The Everyday Prayer

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?

Re:Verse reading– Mark 5:1-20 (day seven)

“And they came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind”–v 15

There are two sides of the Christmas message.  The first is that Jesus is LIGHT.  We celebrated it last night in the Christmas Eve service.  The second is the Jesus is LORD. GOD with us!  He doesn’t just show the way, He makes it possible for us to walk it. He has power over dark forces  we struggle with every day.

In some ways, the demonized man in Mark 5 is a strange story to tell on Christmas morning.  In another way, it is perfect!  Until life is transformed by the power of Christ,  Christmas hasn’t come, no matter what the calendar says.

Christ has come!  We should all rejoice in this truth.  Come to Christ!  We should all obey this truth and find power for holy living.  Then, it will be Christmas!