The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse reading – Mark 7:1-23 (day three)

“All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean.”  That sin comes from within is one of Jesus’s more depressing revelations.  It means sin cannot be managed because the manager is compromised.  It means a man must entrust himself for safekeeping to someone who remains pure.  Human beings want to be self-helping, but we are instead self-damning.  Pride, and every sin, proceeds from the heart, and we would follow those sins to the death.  The sin from within is loud.  Even so, the Lord has allowed us a part of our reasoning that would listen to this Savior.  Those at the table with Jesus listened to him over the clamor of their own sin.  The years have not dimmed his voice.  We can still hear him if we will.

Re:Verse reading – Mark 7:1-23 (day two) After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.” Vs. 14-15

Have you ever considered that the law is good? Most of us just think of it as a necessary nuisance. In the spiritual sense it serves to point out that we are all flawed sinners. But the Jews observe several ceremonial laws that served them well. The need for hygiene in the ancient world was not widely understood. The idea of cleaning your body, your cookware, and your utensils likely did more to help the general health of the population that was ever clearly understood in the ancient world. These laws served a purpose, but like most things after time people have a way of focusing on the minutiae and they forget the intent. If, as we follow the law it beocomes only about following orders and it does nothing to bring glory to God, then our motivation should be re-examined. We don’t follow the ceremonial laws of ancient Israel, but there are areas of our lives that could stand some scrutiny. Why do you pray the way you do? How do you treat your family, strangers, the lost?

 

Re:Verse reading–Mark 7:1-23 (day one)

” This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”–v 6.

It is a problem.

No, it is THE problem.

And religion doesn’t make it better. Worse actually. Because religion hides from us the severity of the issue and the urgency of a fix.

We don’t WANT to do GOD’S WILL.  Not when it is costly or uncomfortable. Apologize! Wait on the Lord! Rejoice in the Lord! Honor your parents! A clear and comprehensive list rising from an ancient picture of who He wants us to be. Clear. Unbending, and sometimes unwelcome.

In Mark 7, Jesus confronts the Pharisees on this issue. Ignoring the 5th Commandment, they have found “religiously acceptable” ways to NOT care for their parents.  A loop-hole. A rationale.

Proof and warning, isn’t it? It is one thing to SAY that we love the Lord. It is ANOTHER to surrender our hearts and DO His will.

Re:Verse reading– Mark 6:1-13 (day seven)

“And they went out and preached that people should repent.”–v 13.

My favorite holy day.  Better than Christmas or Easter or Thanksgiving because it captures the spirit of them all.  New Year’s Day calls us to repent.  To change.  To think again (meta noia).

Sure, I love Christmas Eve Candlelight,  Easter sunrise service,  family around a Thanksgiving table, but none of these equal, for me, the energy of this day!  “Forgetting  the things that are behind I press forward toward the prize! ” shouts Paul.  (Philippians 3:13)

Unless I am careful, I will miss this exciting day!  I’ll be lazy.  Procrastinate. Make excuses. Take another day off. But, as the disciples observed in Nazareth, people who can’t change and grow forfeit the assistance of God.  “He could do no miracle there”–v 5.

Today, will you rethink your life, your call, your love for God?  Will you start again with fresh enthusiasm?  Happy New Year, everyone!

 

Re:Verse reading– Mark 6:1-13 (day five)

Ever heard of “Max Q”. It’s a term  from NASA describing the maximum amount of aerodynamic pressure required for atmospheric flight (stress while entering the atmosphere). All shuttles and ships are designed to perform and function effectively while in Max Q.

What about the disciples? They were experiencing social, theological, and political Max Q. Their assignment was specific and realistic (there would be hostility and opposition).  Wonder if they felt the stress and pressure? Wonder if they felt prepared or optimistic?  Wonder if they wanted to postpone or delay?  Wonder if they would rather “play it safe”?
The words of Donald English are challenging and appropriate, “We go for safety in the faith, while trying to follow a Lord who risked Himself in incarnation and all that followed it… Our plea that we need more training is met by the simple observation that the disciples needed more training- much more training; yet they were sent out, and were effective.”

Ready to live effectively in 2017 with Max Q?

Re:Verse reading– Mark 6:1-13 (day four)

Jesus and His disciples went to Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown.  They had been all over teaching, healing, and doing wonderful miracles.  As the people of Nazareth heard Jesus preach, they were amazed.  They were also jealous and unbelieving.  “Wasn’t this the carpenter’s son whose family lives right here among us?  Who does He think He is, anyway?”  As a result of their unbelief, scripture says that Jesus was unable to perform any miracles.  He could only heal a few sick people.

It is not as if Jesus was not powerful enough to do the miracles or did not have enough authority to accomplish them.  Apparently, God has chosen to work through the faith of men in order to do mighty things.  In the absence of any faith, Jesus could do little.

What if that is true today?  What if God chooses to limit His work in a city, or state, or nation or home, because of the unbelief of the people?  Could God’s church be the cause of a lack of power being demonstrated in a city?  Will we trust in the Lord and release the power of God among the people?

Re:Verse reading– Mark 6:1-13 (day three) 

“Isn’t this the carpenter?”  One generally does not welcome surprises.  Beyond the very few instances of well-meaning diversions—a gift kept secret until the unwrapping, a longed-for family member who shows up for the holidays after all—surprises interfere with one’s ability to meet the demands of the day while time still remains to meet them.  If you learn that something you thought you knew you actually do not know, that’s a surprise.  If the matter turns out to be one on which your well being will always depend, surprise turns to fear and confusion.  Fear and confusion will take the place of listening and thinking.  That’s the way we often approach new ideas.  But Jesus came in the flesh, not as a disembodied idea.  He is a person to whom you can listen.  Hear him.

Re:Verse reading– Mark 6:1-13 (day two) 

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? ” vs. 2b

Going home can be rough. Perhaps you are experiencing that this holiday season. Often when we go back to the place where we grew up, surrounded by the people we knew it can be like we are playing a part that we’ve been playing for decades. Arguments that have never been resolved. Truths that have never been told. This is due, in part, to how others view us. We are forever that 16 year-old kid that kept making poor decisions.

When I was a teacher and I would hear my students talk about politics, world events, or give some commentary on culture I often found it amusing but, just as often, dismissed it as youthful ignorance. As those same students left, went to college, had families and careers their voice began to have a ring of wisdom, but my first reaction was to hear them as a high school student, not a lawyer, teacher, political consultant, or frankly as an adult.

I have been on both sides of this parable. I have gone home and been dismissed, and I have readily dismissed those that I couldn’t imagine as anything other than a child. Where are you on the spectrum? Where was Jesus? How did he react? He continued healing, he sent disciples out with instructions to teach, heal, and move on if need be. Let’s listen better. Let’s give honor where it is due.

Re:Verse reading–Mark 6:1-13 (day one) 

Nazareth was a small town.  In several ways.  Small in population.  Small in imagination.

The people of this village all knew Jesus.  They had seen him grown up.  Known his father, his family.

Good to a point, except that it made them, as individuals and as a group, resistant to viewing Jesus through different lenses, to thinking of Him with a larger mind.  When He began to do miracles that strongly indicated His identity, they refused to go down that road.  He was a puzzle, but they steadfastly refused to consider that He was more than they already knew Him to be.  The idea offended them.

“Familiarity breeds contempt” is the old proverb.  In the case of Nazareth, it bred unbelief. (see Matthew 13:58 for this insight)

Do WE resist steps forward with Jesus because we think we already know Him?  Are WE willing to consider that He is more than we presently know?