Author: Scott Lane

Re:Verse passage – Mark 5:21-34 (day five)

And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”

What an amazing moment for this woman. Suddenly she feels strength, power, hope, and joy. Having cloaked herself in the crowd from all kinds of emotions (mainly fear) she then comes forward. She finally feels safe. Something deeper and eternal is happening in her heart. There is trust and honesty. She tells Jesus “the whole truth”. Her story and experiences now are being used to point to the power and love of Christ. Just like the woman at the well. There is relationship- “daughter”. And there is peace. Peace with God. Peace with others. Peace inside her own heart and mind. Peace with who she really is and who she can become. Tell your Heavenly Father the “whole truth” and find that kind of peace!!

Re:Verse passage – Mark 5:21-23, 35-43(day five) Taking the child by the hand, He *said to her, “Talitha kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).
We have seen in previous encounters that Jesus is in fact approachable. People coming to Him and Him listening. That’s how this interaction with a desperate father begins. “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.”What we learn is that the prayers and pleas of those who seek Jesus never fall on deaf ears. He listens and He hears. There is great peace and comfort found in that truth. But Jesus goes (to her house) and He touches a dead body. Jesus is not intimidated or the least bit reserved in places that are awkward, uncomfortable, or even hopeless for us. In fact, He is confident, encouraging, and able to help (heal and bring hope). So today, welcome/bring Jesus to those most tender and vulnerable places in your heart and life that need hope, wisdom, strength, and peace. He went into their home. He touched her body. He will be there with you!!

Re:Verse passage – Mark 5:1-20 (day five). And He did not let him, but He *said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”
How long had this new believer been saved?  Minutes? Hours? At the most, a day. There was no training or handbook or scripture memory. There was no system for “sharing the gospel”. He hadn’t been to Sunday School or even heard one sermon. Hasn’t been baptized. All he had (all he needed) was his newly found faith and his story. Yet, Jesus gave him the assignment to stay and faithfully tell his story. The story of God’s grace, and a changed heart and a new life. “And everyone was amazed.”

What is the story of your faith?  How you met and encountered Christ?  How your life and heart have changed because of Him?  That’s YOUR story that YOU get to tell. It’s enough. It’s powerful. It’s what people need to see and hear!!  Maybe the Christian faith is more about biography than theology. 

Re:Verse passage – Mark 4:35-41 (day five)

And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Harsh words from the disciples (to Jesus) and from Jesus (to the disciples). They accuse Him (falsely) and He rebukes them (correctly). The source of their accusation and subject of His rebuke are the same- fear. The fear Jesus rebukes was causing them to feel helpless, hopeless, forgotten, and unloved. Jesus challenges them to replace this kind of fear with faith. Good for me to remember if/when I experience these same kinds of emotions (whether in a storm or not). Am I filled with fear or with faith. In my mind I wonder what a faith-filled reaction from the disciples would have looked and sounded like?  Would they have woken him up? If so, how would they have spoken to Jesus?  Would they have worshipped (Paul and Silas)?  Would they have prayed (Jesus in Gethsemane)?  Would they have quoted scriptures (Jesus in the wilderness)?  Lord give grace that would replace our fears with faith!!

Re:Verse passage – Mark 4:26-32 (day four). Will be a longer post today.  Does this first parable leave you feeling helpless or hopeful?  For a harvest there are parts the man does and parts he cannot do.  Accountability/responsibility vs. trust/faith.  Jerry Bridges describes it this way in his book “The Pursuit of Holiness”.

“A farmer plows his field, sows the seed and fertilizes and cultivates—all the while knowing that in the final analysis he is utterly dependent on forces outside of himself. He knows he cannot cause the seed to germinate, nor can he produce the rain and sunshine for growing and harvesting the crop. For a successful harvest, he is dependent on these things from God.

Yet the farmer knows that unless he diligently pursues his responsibilities to plow, plant, fertilize, and cultivate, he cannot expect a harvest at the end of the season. In a sense he is in partnership with God, and he will reap its benefits only when he has fulfilled his own responsibilities.

Farming is a joint venture between God and the farmer. The farmer cannot do what God must do, and God will not do what the farmer should do.

We can say just as accurately that the pursuit of holiness is a joint venture between God and the Christian. No one can attain any degree of holiness without God working in his life, but just as surely no one will attain it without effort on his own part. God has made it possible for us to walk in holiness. But he has given to us the responsibility of doing the walking; He does not do that for us”.

Re:Verse passage – Mark 4:21-25, 33-34 (day five) “and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.”

What an opportunity and what a privilege for the disciples!  Jesus (in private) explaining and applying His teachings, just to them. Questions answered. Problems solved. Confusion clarified. Wisdom revealed. Truth resonating. How did they receive and respond to Jesus’ parables once explained?  Were they arrogant and prideful?  Were they filled with conceit and entitlement?  (If we are being honest, all those kind of reactions could have easily happened in their hearts and minds- and ours)  Yet I believe their main reaction was “hunger”. Remember John 6, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.”  The great hope (and promise) is that Jesus would continue that same work in us (causing  “Holy Hunger”) as we worship, study the scriptures, pray, and serve.

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth;” John‬ ‭16‬:‭13‬ ‭

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬

Re:Verse passage – Mark 4:1-20 (day five) When we read Jesus’ parables, we are often tempted to immediately try to resolve the tension. What I think helps us “listen/hear” better, is to first ask questions. With whom or with what do I identify most?  What may the parable be saying about me and a needed change in action or perspective?  How does this parable reveal what I think about God?

Jesus is the “Master Teacher” who uses parables to not only capture our imaginations but more deeply connect to and capture our hearts. It is at this second level that Jesus’ parables and the entire scriptures are meant to operate Hebrews 4:12.

Parables aren’t just stories that entertain; they’re agents of change. Jesus’s parables define and direct us in a way that gives us ownership in the journey. – Pierce Taylor Hibbs