Mark 8:14-21

Mark 8:14-21 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.” Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

No, they did not fully understand. The disciples' hearts were hardened by their traditions, and also by their personal daily needs. The Pharisees were part of their religious community and therefore were not perceived by them to be much of a threat to their personal safety. Consequently, when they heard Jesus talk about yeast, their thoughts went quickly to their immediate need, which was bread. The disciples were dealing with their own realities, not abstractions. Their present circumstance was that they had only one loaf of bread to feed thirteen people. To them, this was a pressing need, so they were thinking about their problems and not about spiritual abstractions. This I believe is where most of us are most of the time. The Bible, meditation, and inspired ministry make spiritual thrusts into our thinking processes, into our consciousness, but the priorities of life usually dominate our thoughts. However, in Jesus' priorities, the spiritual world was much more important than the temporal.

In the above scriptures, Jesus was talking about a danger that could not only shorten the disciples' physical lives, but endanger their spiritual lives as well. Of course the Pharisees wanted Jesus killed, and Herod was the power to implement their wicked desire. But the Pharisees also carried about them a virulent virus of good works, of arrogant living, and a distaste for servanthood. Jesus understood how dangerous the Pharisees' thinking and lifestyle were to his gospel and to his disciples. However, his disciples' concern was on bread and not on spiritual things: “It is because we have no bread.” Jesus was talking about eternal matters, but the disciples were fixated on the temporal. Jesus was talking about eternal life, but the disciples were focused on this life, which is but a wisp of smoke--here today, gone tomorrow. They had already forgotten the significance of the miracle of feeding the 3,000, so they were worried about having only one loaf of bread to feed thirteen people. Our present circumstances can make us forget that God has taken care of us in the past and that He will take care of us in the present and in the future. We sometimes exasperate the grace of God by forgetting the special place we have in Christ, our miracle of salvation, our personal coming out of Egypt. Focusing on our present wilderness reveals a lack of food or water, while looking to Christ shows us his miraculous supply.

Jesus was vexed by how quickly HIS DISCIPLES forgot the miraculous experience that they had just observed. He couldn't believe that they were now concerned about how many loaves of bread they had after they had just witnessed him feeding three thousand people with seven loaves of bread. But miracles are very fleeting. Humans want to know, "What are you going to do for me today? We can't eat the miracles of yesterday." This passage reveals the actuality of the flesh. We might call this tendency carnal, or we might just say this is just the way things are. Regardless of our spiritual experiences, our minds quickly revert to the temporal, to daily circumstances and needs. However, the Bible indicates that those who are led by the Spirit are the children of God. To be led by the Spirit means that we read our Bible, meditate, and gather together in worship. These activities help us reorient ourselves on the spiritual, the eternal. Really there is no substitute for these spiritual commitments. They cause our hearts to be softened. They make us able to keep the miraculous in our memory; they stir up the faith within us. They open our ears to God's voice. When our hearts are softened, we will not let our needs, traditions, and lifestyle influences overwhelm our thinking. We will begin to hear the quiet, still voice of the Comforter. We will hear him say, "I am with you, one loaf is sufficient."

Mark 8:11

Mark 8:11 The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.” Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

In this scripture we see Jesus' frustration with the guile and unbelief of the Pharisees. He knew their hearts; He knew the purposes behind their request. They were not seeking a sign from God. They were there to test him. Much like Satan in the desert, they were taunting the Lord of heaven and earth: Prove that you are the son of God and then we will worship you. But He knew the hardness of their hearts, and He rightly discerned their motivations. Hence, we can almost hear his deep sigh even today, and in our minds we can see him getting into the boat and crossing to the other side. Obviously, had they truly been seeking a sign, Jesus had already performed many miracles and provided signs that would have sufficed, but they merely wanted to put him on the spot at that moment, wanted to ask him to perform, thinking they would embarrass him. Although He could have done anything He wanted, He certainly was not willing to comply with their demands in the face of their deceitful and sinful hearts.

Sometimes in troubled times, we Christians have a little bit of that "If you are God, prove yourself to me" spirit in us. When we ought to be long past that point in our relationship with our Redeemer, Lord, and King, we want him to prove himself to us by performing some some deed at our command that will satisfy our fleshly needs. I wonder if the Lord sighs deeply or looks at us with eyes of concern. I am sure that He sometimes ponders his children's hearts of unbelief and asks, "Have I been with you so long and you still doubt me?" I think He would want us to have the confidence of who He is and who we are in him. In fact, I am sure of that. In a Colossians, Paul wrote that our lives are hid with Christ in God. That is a place of completeness: complete security, complete sufficiency, complete assurance that Christ is our all in all, our everything. In that place we need no longer ask him for a sign that He is God or that He is active in our lives. In that place of rest, we accept that God is our Abba Father who loves his children. We accept that we have a Good Shepherd who loves the sheep and abides with them, goes before them and prepares the way, leads them in green pastures and beside still waters. Even when we go through the valley of the shadow of death, He goes with us and never leaves us or forsakes us. There is no need for him to prove himself to us, for He proved himself at the cross. He gave us the sign from heaven, the ultimate sign: He paid the price, and the price He paid was enough. It is enough for anything you are facing today. So dear son and daughter of the King, do not ask your Lord for a sign today. Hide in him, hold fast to what you know is true, and He will meet your needs according to his riches in glory. You are his lovely one, his beloved, the flower of his heart. Love, Mom (Jacqueline) (Filling in for Dad who is speaking to the men at Lifegate Four Square)

Mark 8:4-10

Mark 8:4-10 His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?” “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied. He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand men were present. And having sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

Have you ever felt you were in a remote place, a place where a miracle could not happen, a place where things were too desperate? I have, and I am sure most of you have. In those times, it seems as if where God is not, I am. Well, He is also there. In the above situation, notice Jesus starts to give orders immediately. He asks the disciples to take inventory of what they do have, and then He blesses it, and it becomes sufficient for the day. They even gather an abundance of leftovers. I think that is the way we must attack life sometimes. We first need to know that God is with us and that He is going to bless us; then we need to take inventory of what we do have. If we are still breathing, which we are, we always have something to build upon. In today's scripture, they had seven loaves and a few fish, not nearly enough to feed all the people. The inner circle, the privileged few, might have gotten a few bites from the beggarly inventory that they did have. But Jesus had a bigger vision--He wanted to feed all of the people. He wanted to provide completely for the needs that were before him. He was not limited by the small supply of food set before him.

This, of course, is what Jesus wants to do in our lives. He wants to come to our aid today. The crowd wasn't going to be fed by Jesus tomorrow, but for that day only. Some of us feel that we are on the fringe of the crowd. We know our lives are not close to him, but He still wants to feed us. He blessed the loaves and fish to feed all the people, even the mockers hanging around the edges. He wants to feed us regardless of how far we are from him. Jesus wants you to go home satisfied, but first you must accept what you do have and bless it. Don't look for what you don't have, but bless what you do have. If you have strength today, use it. If your mind is functioning well today, use it. God will bless your efforts. What if the disciples would have said, this is impossible. I am not going to waste my time, organizing and seating the people. I am not gathering any loaves or fish; this is an impossible task. Nothing would have happened. Jesus blesses what you do have, that which is your present reality. JESUS SAID, “How many loaves do you have?” Faith demands that. Today, how many loaves and fish do you have? How much strength do you have? Use it. God can make much out of little. Regardless of how you feel today or where you are on your spiritual journey, He can and will provide. He can make this day successful. Even if you can't get off your sick bed, He can make this day successful, and you will go home satisfied. You go forth from his presence, knowing that you have been with God, having received his miraculous, abundant supply. Truly, little is much when God is in it.

Mark 8:1

Mark 8:1 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

Exodus 33:14-19 The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

Today you may be hungry, today you may be thirsty, today you may have come a long distance to find the Lord. He wants you to know that He has compassion for you. He knows you by name, and He will show you his glory. He will cause his goodness to pass in front of you. He will proclaim his name, his holy name, in your presence, and He will have mercy on you. This is the message of the Lord for you this day. It is the message of the Lord for us every day. Sometimes we become so busy with life, so busy with living life that we forget we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people, the people of God. He has called us to be his own, adopted us into his family, and now He calls us sons and daughters.

Sometimes even in these breakfasts the messages so often point you outward to your calling and your mission, that we might forget our position in his presence. If we forget that, then we forget from whence comes our strength, the hope of our calling. Moses cried out to the Lord, "If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” The Lord answered him, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Moses knew without that presence, he was lost. So it is with us today. We must continue in God's presence. All else is nothingness and meaninglessness. The psalmist wrote, "In thy presence is fulness of joy." Peter wrote that in Christ we rejoice with "joy unspeakable and full of glory." Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter two that Christ himself is our peace: He is all that we need, and because of his finished work at the cross, we can live by faith with hope and victory in him. In his presence we are fed and we find provision for each day, enough for that day, enough for whatever we will face. But we must spend time with him, walk with him, talk with him, listen to his voice. Many other voices contend for our attention. The poet William Wordsworth wrote that "this world is too much with us," as a complaint against man's rejection of nature and reliance on materialism. Unfortunately, he did not realize that nature will not give us eternal life. Only God can do that. But he was right that materialism robs us of essential being. Only God gives us that.

Today may we pause to remember that Jesus loves us, and He has compassion for us. God has always wanted to walk with his children. He wants to walk with you today, to put his loving arms around you and to give you his fatherly advice and counsel, his encouragement and comfort through the Holy Spirit. If you feel you have failed him, do not draw back, draw closer. He will forgive you and lift you out of that pit of despair. In his presence we will find strength for today. I want to close with a beautiful song of hope: I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip — he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you — the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. (Psalm 121) Love, Mom (Jacqueline) (Sitting in for Dad today)

Mark 7:31-37

Mark 7:31-37 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man. After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Many times there is no substitute for visitation. Jesus' ministry was one of visitation. He went from one area to the next, ministering and healing. In the above passage, we see him leave the vicinity of Tyre and go to the region of the Decapolis. We see Jesus once again in the presence of people who needed deliverance. Here, He is touching a man's ears and tongue so that he might be delivered from deafness and difficulty of speech. Jesus touched both dysfunctional parts of this man: Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. The man felt Jesus' physical being. He knew Jesus cared for him because He touched him. It is always nice and proper to throw a prayer towards someone who is in need of prayer, but it is much better if possible to visit that person and touch him or her, asking God to meet the need. Sadly to say, when people are sick, we tend to remove ourselves from them. Initially, we are there for them, but for many reasons, we gradually remove ourselves from them. Sometimes because of the intransigent nature of their illness or condition or because we feel our prayers are not working, we do not know how to respond. However, regardless of circumstances, we know that Jesus prayed, and we should pray. He visited the sick, we should visit the sick. He prayed for impossible situations, we should pray for impossible situations. Jesus placed his hands on people when He prayed, we should do likewise. Jesus was persistent, we should be persistent.

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. (Mark 8:22-25) Jesus taught us how to pray in Luke 11: He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’” Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’ “Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Faith is believing that God is good, that He hears us, and that He is willing to change circumstances, the realities of life, when we pray. We must believe that or we will stop praying, we will stop visiting the sick, we will stop praying for people to be free from their bondages. Yesterday, I happened to meet a Christian man in a grocery store who had a need. He told me about not being able to sell his house in California. I commisurated with him, and then right after he left, Jacqueline and I prayed for his house to be sold. But I thought then, how much better would it have been if I would have grabbed his hand, and agreed with him in prayer that his house would sell quickly. No, I let the physicality of the moment slip by, and threw a prayer out after he had left my presence. I think God wants us to pray when we are with the afflicted, the troubled, the discouraged, not later. How many times do we say, "I will pray about that," rather than praying for that situation at the time the person expresses it to us. Jesus went to the people, Jesus laid his hands on them. We also should go and lay our hands on people who are in need, knowing that Jesus is in the room and He cares and wants to touch them through us.

Mark 7:24-30

Mark 7:24-30 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Jesus was sent to the children of Israel, to the house of David. Therefore, He said to the Greek woman, it was not right for her to interfere with his mission. However, Jesus did minister to Gentiles on occasion: the Centurion and the woman at the well. In the above passage, we have a Gentile woman wanting Jesus to deliver her child from a demon. But Jesus said that He first must let the children eat all they want. This implies that there will be a second feeding. Paul fulfills that implication, for his commission was to deliver the gospel to the Gentiles. Yet, the Jews considered the Gentiles as unclean. The Jews were monotheistic; they worshipped the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were people of the covenant, a chosen people by the one and only God. Jesus addresses this woman with that concept in mind. However, He knew faith in him fulfilled God's covenant with Abraham, for God promised to bless the whole world through Abraham's seed. Jesus was that Seed. We know that Jesus Christ came to redeem all people. He came for the world. He said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) This is the promise He eventually fulfilled.

God will also bless his people today if they place their trust in Jesus Christ, have faith in his redeeming power. Jesus rewarded this woman and the Centurion because of their faith. They believed that Jesus was the Lord. Otherwise, they believed that He had power to proclaim healing, to set people free, to give them a new and better life. We also need to have that same faith. Yes, Jesus is our Lord. We will follow him regardless, but we also need to know him as LORD, changer of circumstances. He is still the great healer. He is still the great provider. We should never lose sight of that fact. This woman went away satisfied. She was a stranger, a Gentile. She had interrupted Jesus' plans to rest. Jesus was literally out of place, not wanted, and to some degree insulted, but she persisted. She asked Jesus for a miracle. He knew what she wanted. Yet, He acts as if He is not going to satisfy her desire. But she persists. Jesus said that we should ask and keep on asking, knock and keep on knocking. True faith is a knocking faith, one that will not give up. True faith says, "Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs." It is not that Jesus is not gracious, kind, merciful; it is that He wants to hear our hearts of faith. We are God's children. We are those that say, Abba Father, we have needs. We will pray let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, but we will also readily proclaim our needs, believing that Jesus Christ is LORD and that He changes circumstances. For He surely does. Keep on knocking, keep on asking. In every thing we do, let us live by faith, for He is the Great Provider, the Beginning and the End, the Great I AM!

Mark 7:14-23

Mark 7:14-23 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’” After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”) He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’”

"She/he made me do it." "The temptation was too much." "If she/he wouldn't have done that, I wouldn't have done what I did." "The devil made me do it." Mankind finds many excuses for the darkness in our hearts. Jesus said, "For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly." These kind of actions, attitudes, originate from within, not from without. They are endemic in fallen man. Jesus was saying that nothing from the outside, even food, can contaminate the heart. No man, no woman can make you do malevolent things. People make excuses for their evil thoughts, actions, and deeds, but God pronounces them inexcusable regardless of our reasons. We are not only pronounced guilty if we do them, we are pronounced guilty if we even think of doing them. God judges the heart thoroughly. He knows every nanosecond of our thought life. Alas, we might cry how can I be redeemed? How can I escape the judgment of such a righteous God. John says, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives." (1 John 1:8-10)

Some of you might be saying right now, I am not a sinner. I don't do horrific things, neither do I think negative thoughts. Well then, are you always a man/woman of faith? That which isn't of faith is sin. Do you walk the second mile with your enemy? That is a commandment. Do you treat those who misuse you and hurt you with kindness and gentleness? Do you love the unlovely or the rude? Are your reactions always godlike? No, most of us know we are not like God. It is terribly hard for us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hurt us, to be patient when our loved ones don't please us and so on. Many religiously righteous people get divorces, hurt their children, and isolate themselves from their loved ones. Many judge others harshly and criticize those who dare oppose them. Jesus knows the deepest recesses of our hearts, even areas we can't know or touch. He knows if we dislike someone, whether we have lewdness in our heart, whether we are envious and resentful, and whether we are proud and arrogant because of our lifestyle or possessions. He knows whether our hearts possess love for the alien, the forgotten, the hurting, the rude, the unlovely. We may try to hide our true nature from others, but we cannot hide from God. He knows us. He knows our hearts when we are spiritually on top of the world, and He knows our hearts when we are in the back alleys of life. Once I had a minister exclaim proudly from the pulpit that he hadn't sinned in the last week. I suspected that he hadn't really analyzed his heart the way God does. God knows every sin of commission and omission. Starting with Cliff, I don't think we truly know ourselves. Sometimes I don't think we really want to take inventory of our lives. We just don't remember clearly all of our negative, faithless, and fearful thoughts. We quickly erase them from our minds. We remember the pinnacles of our spiritual lives, but we don't want to remember or to consider the deep darkness of our lives and innermost beings. But God knows all.

Now what do we do with the complete man or woman we are. We clothe ourselves with Jesus, and we put to death the deeds of sin. Otherwise, we consider sin not to have a hold on us by accepting Christ's finished work at the cross. And if sin pretends to have a hold, we say, "Satan, this problem has been dealt with at the cross. I have now put on Christ; He is now my righteousness. I am no longer judged in the flesh. I am judged by his righteousness." Does this cause us to sin more because now we claim Jesus' righteousness and not our own? NO, we fall under his authority with love, and we are terribly sad when we misstep. We quickly get in line again because we love him and we OWE SO MUCH TO HIM. So out of the hearts of men comes evil, but we are contiually cleansed by the blood of Jesus as long as we are clothed in him. And because of his great love for us, He will make us righteous, and our lives will reflect his righteousness and LOVE for us.