Author: Don Guthrie

RE Verse reading–Mark 2:13-17 (day six)
“And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.  As He passed by, He saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth.”  (vs 13-14)  It is a characteristic trait of Christ.  He dealt with crowds and still noticed individuals.  Even when days were packed with people and pressure,  Jesus took time to notice the people who could use some extra attention.  Had Levi signaled his interest by showing up whenever the Lord spoke?  Did the Lord see the spiritual hunger in Levi’s eyes?  We don’t know.  What is clear from this story is that the Lord looked at huge crowds and saw individual needs.   Do we?  Do we notice the child who needs a little extra attention?  Do we see the business man who is searching for light?  May the Lord give us His eyes and His heart of love.

RE Verse reading–Mark 2:13-17 (day one)
“While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were eating with Him”  (vs 15)  The first Christmas must have been a strange collection of people.  Shepherds who smelled of sheep dung.  A teenage girl exhausted and filled with hope.   An older husband watching with concern.  It is a characteristic of Christ that will show up later in His life–inclusiveness.  We see it this week in Mark 2.  When Jesus gave Levi (a tax collector) the same call that He had given to Andrew and Peter (follow me),  He opened the door to every person.  Declaring clearly that ALL suffer from the same illness and, therefore, ALL need and benefit from the same treatment (ie. connection with God through faith/union with His Son)  From this time forward, outreach to outsiders (unlikely candidates for spiritual life) is a mark of true Christianity!  It is characteristic of Christ to include outsiders in His story.

RE Verse reading–Mark 1:19-20, 3:13-17, 10:35-45 (day seven)
“You don’t know what you are asking,” said Jesus.  “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”  (10:38)  Jesus was very patient with James and John.  With us as well.  Even when we make imperfect and naive requests, He responds with helpful instruction.  How many times does a child have to be taught before she learns an important lesson?  The Lord’s challenge to them (us) has to do with suffering that must be endured.  His image is “the cup”.  Normally it was a symbol of blessing (“my cup overflows”)  Jesus, however, took this familiar symbol and filled it with additional meaning.  For Him, it stood for suffering.  “If possible, let this cup pass from me.”  (Matthew 26:39)  Whenever we pray, we must take into account that an answer from God may require us to drink from a cup of suffering and stuggle.  Are we prepared?

RE Verse reading–Mark 1:19-20, 3:13-17, 10:35- 45 (day six)
“They replied , ‘Let one of us sit at your right hand and the other at your left IN YOUR GLORY.’ ” (10:37)  If the Mayan calendar is correct the end of the world is just days away.  Yep!  January 21, 2012.  It is all over.  If you are interested in a second opinion on this important subject, I recommend the Bible.  At least James and John got this part right.  Their concept of the future was glory, the glory of Christ.  Pretty amazing considering the difficult days that Jesus and His disciples were facing.  Jesus had recently predicted His death to be followed by His resurrection.  Whatever else you think of James and John for their self-centeredness, their strong faith regarding the future was admirable.  They believed Jesus and saw clearly that the coming days were in His hands.  Let’s see. . .the pessimism of the Mayan calendar or the promises of God?  I know where my heart is.  You?

RE Verse reading–Mark 1:19-20, 3:13-17, 10:35-45 (day one)
“Let one of us sit at your right hand and the other at your left in glory.”  (vs 10:37)  The Bible does not speak critically of ambition per se.  “If any man ASPIRES to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do”  (1 Timothy 3:3)  It does, however, speak against “SELFISH ambition” (James 3:16)–desire for recognition or privilege that benefits self, only self, primarily self.  This week we will consider (hopefully with self-awareness and humility) James and John’s request to “sit at the right and left hand”.  Was it selfish?  Yes, at least in part.  The Lord’s refusal of their request, the anger of the other disciples, and the necessary, subsequent teaching all indicate that the “sons of Thunder”  were not yet mature in their desires or their prayers.  They had ambitions that were not like servant-hearted or Christ-like.  Friend, what do you request from Christ?  Do you have godly ambitions?

RE Verse reading–Mark 1:16-18, 8: 27-33, 14:26-31, 66-72, 16:5-7 (day seven)
“Get behind me, Satan!  You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”  (8:33)  Stress makes me stupid.  I don ‘t know why.  It just does.  Put me in a threatening situation and my inner fears take over.  I “close down the shop” and become a committee of one. . . trusting my own counsel, making my own decisions.  Obsessed, afraid, and empty.  Not a pretty picture.  Rather than trusting the Lord, I try to control Him, dictate to Him.  Peter and I are similar in this tendency.  My wake up call is also like Peter’s.  The Lord turns away from me.  His Spirit is grieved, quenched.  Recognizing that I have closed Him out, He warns that He will go on without me if I continue in this posture.  Painful?  Yes.  Necessary? Yes.  “Those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines”  (Hebrews 12:6)  One way is to leave us behind.

RE Verse reading–Mark 1:16-18, 8:27-33, 14:26-31,66-72, 16:5-7 (day six)
” ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ He said. ‘You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’ ” (8:33)  It is a subject we don’t like to think about.  Suffering.  Definitely not a man thing.  It calls from us either courage or cowardice.  Neither is an easy road.  Jesus said it is a God thing.  “The Son of Man must suffer”,  He said in vs 31.  Christians too will have a cross to carry He adds in vs 34.  It is a part of the equation that God knows is necessary.  If we love Him, if we believe Him we have to “have it in our minds” ie. embrace it with courage, accept it with trust.  To resist it is to insist that we know better than God (just as Peter did in this story).  “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God”  (Acts 14:2)  It is a God thing.

RE Verse reading–Mark 1:16-18, 8:27-33, 14:26-31,66-72, 16:5-7 (day one)
” ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said. . .at once they left their nets and followed him.” (1:17-18) In 1970 I decided to follow Jesus.  I know some resist the idea that people have any part in salvation, But I still believe that Christ called me to follow and (like Peter) a decision was required of me. What I didn’t know at that time was how much of me was still undecided and unsurrendered. Like Peter in Mark 8, I had days (later) when I thought I knew better than the Lord. I argued my ideas and preferences. Like Peter in Mark 14, I had moments when my pride blinded me to the things that Jesus could see. How grateful I am that my story is also like Peter’s in Mark 16, when the Lord, following moral collapse, was patient and kind to “call again”. I am grateful Peter decided to trust the Lord again.  I am grateful I did as well.

RE Verse reading–Mark 1:1-11 (day seven)
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”  (vs 1)  People these days are searching for good news.  In the face of economic and political crisis, the human heart looks desperately for hope.  As Christians, we have the privilege of giving it to them.  Euangellos is Mark’s word.  Note the similarity to our word evangelism.  It means “good news” and is usually translated gospel.  It is truth(s) that has a beneficial effect on human life–truth(s) from God that produces good results. . .for everyone who believes.  We are not ashamed of the gospel! ( Romans 1:16)  While some consider us naive to hold this confidence, we do not retreat from the hope that people can be rescued and the world restored by the power of God and the gospel He has given.  We “amen” the angel who spoke of  “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10)  How/where does this good news begin?  Mark knows!

RE Verse reading–Mark 1:1-11 (day six)
“John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey”  (vs 6)  John’s message was a challenge.  He charged that Israel had sinned against God thus needing repentance and cleansing (symbolized in baptism).  Such a message required a life of integrity.  Rather than the softness and selfishness, he lived a life of austerity and self-discipline.  It gave his message great influence.  None of us can separate our life-styles from our message.  If we live self-indulgently this is what others will hear, regardless of what we say.  In 1 Thessalonians 1:5, Paul makes a similar claim.  “Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit. . .just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you.”  In order for the gospel to have the influence that God intends, we must be in the world but not of it.