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Mark: The Transfiguration

Read: Mark 8:34-9:13

I’m not actually going to back-track and cover Mark 8:34-38 again, but I wanted to surround 9:1 by the words as it seems it is intended. Just reading 9:1 by itself is confusing to me. I tried to blog on it yesterday by itself, but I think that was a mistake. Reading it in this context helps me understand what the commentaries indicate and, I hope, provides an accurate depiction of what Mark intended.

And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.” Mark 9:1

Some who are listening to Jesus will not die before they get a glimpse of the power of Jesus, beyond what they’ve already experienced. Some…power. If I were there with the disciples, I don’t think I’d have a clue what He meant.

It’s funny how studying the Bible works. Sometimes I read a passage and it just doesn’t make sense. I’m so grateful to not be alone on this journey, to be able to reach out to friends and ask for insight. This is a personal journey for sure, but it’s much better to go with friends, “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. Mark 9:2

Reading these two verses together seems to fill in the blanks. Some: Peter, James and John. Power: the Transfiguration.

Jesus includes the three disciples He poured into more than the others. And there’s not doubt that witnessing Jesus clothed in dazzling white robes alongside of Elijah and Moses gives us the idea that the power of the kingdom of God has indeed come.

The three watched in amazement. After all the things they’d seen Jesus do up to this point, this one was over the top!. Peter mumbles some sort of plan to build a monument, to which Mark provides this parenthetical comment that I love:

He did not know what to say, they were so frightened. Mark 9:6

At least I think this is funny: “He” didn’t….”they were…” Peter takes the heat, but I love the fact that he wants desperately to do something. So many times I walk away from an event wanting to DO something, even if it’s not well thought out. If my intentions are good, I hope that God will turn my sideways energy into a focused effort that moves me forward and lights the path for someone else.

Then, the impossible happens, they hear the voice of God.

“This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” Mark 9:7

I’m currently in Nashville, TN, attending the National Disciple Making Forum. Jim Putman spoke yesterday to hammer home the point that we just need to come back to some simple points: Jesus provides the best example, His words are true, we just need to listen!

The disciples didn’t really know what to do with this information, what they had seen and heard. Jesus leads them down the mountain, back to reality, time to get back to work now that they had seen incredible evidence of who Jesus truly is beyond a shadow of a doubt.

They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant. Mark 9:10

The humanity of the disciples is so encouraging because we know the rest of the story. When we’re confused, tripping over ourselves, we have example after example of how the forefathers of Christianity struggled as well. Thank you Jesus for be real and raw.

Help us, Lord, to know the power of the kingdom that has come and dwelt among us, that lives within us. Help us to go and make disciples that make disciples!

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Mark: The Way of the Cross

Read: Mark 8:34-38

One of my favorite songs from 10 years ago, Devotion, refers to this verse in the bridge that exhorts us to follow Jesus:

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Mark 8:34

The concept of denying myself is hard to understand and I have a hard time even grasping the notion of the cross, let along taking it up to follow Jesus, but I want to be obedient, so I must look carefully at these words.

We get some context clues in the next verse:

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. Mark 8:35

Those of us raised in the church have heard this phrase many times, to the point that we may be desensitized to the depth of the call in these few verses. Even as I think about this morning, the high demand that’s imposed on each of us is hard to comprehend. Is this a call to martyrdom? Does Jesus want us to literally die for him? I don’t think so, but Jesus does want us to get serious and ponder this question with deep conviction:

Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Mark 8:37

There is nothing I can offer to God. Nothing. No thing I have on earth is of any value or consequence to the creator of the Universe. God doesn’t want that from me anyway. His desire is for a relationship. What good is any relationship built on things? In the end, things never matter.

As a former military couple, we have let go of things so many times that I’ve learned this part of the lesson well. I’m careful to say that things don’t matter, but that’s not a license to be a poor steward of what God has given me to care for. The point is that things must not be the focus of my existence.

The last verse in this passage is a rather somber thought:

…the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels. Mark 8:38

I had to take a trip to the Greek to be sure to hear what was being said here.

epaischunomai: to be ashamed (of)Strong’s Concordance

Luke 9:26 also includes the words, so I’m confident this is something we need to take seriously. There are several places where the concept of being ashamed is addressed, here’s one source: link. I’m sure there are dozens of sermons on this one verse, so I’ll leave it between you and the Spirit to investigate!

While it’s hard to fully understand the concept, the opposite is interesting to consider. What if we were to focus on antonyms of ashamed, such as: confident, joyful, calm, glad, even bold for Christ. Consider this: If we are confident in Christ, He will be confident in us.

Yes, my friends, Christ is for us, who then can be against us! Go forth and preach the Gospel, the great news to the lost world. I will take up my cross and follow Jesus. How about you?

 

Devotion, Hillsong United, All of the Above, 2007

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Mark: Jesus Predicts His Death

Read: Mark 8:31-33

Jesus begins to speak clearly about the suffering He must experience, the rejection from the leaders, and His crucifixion. Mark doesn’t provide a lot of details, just concise statements, but I suspect there were more details in the discussion between Jesus and the disciples, words that astonished them and shook them up.

Peter had had enough! His heart was already pounding as Jesus talked about the ridiculous leadership and their inability to understand that Jesus, the man from Nazareth, the one speaking to them in human flesh, was in fact The Messiah. Now Jesus begins to talk about the manner in which He would be killed.

Crucifixion, the public shaming and execution of people through slow, disgusting torture, was well known by this time. As a society, Rome ruled with great authority and we know the pax Romana (see article) prevailed. Peace, in this case, was maintained through brutal, swift judgment where the guilty were put on display as reminders of the ultimate authority of the Roman overlords.

Peter blew a gasket!

and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Mark 8:32

Peter, rebuking Jesus. I love his heart, his passion, his complete commitment to serve the Lord, but here, he has overstepped his calling and authority.

But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Mark 8:33

These powerful words are not to be taken lightly. As I let my mind wander into the scene, I imagine that Jesus’ words quieted event the chirping birds and crickets in the area. No sound followed the exclamation point. Total silence.

Pause.

Reflect.

Calm down.

With a word, Jesus could have dismissed the disciples, but he didn’t. Instead, quite remarkably, He draws them even closer. In my imagination, in the stillness of the night, they all shamefully, humbly, sit down around the feet of the Master as He speaks.

Jesus continues with a loving explanation to reset their perspective of the mission that lies before them. The concerns of God are far more important than these earthly thoughts.

I hope you have a quiet moment to ponder the seriousness of what we are called to do. I pray that I can remember the sensation I feel right now as I sit and type these words. I wish I could write a song, music to convey, words to remind us of this incredible interaction contained in three simple verses.

May God richly bless your day. Know that our battle is ultimately for God’s kingdom. Lean on each other for strength, but let us not forget our main mission.

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Mark: Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

Read: Mark 8:27-30

In a few words, Mark records a pivotal conversation for the world:

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” Mark 8:29

I’m trying to get my mind around how the Gospel of Mark is organized. When we zoom out to get a big picture of the writing, we see Jesus performing miracles for Jew and Gentile, covering many miles around the region and doing His best to keep his ministry quiet.

Literally thousands of people have been affected by His preaching, teaching, miracles, and perhaps mostly, his compassion. Over and over again we read the phrase, “Jesus had compassion on…” So who is He?

The Messiah

Peter is bold in saying what others were thinking, but no one disputes the conclusion that this man, the one that called them from various positions, the one that they can see with their own eyes and touch with their own hands is the Messiah.

The disciples have a front row seat to watch history unfold. Yet Jesus continues to keep this incredible revelation quiet,

Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. Mark 8:30

Why the repeated warning? I think it’s mostly because the people would not understand, they are not ready for the headliner. Jesus, of course, knows the delay in telling the world is only months away, but His disciples have no idea, let alone the “fans” that are gathering to hear His preaching.

Like a song that is working toward a climax that you know instinctively is coming, music beginning to swell, but not quite ready to break. The hearts of the disciples must be beating in anticipation of the day when Jesus rises to the top to take over the world. That’s what their ancestors told them would happen and I’m sure they all had visions for what that would look like.

Jesus tells them to keep it secret. Like any good military operation, we have to maneuver around, position everything perfectly before the strike begins. Sure, Jesus, we’ll keep it secret, we won’t tell anyone.

We have access to the whole story. We know that’s not how it turns out, but I think I can appreciate how the disciples feel, well, a tiny bit of how they feel. In all honesty, we have no excuse for not telling everyone.

The question is, do we have the faith to proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah?

Lord, increase our faith so we may tell the world!

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Mark: Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

Read: Mark 8:22-26

Mark includes this brief narrative about healing a blind man at Bethsaida. “Some people” brought the man to Jesus and begged Him to restore his sight. Mark doesn’t let us know if these people are family or friends, but obviously they knew Jesus could heal him, so they tracked him down.

As with the deaf and mute man from chapter 7, Jesus takes the man away from the people, in this case, outside the village.

Here’s the really odd thing about the story: Jesus has to apply spit on the man’s eyes twice. The first time didn’t quite work.

Obviously, Jesus could have healed him in one application (or at least it seems obvious), but for some reason the man was only able to see partially. After the second application of spit on the man’s eyes, all is well and Jesus once again tells the recipient of the miracle to keep it secret.

Why would John Mark include this particular story? Jesus, no doubt, healed lots of people, so it seems prudent to look for meaning beyond the incredible outcome. Here’s what the NIV Study Bible notes prompts us to consider:

This second laying on of hands is unique in Jesus’ healing ministry. It may symbolize that the disciples’ spiritual sight is gradually increasing.NIV Study Bible Notes

I like the concept because there are definitely times that I feel like I’m walking around just seeing blurry images of trees rather than clearly understanding what’s right in front of me. I find myself constantly praying for vision, for clarity, for direction in this ministry or in that application.

Proverbs 29:18 comes to mind. My memory of this scripture is simply, without vision people will perish, but when I looked at various translations, there is much to learn here. Take a look yourself and see what you think. It’s a bit of a rabbit-trail from this post, so I’ll leave that up to you.

Frequently, when I ask about praying for someone, their request is for clarity, for the ability to discern God’s direction for their lives.

Lord, help us to see clearly what lies ahead so we can be more effective in our ministry, that which you have called us to do for the advancement of Your kingdom.

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Mark: The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod

Read: Mark 8:14-21

It’s so easy to make fun of the disciples, their apparent ignorance, lack of insight and understanding, poor education, etc. Well, at least that’s my first reaction:

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.” Mark 8:14-16

They only brought one loaf of bread. Based on the math of two previous stories, 5 loaves feeds 5,000+ and 7 loaves covers 4,000+; I’m pretty sure one loaf for their team is enough.

No, dear disciples, that’s not the point at all.

Way back in Exodus, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was instituted as a reminder of the first Passover, God’s amazing deliverance from the strong arm of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. No doubt everyone knew about the significance of yeast in baking bread. The leavening agent for bread is the difference between nice bread or flat crackers, a good loaf that sells in the marketplace or bad loaf that’s tossed to the dogs (unless intentionally removed). Hmmm.

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? Mark 8:17-18

It’s interesting that Mark prefaces this with “aware of their discussion.” The image I have in my mind is the disciples huddled up comparing notes, trying to figure out what He just told them.

On a practical level, Jesus reminds this that one loaf is surely enough to feed them, but it’s not about the loaf of bread people! It’s about the yeast, that small ingredient that changes everything. Just one gram of yeast and the bread is different, one sin separates the sinless from the sinful. There is no hope except through Jesus.

In the text, Jesus includes both the Pharisees and Herod in the same group, like they are of the same character. That’s absolutely the worst group anyone would want to be associated with. Herod is the one that just served up John the Baptist’s head on a platter just a few chapters ago. Herod’s yeast is probably narcissism, the Pharisees’ yeast begins with pride. The combination of the two lead to a life full of sin, far from that which Jesus calls us to.

Jesus chose these disciples intentionally, surely they were not from either camp, but they are certainly far from ready for what lies ahead. They have much to learn. We have the privilege of reading the rest of the story, they had to walk around in a daze hoping for the light to come on and clear up their misunderstanding. I’m sure they knew they were off base, but in the course of events, they just couldn’t get their minds wrapped around what Jesus was teaching them.

The same goes for me far too often. Is this trial a test or am I just being ignorant? Did I forget to bring the bread or did I miss the point entirely? What is the yeast in my life?

Like a song that ends in dissonance, Mark leaves us hanging:

He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” Mark 8:21

 

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Mark: Jesus Feeds 4,000

Read: Mark 8:1-13

Another large crowd gathers to hear the amazing teaching from Jesus. It seems that people are predisposed to gathering to hear words of wisdom or to be challenged to improve or simply to learn about something. Our quest for knowledge is wired into our DNA, some more than others, but all have a desire to learn.

I have to believe that Jesus is not your typical orator climbing on a precipice to make a point. Quite the contrary, I think He is encouraged by the people because of His humble approach to teaching coupled with incredible depth of wisdom. Of course He does have quite the credentials to support this notion, but the people gathering in this story don’t know how this all plays out, they just know of his reputation and after listening to Him speak, they want more and more.

In this instance, the people have been captivated for three days!

“I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.” Mark 8:2-3

Jesus instructs His disciples to feed the people, again! Their apparent amnesia is interesting, “can anyone get enough bread to feed them?” They gather seven loaves of bread and a few fish, obviously enough to feed the masses, right? Jesus blesses the bread and fish and the crowd is miraculously fed.

Given the context of this story in Mark, Jesus and the disciples are somewhere in the Decapolis, primarily dominated by Gentiles, though we read in a moment that there are Pharisees policing the crowd, so there are Jews present as well.

The first miracle of feed 5,000 (plus women and children) occurs in predominantly Jewish territory (Mark 6:30-44). This miracle is unique in that it is covered in all four gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry.

Feeding 4,000 (plus women and children) who are mostly Gentiles is significant and distinctly different! Mark seems to make the point that Jesus is wants to extend the gospel beyond the chosen ones. In addition to healing the Gentile women’s daughter and the man who couldn’t hear or speak, Jesus chooses to involve the disciples in sharing with this large population.

He could have had manna or quail fall from heaven, but, as with the first instance, He has the disciples serve the people. What He does and how He does it is important. What He does is feed a lot of people because He feels compassion. How He does it in mysterious, but requires the disciples to get involved, they don’t sit back and watch the miracle, they are direct participants in the event.

The mere fact that so many are gathered to hear from a Jewish teacher is significant all by itself, but this doesn’t sit well with the Pharisees:

The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. Mark 8:11-13

I like to think that Jesus sighed because the Pharisees simply can’t believe what just happened. Surely they remember that Elisha feed 100 men (2 Kings 4:42-44), but it seems they can’t extend that concept to feeding so many, let alone non-Jewish people. Somehow they miss the miracle, are confused by His teaching, and come up with this great idea: ask Jesus for a sign. He simply dismisses them and gets in a boat to leave. Done.

Everyone who receives Christ has within them the dwelling presence of the Spirit. With that, each are given particular Spiritual Gifts for building up the body of Christ. Every Christ follower is a minister. We all participate, just like the disciples did in this narrative. And just like them, there are times, perhaps more often than not, that we do the work of Christ without completely understanding what’s going to happen. In the case above, watching seven loaves of bread feed so many was amazing. In our present day, sharing the gospel with one seems insignificant, but God can do amazing things with the smallest amount of faith!

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Mark: Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man

Read: Mark 7:31-37

Jesus continues to minister in the region, around the Decapolis, some 25 miles away, when some people brought a man who was deaf and mute to be healed. Their request is simple, “…they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.” In this case, Jesus is more interactive with the man.

After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. Mark 7:33

In the previous event, the girl who was possessed by an evil spirit wasn’t even present, yet she was healed. In this case, the disciples must have been watching and taking notes:

  1. relocate subject: how far do we take him?
  2. fingers in ears: which fingers? how far? actually in the ear?
  3. spit: how much? just the tip of the tongue?
  4. pray: “Ephphatha!”

Got all that? File this under how to heal and someone who’s become deaf and mute later in life.

Was this confusing for the disciples as they try to learn from Jesus? What’s the difference between the two incidents? Why the physical interaction?

In this miraculous healing, the process seems to be telling us more than the miracle itself. Jesus accepts the man, he honors his friends for bringing him to be healed without argument. Taking him away from the crowd gives me an image of compassion; I believe Jesus was showing extreme kindness in this action. From this somewhat private place, Jesus touches the man, He even uses saliva to take the breach of personal space even farther.

All of this activity only takes a matter of seconds, a few minutes perhaps, but all leaves me in awe of a God who would step out of time and pay attention to one man, to one of us.

Isaiah foretells of the coming Messiah after many woes and proclamations of bad news:

…they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Isaiah 35:2,5

Oh yes, we will see the glory of the Lord and the splendor of our God in ways we can barely imagine.

Beyond amazed, the man can’t help but tell everyone about the miracle. His life is reset, no more shame for deafness, whatever caused that to happen. No more mumbling of words, now he proclaims the hands of the Messiah have touched even an ordinary man.

This same Jesus has touched us. Go and tell the world!

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Mark: The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith

Read: Mark 7:24-30

In this passage, Mark tells us that Jesus has relocated to the vicinity of Tyre, the bustling metropolis of His time, about 30 miles from Capernaum — a significant distance to walk, to find some rest and perhaps focus on teaching His disciples. For perspective, our daughter and husband live about 21 miles from us in Easley, SC. In our modern world, it takes about 30 minutes to drive from our place to theirs. Google maps suggests this would take us between 7 and 8 hours to walk to her house. A full day’s journey.

Territories of Tyre and Sidon, NIV Study Bible, p. 1670

Jesus led his disciples far away, but His fame has followed them. Here in this Gentile area,

He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. Mark 7:24

Mark’s account of this story uses the term “Syrophoenician” to describe the woman who approaches Jesus. Matthew’s account refers to the Old Testament label of “Canaanite” (see: Matthew 15:21-28). The point is that she is not part of the Jewish family and herein lies the tension.

The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. Mark 7:26

Initially, Jesus’ response troubled me, in my attempt to be politically correct, He calls the woman a dog:

“First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
“Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” Mark 7:27-29

The woman is not deterred and counters with a beautiful notion that even His crumbs are good enough and completely sufficient. Her faith has proven enough for her little daughter. Once again, Mark chooses to highlight those who were considered lower than the least, a woman and a even worse, a daughter of a woman that is not part of any Jewish tribe.

The term dogs gets my attention and it must have shocked the Jewish leaders of the day as well. How could Jesus interact with one of those people?

I’m offended because it’s completely unacceptable to refer to a group of people as dogs. Apparently, in those days, this was not so uncommon, yet it is certainly not an endearing term. But I think that IS the point. The Jews of the day were indeed the chosen people of God, but they have closed the doors to the dogs of the world. Unless you followed their ways, their laws and rules, you could not be one of the chosen people.

In this bold, short narrative, an outsider, a woman nonetheless, comes to Jesus to beg for her little girl and He makes a point of letting everyone know that though His first objective is to the chosen children of Israel, He demonstrates the desire to adopt everyone into the family, even those society has labeled as dogs.

While we might be put off by the term, I’m completely convinced that we do the same today. We have labeled people dogs of this day, those who have aligned themselves with satanic cults, religions that are far from Christian, or even the homeless, vagrants of society.

I pray that this story would shock me, that it would be cold water splashed in my pious face anytime I consider someone outside the Christian faith as somehow less worthy than myself. Lord, Your gospel is good news for everyone. Help us to share with the dogs of today!

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Mark: That Which Defiles

Read: Mark 7:1-23

The Pharisees and some teachers of the law…again. This time, the approach is simple, pick a rule that surely everyone knows: you must wash ceremonially before eating!

Most of the words in this passage are in red letters in my Bible, the words of Jesus. Mark explains the idea of washing before eating in verses 1-4, then quotes the Pharisees:

“Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” Mark 7:5

Jesus sees this as a great teaching moment. He explains rather bluntly that they have elevated their customs above the law that they pretend to uphold. In this case, ceremonial washing, but in other cases, they’ve made rules to allow them to disobey God’s commands. To be clear, this is much more than merely not washing hands before dinner, this is an attitude of the heart, of a contrite and bitter heart.

Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” Mark 7:14-15

The funny thing is that the disciples didn’t understand, they had to ask for clarification. I’m sure glad they did, because I’m not sure it was quite clear to me either. “Are you so dull,” Jesus continues, it’s not the food that defiles you at all. No more rules about clean and unclean food. Mind blown!

How many traditions have we invented that we hold onto so tightly? There are some who firmly believe that only ordained clergy can administer communion or baptize new believers. Only staff can decide what’s best for the holier than Moses defined hour of worship on Sunday. The Pharisees had 600+ rules. I suspect we have more, but we’re better at hiding them so as not to be accused of being a Pharisee. Clever us.

We know these rules are not of God. We created these rules out of a desire to elevate some above others, to put clergy on a pedestal, elders above deacons, deacons above congregants, congregants above outsiders. We’ve created a hierarchy that has is so inwardly focused that we’ve lost touch with the outside world–the world Christ came to save.

This type of arrogance has crept into the modern church club mentality where only certain people get an invitation to meetings and discussions that affect the body of believers. Over time, this has become the norm. Add a decade or two and we see the church in great decline, no longer a key part of society.

Our selfish desires for recognition have undermined God’s desire for creating an effective church, a body of believers that are filled with the Holy Spirit and on mission to change the world. I truly believe that unless we become the church Jesus intended, we are just ceremoniously washing our hands.

If we know the rules, we can play the game fairly. When the rules are so simple, like love God, your neighbor and yourself, it’s not so easy. “Did God really say…” (Genesis 3:1), words from the great tempter reappear.

Jesus isn’t done yet,

He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” Mark 7:20-23

It’s inexcusable to blame someone else for the sin that comes from my actions, my thoughts, the impurities in my heart. The “devil made me do it” is simply not true. Satan may have put the thought in my mind, but it was my choice to cultivate the thought rather than just have the Holy Spirit destroy the weeds!

That which defiles reminds us of the seriousness of our ministry. The list that Mark provides, quoting Jesus, is rather shocking. For a culture that seems to hang pride up as a banner, to talk openly about sexual immorality, adultery, lewdness, etc., was unheard of…literally. These are just things we don’t talk about. But this is our savior, Jesus. He is not bound by our perception of rules and regulations, he only cares about the heart and soul.

It’s so easy to criticize the church for its shortcomings and while awareness is important, action is imperative! My earnest desire is to do more and rant less, but sometimes, I just have to let it out!

Lord, help us to ignore the prompts of the great tempter, the one who has a finite lifespan. Help us to focus on you and you alone.

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