Are We Serious?

People are interesting creatures. Note, I said creatures, not animals. Though we may share many traits with animals, God created us as the crown of His creation. Animals don’t write or read newsletters, let alone agree/disagree with what the author has to say.

And people are interesting. Even the person who does nothing but sit in front of a TV and drink beer, that person is interesting, perhaps not so much for what he does, but for what, and why, he doesn’t do anything else. There has to be something interesting with regard to such lack of motivation or drive.

People are interesting in that they pursue such a wide variety of pursuits. They become experts on very narrow subjects, discovering truths that the rest of us didn’t even know existed. And since this world is God’s world, it is deeply interesting, and so these pursuits are worthwhile.

Jonathan Edwards, the great American theologian and preacher of the 1700’s, wrote an article as a young man about spiders. He was a student, not only of God’s Word, but also of God’s creation. As many are able to discern the glory of God in the grand scope of creation, he was able to see the glory of God in the details of creation. We all would do well to notice such things.

But there are some that I’m not sure are so interesting. I receive a news email, and in one part, they list the things that they are paying attention to, and then they list a couple of things that they are specifically not paying attention to. Why? Because they decide it’s not worth their time. I think I agree. Along with carefully choosing our pursuits, perhaps we should also carefully consider some things that we are not going to pursue.

Three times in the pastoral epistles, Paul mentions to Timothy and Titus what they are to avoid. It seems that he is seriously advising them to purposely avoid these pursuits:

• avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” - 1Tim. 6:20
• avoid worldly and empty chatter - 2Tim. 2:16
• avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law - Titus 3:9

So, as the crown of creation, do you think we might be able to figure out what contemporary pursuits would fit these descriptions, and then seriously avoid them?

Mark 9:49-50 Fire and Salt

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 9:49-50 Fire and Salt

Mark 9:49   “For everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰ “Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.

I wanted to take a little time with this rather strange ending to Mark 9 on fire and salt. The connection with what goes before probably links back to the reference to fire in v. 43. My view, then, is that, as fire has both a destructive and a purifying function, so does salt, and we ought to choose the latter over the former. This has application for more of the preceding context.

“Whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble” is in big trouble. It seems that his actions are clearly not a fruit of a personal or practical righteousness, and would serve as a denial that he was ever justified in the first place. His destiny, along with all others who are unjustified, or unsaved, is eternal punishment.

But fire isn’t always destructive. And so the Bible writers talk about being purified. Peter says that our faith will be tested by fire. Paul admits that some who are saved may have all of most of their work consumed, though they themselves will be saved. It seems that there is a recognition that, for many of us, our “fruit” is very inconsistent, and that a lot of what we do isn’t “fruit” at all, but much more “works,” done in our own strength and with our own resources, and therefore those works do not have an enduring, spiritual quality. This passage does not give us a green light to live this way, but rather serves as a warning to walk with the Lord in the power of the Spirit so that we might be instruments of grace.

Salt also can be destructive. It was spread on an enemies lands to make them unproductive for years to come. But it also introduces another meaning, in that salt that gets mixed with dirt loses saltiness and is then worthless. But salt can be preservative when used properly, and can be an effective flavoring or savor when used in measure. So, in our deportment and witness, are we destructive, or delightful?

“Salted with fire” is an interesting phrase. I think of using a grinding wheel to sharpen, for instance, a mower blade, and I see all the sparks that fly. They can hit the skin and you can feel them, but they do not destroy. Salted with fire. Or putting some salt on a wound hurts, though it is helpful. Salted with fire. And so God, in His grace, “salts with fire,” though God, in His mercy, provides a way, through faith in Christ, and then in our obedience that flows from this faith, in which we are spared the destructive forces of death and destruction.

The disciples, then, who earlier were arguing about who was going to be the greatest, or whether they should outlaw newcomers to the Jesus movement - they are warned that they are pursuing a wrong track, and that they, and we, ought to heed the warning. Walking with Jesus is not a path to personal greatness, nor is it an exclusive club in which the favor of God is to be hoarded for the few. Jesus’ final words, “be at peace with one another,” should be applied thoroughly and broadly in our lives.

Mark 9:30-48 Simplicity and Severity

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 9:30-48 Simplicity and Severity

There is in this passage both simplicity and severity. Jesus begins with severity, regarding Himself. He predicts that He Himself will be mistreated, arrested, and killed. He also predicts His resurrection. All of these, of course, actually happened. 

The disciples seem to be missing the point of simplicity and severity. They are engaged in an argument about which of them would be the greatest. Though their lives were committed to focusing on and following Another, they were extremely conscious of their own selves. And though they were giving of themselves in regular acts of service, they were also engaged in significant self-serving.

Jesus responds by using a child as an illustration. Now children are not perfect. They also can be selfish. But Jesus says two things: “consider yourself last;” and, “Receive children as you would receive Me” (the statements in the text are longer, and are worth considering more deeply).

Both of these statements run counter to the conversation the disciples were engaged in. They were considering themself first. They had no thoughts of the welfare of children, since they were primarily concerned with the welfare of themselves.

One point of cultural  difference. We live today in a culture that in many cases caters to children. This is not universally true, and there are many children who suffer from terrible neglect. Even the best parents can at times be self-serving. But nevertheless, we tend to focus on children in ways that never would have happened in the 1st century. So “receiving a child” was a truly counter-cultural activity. To apply this better today, perhaps we should think, not only of receiving children, but receiving those who may be consistently overlooked, as children were in that day. Perhaps that would include the poor, or disabled. It’s the ones who, when we look at them, we tend not to see them.

The disciples then counter. “Where should we draw the lines. We are the insiders, and we saw some who weren’t part of our group casting out demons in Your name. Shouldn’t they be stopped?” Again, and still, they are worried about themselves and their status. If you have a certain amount of glory to share, the more you share it with, the thinner it gets. Maybe its best to keep the circle smaller. But Jesus will have none of this.  It is not the disciples’ job, or mine, or yours, to cull the herd.

Jesus, having once pushed back on the disciples with the simplicity of children, now describes the kind of severity that may be expected in the most strict of military units, where lack of disciple means peril for all. Here are some things that just cannot be tolerated. They cannot be tolerated, so much so, that the penalty involves being buried at sea, or cutting off hands, or feet, or gouging out eyes. It is not that these are barbaric punishments. Rather, they are severe efforts to remove the instruments of the offense.

Simplicity and severity. Are those good markers for the lives of disciples? Simplicity means that I follow Jesus, and put myself last. Severity means that I will not tolerate sin and the mistreatment of the vulnerable. Perhaps the state of Christianity today would be better if we all practiced both simplicity and severity.

Is God’s Word Enough?

The teaching about Scripture comes from Scripture itself. Since it is the Word of God, to what other source would one go to find out about the nature and properties of Scripture? Only God can tell us about Scripture, and since He speaks to us in Scripture, He tells about Scripture in Scripture.

Theologians over the centuries have said, based on the teachings of Scripture, that Scripture has four main properties: 1) Scripture is authoritative; 2) Scripture is necessary; 3) Scripture is clear (perspicuous); and 4) Scripture is sufficient. The Bible is authoritative because it is God’s Word. So often we find the phrase in the Bible, “Thus says the Lord.” There can be no higher authority. The Bible is necessary in that it tells us things about God, about ourselves, about faith and worship, that we can find in no other place. Without God’s Word, we would be in the dark on these matters. The clarity of Scripture reminds us that we do not need an elite class of priests or pastors to tells us what Scripture says. We can read it for ourselves, and the Gospel is simple enough for even a child to understand. The Bible is sufficient, in that it tells us enough so that we know God, we can worship Him properly, and order our lives according to His will.

Regarding sufficiency, the Bible does not share all truth. If I am wondering how many cups in a pint (2), or how many cups in a quart (2) - I do not consult the Bible. The Bible does not contain all knowledge, but it contains everything that we need to know regarding the intention for which it was given - things like who God is and what He is like; what are the purposes of God and the outline of redemption; what is the purpose of life and the chief end of mankind - that is, Scripture is sufficient to reveal God, to reveal man’s sinfulness and need of redemption, to reveal the plan of salvation and the identity of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Bible’s sufficiency, it’s enough-ness, is only possible because the Bible is God’s revelation to us; His pulling back of the curtain so we can see what was hidden. Further, this sufficiency is only possible because the Bible is “breathed” by God: it is inspired. Therefore, the Bibles that we hold in our hands and on our laps are able to communicate God’s truth to us, as the Spirit of God opens our minds and hearts. The Bible is enough, and therefore we had best read it, believe it, and live it.

Mark 9:14-29 Faith and Prayer

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 9:14-29 Faith and Prayer

In this amazing story, we find a boy eaten up by the demonic. What are the solutions? Today, we would take him to any number of doctors and psychiatrists. He would be subjected to all kinds of tests, and prescribed all kinds of medications. We would search the internet and wonder if we should try this or that experimental treatment. And, none of them would work.

I am not saying that we should avoid doctors and medicine. I am saying that there is much that is beyond their help. Praise God for how they can fix what is physical. We go to God for help with the spiritual. And it is often difficult for us to discern where the line between the two lies, if such a line, in some cases, exists at all.

And so the father brings the boy to Jesus. But Jesus is not immediately present. And so the disciples give it a shot. They’ve been out on mission. They’ve thrown out evil spirits before. But not this time. This one is too tough.

Jesus steps in a mentions a couple of unpleasant things. First of all, he calls us “faithless,” or “unbelieving.” This is a difficult subject. There seem to be different kinds of faith, perhaps differing intensities or qualities. Were they totally lacking in any kind of faith? Or were they lacking in the kind of faith that was needed in this particular case? At least the latter.

And that should concern you and me. Not because we will face exactly the same situation. But because we will face new and different situations for which our faith may not be prepared, or for which our faith may be deficient. And we will be out of our league.

But wait a minute. When it comes to faith, aren’t we always out of our league? When dealing with things spiritual, are any of us adequately equipped? I don’t think so, and perhaps this is where the disciples erred, in that they had forgotten that their past experience under the power of the Holy Spirit did not guarantee present of future success, especially when one begins to place confidence for the present or future in past success. Each day is a new day, in which we stand in urgent need of spiritual power to accomplish spiritual deeds, and that power is not naturally resident in us, and comes only by faith, and, as Jesus says later in the passage, prayer. We never graduate to self-sufficiency.

Better than the disciples, the man responds to Jesus’ call for belief by saying, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” There’s humility in that statement. There is a plea for mercy. And there is a cry that is made up of two important things: both faith, and prayer.

Mark 9:1-13 Tasting Life

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 9:1-13 Tasting Life

Our passage starts out with this verse: 

Mark 9:1   And Jesus was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

It is difficult to determine if this verse fits better with chapter 8 or 9. I’ll place it with chapter 9. There is most likely more involved, but I would assert that for three of those “standing here,” Peter, James and John, they would indeed, six days later, “see the kingdom of God” in a fresh light in these very next verses, in the event of the Transfiguration, in which, as it were, a portal opens from heaven to earth. Rather than “tasting death,” they are in a real sense “tasting life.”

Jesus’ communion with God was uninterrupted during His earthly ministry, except for that period of time of the cross when Jesus lamented His forsakenness. Jesus’ communion before and after the Transfiguration was as perfect as when He was on the mount. What changed was the revelation of that communion. Jesus did not need the revelation; the disciples did. And, of course, Peter got it wrong.

Peter, thrilled at the presence of Moses and Elijah, wants to do something special for all three special guests. As noble as one might think Peter was trying to be, He ended up elevating Moses and Elijah to a status to which they did not belong, or, worse, he ended up demoting Jesus to a level below His rank as the eternal Son of God. So, as Peter was rebuked by Jesus in chapter eight, saying “Get behind me, Satan,” here in chapter nine, He is rebuked by God the Father, who says, “This is My beloved Son; listen to Him.” Jesus alone is the Word made flesh, who is alone is “the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature.”

The scene  quickly closes. The clouds return. They descend to the ugliness and illness of earth. These disciples continue to be puzzled by the transition of the old times to the new times; concerning the promise of a second coming of Elijah, fulfilled in the John the Baptist, and the glories that should follow. Jesus says that this Elijah (John) has indeed come, and the wicked of the world have killed him. They will do the same to the One to whom John the Baptist pointed. Heaven’s light has shown through for a moment, but earth’s darkness seems firmly in control.

Earth’s darkness seems firmly in control, except in those instances when Jesus Himself draws back the curtain, whether in His heavenly teaching, or in breaking the bonds created by sin and the devil. How will this battle ever be won?

At this point in Mark’s Gospel, we are beginning the 2nd half, as divided by chapters. We’ve seen the glorious and powerful entrance of Jesus’s ministry into this world, and it’s been a swift and wild ride. We will now encounter more, fierce opposition to Jesus. It will result, as predicted, in Jesus’ death. How will this battle ever be won? We’ll have to keep reading.

Mark 8:34-38 Neither Gain nor Shame

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 8:34-38 Neither Gain nor Shame

Mark 8:34   And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. ³⁵ “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. ³⁶ “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? ³⁷ “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ³⁸ “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

This paragraph is so short, yet powerful, that it deserves separate comment. The verbs deserve meditation: deny, take up, follow. Saving life and losing it are deep subjects. These ultimate ends: “for My sake and the gospel’s” is worth living for, or dying for, as the case may be.

But two phrases seem to unlock the other meanings. One is this: “to gain the whole world.” Isn’t it what the devil himself wanted to do, when tempting Jesus, he said, “bow to me, and I will give you the kingdoms for your inheritance”? Jesus was given the opportunity “to gain the whole world.” And He said no. He denied Himself, took up His cross, and followed God’s will.

I’m not sure I’ve been offered the whole world. It’s too carved up by so many others placing claim on what part or another. But perhaps I could gain my sliver. Our stake in this world may be a piece of property, or the favor of certain persons, or a cache of goods or money. We must indeed have a place in this world, if we are going to live here. And yet, uncomfortably, we remember Jesus’ words: “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Is this what it means to “lose life,” to live as though we have no place here at all? Again, I’m not sure.

We receive gifts from God, and among those gifts, for some, oftentimes, are family, and a place for that family to lives; livelihoods, and the accumulations that go with them. And yet they must always be considered to be just that, gifts from God. They are gifts more than possessions; graces more than expectations; loaned rather than owned as rights. As they come, they are received with thanksgiving; and when they are removed, we remain grateful and trusting still. This is so amazingly counter-cultural that we wonder if it is even possible. And yet it must be. It seemed to be Jesus’ way, who was here merely inviting disciples to follow in His course.

The other unlocking phrase reads “whoever is ashamed of Me and My words.” While the first phrase describes an ungodly appetite and enthusiasm for the world, this phrase describes an avoidance of the uniqueness, interpreted as ugliness, of our Savior by “this adulterous and sinful generation.” How open and vocal are we about our conviction about the value and necessity of Jesus, and our devotion to Him and to His mission? Is it possible that people have known us for days, or years, and not known that we profess to be Christians, because our profession is silent, and its attending lifestyle is absent. 

The life of discipleship is not passive. Yes, we are to “deny ourselves,” saying no to temptations to gain for ourselves a slice of this world. But there is also to be an active “following of Jesus,” where our following of Him is clear because of certain things that we simply cannot follow at the same time, and because our following of Him demands a single-hearted focus that will be obvious to those around us. Further, we do not care that they notice, and we are determined that they do, in order that they too may find the way that leads to life, and step by faith off the path the leads to death.

Mark 8:27-38 Someone Special, or Unique?

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 8:27-38  Someone Special, or Unique?

Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” A variety of answers are given. All of these answers indicate that people recognize in Jesus something special. He is wiser, more powerful, more mysterious. The answers they provide sound like guesses. Jesus goes a step further and asks, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter, unsurprisingly, the first to answer, says, “You are the Christ.”

“Christ” is not Jesus’ last name. It is an office, or title. It denotes His role and authority before God. The Greek word, from which we get “Christ,” is parallel to the word “Messiah,” which is borrowed from the Hebrew language of the Old Testament. Both these words mean that Jesus is anointed as the official representative of God to fulfill His promises to His people. He is authorized to speak God’s words and do God’s works. He is charged to act as an intermediary for God’s people in such a way, that He will bear their sins and lead them to God. He alone can do this. No one else can.

Peter, therefore, gives a very different answer than do other people who seem to be guessing. They say that Jesus is special. Peter says that Jesus is unique. Others say that Jesus is slightly, or significantly better than others. Peter says that Jesus is in a class of His own. As there can be no other God than the one, true God, there can be no other Christ, no other Messiah than this one, this Jesus.

We admire Peter’s perception, then, when he makes this great statement. And we regret his next move, as the Messiah, the Christ - the official representative of God who lonely speaks God’s truth - as Jesus says that it is a divine necessity and He suffer and die. Peter rebukes Jesus. Yes, that’s right, Peter, a mere man, rebukes the Christ. And anything, anyone who stands in the way of God’s Anointed must be allied, not with God, but with the devil. And so Jesus rightly says, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

What an amazing statement! As Jesus speaks for God, Jesus now makes clear that Peter is a stand-in, in this moment, with these words, for Satan, the adversary of God. But as abrupt as these words sound, we find that they may have application to our own lives as well, because standing on Satan’s side of the line rather than God’s is also described as “setting your mind on man’s interests as opposed to God’s interests.”

And how often do you and I do that - look at things, evaluate things, choose things, according to man’s interests rather than God’s interests? When I am slighted, do I interpret from God’s perspective, or from the perspective of my own hurt feelings? When I am presented with a potential opportunity, do I evaluate it from my own personal interests (more money? more pleasure?), or from God’s interests?

Jesus lived and responded in each moment with God’s interests in the foreground of His heart and mind. As followers of Jesus, we need to learn to do the same, and the next paragraph shows that this will only happen as we put  into practice “denying self, taking up our cross, and following Jesus.” Peter did well in one moment, and messed up royally in the next. Perhaps we can identify.

Walking with God and Blamelessness

One of the highest privileges of the Christian on this earth is to walk with God. It involves a relationship with the King of the Universe, and that relationship is impossible without special revelation, that is, without God specifically making known, outside of natural means, that the relationship is possible, and what are the terms.

It was a privilege that Adam and Eve enjoyed in the “nature” of things. That is, God, their Creator, walked with them in the natural order, in the Garden. And their was no hindrance to that relationship, no interruption, until Adam and Eve sinned. They broke God’s command, and the relationship was immediately changed. Fellowship turned to fear. Communion turned to curse. They were banished from the Garden, and “walking with God” would be re-defined.

“Walking with God” was altered, but not done away with. Just a few chapters later, we find Enoch, “seventh from Adam,” was known for walking with God. And he was rewarded by having his “walk with God” uninterrupted even by death. He “was taken,” without death, directly to God’s presence. Noah also “walked with God,” and it says that he was blameless. I do not believe that it squares with Scripture to say that his blamelessness earned him the privilege of walking with God. What I think we learn, and what Scripture supports, is that walking blamelessly and walking with God go together. They are complementary terms, and to think that we can have no regard for blamelessness and yet walk with God is not complementary, but rather contradictory.

God met with Abraham, and He said, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless” (Gen 17:1). The phrase, “walk before Me,” is a little different from “walk with God,” though I think they are very close. And so what we have in this verse are these two ideas tied together: 1) walking with God, and 2) blamelessness. 

So what does it mean to live a blameless life? I would encourage you to read Psalm 101, which I call “the blameless psalm.” The word “blameless” shows up specifically in vv. 2,6, though the whole Psalm outlines how the king “cleans house” and establishes blamelessness for his life and household. (This article is the outline from this past Wednesday night study, called “What Does it Mean to Walk with God?” We meet next on Wednesday, January 29, and you are invited.)

Mark 8:1-26 Like Trees Walking

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 8:1-26  Like Trees Walking

There is much that could and should claim our attention in this section. It is interesting that Jesus performs a miracle that He has already performed, and that it is repeated in the text, almost like He wants us to notice. And He does. In the first, He ministers to Jewish people in the countryside (12 baskets left over, get it? twelve tribes?). In the second, He is in “mixed” territory, and yet here as well, He is moved with compassion. Notice: Jesus’ love and compassion knows no bounds. Does yours and mine?

But then is confronted by the Pharisees, who are demanding a “sign” that shows that Jesus is properly authorized to do these things. And yet, we have witnessed miracle after miracle, sign after sign, that no one else can do, testifying to the fact that Jesus is no ordinary man, and He does the things that only God can do.

So then the disciples begin “discussing” about who forgot to bring bread. Because that’s a big problem. How in the world are they going to eat if someone doesn’t bring bread? It’s almost as though those “signs” were totally missed by the guys carrying baskets.

And then, a step further, Jesus warns them about leaven - the leaven of the Pharisees. They think He is talking about bread, but He’s not. He is talking about something, like leaven, that is contagious, and thus becomes captivatingly pervasive. Leaven does that in bread, and the bread is forever changed. And the Pharisees’ unbelief is like that. It spreads like a virus, and it binds people in an eternal condition from which they will not escape.

Guess what also is pervasive: arguing and complaining about dumb stuff. That is what the disciples were doing - blaming each other for not bringing the bread. The text says, “discussing,” but that’s what parents say to their children when the children ask why they are arguing. They say, “We’re not arguing, we’re just discussing.” But the kids aren’t stupid. They know the truth. And so does Jesus. The disciples were adopting an attitude, a mindset which would be contagious and captivating, and they needed to see the bigger picture: they were in the presence of Jesus, and bread, or lack of bread is not the point, nor the problem.

Finally, Jesus meets a man who is blind. Jesus  is again physically involved in the healing of this man, as in other cases, and the miracle is performed, but not completely. “What do you see?” The man says, “I see men like trees, walking.” He could see, but not really. Just like the disciples. Did they get it? Yes, but not really. Did they realize who Jesus was? Yes, but no. And what about us? Do we realize the difference that is made in our lives and in the world by the Person and Work of Christ, and do we walk in the light of that difference? Yes, we can see it clearly, like trees walking. Praise the Lord, Jesus is still working on us.

Mark 7:31-37 He Does All Things Well

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 7:31-37  He Does All Things Well

Mark 7:31   Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis. ³² They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him. ³³ Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; ³⁴ and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” ³⁵ And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly. ³⁶ And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. ³⁷ They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

Even today, after all these years, and with all of our scientific and medical progress, we still have tremendous limitations when it comes to our eyes, and ears; with our nerves and our brains. There are so many areas where the medical community is offering its best guess.

Jesus has moved from the last setting, in which He healed the the daughter of the woman who was not an Israelite. Now Jesus has moved back to the region of Galilee. The Decapolis, or “Ten Cities,” is a largely Gentile region on the east side of the sea. Here he is introduced to this man, deaf and largely mute. Jesus is moved with compassion, and gets personally involved with this man. He puts His fingers in His ears, and spits on His fingers and places the saliva on His tongue. This is in sharp contrast to several miracles (not all) where Jesus heals by the speaking of a word. But here, there is much more intimacy. 

Jesus, as we have said before, is Jewish. The lineage is made clear in both Matthew and Luke. Salvation comes to the Gentile people through the Jews. The apostles took the message of Jesus and shared it beyond, way beyond the borders of Israel. But the first messengers were in fact Jewish. They were following in the steps of Jesus.

Jesus, in touching this unclean man - fingers in ears, touching his tongue - this would make Jesus ceremonially unclean. But Jesus desire to be involved with this man made it worth it. We have no such concerns about ceremonial uncleanness, and yet we are worried about germs and diseases. In such a case, we are not just like Jesus.

Mark 7:24-30 Jesus Deals Under the Table

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 7:24-30 Jesus Deals Under the Table

Mark 7:24   Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; yet He could not escape notice. ²⁵ But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. ²⁶ Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸ But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” ²⁹ And He said to her, “Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” ³⁰ And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.

This passage almost seems offensive. Jesus is Jewish. The woman is from up north. We could say that she is Syrian. He is there to serve “the children,” that is, the Jews, God’s chosen people. She’s an outsider. But she desperately wants to be served. Her daughter is demon-stricken. She keeps asking, over and over, for help. Would Jesus help someone outside His own people?

Let’s keep some perspective here? Jesus had traveled northwest to Tyre, and so the woman was in her home territory. I assume Jesus was there, not to minister to Syrians, but to Jews who had scattered that direction. But there is even bigger perspective. Jesus had not only traveled to Tyre; He had traveled to earth. His starting point was not primarily Galilee. His starting point was heaven. Jesus didn’t need to come at all - to Israel, or to Tyre. Every minute and every moment of Jesus’ earthly ministry was absolute mercy. We are in tough territory if we start asking why He didn’t do more.

But one of the lessons of this passage is the the woman kept asking. I believe that it is presented here as model for how we should seek Jesus. We could ask once, get uppity and say Jesus wasn’t responsive, and go our own way. But that would not be the kind of faith that is exemplified here. But then Jesus pushes it even further.

“Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” Jesus says. Jesus is making an obvious distinction between peoples; between children, and dogs. And if I understand the culture right, children were regarded as a gift of God, and dogs were not highly valued family pets, but were mere scavengers, more like rats or raccoons.

The lady responds, and there is no apparent offense in her reply: “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” She maintains the distinction, perhaps realizing that Jesus, true to His mission, has been sent to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” among whom she is not numbered. But then, as if to say, “Is it possible that there would be just a little bit left over for me, for my daughter?” And, Jesus responds: “Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”

Jesus speaks, and it is done. The demon is driven from the daughter, even though we are not there to see it. Jesus speaks, and the woman is done. She takes Jesus at His word, and I do not believe that she is the least bit surprised when she gets home and finds her daughter well. 

There are other instances of Jesus reaching beyond the people of Israel in His earthly ministry. And then, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, the apostles are led in full measure to the Gentiles. Jesus’ priority of mission to the Jews was critical to the fulfillment of God’s plan. But He left some bread crumbs along the way, so that the Gospel would find its way to all nations and peoples; so that Jesus would indeed be “the Savior of the world.”      

Responsible Individualism vs. Radical Autonomy

I am in awe of what it took to build this country. Whether one looks at the transportation system, with its roads, bridges, and railroads; or its energy system, delivering electric and gas through pipes and lines to the most remote of places; or the building of cities with their underground infrastructures or tall buildings - all of these, and more, speak to a lot of men and women working very hard. They worked as teams, and yet they worked as individuals, responsibly supporting their families and building their dreams.

I think that there is a responsible individualism present in the Bible. Certainly, the Christian life is born not out of our works, as responsible as we might try to be. It is the finished work of Christ that is our hope and salvation. And yet, we are responsible, as individuals, for the decisions and choices that we make. No one is saved because their parents were, and we cannot save our children. Each individual needs to hear the Gospel and respond.

But there is something else going on in our country these days. It seems that responsible individualism is being eclipsed by a surge of radical autonomy. What is the difference? I have described responsible individualism as not necessarily self-focused. Oh, there have always been selfish people. But an individual can harness his/her desires and make tough choices that are good for himself/herself without being selfish, or good for his/her family without being self-focused. But radical autonomy is a person who decides that he/she will decide for themselves, often in spite of family, what they are going to be, not by exercising commitment and hard work, but by merely declaring that “I can be whatever I want to be.” And so, they are demanding that historic marriage and gender definitions be altered to accommodate their notions. 

But there is a further angle to this. For the responsible individual, he/she might expect that the government could encourage their personal industry through common-sense regulation and provisions, but they did not rely on the government to make it happen. But now, with radical autonomy, these persons are declaring what they proclaim themselves to be, often contrary to nature and custom, and now, in this new environment, they are demanding that the government clear the way for them - that the government legislate their new, alternate lifestyle, and declare it hateful for anyone to disagree. This is a very dangerous world.

Mark 7:1-23 From the Inside Out

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 7:1-23 From the Inside Out

It’s flu season. Wash your hands. Wipe the handles. That’s how you protect from the flu. Until you get it. 

It’s Pharisee season. Wash your hands. You don’t want to be unclean. But you are. From the inside out.

“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. “All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” (Mark 7:21–23 NAS95)

That’s the message of Jesus in this longer passage. The religious leaders are focusing on the outside in. Jesus is focusing on the inside out. He says that a hand scrub is not going to do it. It’s going to take a heart scrub. So how do you do that?

Hand washing is doable. Heart surgery, not so much. We cannot open our chests and cleanse our hearts. We cannot trim the ugly off it. It requires more than what we can do. Which is why self-salvation is impossible. We cannot cure our hearts. Only God can.

And so it seems that the Pharisees thought they could manage cleansing and acceptability before God in worship through a set of routines that they and their forefathers had established. Jesus steps on the scene and says that our first step is repentance - to agree with God about our sinfulness - and then to find in Jesus our only hope of receiving a new heart that is like His heart - clean.

And then, there is another point. All those ugly things that leak out of your life - those things that flood your mind or let loose from your mouth - where do they come from? We would like to have someone or something to blame. Is it the devil? Our parents? Our environment? Lack of discipline? No, it’s actually worse than that. It’s your heart. It’s the real you, not-yet-cured from sin. And so we are reminded, once again, that we need Jesus’ work from the inside out, re-fashioning our heart to be more like His. It is a process that has a beginning, but it will take time, a life-time, in which every moment is important and every battle is critical. 

Most of life as we encounter it from day to day operates from the outside in. But here, in this central issue of the kind of person that you are and will become, there is another kind of principle at work - the Jesus principle - in which He works on you from the inside out.

Mark 6:47-52 Your World is like a Boat

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 6:47-52 Your World is like a Boat

Mark 6:47   When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night He *came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. ⁴⁹ But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; ⁵⁰ for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and *said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, ⁵² for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened.

There are couple different accounts of Jesus and his disciples and a boat. In one, Jesus is asleep in the boat, in the middle of a storm, and they wake him and he stills the storm. This one is different. Here, the disciples are alone in their boat, without Jesus, and then He appears from - where? - and he stills the storm. In either case, I think it can be useful for you to think about your life, your world, like a boat.

What you know and what you have some control of is in the boat. But that boat is in the midst of a large, wild, unpredictable sea. There are a few things over which you have control. There are much bigger issues that you don’t understand, and which you cannot control. Isn’t that quite a bit like life. We can’t control the economy. We can’t control the existence of wars, or diseases. We are often surprised at how events turn. We say, “We didn’t see that coming.”

In this particular account, the disciples are in desperation. And then all of a sudden they sense the presence of a mysterious figure. The strange thing is, they do not seem to even suspect that it might be Jesus. It seems as if, in their minds, Jesus is far away, and this is their own problem, to be solved by themselves. The fact that Jesus is not in the boat communicates to them that Jesus is not a solution to their immediate problem. And there we have it: your view of life, and the problems of your life, is like a boat - and it could be that you don’t see Jesus as part of the mix. That’s where we go wrong.

They thought He was a ghost. In our experience, I don’t think we go to the “ghost” theory often. That’s probably best. But, absent Jesus, for what do we grasp? I’ve seen so many situations where people facing problems go to the very worst sources of advice and help, often with disastrous results. Why not go to Jesus? He is readily available, whether we see Him or not. The problem seems to be that He is absent from our minds.

It is interesting to me that in several passages, faith is not mentioned at all. Jesus does miracles, not merely in relation to faith, but at times, in relation to no faith. The people aren’t ready. The people aren’t worthy (we’re never worthy, but faith makes it seem more likely), and yet Jesus acts anyway. He is Lord. 

He gets into the boat, and the wind stops. That’s it. It does not say here that He waves His arms or says anything. He is present. He is present in your boat, in your life, and He is able to still the storm, though He doesn’t guarantee that it will always be the case. But we know that He can. You and I need Jesus in our boat. You and I need Jesus in our life, in our world.

Mark 6:31-44 It’s Easy with Jesus

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 6:31-44 It’s Easy with Jesus

It’s going to happen. You heal a lot of people; more people are going to come. And come they did. They came to be healed. They came to hear Him preach. They came to be in His presence. And so there they were, out and away from homes and towns, and it was late in the day. Jesus had compassion on them. The were “like sheep without a shepherd.” The disciples wanted to send them away. Jesus wanted them to be fed.

“You feed them,” he says to his disciples. “Impossible,” they say to Him. “No money, no stores, it cannot be done.” “Go see what the people have,” He says to them. They go through the whole crowd, 5000 men plus women and children. This many people, and no one thought to bring food?! Finally, one boy, just one, is found with a lunch, enough for himself and perhaps a little to share, 5 loaves, and 2 fish. That’s it. Not enough.

Our title is, “It’s easy with Jesus,” and I suppose that it’s not completely true. The learning process is difficult. But the task at hand, not that hard. It’s easy, with Jesus. If the disciples had not allowed their consternation to rule their hearts, they could have watched to see how Jesus was going to do the impossible. It was in His hands all along, but they recognized it late. While they still supposed that it was in their hands, they found the responsibility to be miserable.

Don’t we do the same thing, over and over? Don’t we get knotted up about how things are going to get done, when, in the end, it’s going to be God that works it out? Why can’t we just follow along and enjoy the story as it plays out?

One danger with these questions is that we retreat into a kind of passivity where we say that we won’t be involved at all; where we suppose that we can be mere spectators. This was not Jesus’ plan for His disciples, and it is not His plan for us. They were called on to go and investigate the possibilities, though they could have done so without all the “impossibility thinking.” They were to survey the crowd to assess their ability to contribute, though they could have done so without despairing over such a bunch of people operating without a plan. No, they could have said to Jesus, “We’ve discovered that we have few resources available to us, whether to procure food, or to gather from the people. What do you suggest we do next.” And then Jesus would have said, as He in fact did say, “Have the people sit down.” And they would have actively obeyed, as they did, and then watched the most amazing thing happen - the feeding of a great crowd of people, out of almost nothing. And, for Jesus, it was easy.

I need to remember that today, and this week, and this year. It’s easy with Jesus. Jesus knows me, and you, that we tend toward self-sufficiency, which is hard, even impossible. He knows that we are slow to learn, and that the process of learning is slow and often painful. It’s hard. But He leads us to discover that, with Jesus, it’s easy.

Mark 6:7-30 Good and Evil

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 6:7-30 Good and Evil

In this passage, which begins and ends with the apostles’ mission, we find two things: that Jesus intends that His mission be extended through His followers; and that this mission, by Jesus Himself, and by His followers, will be opposed by evil in this world.

Jesus sends out his twelve disciples on a limited and unique mission. Their authority was unique, and is not a template for the future work of missions. And yet it does make clear that the mission of Jesus would continue on after the earthly life of Jesus, as made clear in the book of Acts. 

But it is the action of Herod that draws our attention. He is caught off guard by the multiplication of stories that he is hearing, about amazing, supernatural events taking place around his region. He has already put John the Baptist to death, and wonders aloud if perhaps John the Baptist has come back from the dead. There is a note of irony here, in that few contemplate even the possibility of such an event, and that event did in fact eventually happen, not with the resurrection of John the Baptist, but rather with Jesus.

“Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so; for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man,” (Mark 6:19–20 NAS95)

In this “sandwich” section then, with the apostles’ mission being the “bread,” and the death of John the Baptist being the “meat,” we are “treated” to the details of his execution. The details are provided not for our entertainment, but so that we can see wanton and gratuitous evil at work. This action just doesn’t make sense, and yet, due to Herod’s capricious evil, it actually happened.

The question is, “Why?” It seems that righteousness is always a threat to evil, and that evil people will respond with aggressive initiative against the righteous. The righteous, on the other hand, are to be meek, and so their aggression is not manifested in cruel attacks, but rather in truthful mission.

Is that how it is working out today? Are righteous people marked by meekness, and are they more interested in service and mission than in making arguments against those who oppose them. We are to be “ready to give an answer to those who ask about the hope that we have,” but that is different than trying to out-slander our opponents. Let’s be sure to follow the Jesus-pattern, the New Testament pattern.

Woke, or Awakened?

It’s tough to keep up with the changes in language. Lately, you need to know whether you’re “woke” or not.

According to Merriam-Webster, “woke” means “aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues.” But these “important facts and issues” don’t have much to do with what we used to learn in school: spelling, math, literature. They have much more to do with hot-button cultural issues, like racism, issues of social justice, and gender-identity. If you’re not “up” on these subjects, and even more so, “with it,” you’re not “woke.” I guess that means you’re “un-woke.”

A couple of us are using a selection of sermons by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, called “Saved by Grace Alone: Sermons on Ezekiel 36:16-36” as a discipleship tool. At the close of a chapter on the phrase, “I will put My Spirit within you,” he asks about our “awareness,” and whether or not we have been “awakened” by the Gospel. And so I ask the question, are you “Woke,” or “Awakened”?

I think there is a big difference. On the one hand, “woke-ness” insists that you need to be taking your cues from the culture. It is shifting swiftly, and you need to keep moving and changing to keep up. On the other hand, “awakened” implies that you have been asleep, as though you were dead, and have been “brought to” by the grace of God in the form of the Gospel message that God is real, that Jesus, His Son is alive, and that what was accomplished on the cross is the remedy you need to be restored to fellowship with God, and to have the image of God re-created in you. 

The second term, “awakened,” is a response of faith to a message, and to a Person who stands behind the message, and to a Person who is the center of the message. It is to be rescued from the old life, and to begin anew, living in the light of forgiveness, and in the hope of glory, serving the One who saves you.

This, unlike “woke-ness,” is not evolutionary. Rather, it is revolutionary. You can become “woke” by listening and learning. But that won’t result in redemption. For that, one needs to be “awakened,” “born again,” “saved.”

John Newton wrote the song, “Amazing Grace.” “I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.” He could have added a line: “once dead, but now alive; asleep, but now awakened.”

Mark 6:1 Hometown Blues

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 6:1 Hometown Blues

Mark 6:1   Jesus went out from there and *came into His hometown; and His disciples *followed Him. ² When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? ³ “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. ⁴ Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” ⁵ And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And He wondered at their unbelief.

Jesus had been travelling, teaching, doing miracles, and creating quite a stir. Now he came home, to his hometown, to Nazareth. This is the place where his people lived, where everyone knew him. They knew his mother and father, and the rumors that were attached to his birth. There must have been a bit of a stigma attached to Mary, and to Jesus.

I’m not sure how Jesus fit in with the other kids as he grew up. Here is the One who never sinned, the perfect child, completely righteous. How do all the sinner-kids react to such holiness? I can guess that it was not always good. How do other parents act, feeling defensive about their own kids in comparison? And now he goes off, following a quite non-traditional track, leaving the day-job behind, disrupting normal life wherever he goes. Well, it’s just not proper. 

He comes to the synagogue and begins to teach. We have already been told that he does not teach like the scribes. They could describe the fourteen views on this or that subject, and argue the pro’s and con’s. But when Jesus spoke, it was as though God were speaking. Or at least some thought so. But not everyone.

When people know you, well, they think they know you. But they didn’t know Jesus. They didn’t understand His true identity, the eternal Son of God, without beginning and ending. They didn’t understand His uninterrupted fellowship with the Father, and the power of the Spirit that rested upon Him. They didn’t understand His mission, His commitment, His love. They misjudged Him. They resisted Him.

And, though Jesus did a few miracles of healing there (and even one is amazing), the text says this: “And he could do no mighty work there, except …” - that somehow the unbelief of the hometown people acted as a restriction on the power of God in that setting, whether we say that He could not work, or that He would not work. People’s lives could have been changed, and yet they weren’t, because of unbelief.

It scares me (does it scare you?) to think about how I have hindered the work of God because of unbelief; because of what I thought that I knew, but I had it wrong; because I viewed things from an earth-bound paradigm instead of that which is from heaven; because I placed myself in the seat of the judge instead of the one to be judged, convicted, and seeking mercy and forgiveness. 

Let’s learn to look at Jesus’ in heaven’s light, and not in the shadows of hometown blues.