Category: reMARKable

Re:Verse passage – Mark 1:1-8 (day five) “And he was preaching, and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I”.

John the Baptist is countercultural. From Mark’s writing, it’s fairly easy to see and recognize.  The clothes (camel hair).  The diet (locusts). The setting for his ministry (wilderness). His message (repentance). There is one more countercultural aspect of John that caught my heart and mind.  His perspective.  Let me explain.

I have spent over 30 years in youth ministry. As I have taught and counseled teenagers, there have been themes that have consistently bubbled up.  One of those was to press back against instant gratification. Think longer and deeper about mission, priorities, actions, and purpose. The phrase I used was to think, act, and plan “eternally”. As I watched them grow up and move into adulthood, I’ve come to believe is that instant gratification is not just a youth problem. It’s a human heart problem. Yet in Mark chapter one, we find a man in his 30’s who doesn’t seem to have this problem. “After me”.  Faith, ministry, and the purposes of God are wiser, deeper, and longer than ME. This eternal perspective changes everything.  The way we encourage and challenge others. The way we witness. The way we parent. The way we serve. The way we love.
We would all do well to think about eternal things with eternal timing in mind. John the Baptist did.

Re:Verse passage – Mark 1:1-8 (day four)

John the Baptist was an amazing man. Hundreds of years before he was born, the prophet Isaiah foretold his life and his mission. While he was still in the womb, he recognized the Savior. When he was born, he was obedient to his call and mission. When John preached repentance, all of Judea came out to hear him. He preached, he baptized, he prepared the way for the Lord and then had the privilege to introduce the long-awaited Messiah! In all, his public ministry was only about six months…but what an obituary! Jesus himself said there was no greater man born of woman.

We may not have such an exalted assignment, but have you considered what God has planned for your life? How has God designed your life to impact the world for Him? Certainly obedience, but what about compassion…what about bold witness…what about faithful praying? Will it be said of you, he or she was faithful to the end…they completed the race? It doesn’t take long to accomplish what God has in store for us. Who will be in heaven because you were faithful to your call and mission?

Re:Verse passage – Mark 1:1-8 (day two) John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. vs. 4

Mark goes out of his way to talk about John’s appearance, doesn’t he? My love for a nice camel hair coat aside, John’s presentation was probably a bit disheveled, even for the first century. That’s what makes the response to his message all the more compelling. He wasn’t attractive, but the freedom from the burden of sin was. We have such a backwards view of confession and repentance. People came in large numbers to hear John’s words. They received the message, and freed their hearts from the burden they had been carrying. This message is not just for new believers. All of us should be reminded of the power of repentance. Why not start again today?