Devotions

You Are The Son of God

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The gospel of Mark continues showing the work of Jesus, the Son of God.

Fasting

Mk 2:18–22
Fasting is an important part of our Christian walk. It isn’t to punish us or deprive us. Fasting draws us closer to God and helps us become more sensitive spiritually, stronger.

And, Jesus said in, Mt 17:21 this kind goes not out by prayer and fasting.

But while they walked with Him, they were not fasting because as it says in Ps 16:11 (ASV) “in thy presence is fulness of joy”.

The Sabbath

Mk 2:23–27
When Jesus talks about the Sabbath, he doesn’t limit it in any way, but says “The Sabbath was established for people”. It wasn’t just for the Jews. When we have need, all of creation is at our disposal to meet that need.

Everything God does is for us, and not just the redeemed.

When is it permitted to do good?

Mk 3:1–6
The Pharisees, the religious people of the day, where watching to see if Jesus would break the rules. Would he heal on the Sabbath, the day of rest when they were not to do any work?

Jesus asked one simple question, “Is it permitted on the Sabbath to do good”, and this is the rhetorical question. Of course it is permitted.

But what was this anger in them that caused them to react and conspire to destroy Jesus.

You Are the Son of God

Mk 3:7–12
The crowds were pressing in because of their great need. It is true that we are motivated by pain and will go to extreme lengths to get free or avoid it.

There is a key point that we might miss here though. The suffering, the diseased, new that if they touched Him, they would be healed. This is in stark contrast to the Law that said if you come in contact with death or disease you become unclean. Under the Law, touching anything unclean made you unclean. With Him, with Jesus, touching Him made you clean.

Under the Law, all you could do was avoid uncleanness. And now, under the new covenant the Jesus established in the earth, you can touch the sinless, righteous, holy God and be made clean like Him.

Twelve Apostles Appointed

Mk 3:13–19
After the press of the crowds, Jesus went up to the mountain. Sometimes a get-a-way is needed to refocus and reorganize. And that is just what Jesus did. He Appointed, and made positions for these twelve to be with Him and to send them out to preach.

  • To be with him when there was a press of the crowd, to deal with the logistics as they themselves needed food and clothes and a place to sleep.
  • To send them to preach seems odd by our standards. These had just been with Him a short time. These were not the educated, these were not graduates of the school of Gamaliel, a great teacher of the day. Yet, these are the ones He set in place to send out to preach.

 

He Has Lost His Mind

Mk 3:20–30
Again, we see the crowds. People so thick they could not eat a meal and there was Jesus in the middle of it all. He was so engrossed in meeting peoples needs that his family was worried that he had lost his mind. And, His behavior was so intense, so extreme, that the scribes said he was possessed by a devil.

When Jesus recognized what they were saying, He stopped and explained to them that He was not motivated by a destructive evil spirit. He was though, motivated, energized, moved by compassion, passionately giving himself to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Whoever Does The Will of God

Mk 3:31–34
Jesus introduced a new kind of relationship. The sons and daughters of God are those that do His will. From the time we accept the sacrifice, the blood of Jesus Christ, and Him raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, we are born again into God’s family. And, from that moment on, we are about the family business.

This does not dissolve our natural family relationships. God did institute the natural family structure and one of the last acts we see performed by Jesus was to commit His mothers care to John, see John 13:23.

Sowing Seed

Mk 4:1–9

When reading this, there are many additional views that come to mind.

  • The seed has in itself the power to grow and produce a harvest, but must be in the right environment.
  • The sower doesn’t pay much attention to where each seed lands, His intent is to cover the ground even if some seed falls onto unproductive ground because he knows that most of his seed will produce.
  • Any farmer knows that the plants must be weeded, and watered, and sometimes pruned to produce the best crop.

But Jesus isn’t trying to exhaust all of our thinking about what this means. He is using a common practice, sowing seeds, to make one spiritual connection. The condition of the soil matters. And, our choices, our culture, the people we surround ourselves with all make up the soil, our hearts and minds, where God’s word grows.

The Secrets of the Kingdom

Mk 4:10–12
I don’t personally believe that God is hiding anything from the humble and contrite heart. For me, this is a reference to the devil and fallen angels and people that have denied God.

Rom 1:28 God gave them up unto a reprobate mind.
1 Cor 2:8 for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.

Hindrances to the Harvest

Mk 4:13–20

  • Satan comes on hearing the word to prevent it from being accepted.
  • Affliction or persecution causes people to fall away because they have no faith in God, no root, no trust.
  • Cares of the world, and riches are thorn plants that choke the word as weeds do.

Study Verses

Daily Reading

  • Mark 2:18-27
  • Mark 3:1-34
  • Mark 4:1-20

So, What Will You Do?

There are moments when I feel the need to go beyond my set framework, as I am here because there will be times when the needs are extreme and the pressure to meet those needs is extreme, but God has established us as His Son’s and Daughters. He has sealed us with His Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that motivated Jesus in the crowd.

The world may not understand, and we ourselves may not see how, but as it says in Heb 4:16 (ASV) Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need. So as our brother Pastor Charles Onduso Kiari in Kenya has asked, we make this request, Father, in Jesus Name, feed your children.