Category: reMARKable

Re:Verse passage – Mark 3:31-35 (day two) 

For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother. vs. 35

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. Exodus 20:12

Caring for each other seems to be a consistent thread of scripture. Whether it is to obey, or to assist, the Bible has much to say about how we should interact with neighbors (everyone) and family (believers). Bob Goff wrote a book confronting this topic called Everybody, Always, and the premise is that we are called to love and serve everybody, always. It’s what Jesus has been saying all along. In the wake of last week’s storms it was an incredible picture of the church to see phone calls and texts from all over the city making sure their brothers and sisters had everything they needed. We don’t need a crisis to act like Jesus. He has given us permission already.

Re:Verse passage – Mark 3:20-30 (day seven)

^“but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” vs 29

I often get asked by young Christians, “What is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? And how do I know I haven’t committed it?” It is a tricky question to answer, especially when you are trying to explain to a new believer that there is no sin too big for God to forgive… except that one…

I usually end up explaining that the blasphemy of the Spirit is the rejection of the Holy Spirit’s calling on your life.  In my study this week I was enlightened to a new way of presenting this idea. David Guzik described the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit as “an attitude of the heart that cares nothing for God’s forgiveness. It never has forgiveness because it never wants forgiveness God’s way.” The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not a one time event that leads to eternal condemnation, but rather a perpetual rejection of the forgiveness and grace of God. The attitude of a heart that is filled with the Spirit leads the individual into frequent repentance.

Re:Verse passage – Mark 3:20-30 (day six)

When you set yourself against something, you will believe almost anything.

The religious elite sent their brightest from Jerusalem to determine the source of Jesus’ power. His ability to cast out demons and heal the sick was not in question; that had become self-evident. And yet they had also decided he could not be sent from God on account of his “authoritative” teaching. They couldn’t stand him. They were offended by him.

It is here where they abandoned all reason, leaving them to be believe the most abhorrent things about Jesus-that he was demon possessed and in league with Satan himself. In their extreme prejudice they were only left with a few options. And in their defiance they would much rather embrace the most offensive lies than consider the truth of who Jesus was.

The lies they believed made them feel comfortable, at ease with themselves and their self-righteousness, but ultimately it would yield the fruit of unrepentance.

This is a cautionary tale for all of us.

Re:Verse passage – Mark 3:20-30 (day four)

What is a parable? It is a short, didactic story using people as characters to teach a spiritual truth or principle. Our passage this week says Jesus began to speak to them in parables…but these don’t exactly look like parables. Parables often require the reader to recognize the allegory in the story and then to make the connection to the spiritual truth. These parables seem to be straightforward…no interpretation required here. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand…you cannot plunder a strong man’s house unless you first bind the strong man. Some of Jesus’ parables went right by the religious leaders of the day…they had no idea what He was talking about. You would think that these parables were very obvious in their truths.

Scripture has many straightforward principles…you must be born again…Jesus is the only way to salvation…I go to prepare a place for you and I will come again. These and many others give a clear message…to the heart that has been prepared by the Holy Spirit! Rejection of the Holy Spirit brings eternal judgment. The heart cannot understand without the Spirit’s enlightening work.

Re:Verse passage – Mark 3:20-30 (day three)

“He has lost His senses.”

When one encounters new circumstances, one can wedge those new circumstances into an already existing understanding of the world, or one can change that understanding to accommodate the new circumstances. Therein lies the fundamental difference between those who did not believe Jesus and those who did. The Pharisees – and others who disbelieved – never strayed from their insistence that the world is as they say it is. Jesus’s own family started in this frame of mind. Their reasoning regarding the difficulties and controversies Jesus found himself in shows a family trying to fit what they see into what they know. What they come to realize, though, is that it doesn’t fit. They will have to live with that incongruity, or change their minds. The Bible records the family’s gradually allowing what they see  lead them to know something new.

Re:Verse passage – Mark 3:20-30 (day two)

If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. Vs. 25

Much can be made of verse 24 in relation to today’s volatile political climate. Most of us, however, are content to rail against the current dysfunction and throw our hands in the air since we have little power over the outcome. Jesus was so keen that he did not leave that analogy at that level. He immediately brought it to a place that should reach each one of us. What is the condition of your home and family? Are you working in the very place that you can have influence to make sure that there is a zeal for the things of the Lord? Let’s start there, and see where the Lord takes it.

Re:Verse passage – Mark 3:13-19 (day six)

“And He went up on the mountain” vs 13a

When you hear the words “mountain top experience” as it pertains to a physical mountain, what comes to your mind? Do you think of a great view? Do you think of the feeling of accomplishment of reaching the top? Do you think of the hard work that it took to get there?

Jesus often went up the mountain with His disciples. Why? Was it just to get away or was it more? Being on top of a mountain gives you a new found perspective. It causes you to look up and see where you are going. It causes you to look back and see where you came from. It causes you to look out and see a beauty that is not visible from the ground, only from above.

Jesus shows us that when we encounter Him, we have a mountain top experience. We are given new perspective from above!

Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.”

Re:Verse passage – Mark 3:13-19 (day six)

The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Revelation 21:14

While these were normal men, in fact they wouldn’t have won any popularity contests, they hold a significant place in salvation history. These men were appointed Apostles, with a capital “A.” They became the benchmark of God’s revelation through Jesus, and the forefathers of the church. There have been none like them since, nor will there be.

They became the immediate messianic community, representative of the twelve tribes of Israel. A sign to the world of God’s promise through Jesus, delivered through the Holy Spirit’s direct revelation. Most of us, in fact, can trace our spiritual lineage to one of these Apostles (I imagine others can be traced to close followers of Jesus at the time, even though they weren’t appointed in the same manner).

They became missionaries, preachers, and disciple makers, traversing the known world, repeating a pattern that began in Mark 3-disciples appointing disciples.

We will see their names one day written on foundation stones of the New Jerusalem. Until then we are to be torch bears of the same light, carrying with us the same redeeming and historic revelation they were appointed to deliver to the world so long ago.