

Those friends or family that entices you to do other can become very harmful, even to the loss of your salvation. Friends, family, and the things we allow into our life are very relevant to our success in obtaining our goal of eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ. From the parable of Christ concerning the seed and the thoughts He had towards those He would consider His family, we should all draw the conclusion that we need good people in our life that will help us meet our objective.

We must till the ground and consider our hearts as a field and let the seeds of God's word take root and grow to bring an abundant harvest. Yet this cannot happen if you heart is stony.

Accusing Christ.

2008-05-01T11:32:00.001-07:00

Accusing Christ. Mark 3:20-30.

Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind." Mark 3:20-21 (NKJV)

It is a jaw dropping experience to see the Lord work in big ways. Here Mark accounts of this situation where ministry defied logic and a servant of God must be made aware that God may do things that go beyond common sense and enters into absurd directions.

Would you ever expect to see a sea part and dry land inviting you to walk across? No more menacing was the sea than the hoards of people that pressed down on Jesus. His disciples did not even have time to eat, let alone prepare how to handle the masses that were coming.

The men were tired from service and hungry; here, for a time, they lost their reasoning, professing that Jesus must be out of His mind. Yet that is how service is at times. God will eat away at your last dollar, your tired eyes will hurt from being awake, and your body will hunger for lack of attention; yet when God is working, we are to be also.

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said,"He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons." Mark 3:22 (NKJV)

The servant of God will also be outlandishly attacked by the words men speak about them; yet, even Christ said from the cross that God should forgive them because they do not know what they are doing.

Whenever the spirit of God moves, the spirit of evil counters; then where God is great, human minds cannot understand His works for they are clouded by perception. Though it is natural to want to condemn the Pharisees for their comments, Jesus was not going to let the comments bother Him.

This passage takes on the theme of allowing ourselves, as servants, to be stretched. From physical anguish to mental trauma, we must all be ready to look past the situation and see the Kingdom of God. For in the Kingdom of God, the tables are turned on evil as men are rescued from its clutches.

So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house. Mark 3:23-27 (NKJV)

Even in the face of outlandish accusations, Jesus reacted to save their souls and reach those we would deemed as unreachable. Yet what we must realize is that His own disciples had come against Him also. So what was so crazy that His own disciples would want to grab Him and haul Him away?

First there was the logistics. The land was being trampled with so many people that containing the crowds were beyond the twelve men. It would be like having a stadium full of people show up at your neighborhood park and as people filled the park more would be trying to get to the center of the attention. It is very common that when crowds meet, tempers flare, frenzies occur, and people have been trampled to death; sheer rumor inside the crowd can lead to havoc.

In addition, a crowd that size can drain resources very fast and whatever water or food existed diminishes quickly. Malnutrition and dehydration are some of the last things people consider and often it is too late and in situations as these, a death is enviable.

On top of that you must consider human waist. A large group of people means large sanitary needs and this fact alone was enough to cause the Pharisees to think Jesus was of the devil; for this day many of the sanitary traditions would be broken.

Therefore, in the eyes of his disciples He was mad; He had gone over the top with thoughts of grandeur, and the task at hand was too large.

In the eyes of the Pharisees, He was of the devil for he brought chaos, frenzy, and had no plan of how to handle the masses. Just seeing the proceedings when demons were cast out, bodies convulsed and screams of torture projected out from the center of the crowd; that was enough to cause the rabbinical hair on the back of their neck stand up. Yet through it all Jesus was able to deal with the crowd and answer the concerns of the Pharisees.

It is a tough thing to be a servant of God and have to rely on faith; for God will forever defy our expectation and call on us to stretch our thinking. We will face insurmountable odds. We will face mountains in fear that we cannot climb and at times even starve our own selves of food and sleep to get the job done.

There will be times where we are in the onslaught of panic and question the work of God; yet we must flow with the times like a stick in the ocean flowing with the current. Therefore, as we prepare to serve God, let us prepare for those days where our mental and spiritual intellect will be stretched.

This study finds many having fallen like Mark. They have turned back from service and had a lapse of faith; but be it known that here Jesus even gave room to the Pharisees to repent as He conversed with them to help them over their hurdles. Will He not be even more concern with restoring His own servants?

All sin can be forgiven. All Doubt can be ignored. Every condition that has blown us over can become only a memory as we become part of God's faithful kingdom. While there is grace there is no shortcoming that cannot be forgiven.

"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" because they said, "He has an unclean spirit." Mark 3:28-30 (NKJV)

Here is a message that we must take serious for though we doubt, it can be forgiven. The danger of doubt is that it can become a truth and if we believe doubt, turning us away from Christ, we will be judged as accusing Jesus of wrong. On judgment day that disbelief will be evidence against a person and they will face eternal damnation. There, on Judgment Day, accusations can no longer be forgiven.

Calling all Servants.

2008-04-30T12:26:00.001-07:00

Calling all Servants. Mark 3:13-19.

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: Mark 3:13-15 (NKJV)

There were many disciples who followed the Lord and though each is special, only twelve were chosen to be His direct reports. When we read of their calling at the sea shore or from behind the desk of collecting taxes, we only see the back stories of these twelve men. Yet there were many people who Jesus called to follow Him and each had a story.

Mark is now expressing a difference in people to introduce that each person is called to different types of ministries. Some are called to higher service; others are called to godliness to be a witness back in their community. Though they all are important, there are only so many positions for people; therefore God brings a diversity of gifts so that each person has a purpose. Have you found your purpose?

Mark was a person who was looking at his purpose. He thought that he was called by God to go on the missionary journeys with Paul and Barnabas; yet when the ministering got tough, he turned back and returned defeated. This not only upset him, but it upset Paul for Paul did not want to take him on a future journey and Paul and Barnabas would disagree on Marks calling. To not know your purpose is a very frustrating feeling and to head out before you are ready is miserable too.

What Mark learned from this is that you cannot self proclaim yourself into the type of service that you desire. This is a mistake of many young Christians and it is important to teach this lesson to them when they are young, before they set out to fail in a ministry.

A person may be a great speaker, but that does not mean that their preaching will have power. Yet because they watch their pastor preach, they grow a desire to be like them. The thing to teach them is that thinking to highly of one's self can lead them into trouble.

Are you a person who has desires to preach in church or as an evangelist? You need to consider that you are responsible for your actions. Should you preach a message that people respond to, you become responsible for those converts as a parent is to a child. You become responsible for raising them to maturity and for this, God will hold you accountable.

Some will need healing and a preacher must be able to mend the wounds of those who come to know Christ through their teaching. Physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds inflict suffering and Jesus is the answer, but a preacher must be gifted and sent by God to gather the people who need healing and then minister unto them.

Sometimes a preacher or evangelist will run into demonic oppression and heavy darkness. Some people have committed sins of great reproach and to bear their burden and help restore them is not a simple task.

Only by the power of the Spirit of God can a person successfully be able to complete a mission after being first selected, prepared, empowered, and then sent out. With all of this, there is no room for self proclamation; to do so would be dangerous.

Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house. Mark 3:13-19 (NKJV)

These twelve people became the focal point for spreading the gospel and all the others who followed Jesus, in loyalty were to bring others to hear them preach, so they might find healing and the power to change lives.

The problem we face is that in us we see great ability and strength and it is easy to vision ourselves bearing the burdens of others; for it is a good desire to want to serve the Lord as a pastor, teacher, evangelist, and shepherd. Yet it is in God's timing that He selects people to service.

When calling Simon, Jesus gave the name Peter, which means "Little Rock." To the brothers James and John he called them Sons of Thunder. These were not representations of who they were, but who they were in Christ when given the power to serve. Those who Jesus calls He makes strong and in strength each of the disciples were raised up to serve.

In this mention of the names and strength of the men Jesus called, Mark draws our attention to a very scary possibility. The possibility of being called to service and then to betray the God we serve. How can a servant or pastor have such a great ministry and then lapse in judgment turning against God?

Every person who takes a stand for Christ will face opposition directed by the forces of evil. Many are the stories of Pastors who have given into sin and turned their back on God. The temptations to give in to lusts and pride are tuff to bear and even the strong who are called struggle to continue in Christ.

It is like facing a fierce wind. You strain to take each step and it pushes you to stop and turn away. The danger is that once a person turns, the wind continues to push, even helping to lift the legs with relentless pressure.

For Judas, he turned away and with each step, regret filled his heart and in remorse he committed suicide. This recollection of the calling and the failure of Judas ran through Mark's mind as he considered his own desire and measured the calling on his own life.

As a young man, I felt a calling on my life; yet my pastor preached that it was sin to peruse a calling if not truly called. As he drove his hard line, I became crushed in spirit and in a prayer of tears I repented before the Lord for holding on to the desire to be a pastor. It was there that the Lord spoke to my heart that the desire was God's reality and that I would be a pastor. Yet, I did not understand how this was going to happen.

After knowing your calling a person must wait for the power. God has to open the doors and never should we kick one open. I learned this the hard way, as ministry attempts left me dry and longing.

I got to the point that I would never again kick a door open and in His timing, God opened the doors and ministry opportunities came my way. There has not been a grand scale of ministry, but small opportunities that lasted for a short time; but they were ministries.

Moses after being called, herded sheep for forty years in the wilderness until God was ready to use Him and in that truth we all must be patient and wait on the Lord. In the mean time, we prepare by praying, studying, and leading others to know Jesus. Our callings will follow, yet it will be Jesus that will do the calling.

Christianity- Crushed by its’ own people.

2008-04-29T10:49:00.001-07:00

Christianity- Crushed by its' own people. Mark 3:7-12.

But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. Mark 3:7-8 (NKJV)

As a servant of God we are taught that if we lift up Jesus, He will draw all men unto Himself. This is true; yet as people come, there are many who are not coming to Him and look on with opinions of what is the true religion. Here in the words, "But Jesus withdrew" is the truth that at times a servant of God must withdraw from those who would cause them harm.

In our prior passage, the Pharisees conspired with the Herodians on how to destroy Jesus; which brings up the truth that men will conspire against Christianity. This is a fact that all Christians must see and that all Christians must defend against. When men seek us harm, how much are we willing to lose? Will we allow them to do anything they want or will we preserve our place in the world?

Much like the opposition from religious and government pressure that Christ faced, in today's world, Christians have definite opponents that oppose them. Much of our world was settled by the conquests of England and with them they brought Judeo Christian beliefs.

Upon these beliefs democratic governments were built and a way to enforce law was instituted. What most Christians might not realize is that the link of the Judeo Christian structure to Christianity causes others to judge Christianity on the actions of the nations built on Judeo Christian beliefs.

The nations of Islam look on to the immoral acts of non-Christians living in a Judeo Christian founded society as a product of Christianity. So much like the Pharisees found fault in Christ eating with sinners; Christianity is judged by Islam as being weak and unable to control itself.

Like the Pharisees conspired with the Herodians, Islam has a way of handling sloppy Christian beliefs and will not stop until Christianity is destroyed. The Qumran speaks to Islam that Christians and Jews are not friends of Allah; therefore, the pressure is on Christianity to move in a way that Christ can call all men unto Himself.

To have to go to the sea was a logical choice for it gave protection to Jesus who was being rushed in a frenzy of thousands of people. Its slope provided a natural stadium so that He could communicate and be heard by all. Yet most important, it provided protection; for a way of escape, a boat, was made ready for that very possibility.

Did it ever occur to you that Christian leaders might need protection from its own people? People have a tendency to follow Christ and do what they think is best. Like the people that came from all over the region, people come to Christ with various desires and various commitments.

Some are misguided and like the very people that they felt might crush Jesus, are like those misguided efforts that induce the world to form opinions about Christianity. Their actions are as a crushing weight to the very beliefs that they hold to.

Where Islam and Christianity are different is that Christianity is about loving all people, where Islam is about preservation of its beliefs, culture, and territory. Christianity does not teach their people to defend their territories and allows all religions to have space in their land.

When a Muslims comes to a country they build mosques, schools, and instill their system of law to govern their own people. Using the democratic laws, they demand to practice their religion and have their religious judicial beliefs honored by the country's judicial system. If opposed they will band together to do whatever it takes to establish their territories. In so doing the law changes, Christianity is pushed out, and Islam takes over.

Where this fits into our study is that Christians do not always plan for a defense and its own people allow the establishment of Islam, Islam to overtake their land, and they literally crush the Christian leadership who is defenseless.

So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God." But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. Mark 3:9-12 (NKJV)

Each effort of Christ was tactical. He planned the place He would speak in and He knew His audience. He planned for the worst, yet He worked for the best. He took control of His own publicity and did not allow demonic voices to influence the public's opinion. Christians must wake up to this before it is too late.

In my country, a popular song sung by all people states "God bless the USA" but many of the people singing the song live in corruption and that is viewed by Islam to be a sign of weak Christianity.

As they infiltrate our countries, they are expanding their territories and with that expansion they will enforce their ways. They so not view debased living as tolerable and will eradicate it in strength; doing whatever it takes to bring change to their newly acquired land. No longer is it your land, it is their land for they believe that Allah has given it to them. They seek an Islamic world.

If Christianity is to survive, we must educate people, silence the demonic voices, and view our lands as a resource to protect. In addition, we must dedicate our lives to finding places where we can be heard by the public and lift Jesus so that He can draw all men unto Himself without crushing the message or the messenger. Yet, most importantly, we must always have a contingency plan for escape.

Healing and Prayer.

2008-04-28T10:45:00.001-07:00

Healings and Prayer. Mark 3:1-6.

And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. Mark 3:1-2 (NKJV)

Do you believe that God can heal the sick? This is the hardest thing for a servant of God to do, for we know Jesus can heal and we know that the disciples healed, but can God heal through you when you meet up with sick individuals?

Mark had to deal with the reality that one day; he too would enter a place to find a sick person. Yet could he be in authority to heal like Christ was? This is a subject that we all face.

Some Christians pray for others only when they are asked to. A person that comes their way tells of a sickness they have and if they ask, that is when the Christian will pray for them; but that was not the actions of Christ and if we are to be like Christ, we should instantly go to the person and pray for their healing.

James tells us that the fervent prayer of a faithful Christian has much weight with God and that we should pray for others; yet, this tool of such great magnitude is the one that is dropped from routine and much because of worry and fear of how others will react.

One reason that Christians fail to mention the option of prayer is they fear that the person might think differently of them. Our own savior was confronted by Pharisees with jealous hearts and He knew their thoughts and yet fear did not stop Him, and it should not stop us either. People will be people, but we will only get one chance to serve God through this life; therefore, we should summons Him to be dramatic in His healing touch.

And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward." Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Mark 3:3-5 (NKJV)

Though Jesus did more than pray; He reached out with a healing touch. The afterthought of Christ needs our careful inspection. Jesus considered this healing as doing good and contrasted the actions of not healing as being evil. This suggests that if He was to pass the person by without any interaction, it would have been an evil thing. How much more evil is it when we can pray for someone and choose not to?

Nowhere in the Bible are Christians commanded to heal in the name of the Lord. Though it is a very reasonable action that God heals through His servants, they are not expected to try to heal with a touch. However, this does not apply to praying for the sick. Christians are commanded to pray for the sick.

As a Christian we should consider the moral complications of our actions. If Christ was to pass the man by, He mentions that the man would have died and to pass him by would have been equal to killing him. Therefore Christ healed the man physically and the spiritual healing may have saved this man's life for eternity. The Apostle James also wrote, Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:17 (NKJV)

Too many Christians pass by the word sin or actions of sin as if they never happened. Yet the reality is God watches the actions of Christians to prove their faith in Him. If a person is not living up to the name of Christian, which means to be like Christ, their un-Christ like actions is a statement of their un-belief in God.

God is good and wants to heal. God is great and God is able to heal. God is compassionate, loving, and never intended men or women to suffer sickness; yet because sin entered the world sickness exists. Therefore, God is able to heal, but seeks to heal the whole person.

The man came to the synagogue to be healed by God and when Jesus saw they did nothing to help this man He became upset. When they could have comforted the man, they did not. When they could have prayed for the man, they did nothing. When they knew that a person with healing powers was in their city, they did not care enough about the person to bring them to Him.

With a scowl on His face, a face of anger was a message to the Pharisees who would rather not heal so that they could not be accused of breaking the Sabbath. He hated that they would not comfort the man or that they would not do something to help him and though furious with their sin, Jesus did the miracle so they may see the truth and repent.

His anger was such to show them they needed to change. His intentions were to rebuke their insolence, and in hopes to shake them up so they would wake up from their disbelief in God.

Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. Mark 3:6 (NKJV)

Every person will have a reaction to this teaching, as each of us will have an opportunity to do good; yet, each of us will react differently.

Many people will respond to the prompting of the scriptures; however, some people will continue to pass people by, having opportunities to pray, but never stopping to consider their needs. Then again, some will be brave enough to suggest that God can heal there on the spot and reach out their hand in belief.

The Pharisees did neither. Their reaction was to take the matter to a law influencing group called the Herodians who favored Greek customs, Jewish law, and were pro Roman. They hoped to build consensus with leaders and to bolster the anger against Jesus.

Hearts can be a very hard member of our bodies. Each person must recon their directions and go in them. For some this means trouble, for others service; but for others, they will see many miracles and grow in faith for Prayer changes things.

Legal Obligations.

2008-04-23T09:39:00.001-07:00

Legal Obligations. Mark 2:18-28.

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" Mark 2:18 (NKJV)

The world will conform a servant of God into their ways. They have an idea of how holiness should look and if it does not meet their standards they accuse Christians of being unholy and a fake. Notice, I say they "will conform a servant," for them to accept something new it has to have part of something old, so they can grab hold of it with safety.

To the Pharisees, they had rules that if a person did not fast they were ungodly and therefore, the Pharisees could not be seen having anything to do with them. The Pharisees would fast several times a week and it seems that John the Baptist's disciples did the same. So where John's disciples were somewhat accepted, Jesus and His disciples would not be accepted if they did not conform to the religious standard.

And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. Mark 2:19-20 (NKJV)

In His reply it is strange to see that when no one knew His intentions of leaving that He would refer to Himself as the bride groom. The plan for the Kingdom of Heaven was yet to be announced and therefore, He hints that one day His disciples will be on their own and He will leave.

The practice of the bridegroom was to go away and then when the bride and her maids least expected it, he would return to take his readied bride off to the honeymoon to begin their marriage. Yet before he left, the bridegroom would feast and eat with the bride and her maids, there was no need to prepare yet.

No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins." Mark 2:21-22 (NKJV)

In this statement, which ran on to the first, Jesus openly admits that His disciples were being trained. Which must have been very obvious for the most part they were working men, who did not apply themselves to many religious acts? Yet Christ readily admits that they are like old wine skins.

The statement was a definite disclosure that Jesus was training these men for religious service and they were not up to par yet. However, they were not the only ones that could not bear it; the old wineskin Pharisees were about to be ripped by the new wine of Christ's teaching on godliness.

There are many things to glean from this passage about being a servant of God. First, a servant must be trained and slowly introduced into a godly life. You cannot expect a person to jump right in and be able to understand concepts such as fasting. Even the Pharisees, who knew the Law of Moses, fasted for wrong reasons; they fasted just to make themselves look holy and they would display their fasts with long faces.

Another thing to realize is that when trying to serve up a diet of faith in Jesus, the religious people you speak to cannot absorb what you are saying. Their old ways of doing things become deeply ingrained and the new concepts will pull apart from what they know as truth.

This does not mean stop, but you can expect opposition and with the opposition Jesus received, He needed to be ready to answer their questions. From this we learn that a person trying to explain Christianity to one entrenched in another religion must be ready to answer; yet a novice can have their faith destroyed.

Lastly, Christ as a servant had a plan that He was working from. He would take these men, train them in the ways of the Lord and ready them to be leaders themselves, capable to do the same for others. Once completed, Jesus would be ready to leave. A servant should always view his mission knowing that one day he will leave and his efforts must live on.

When going on a mission trips, a servant must be looking to ensure that the work they do will continue after their departure. This should be a primary goal.

Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" Mark 2:23-24 (NKJV)

Accused of not fasting, these look like some pretty hungry men. It was the Sabbath morning, a time to rest and yet because these men did not secure food before the Sabbath, they found themselves hungry. Yet their hunger was a result of following Christ.

"Your teaching them to do what is unlawful" an accusation that must have grabbed the ears of the disciples for doing an unlawful act can get you whipped and even stoned. Not only did Christ allow them to do what was unlawful, He allowed them to do it openly. This Jesus was a rebel and His disciples were now waking up to the fact that Jesus was very unorthodox and that following Jesus can get you hurt.

But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?" And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." Mark 2:25-28 (NKJV)

Of all the knowledge people have of scripture, when they follow a religion of works, they miss the intent of the scriptures. The Law was established to help men to not get sick and to deal with life's problems. Through it they would develop a relationship with God and followed correctly, it would lead them to see their need for a savior.

The Sabbath was made for people to rest and nothing more. God knew that people needed one day a week to stop working so they can be refreshed. It was men like the Pharisees that turned it into a day of following rules.

Using their own scriptures, Jesus showed them precedence set by King David who greatly broke rules without God punishing Him, for the servant of God broke them because he was hungry in the service of the Lord.

What we must learn is that it is not about keeping rules that pleases God; it is the position of the servant's heart that pleases God.

Separate Lives.

2008-04-22T09:42:00.001-07:00

Separate Lives. Mark 2:13-17.

Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. Mark 2:13-14 (NKJV)

Israel was under Roman rule and in order to maintain a good status with Rome, a tax was declared to make them profitable; otherwise there was no reason to keep them. To the Romans, the Jews were an undesirable necessity, for from them they collected lots of money.

To the Jew, the Romans were not welcomed in their land and they had to keep a delicate balance so they could have their rule without offending the Romans. Therefore, they hated to pay taxed, but tolerated it because it meant freedom. This is the groundwork for a much deeper discussion to be considered latter in this study about who these religious leaders where.

Paying taxes to the Rich Romans kept the Jews at a level of poverty that made them easy to manage; yet it caused much ill feeling that could not be openly expressed to the Romans. Therefore, the tax collector became a person to vent on. The tax collector or "publican" was despised and a lonely person.

What we must hold in high regard is that Jesus has compassion for despised and lonely people. Seeing that Levi did not attend the meeting and that he sat in his office while the whole town turned out to the meeting, broke straight through to the heart of Jesus and Jesus went to Him.

Having eyes open to surrounding circumstances is a mark of a good servant. Many people see those in the lime light and go to those who are easy to be around; yet a good servant is looking for the downtrodden, the outcast, and a person who feels unworthy to hear the word of the Lord.

Now Levi, was not going to go into a church to hear Christ, he did not want to get around the people who verbally abused him. He had a thankless job and all it took was one invite to follow Jesus and Levi left his terrible surroundings.

Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?" Mark 2:15-16 (NKJV)

When you have found one person who is an outcast, you will find others and Jesus, through Levi, met many others who were social outcasts. Now there were those who were collecting taxes, but there were those people who practiced sin and where treated as outcasts based upon the attitudes from the religious leaders. There was no doubt that these chose to sin willfully and did not want to be cleaned by the current religion.

The Pharisees had taken the Law of Moses and elevated it to ridiculous levels. Everything had to be cleansed before they could touch it and they used the distinction of clean and unclean to isolate people that they did not care for. Therefore, tax collectors were unclean sinners in their eyes.

This leads us to deepen our discussion to these who had authority in Israel. The Romans allowed the Jews to rule themselves, if they could do so without causing trouble. They could keep their religion as long as there was no uprising against Roman rule and the tax was paid.

The religious rulers and the tax collectors were the liaisons with the Romans; therefore, Jesus became a threat to their leadership and put their position with the Romans in jeopardy. Jesus was not a part of their religious group and to them, seemed to be forming His own group.

Where did He come from? What did He want? Is He able to able to be one of us? These questions echoed through their minds as they watched Him go to places they would not go and do things they would not do.

Through His actions Jesus was separating Himself from them and it became important to them to discredit Him and they blasted Him for eating with tax collectors and sinners.

When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." Mark 2:17 (NKJV)

There is a big difference between a godly person who does God's will and a person acting godly to protect his own appearance. Some religious leaders make every effort to ensure they do everything properly in fear that someone will notice and blame them of wrong.

Other like the notoriety and they love to be respected amongst their peers so they act proper, wear apparel different from everyone else and they put much emphasis on people calling them by their title.

I have met many people who insist that you call them by a title of Reverend, Bishop, Pastor, and even Deacon. Each time I hear it I look towards the personality of the person to see if they are using the name to gain respect. Not to say that all those who are called by a title are seeking respect, but you would not believe some of the people I have met.

The Pharisees wore long garments that they would not allow to touch the ground; for they went through ritual to be cleansed and the ground was unclean. They would pull them in so not to touch others for people were unclean also.

The clothing they wore set them apart from society so that you could recognize their authority from a distance and they carried a better than thou attitude. You may not believe it, but much the same is alive and well in churches today. Some pastors .thinking themselves to be something special, where clothes to show it. Wanting distinction, they act as big shots. When they should be the servant of all, they are the ones being served.

Jesus defiantly went against the grain because He was down in the trenches reaching out to people who needed to be reached. He would not separate Himself; He would join Himself to them. He wanted people to know that God loves them no matter how much sin they commit. Yet, this does not mean that He compromised his own godliness.

Bing a servant will lead you to places others will not go. Then again, going to those places a servant must be ready and able to maintain their godliness and preserve their witness. Jesus was ready to go where He went; He was not a novice. Yet the truth stands that no matter where you find yourself in life, Jesus will meet you there.

A Servant’s Heart.

2008-04-21T08:46:00.001-07:00

A Servant's Heart. Mark 2:1-12.

And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Mark 2:1-2 (NKJV)

It is great to have a full house; when was the last time your house was filled to over capacity? It is very note worthy that Jesus drew crowds wherever He went; yet it is even more note worthy that He would choose one person's house to preach from. This must have been a very special person; a person with a servant's heart.

Considering this, I had to reflect when was the last time that my house was overfilled with people because of the preaching of the Lord. Then I remembered a time when I invited many fathers and their children to come by my home for a steak dinner. The plan was to feed them physically, then feed them spiritually, and after we would all go to a local harvest festival to enjoy our family time.

It took much preparation and money to have everything ready and when my guest showed up, we all crammed into my small house and with a servants heart I led the men in time of fellowship, worship, and dinner, followed by a message that God had put on my heart. It was awesome.

As I look back to that day, I cannot say that my house has been filled to over capacity since and I had to consider why not.

First, I thought that it is tough to have that many people into a small place; yet in our passage Jesus selected just that circumstance. In small spaces I feel on edge, but that's just me; everyone else felt right at home.

Second, it cost a lot of money; but the treasures in heaven far out way the expense to my wallet. Today, I cannot remember how much. That was a lot of nice steaks, but it had no memorable financial impact.

Third, it is not my natural desire to over fill anything. Back then, I did not even consider the size; I only considered building up the brethren. Yet still I cannot remember what caused me to do this except for the fact that Jesus selected my house to come to that day and everything fell into place.

Here, from our passage, are a few great truths that we can glean about being a Christian.

We must give from our hearts even when our actions do not make sense. We must unleash our faith and our money to bless others. We must open our homes to fill them to capacity so that the love of God grows deep into the hearts of people.

Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. Mark 2:3-4 (NKJV)

Now outside of giving your home when opening your heart to serve, the same applies. The men in our passage are an example of when you have to give yourself in a way that does not make logical sense. These men had faith in Jesus and nothing was going to stop them from reaching Him and bringing their sick friend to the Lord.

When everything said stop they did the opposite. The crowd was too big, they went around. They could not get through the door, so they climbed to the roof and ripped it open. They could not get down from the roof and they lowered their friend down on a stretcher.

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" — He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Mark 2:5-11 (NKJV)

There was great faith over riding common sense and then there was also common sense overriding great faith.

The people looked to the ceiling as it began to shake and dust fell from the rafters. Many must have thought the house was going to collapse, yet suddenly roofing material was being ripped and thrown to the side as the sky became visible.

Through the hole peered determined men, who with one quick action lowered their paralyzed friend and as Jesus looked on in amazement. He must have delighted inside knowing that the love of God was alive in their hearts. What great servants these men where to bring their friend to Christ and moved with compassion Jesus healed the man. Great faith overrode common sense.

Yet also in the home, common sense was overriding the faith of some. Knowing the hearts of men, Jesus felt the questioning of the religious Pharisees who struggled with every word trying to make them meeting their doctrines that they strictly enforced.

We all have this problem when try to conceive every aspect of a situation and understand what is the right thing to do based upon common sense. Not that we should be mindless, but at times we are called to have faith in the miraculous.

How could He forgive sins; only God can forgive sins? They pondered in their minds and the truth here is that extremely religious people become ridged in their beliefs when God would have us to be different.

A wise pastor once told me, "Blessed are the flexible; for they will not be broken." Yet ridged religious people do not want to bend and this attitude is usually led by a desire to be respected in their beliefs and the pride of not wanting to be wrong.

Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" Mark 2:12 (NKJV)

One thing that I found encouraging about this passage is that Mark used the word "all." All were amazed and all glorified God which means the ridged people found faith that day. All provided by one person who was willing to open their servant's heart and their home for the Lord to do a miracle.

It all started with one person's decision to open their home to the Lord. Then it ended with the miracle man being challenged to go to his own home and open it to those who would inquire. We cannot help but draw the correlation between God, service, and your home. Do you open your own home for the work of the Lord?

Cleansing before Service.

2008-04-18T08:59:00.001-07:00

Cleansing before Service. Mark 1:40-45.

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean." Mark 1:40

The man with leprosy believed in Jesus and we know that belief is the essence of our salvation. If we truly believe in God, our actions will be proof and the lepers' actions were to come to the Lord for cleansing. We all must realize that illness happens because God's perfect plan for us was shattered by sin. Yet God will use sickness in our life to bring us to Him for healing and from that experience make us His willing servant.

It is a glaring truth that to be a servant of the Lord, we must first be healed from the illnesses that sin causes. To effectively serve God, we must first be healed and God desires that we would be like this man and come to Him for healing. Some will say that they do not need healing; to which we must ask, "Could we be sick and not see it?"

I worked with a man who had a great love for the Lord. He was given an opportunity to serve the Lord at a large homeless mission in downtown Los Angeles. He retired from my company and went on to serve; yet what he did not realize was that the ways of the business world did not apply to the mission and trying to be who he was, he found that he was in need of great healing.

The reality of this shattered him as a person and when I talked to him, he had been very humbled. The truth of being a servant is that before any work of God, through your life, some type of healing must happen first.

God will use sickness and hardships to break you down so that He can lift you up. For some they find themselves in a hospital bed and from there they gain a new respect for life and find ways to serve that they never saw before. This is not to say that God will allow sickness to blight you, this is only one way where there are many ways to prompt you to come to Him for healing.

The significance of the man having leprosy is that leprosy is a disease that is much like sin is in our life. Leprosy is a slow growing skin disease that is characterized by sores, scabs, and white shining spots beneath the skin. Though modern medicine has almost eliminated the disease, in the days prior, lepers needed to be separated from society and seek healing from the Lord. Some even thought leprosy to be a plague from the Lord caused by the sin in one life.

In the Law of Moses there were definite steps to take when dealing with lepers to keep the infection from spreading to others. It was up to the priests to diagnose the disease, over see the careful handling, and announce when a person had been healed. Therefore, the fact that Jesus had power over leprosy showed that He was greater than a priest.

Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed." As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." Mark 1:41-44 (NKJV)

Jesus is the great physician and many are the times that we forget the power that He has. Everything we think of as being bad, to Him is an opportunity for good. We look at the disease, He looks at the possibilities and to that we must remember not to let grief overshadow our faith and hope.

Another thing Mark points out is that the Leper had to ask for the healing. Often times Christians forget to simply ask; I am a very good example of this. Today I saw my neighbor and he stopped to talk. He asked how I was doing and I told him that I was suffering from great leg pain and he was quick to say, "Let's pray about it." As he said it I thought to myself, "Of course, we can pray!" yet it was my first instinct to only tell him about it and deal with the pain. If it were not for him, I would have passed up the opportunity.

The other thing Mark tells us is that Jesus was willing and the fact that Jesus is willing often becomes clouded in our minds too. You see, because of the effects of sin in the world, the truth about God's love, care, and ability, becomes clouded. When we should go to Him in prayer, we suffer though the pain. Caused by the spread of the disease of sin, like a sore from leprosy, it is a sign that we need healing.

It is a miraculous thing to be healed from an illness, yet it is very liberating to have the depression that sickness brings lifted off of you. Knowing this, Jesus warns the man to go to the priests and not speak to anyone for people would know him as diseased and know him as dangerous to be around; in addition this would bring untimely attention to the healing ability of Jesus.

However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction. Mark 1:45 (NKJV)

A good servant, obedient to God, should always listen to the conviction of the Lord and do as told. It is when people do not that ministry opportunities can vanish. This is one reason that we should not send a novice into ministry and allow time for them to be taught before sent. Yet it was a commandment from God to handle leprosy in a proper way. Jesus had to send the man to the priest.

We must remember that our enemy is not all knowing, is not omnipresent, and is not all powerful as is God. Therefore, the enemy is lurking about seeking opportunity to disrupt the work of God. If we as servants do things in God's proper order, the enemy can be defeated; but in this case, the fame of Jesus was used to cause the people to seek a miracle and one cannot help but think the enemy was fanning the flames. Because of one man's indiscretion in serving God, Jesus could no longer openly enter the city.

This is a strange truth to understand; though God is all powerful, He has humbled himself to be in the confines of the situations that occur in the world and the reason is so that we can we can partake in the work as servants to Him.

He could easily sort through the faithful and those who would be faithful and then destroy the rest; but God allows us to work together with Him and gives people time to be persuaded to use their free will to come to Him. In this, there must be order to get the job done and a servant must be faithful to his orders.

Therefore, prior to serving it is important that we are healed from those things that could impair the work of God. No matter how small or how big our need for healing is, we should all come to Jesus and ask to be healed.

A Servant’s Direction.

2008-04-17T09:15:00.001-07:00

A Servants Directions. Mark 1:35-45.

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You." But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth." Mark 1:35-39 (NKJV)

Every Christian should make some time to get away from the world and the people in their life so that they can pray; it is like putting batteries into a flashlight. To keep your light from growing dim, you need to commune with God. Realizing this, Mark must have made adjustments to his own prayer life, have you?

Because people come searching for us and we are bothered by so many distractions, to have that quality time with God you will have to wake up early and go away to a place you can bear your soul to God. From this action of Jesus, we can draw some great conclusions.

The first thing to notice is that morning is better than evening. In the morning you are refreshed and it is always in the morning, after you have had some rest that your mind will wake up and start to work.

Thoughts of troubles, pressures, and the day ahead come screaming for your attention and that is the best reason to enter into prayer so that you can reaffirm God's will for your life and that spiritual battles can be fought.

Mark also draws attention to a very human tendency to be liked by others. Simon tells Jesus, "Everyone is looking for you" and the very comment that would make us all feel good, just fell to the grown with no interest from Jesus. We can conclude that the servant, "Jesus" had no need for the conformation of others and the distraction of conformation would keep Him from doing his work.

Self esteem is a point of conflict in our lives. The reactions of people towards us can make us crave attention, affirmation, and comfort; these become psychological deficits. I say deficits because many that seek acceptance want it because of something they have experienced during their life.

Myself, I was often left behind by my parents and did not get the attention a child would in a nurturing environment. Therefore, I have been helped to recognize that fear of abandonment brings certain reactions out of me.

At times I crave acceptance and have desires to be recognized, these lure me away from the work I could do, to be acknowledged for the work I have already done. Then if I receive poor acknowledgment, feelings of disrespect interrupts relationships and friendships and then, my mind is completely off my goals and my work takes on bitterness.

Acceptance becomes a big button that can be pushed to make us change our actions, if we let it. Just recognizing that, for whatever reason we crave acceptance, allows us to identify something that can hinder us from our purpose allowing us to choose to react different.

Lastly we can glean that victories and celebrations of milestones feels good, but over emphasis on them can hinder our overall objective of building the kingdom of God. Why stop to allow others to praise us, when God did the work? We must remember that we are a servant of God and not a god our self.

And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons. Mark 1:39 (NKJV)

How big of a goal do we set for our service? There are tendencies to break God's work into small projects and when thinking small we can end up with small results. Yet to think big, allows an effort to continue past the small accomplishments into works that can have great impact.

Here is a typical problem that happens in churches. Someone comes up with an idea to hold an outreach. They gather the items needed, they set them in order, and they conduct their outreach. But little to no planning went into what to do with the people who decide to give their life to Christ.

Therefore, you have babes in Christ, with no milk to drink, no one to comfort them, and no one to help raise them into Christian adults. Though this short sightedness sounds silly, it happens in churched around the world.

In our passage, Jesus had a full plan on how He was going to accomplish his goals of reaching out to all of Israel. He had assembled people to help Him; He had a training program for them and was able to start the outreach at the same time that He trained. He was working with purpose and stayed to His agendas.

Jesus identified things that could hinder the work and pushed past those things keeping on course. Jesus prayed and communed with God to refresh His relationship with God and contemplated His goals so that He could straightaway work towards them.

With this example to servants everywhere, Mark records these actions and adopted them for his own service. A good servant prepares plans, defends, and continues forward.

God needs People.

2008-04-16T09:41:00.001-07:00

God needs People. Mark 1:29-34.

Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them. Mark 1:29-31 (NKJV)

Sometimes the most needed servant is the one that will take care of the needs of others so that teaching, ministering, and evangelism can happen. This day it was so needed that Jesus heals Simon's mother in law. With one touch Jesus healed her from a fever and being the servant she was, she went right back to work. Are you a servant working for God?

Simon was the son of Jonah and Andrew was his brother. It is written in the gospel of John that Andrew came to repentance at the preaching of John the Baptist and later followed Jesus. Andrew then brought his brother, Simon to hear Jesus and he too came to repentance. Andrew is the first known person to bring someone to know the Lord. God needs servants that will bring others to now Jesus.

In our passage, there is much leading that takes place; not that God must be led to people, but God wants people to be involved in the process of restoration. Andrew led Simon to know Jesus and these led Jesus to Simon's sick mother in law. There is simplicity in these events.

Because of sin, people are blind to the truth of what is right and what is good. Yes, they have an inner law in their heart, but through the confusion of what is right they cannot see the truth.

Many people, blinded to the truth, look at Christianity as being a false religion. You can enter into debates about what is truth and accomplish little. Yet as servants, we must never forget that the task is simply bringing them to Jesus. Not converting them to Christ, only taking them by the hand and bring them to where Christ is.

Jesus told us, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20 (NKJV) Therefore, we know that Christ is at church and we should never sell short that bringing someone to church can do more for them that hours of debate.

Another thing that many take for granted is that Jesus heals. Yet, because people fear times when Jesus does not heal, they quit taking people to Him. What gets blown out of proportion, in many Christian's minds, is the ease that we have in praying for them. In our passage Simon and Andrew told Jesus about Simon's mother in law and Jesus did the rest. It was that easy.

As a Christian, all we must do is mention the person to Christ in prayer and let Him do the rest. Just simply saying, "Jesus, I know of this person who is very sick" is enough. Yet many feel that they have to go to the person, elaborately pray or lay hands on them, and because it is made into such a big task many Christians do not get involved in praying for the sick.

These two things are simple and are the basis for the way Christ wants to work through us. All we must do is bring others to where Jesus is and tell Jesus about others. God does not expect you to defend, debate, lay hands on, or know exactly what to pray; He only wants you to believe that He can do the work through your simple efforts.

When was the last time you brought someone to church or told the Lord about a sick friend?

At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. Mark 1:32-34 (NKJV)

Faith grows like a fire, but it starts with only a spark. This one healing grabbed the attention of these few and soon people were being brought to Jesus from all around the city. Though the passage does not say who leaked the news about the healing power of Jesus, the word spread like wildfire. The simple act of telling Jesus about the sick person soon turned into an event that affected the town.

Of all the great evangelists, there was one person who brought them to Jesus. Rarely do their names get mentioned, but their little spark started blazes that brought millions into the Kingdom of God.

At the time of Christ, Judaism had grown into an elitist group who practiced pious acceptance and non acceptance. The elite set the standards for Godliness and interpreted what was godly and what was ungodly. They set the bar so high that they became very critical of some and shunned others. These were religious zealots who ruled the people with fear of being stoned for not keeping the law.

Though they could not stone everybody for minor infractions, there was a list of major infractions that they would take action on. One of them was resting on the Sabbath; which began at Sunset of the sixth day and continued through the seventh day. All were to stop their work except for work stemming from acts of mercy, necessity, and worship. Even the number of steps a person could take during that time was debated among the zealots.

Though we can define this healing service as an act of mercy, the whole town had showed out and the disruption of the peaceful rest of the Sabbath was very noticeable. This type of work would be very upsetting to those who ran the Jewish religion and mark Jesus as a trouble maker. The very fact that Jesus did not allow the demons to speak as He cast them out points to the fact that He was not ready for too much attention.

In all, our passage speaks to the roll of a servant in building the kingdom of God. Servants are to bring people to Christ, tell Christ of the hurting, let Him be the great physician that He is and allow Him to draw the attention needed to do God's work.

Too many Christians have stopped building the kingdom and are trying to settle down to rest in the peaceful tranquility of the Kingdom; yet we are not there yet and our efforts are still needed and God wants to make a commotion in our cities, our community, and in our homes. It all starts with you inviting Jesus in.