Mark 4:1-8

Mark 4:1-8  Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge.  He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.  Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.” 

Unless a seed is planted and unless that seed dies, it abides alone and will not produce anything beyond its own reality.  No new plant, no new life, no new identity will come unless the seed loses its conformation, its existence.  When the Lord talks about a seed, He is speaking about us and our lives.  We, our essence, our hearts, are the soil.  Unless our essence is yielded, unless our hearts are amenable to change, we will produce no new life.  The environment of our hearts will determine our future existence, likeness.  If we are stony to anything spiritual, we will crumble into dust without any sprouting; for we will reject anything about God or a future life in God.  Therefore, all we will get out of life is what we choose to experience in the present: eating, drinking, sleeping, and so on.  With such a life, exposure to the world's environment of disbelief will destroy the seed itself.  Without spiritual depth, the seed will die without fulfilling its designed purpose, which is to glorify God in the body.  Human beings have an eternal purpose to fulfill in their lives, and that is to bring glory to the Father of all things by surrendering to him.  Paul prayed for the church: May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (Romans 15:5-6)  When we yield our lives to the Lord and the seed of God grows within us, Paul wrote to the church at Philippi that they would shine like stars in the universe.  (Philippians 2:15)

Unfortunately, all do not receive the seed with openness or allow God the freedom to cultivate healthy spiritual growth.  Some lives sprout for a short period of time as if they will grow into lively plants.  Their hearts are open to experimentation.  They include spirituality in all of their life experiences.  They dabble with many things, but only hook into the latest fad or desire for a short time.  Yet they are unwilling to make a genuine commitment to anything for very long, so when a new day comes when life and its perplexities bears in another direction, they forget God.  They allow the new life to wither within them.  Others do not endure to the end because the cares and concerns of this world crowd God out of their lives.  They spend all their time working on earthly concerns or entertaining themselves with fleshly pleasures, crowding God and his concerns out of their lives.  They made a pretense of following God but remained among the weeds and thorns of life.  Some may have thought they were believers but their closest friends and relatives saw the inconsistencies.  Their spiritual lives are emaciated and fruitless because of the concerns and temptations of life.  God gets the leftovers of their days, the tail end of their life experiences, the dregs of life.  The Christian life without depth and a sure foundation with not last when trials, temptations, and the storms of life press in upon us.  We fail miserably without strong roots.  We are like the man Jesus spoke of who built his house upon the sand: But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.  (Matthew 7:26-27)

But those people who allow the seed to be planted in the deepest part of their soil, their souls, produce much fruit for their Father.  They will go through a transformation not imagined by the seed.  Just as the red oak acorn, if it had an awareness of some sort, could never imagine the great tree that would eventually emerge and develop from its existence; so we as humans, experiencing good soil, can never imagine what God has in store for us when we die to ourselves and live for him, not only here but in the eternal future.  What kind of beautiful entity will develop from such meager, finite lives fully yielded to God.  We will be a glory to our wonderful God forever.  We will reveal together as his beautiful church a garden of splendor beyond mere human imagination.  In Revelation, we read about the glory of heaven.  The beginning of the description says: The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.  The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone.  (Revelation 18:18-19)  The redeemed of God who have endured to the end will experience a personal and collective existence far greater than the transformation of the acorn into a majestic and mighty oak tree.  We can see the results of the acorn transforming into a several thousand pound majestic tree, but the Bible says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” — but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.  The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.  (1 Corinthians 2:9-11)  We cannot know with our natural minds what God can do when we come alive in the Spirit and grow up in Christ that we might be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.  (Isaiah 61:3)  Nothing can stop seed from multiplying when it falls into good ground, a heart with soil ready to receive and nourish the seed.  Today may our hearts and minds allow the Holy Spirit to bring forth a mighty harvest in our lives.  God loves you and He calls you by name.  This is the year of the Lord's favor: walk in freedom!  Love, Dad and Mom  

Mark 3:31-35

Mark 3:31-35  Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived.  Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him.  A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”  “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.  Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” 

The above verses clearly illustrate you can know Jesus but not really know him for who He is: the Son of God.  At this time Mary and Jesus' siblings knew Jesus more as a person in their family than anything else.  Up to his time of ministry, Jesus' role in life was primarily as Mary's beloved son and as his siblings elder brother.  For sure, they probably thought of him as rather eccentric, maybe too religious, perhaps as too much of a free spirit, doing as He wished; but they did not have an awareness of him being the only begotten Son of God with a work to do for his heavenly Father.  Jesus had given indications of who He really was earlier when He stayed in Jerusalem as a young boy teaching in the synagogue; and as with his unique birth, Mary pondered those things but had a very difficult time wrapping her mind around the identity of this person she had birthed and raised in her home.  How could she and his siblings truly comprehend the scope of Jesus' eternal existence?  How could they fully believe He was more than just a human, even with knowing He possessed extraordinary wisdom and unexplainable powers to heal?   Jesus had lived with them for thirty years as a normally functioning biological entity, a member of the family, a mere person such as they were.  He ate, drank, slept, worked with them, just like any other human being.  How could they now view him any differently?  Even Jesus said, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.  And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.  (Matthew 13:57-58)  Jesus understood that a lack of faith would blind the eyes of those who had walked the closest with him as He grew to manhood.

Paul wrote:  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  (2 Corinthians 5:16-17)  Jesus was looking for people who would have new eyes, spiritual eyes, to see him as He was.  Just as we see Christ anew, we know each other who are in Christ by faith, and not by sight.  Various times in the Bible we read: The just shall live by faith.  Jesus' mother and his siblings knew him by sight:  They lived with him, talked with him, ate with him; knew his face but not his eternal purpose.  We who are IN CHRIST know him purely by faith.  We do not consider him as a good man with some supernatural powers and great wisdom.  We consider him our God and our Lord.  He is not a means to an end to give us what we want and make our lives easier and more perfect here on Earth.  No, we serve him wholeheartedly as God, for He deserves our total allegiance.  For sure, Jesus is not for us just a man who could perform marvelous acts.  He is Savior, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.  We know him and worship him by faith, not by sight.  But today, many want to know Jesus as one who can create for them a better life in the flesh.  Wanting a good life is not a bad thing, but as Jesus told the Samaritan woman: Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.  (John 4:23-24)  Through Christ's death and resurrection, He has made us eternal beings, free from sin and death, that we might serve and worship him here on Earth and live with him forever as God's beloved children.  Jesus paved the way for us to be sons and daughters in the family of God; therefore, we know him as the Son of God and Lord of All.  

In today's verses, we see Jesus saying, Who are my mother and my brothers?  He indicates He is no longer bound by natural birth connections.  His family is the family of God: Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.  His intimate relatives are those who live by faith and not by sight, those who die daily and live to please their heavenly Father.  We don't measure our spirituality by what we get from Jesus; we measure it by our belief in who He is and in how willing we are to yield ourselves to him and to serve him.  Jesus clearly said, Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?"  Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"  Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  (Matthew 7:21-24)  In our everyday lives, we face many demands upon our time, and we allow many of life's allures to distract us from Christ's call.  We often become so busy with work and leisure activities in our spare time that we lose track of who we are and our purpose for living.  Paul compared the body of Christ to the natural body and he said, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  (Romans 12:5)  When we fail to do our part, the whole body suffers--Christ suffers.  We are his family, the family of God.  May we do the work of our elder brother and our heavenly Father today.  We encourage you with these words: Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with God’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality.  (Romans 12:9-13)  

Mark 3:22-29

Mark 3:22-29  And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebub!  By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”  So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables:  “How can Satan drive out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.  In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man.  Then he can rob his house.  I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them.  But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.”   

In the above verses, we see the teachers of the law accusing Jesus of being possessed by Beelzebub.  Jesus directly attacks their accusation by saying, How can Satan drive out Satan?  Can sin drive out sin, can dirtiness wipe away dirt, can unrighteousness triumph over unrighteousness, can evil dispose of evil?  No, darkness cannot bring light, dirt cannot produce purity, uncleanness will not birth holiness, and sin will not bring godliness.  By claiming Jesus' miraculous works of goodness were evil, his accusers clearly implied that the Holy Spirit inside Jesus was evil.  They were saying that the Holy Spirit, who Jesus depended on minute by minute, was a minister of sin and darkness.  Those who knew Jesus realized He walked in the power of the Spirit.  They had witnessed his baptism: When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  (Matthew 3:16-17 NKJV)  Hearing their condemning words now, Jesus responds to their accusations with these words: I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them.  But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.”  He warns them, to categorize the Holy Spirit's work as evil is to revile God's salvation message on the earth.  God will not forgive such a filthy, blasphemous spirit.  He will not forgive because the Holy Spirit is God's avenue to his holy kingdom, his plan from the beginning of time.  The Spirit woos sinners to God's presence through Christ the Son: He is THE WAY.  Through Christ's work on the cross, the Holy Spirit implements God's salvation plan of grace and mercy by drawing men and women to their Father in heaven.  No man will hear God's voice of grace and mercy without the Holy Spirit's wooing power.  Without the Spirit's work, we are eternally dead in our sins, without hope. "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.  The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.  Yet there are some of you who do not believe.”  For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.  He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”  (John 6:63-65)

Many churches and Christians underestimate or even ignore the significance and the importance of the Holy Spirit as the third member of the godhead.  Yet when we study God's Word, we find the Spirit active throughout the history of the church.  If we look at Christ's life, we see the involvement of the Holy Spirit from the time of his conception: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.  (Matthew 1:18)  The Holy Spirit continues this involvement throughout Jesus' life because He does not function on his own.  The Holy Spirit is his guide, his source of strength, power, and wisdom.  From leading him out in the desert to be tempted by the devil to leading him to the cross, Jesus follows the bidding of the Holy Spirit in his life.  When Jesus sent out the twelve to the lost sheep of Israel to preach the kingdom of heaven was near, He said, But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it.  At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.  (Matthew 10:19-20)  Jesus knew they could not go out in their own strength; they must ask the Holy Spirit to come upon them and give them the words they needed to break down the rebellion in the hearts of the people.  When it came time for Jesus to go to the cross, He comforted his disciples with the thought that He would not leave them alone.  They were filled with sorrow at the thought of him going away, but He said, I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away.  Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.  (John 16:7)  He knew they would fail without the Holy Spirit.  He knew they needed more that what He had given them.  Seeing the miracles and hearing him preach and teach was not enough.  So He told them of a wonderful plan, and He sent them to Jerusalem to wait for the promise of power from on high.

The disciples did as Jesus told them: they gathered with a group of people in an upper room and waited to see what would happen.  The Bible tells us: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.  (Acts 2:1-4)  Of course this caused quite a stir among the people who heard the noise and came to investigate: some praised God; others laughed and mocked them, saying they were drunkards so early in the morning.  But they were noticed.  Peter preached an amazing sermon and when he said, Save yourselves from this corrupt generation,  three thousand people accepted the Lord as Savior and were baptized.  (Acts 2:40)  Surely the Holy Spirit was in that place.  Every one of us has that same Spirit dwelling within us, wanting to use us for God's glory as his instruments.  We are not going to blaspheme the Holy Spirit today.  We are not going to say that the Spirit is a liar or a fraud.  We are not going to turn from Christ or reject our salvation.  But we may ignore opportunities to share our faith.  We may push aside a chance to communicate with someone in need of encouragement or love.  We might not listen for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, telling us to write a note or a card or to post a message or make a phone call.  The Holy Spirit is an active force in our lives.  When Paul wrote his second letter to his spiritual son, Timothy, he reminded him of the faith he received growing up, and he said, Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.  For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.  (2 Timothy 1:6-7)  We have all prayed for faith, for the Holy Spirit's power, for a ministry to serve God.  Now is the time for us to let the Holy Spirit stir up the gift of God that we might bolding confess our faith to others and serve those God has placed in our lives.  Serve the Lord with gladness today!      

      

Mark 3:13-21

Mark 3:13-21  Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.  He appointed twelve — designating them apostles — that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.  These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.  Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.  When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” 

Although many wanted to travel in Jesus' most intimate entourage, He chose only twelve as members of this group that would accompany him throughout his ministry.  They would assist him by helping to provide for his physical needs: housing, transportation, food.  They also were his protectors or body guards when the huge crowds crushed in on Jesus, attempting to get close to him or to touch him.  His disciples also provided fellowship, and He taught them the words of life.  The twelve were just a small part of his followers who went from place to place to see Jesus perform divine works.  But many did not believe in these miraculous deeds: the religious teachers and leaders and as we see in today's passage, even his family, thought Jesus was mad.  Those without faith in his work saw him as a man of delusions, out of his mind.  At various times the Pharisees said Jesus was demon possessed, a foolish idea, since he delivered people from demon possession.  Once when they said he was possessed of a demon, Jesus answered, I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me.  I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.  I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.  (John 8:49-51)  Even today, sometimes the people closest to a person whose life has been changed by God's presence will not believe divine intervention has changed the person's life.  The secularist will not believe in a God who loves his creation so much He sent his Son to die for our sins and supernaturally intervenes in people's lives.  They believe perhaps there is a God, but they will not believe that God is active in the daily affairs of mankind or that we need a Savior.  Jesus' own family was troubled by his actions and thought they needed to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”  Is it any wonder, when Jesus went into his own town many would not believe.  Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”  He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.  And he was amazed at their lack of faith.  (Mark 6:4-6)  

When we gather as believers today, do we still believe that God is active in our lives and that He performs supernatural acts for his children?  Do we believe in the Christ who said, The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor?  (Luke 4:18-19)  Are we still praying for our loved ones and friends or are we like the religious teachers who mocked our Lord and Jesus' family with a lack of faith and full of doubts?  We may think we have faith, but faith is active.  James says, As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.  (James 2:26)  So often we tell a friend with a sickness or a difficulty in life, "I am so sorry for your need.  I will be praying for you."  What the person needs is the prayer of faith right at that moment.  We know what the Bible says, but sometimes we do not put our faith into practice.  Remember Christ's words: “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.  (Matthew 18:18-20)  God is sovereign--the answers to our prayers are in his hands, his domain.  But we are told to pray without ceasing in faith believing.  Prayer is our privilege, our inheritance as children of a loving, caring Father who sent his Son to shed his blood on the cross.  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 

All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.  (Isaiah 53:5-6)

As we write these breakfasts, we believe the Holy Spirit is in the room, within us and hovering over us, asking us to be true to the Word, true to the Spirit of the Lord.  We must be true to the voice of Jesus who called twelve men to forsake everything and to follow him.  He called them to help him minister to hurting people, to help him to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor to a people hard of hearing.  We know that your ears attend to the Spirit's call: you want to take up the cross daily and follow your Lord.  Today, the Lord is asking us to let the Holy Spirit stir up our faith, to remember who we are in Christ and who He is in us.  When the man who had been lame since birth approached Peter and John for money at the gate called Beautiful, Peter answered, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”  And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.  So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God.  (Acts 3:6-8)  Peter lacked money, but he was not empty-handed.  He gave what he possessed, the power of the living Lord.  When the man was healed, he was leaping and shouting and praising God with the greatest joy of his life.  No amount of money could have given him such a gift of life.  This is life!  People are steeped in sin and sickness, lost in the darkness.  Lead us to those who are ready to hear the Good News, dear Lord; lead us to those we can talk to and say, "May I pray for you?"