Tag: Christian living

Digging in Deeper: Mark 4:39-41

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“He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Silence! Be still!’ The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ And they were terrified and asked one another, ‘Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever had something happen in a relationship with another person that made you completely reevaluate what you thought of the person? Maybe it was a positive reevaluation, maybe it was a negative one, but you couldn’t ever think of the person in the same terms again. After a day of teaching like they had done dozens of times, Jesus and the disciples got in a boat for a little trip. Along the way, something happened that made them completely reevaluate what they thought about Him. Let’s talk about it.

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Digging in Deeper: Mark 4:26-27

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“‘The kingdom of God is like this,’ he said. ‘A man scatters seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What role do we play in the process of salvation? How do we actually contribute to the growth of the kingdom? If you would claim the name of Jesus as your Lord and savior, those are perhaps questions that have at least occurred to you. We often hear about evangelism and are chided over its lack in our lives and in our churches. What Jesus says here helps to frame out a bit what evangelism actually entails and what should be our focus in it in a way that may help give us more confidence in doing it. Pay close attention.

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Morning Musing: Mark 4:24-25

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“And he said to them, ‘Pay attention to what you hear. By the measure you use, it will be measured to you–and more will be added to you. For whoever has, more will be given to him, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the cynical maxims that is so often true about this life is that the rich get richer. People who have wind up obtaining more. They use their advantages to gain even more advantages for themselves. Eventually your money starts making money for you all by itself. What we see here seems to be Jesus offering legitimacy to this idea. Well, He is. Just not in the way you think. Let’s talk about what He’s really saying.

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Digging in Deeper: Galatians 3:27-29

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“For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female, since you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Well, that was…anticlimactic. I stayed up until about 11:30 last night watching returns come in from the election and this morning when I checked back in I knew basically nothing more than I did when I went to bed. At least, that’s the case in terms of the results of the election. What I did have confirmed for me is something that I already knew. If you’ll stay with me for a few minutes, I’ll tell you about what that is.

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Digging in Deeper: Mark 2:24-26

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“The Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?’ He said to them, ‘Have you never read what David and those who were with him did when he was in need and hungry — how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the bread of the Presence — which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests — and also gave some to his companions?’”‬ ‭(CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

One of the standard excuses or arguments kids have always made with their parents when trying to either justify something they’ve done or else plead for something they want is this: “But all the other kids are doing it!” The simple logic here is that if everyone else is doing it, then it must not be a bad thing to do. Therefore, they should get to do it as well. What we know as older and wiser parents (right???) is that right and wrong is not set by group consensus, and so what all the other kids are doing is not going to have any bearing on what we do. Why am I thinking about this today? Because it seems like Jesus was using this kind of reasoning here and I’m not sure what to do about it.

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