Saturday

Mark 4:21-22 - March 13, 2010

Mk. 4:21-22 “He said to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.” NIV

In Mark 4 Jesus has just concluded his parable identifying the struggle that every believer walks through to move from a place of receiving the living word to producing living fruit. He has identified satanic resistance, human opposition and the deceptions that distract the human heart as the obstacles to a fruitful life. Jesus concludes this parable by identifying one of the pre-eminent goals of our Christian life here on this earth; producing fruit. Jesus pinpoints the challenges that must be overcome and clearly states that the goal of each of the obstacles is to render us unfruitful. And yet many Christians miss the point all together.

The goal of our walk here on earth is not to remain sinless. It is not to be separated from the world. The goal of our walk with God here on the earth is fruitfulness! If the goal were intimacy with God we would go to heaven and have ultimate intimacy. If the goal were purity alone we would be taken into a realm of sinless perfection with God and be free to be pure, but these things are not the goal. God has allowed the believer to remain on the earth to advance His kingdom in the earth and to reveal the love and salvation of God to those who are bound in darkness. This is the point of Mark 4:21-22.

After challenging us to overcome opposition and become fruitful Christians Jesus immediately identifies God’s purpose with us. He likens the believers to a lamp and identifies God’s purpose with that lamp; to put it on display! Many people read this passage as if we are the ones who possess a lamp that we are to put on display. That is not the case at all. We are God’s lamp that He is seeking to put on display. Jesus said in Mt. 5:14 that we are “the light of the world.” We are God’s light and His desire it so put us on display so that people are drawn to that light!

After identifying the role of the light, to be put on display Jesus says something profound in regard to this light. In Mk. 4:22 Jesus says “For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.” This verse applies a unique insight into the role of the light. As Jesus continued after calling his disciples the light of the world in Mt. 5:14 he says in the rest of Matt 5:14-16: “A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Through this passage and Mark 4:22 Jesus creates the understanding that it is the good works of the believer that shine into the earth and expose what has been hidden in darkness.

John clearly states this principle in John 3:19-21 where he says to us, “this is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." We are called to live a life that exposes the works of darkness by its very contrast. As we live life to a higher standard than the world around us God speaks through us. God reveals Himself through us and the contrast both exposes evil for what it is and creates a hunger in those who are bound for the freedom that we possess. When you live the way you are intended to live, you give people hope. You allow them to see that there is a better life for them. Jesus said to His disciples in John 10:10 “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” When we live as the light of the world, exposing the deeds of darkness for what they are we enable others to believe that they too may have life and have it to the fullest! Go and be the light of the world for someone today!

Friday

Mark 4:13-20 - March 12, 2010

Mark 4:13-20Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop-thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown." NIV

What kind of soil are you? This parable is all about your heart! Every word of God that goes forth enters the heart of its hearers like seed in the soil! In this parable Jesus is contrasting the many different heart responses that people possess in regard to the word of God. It is insightful for its revelation of the enemies of the heart! Prov 4:23 establishes the preeminence of stewarding your heart by saying “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life,” and yet so many people are careless in regard to the precious gift of the human heart.

It is so easy to live without a conscious awareness of what is going on inside of you. Jeremiah declared by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Jer 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” KJV Who can know it? Only by staying tender before the Lord and diligently monitoring the condition of our hearts can we truly be aware of our inclinations towards self and sinful indulgence. King David maintained the stewardship of his heart before the Lord by offering it to the Lord in prayer for the searching work of the Holy Spirit to take place. In Ps 139:23-24 he cries out to the Lord and says “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” KJV

In Mark 4:13-20 Jesus identifies the first enemy of our hearts as Satan’s attempt to steal the word from us before it can ever take root. How many times have you had a momentary heart response to the word of God as you are moved in the deeper places of your being to draw nearer to God and turn from self and sin as a result of either reading or hearing the word of God? Have you ever been impacted powerfully in one of these moments only to see the impact fade away after just a short period of time, maybe even before you leave the place where you were impacted, as other thoughts come flooding in to contend with the life changing potential of what you received? Recognize Satan’s hand! Recognize that Jesus clearly stated that Satan comes to steal the seed, like a bird from the air, before it can ever take root in your life.

The struggle for a living heart does not end with this challenge however. In this parable in Mark 4 Jesus continues on past the place of Satan’s thievery to identify the fact that even if the seed of God’s Word does take root in our hearts the work is not finished. In fact it has only begun! If by God’s grace the Word of Life does begin to take root in us and is received joyfully into the heart it begins to grow because as Heb 4:12 states “the word of God is living and active.” NIV Yet this growth is challenged on many levels.

The second contrast of Jesus in this parable is the contrast of rocky ground. As the Word begins to grow in us the heart that is like rocky ground enjoys a short season of growth but then is quickly overcome by troubles and persecution. It is important to notice that the Lord does not protect us from these troubles and persecutions, but rather presents through this parable a warning that they are coming. Through this warning the implication is a challenge to prepare the soil of our hearts to allow the word of God to grow more deeply in us so that we can withstand the hour of trial!

The first two challenges for the domination of a human heart were primarily outside influences that contend for pre-eminence in the heart of man. Satan’s persistent attempts to steal the Word from our hearts and the troubles and persecutions of life each rise up to contend against sustained growth in God but there is another realm of danger that Jesus identifies in this parable that seems to stand out above the other two as the most dangerous snare to the growing Christian. As we develop and mature in Christ we soon learn to identify many of Satan’s attempts to steal from us. We also grow in strength and maturity through overcoming the trials and troubles that touch our lives. But, the most deceptive snare of the human heart is the voice of our own desires! Jesus identifies the worries of life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things as the chief competitor for the control of our hearts. Many people have triumphed over the power of the first two influences only to have their own inner longings that have never been taken to the cross become the very snare of the enemy and the source of rendering their lives fruitless.

Every believer will face the conflict of their own competing desires wrestling for control of their heart. Every believer must confront their own self-will, their own ambitions and their own agendas as they journey on the road to maturity. It is only when we learn to discern the difference between our desires and the desires of the Holy Spirit that we begin to truly produce fruit for the Lord. Many people have stumbled in their walk with God because they could not distinguish between the voice of their own wants and needs and the voice of the Holy Spirit. Worries quench their passion. Wants distract them from their true priorities. Let your heart be taken to the cross of Christ! Let your will be brought to the Garden of Gethsemane and with Christ lift up the enduring prayer from Luke 22:42 “not my will, but yours be done."

Thursday

Mark 4:10-12 - March 11, 2010

Mark 4:10-12When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, "'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'"

This passage presents one of the most compelling promises found in the words of Jesus! “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you!” What an overwhelming promise this is. For those who embrace Christ there is a revelation that comes into your life that opens your understanding to the things of God. Jesus confirmed this principle to Peter when Peter identified Him as the Christ in Matt 16:17 “Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” For those who believe there is a supernatural revealing that begins to shape your life. God takes the mysteries that are presented to the multitudes in a veiled form and unveils them in the lives of those who believe so that we may become wise, and enjoy a greater knowledge of God and intimacy with His Spirit.

In 1 Cor 2:7-11 Paul taught the Corinthians “… we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"- 10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. “ As the indwelling Holy Spirit ministers to our human spirit He reveals the glorious secrets of God to us. As Paul says, the “secret wisdom” of God that has been hidden has been unveiled to us! Through Christ and His Spirit we can enjoy God in a way that those who do not have the Spirit can never understand nor enjoy!

This revelation is a precious treasure that God has endowed us with as children of God. The revelation of Christ’s Son-ship, Salvation by grace through faith and the knowledge of the Kingdom of God imparted to us is a precious trust that we become accountable for and servants of. Paul states in 1 Cor 4:1 “So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.” To be given the treasure of insight into God through His Spirit creates a distinct accountability over our lives. The more we grasp of the revelation of God through His Spirit the more we must recognize that with the gift comes a certain responsibility. As Jesus said in Luke 12:48 “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Draw near to God that your life may be full of the secrets of His presence and let that revelation shape your life to become a vessel for God’s glory and purpose!

Wednesday

Mark 4:2 - March 10, 2010

Mark 4:2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times." 9 Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

“Lord, can you please speak more clearly?” Have you ever felt that way? I know I have. The Lord is the master of cloaked communication! All throughout the pages of scripture the Jesus consistently taught the people using parables that presented images that required interpretation. Jesus seldom spoke in plain and direct language. This pattern of communication was a chronic source of perplexity and frustration to many of those who were Jesus’ audience and the same is true today!

The choice of communication style that the Lord uses is a lesson in itself for all of those who are desiring truth with an open heart. This passage is powerful for both the parable itself and for the lesson in learning that is providing through the story. The starting place of Jesus’ parable, the very first word from His mouth is impacting for those who are truly searching. Before getting into the depths of His story Jesus seeks to bring His audience to a place of focus. He doesn’t just dive in to the depths of His message. Instead He calls to the crowd and says…”listen!” Why would a teacher who’s audience is already listening say to them “listen?” To change HOW they are listening. Have you ever heard something but missed the message of what was said only to have someone point out things in the communication that you missed completely? This is what Jesus was affecting in this moment. He calls them to listen closely, attentively, before going deep! This is wise communication.

Many people talk without being heard. Husbands and wives speak at each other rather than too each other. Teachers talk OVER their students rather than too their students, and much valuable content is wasted because it never enters the heart and life of the hearer. Jesus’ approach to communication greatly diminishes wasted words. He chooses the right setting to communicate, the boat, and He makes sure that He has the listening ear of His audience before beginning. Perhaps we could learn from this!?

Once Jesus has the attention of His audience He speaks in terms that are relevant to His audience. He does not speak in deep mystical terms to a blue collar crowd. He chooses the image farming that is very close to their daily lives. Only the hardest heart could miss the impact of His message because of His choice of examples.

The second powerful communication tool that Jesus utilizes in this opportunity is the closure of His message. He teaches this thought provoking parable and then ends with the words “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” In other words He calls them to reflect on what He has said. He challenges their openness to the truth by the words that He uses to finish His message as if to ask, “Do you really want to know!?” Many people don’t really want the truth. They want to feel good about themselves without ever facing the possibility that they may be wrong or need to change. They place themselves in the position of hearing the information without ever letting the information search them. The truth is intended to be a light that searches our hearts and provokes us to change by what it exposes in our lives. Has the Lord been speaking to you? Do you really want to hear? Let the word of the Lord search your heart and let your life be impacted by the power of His words. Give the Lord an open heart today!

Tuesday

Mark 4:1 - March 9, 2010

Mark 4:1 “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."

Mark 4:1 is another glimpse at the resourcefulness of Jesus! Once again surrounded by an exceptionally large crowd, Jesus is faced with two significant leadership issues. The first dilemma presented by this enormous gathering is the question of how to maintain a safe environment in which to do ministry with the habitual demand that the people place on Him to get near enough to touch Him as they search for miracles of healing and deliverance. The second issue presented by this setting is; how can Jesus create a teaching environment in which he can be heard by such a large gathering of people and minister to the masses rather than just touching individual needs. This second issue is a chronic tension of ministry. When numbers are small maintaining a sense of intimacy and personal contact is possible but there comes a point of transition in crowd dynamics where for the sake of impacting all who have come and not just a few who can get close there is a need to change the nature of how ministry is conducted.

The decision to move out on to the water immediately creates an atmosphere where Jesus communicates a message of restraint to the people without having said a word. He is able to establish a clear boundary that regulates the behavior of the people gathered around Him. The desire of the people to be close is offset by the limitation of the water and immediately the task of suppressing the energy of the group is accomplished without having to bring rebuke or restraint in a physical sense. Order comes from the boundary and the distance now communicates that this is a setting where Jesus’ goal is to teach them, not to perform miracles without Him ever saying a word to that end. There is great wisdom displayed in this practice of creating the setting for ministry. What can be said by how we structure a gathering? In Jesus’ case the people would have been inclined to immediately begin to change for a high energy effort directed towards touching Jesus or getting close enough to receive a miracle to an atmosphere of promoting quietness so as to hear what Jesus might want to say!

The second goal accomplished by Jesus as He enters the boat for his platform of teaching is related to the realm of physics. With such a large crowd gathered that He was compelled to get into the boat the issue of enabling everyone to hear His words would be central to His mind if His goal was teaching and not miracles. By getting into the boat Jesus uses the natural effect created by water for His own benefit. Water has a tremendous capacity for acoustical impact. By getting into the boat and moving a short distance into the water Jesus in essence has created a natural amplification system to increase the volume of His words. The water would essential amplify and distribute the sound of His words so that a much larger audience could hear Him than if He were up close to them and speaking from within the crowd of people. Their presence would have swallowed His words and many would not have been able to receive from Him.

Once again the life of Jesus demonstrates a pattern of insightfulness and wisdom that can challenge us in our approach to daily living. Are you facing a difficult problem? Perhaps there is an answer available to you right where you are. Perhaps the resources that you need for success are contained somewhere in the setting where you find yourself. Have you prayed about it? Have you meditated on the setting you are faced with? Have you asked the Lord to open your understanding and give you wisdom? James said simply “You have not, because you ask not…” Do not just accept the obvious limitations of your situation. Ask the Lord for eyes to see the solutions that are in the midst of the problems!

Monday

Mark 3:31-35 - March 8, 2010

Mk. 3:31-35 “Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." 33 "Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. 34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

Can you say wow! This passage challenges all of our culture’s traditional sense of loyalty and normalcy. In the norms of our society family is esteemed as the pinnacle. However, this passage elevates obedience to God above every other thing. It is truly a reflection of the truth that we are members of the kingdom of God first and members of our family second! This passage emphasizes the reality that when we stand before God we stand alone, for our life, regardless of the choices of our family members and friends. We will not be able to point to what others have done to us or to others as our excuse. We must choose personally! We are responsible for our own obedience regardless of what others do.

Throughout His ministry Jesus consistently pointed the disciples and the multitudes to the fact that there will be times when we have to choose where our allegiance lies. There will be moments when the costly decision to follow the Lord will be placed in front of us and in those moments we are compelled to say yes! In Mark 3:31-35 Jesus demonstrates His own commitment to live by the principles that He is teaching. When His family is outside calling for Him to come He makes a clear distinction that His true family is the believer not flesh and blood. Even as a youth it is clear that this principle was already being established in His life. As a twelve year old boy at the temple when His earthly parents came looking for Him His response to them in Luke 2:49-50 was "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.” Already He was prioritizing His life around His heavenly Father not His earthly family, even though they did not understand what He was saying to them.

It is costly to say yes to the Lord. There are many times when we are placed in a position where there is a great tension between comfortable stability and absolute obedience! Our families have a unique capacity to place us in a highly tense social and emotional pressure to elevate them above a life of obedience. Jesus warns His disciples of the cost of living for Him in Luke 12:50-53. “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." There can be no question that for some the choice to follow will be at great cost.

There is good news that comes with the choice to follow as well. In Matt 19:29 “everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” Notice He does not encourage abandoning your spouse for the sake of the gospel. This aspect is distinctly absent from the list! Whenever possible spouses should go too!! Even Paul supports this principle in 1 Cor 9:5 when he writes “Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles.” The cost to follow is evident but as Mt. 19:29 says, the reward is great. We cannot bless God more than He desires to bless us! For all of those who pay a price for the Gospel by following in costly obedience and leaving behind the earthly connections of life Jesus assures us that blessing will follow. His promise is for one hundred fold increase AND eternal life. Do not let fear of loss outweigh confidence in the blessings that will follow after you in God’s time. When we count the cost and follow there is great reward in it!

Sunday

Mark 3:28-30 - March 7, 2010

Mark 3:28 “I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." 30 He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit."

The exact interpretation of this passage is one that leads many people into debate. What is it to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit? What is it to be guilty of an eternal sin? The firmness of language that the Lord speaks with in this passage is intense in its directness. The thought of being guilty of an eternal sin seems to speak of a permanence and separation from mercy that no person should find themselves guilty of, whatever it is! Even though this passage is subject to the debate of many verse 30 places these words of Jesus in the context of His intended meaning with such clarity that it is hard to deny. “He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”

It is truly remarkable to notice the spirit in which Jesus reacts to this accusation. It seems that the Lord was highly offended that the pure works of the Holy Spirit could be labeled as the works of the devil. His words of warning are placed clearly in this context of demonstrating God’s offense at this presumption. So what it is the point of this passage? If taken literally it is impossible to miss the clearly defined statement that to call the powerful works of the Holy Spirit something from the devil is not just offensive but blasphemous. This passage is a warning to be careful how we judge!

Throughout the body of Christ there are many people who argue passionately against the working of God’s Spirit because they are uncomfortable with how those expressions are demonstrated. Many are very comfortable making bold statements and calling various signs and wonders demonic deceptions. Oh how dangerous this would seem to be. Even if taken as general principle rather than clearly expressed statement the least we can grasp from this passage is the knowledge that God cares deeply that no one should call the works of the Holy Spirit something that are evil. This warning should call every heart to a place of great care in judging supernatural signs that we are not familiar with. Instead of being quick to assume something is false because it doesn’t fit our paradigm this passage would seem to encourage the opposite. Assume that power demonstrations are from God unless clearly proven otherwise if they are performed in Jesus name! The signs are about the name! Who gets the glory? In who’s name are they performed.

This passage would seem to call to each one of us and encourage us to open our hearts to the possibility of God! This passage would seem to call us to look for God in the miraculous and only when something is clearly demonstrated to be done in another name or to the glory of someone other than Jesus should we disqualify the possibility of God as the source! Too often it is not the final outcome that people are reacting to; it is the process that stumbles. It was not that Jesus healed, but that He healed on the Sabbath. It was not that Jesus cast out demons but that they concluded the source of His power was demonic. Jesus did not manifest God’s power in a way that the leaders could control or dictate. The law that moved the heart of Jesus was the law of mercy! As a result He was a stumbling block to traditionalists. Don’t be stumbled by the works of God. Do not hinder the work of God by passing judgment by how things appear. Instead, look at the heart of what is being done, the name that is being lifted up and judge by the Spirit of God not the traditions of men.