Do you know the feeling of being isolated from others? It can feel scary and challenging. At times like this, we can often feel sorry for ourselves, thinking that everyone else has it better than we do. However, when it comes to dealing with the problems in our lives, the fact that everyone struggles with some kind of sin, and that everyone experiences their own “challenging” event in life, should help us realize we’re not really alone.
What’s the difference between being alone and being lonely? Lonely is generally not considered a good thing, but there is something positive we can learn from being alone that we would probably miss while around other people. Just consider how Luke 5:16 describes Jesus’ normal behavior, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” From 40 days in the wilderness to a couple hours in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus made alone time an important time.
That quiet time in prayer can help you get a better sense of your purpose; it offers you a chance to reflect on your thoughts and actions undisturbed or distracted by life. But many of us fear time alone; we fear that moment of meditation and reflection on ourselves. Perhaps we’re afraid of what we’ll realize about ourselves. David said in Psalms 26:2, “Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind…”
Jesus wants us to experience the closeness that He had with His Heavenly Father while He was on earth. The difficulty is that many people don’t value aloneness and reflection. In Mark 9 Jesus brought Peter, James, and John “up a high mountain, where they were all alone” (9:2). It’s interesting to see what Jesus wanted them to see up there. Jesus changed during His time on that mountain. While spending time with Moses, the symbol of the Law, and Elijah, the symbol of the prophets, the three men showed their support of Jesus. God voiced His approval and pride in His son as well. What an amazing and powerful experience for them to be part of. How many people would have longed to hear God speak, to see Moses and Elijah.
But they would have missed it had they stayed down in the busy hustle and bustle of everyday life. Perhaps that’s the lesson we learn from this amazing event during Jesus' ministry – take time to be alone, and you may be surprised what God will reveal to you.
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Friday, April 20, 2018
Do You Believe the Story?
Storytelling is an art that is truly captivating when it’s done well. It’s also one of the best ways to share facts about an event. People constantly tell stories to share feelings, in part instructions, even to warn of dangers. So, it shouldn’t surprise us that our Heavenly Father, the one in whom we are created in His image, chose to share the story of salvation primarily through a narrative story.
A narrative or story is a report of connected events, real or imaginary, presented in some kind of sequence in written or spoken words, or even in pictures. In the Bible, the connected events all point to the Messiah, the promise of God for salvation. Therefore, Genesis 3 – “the fall of man” becomes the narrative hook, that event that reveals the point of the story. Every other story up to the resurrection of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is the rising action. All of this points to the “Why” in the story being told. Once the Messiah showed up, the Bible was nearing the climax. His life helped tell the story of God’s power, His compassion, basically, His heart. But good storytelling often utilizes the plot twist, which is a literary technique introducing a radical change in the expected outcome of the plot.
In the case of the Bible, the Messiah wasn’t going to become an earthly king in Jerusalem the way the Apostles and His other followers thought he would. Throughout the gospel of Mark, Jesus wants them to see and hear what the Messiah would do to redeem God’s children. Repeatedly, He tells them that He was going to have to die to deliver salvation. But every group didn’t get it. The followers were perhaps too close emotionally to see it, the Pharisees and religious leaders were too focused politically to see it, but it was those who were desperate, sick, blind, and weak who seemed to see and hear it more clearly.
From Mark 6 to Mark 10, we see a pattern being formed that helps us to see who recognized Jesus as God’s promised one. Consider how Jesus’ hometown friends and family rejected Him (Mark 6), or how King Herod didn’t want to hear God’s message from John (Mark 6). Or how the Pharisees were unwilling to see Jesus’ miracles as proof of His deity (Mark 8). Instead, the ones who could see, understand, and believe were people like the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7), the deaf man in Decapolis (Mark 7), and the blind man in Bethsaida (Mark 8). It was people like blind Bartimaeus that had faith enough to proclaim, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47). They could see and hear the good news message that was woven into the actions of Jesus and believe.
Each of these miracles: feeding 5,000 and 4,000, walking on water, calming the storm, healings, and the Transfiguration, were all to help them, and us, to have faith in God’s ability to redeem us. It took them longer to see and to hear God’s purpose, but they too eventually believed. Peter exclaimed what each of us must also exclaim, “You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Promised One of God!” (Mark 8:29). Do you believe He came to live, die, and rise again, so that we could be redeemed when we trust in Him? That is the question you must answer.
A narrative or story is a report of connected events, real or imaginary, presented in some kind of sequence in written or spoken words, or even in pictures. In the Bible, the connected events all point to the Messiah, the promise of God for salvation. Therefore, Genesis 3 – “the fall of man” becomes the narrative hook, that event that reveals the point of the story. Every other story up to the resurrection of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is the rising action. All of this points to the “Why” in the story being told. Once the Messiah showed up, the Bible was nearing the climax. His life helped tell the story of God’s power, His compassion, basically, His heart. But good storytelling often utilizes the plot twist, which is a literary technique introducing a radical change in the expected outcome of the plot.
In the case of the Bible, the Messiah wasn’t going to become an earthly king in Jerusalem the way the Apostles and His other followers thought he would. Throughout the gospel of Mark, Jesus wants them to see and hear what the Messiah would do to redeem God’s children. Repeatedly, He tells them that He was going to have to die to deliver salvation. But every group didn’t get it. The followers were perhaps too close emotionally to see it, the Pharisees and religious leaders were too focused politically to see it, but it was those who were desperate, sick, blind, and weak who seemed to see and hear it more clearly.
From Mark 6 to Mark 10, we see a pattern being formed that helps us to see who recognized Jesus as God’s promised one. Consider how Jesus’ hometown friends and family rejected Him (Mark 6), or how King Herod didn’t want to hear God’s message from John (Mark 6). Or how the Pharisees were unwilling to see Jesus’ miracles as proof of His deity (Mark 8). Instead, the ones who could see, understand, and believe were people like the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7), the deaf man in Decapolis (Mark 7), and the blind man in Bethsaida (Mark 8). It was people like blind Bartimaeus that had faith enough to proclaim, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47). They could see and hear the good news message that was woven into the actions of Jesus and believe.
Each of these miracles: feeding 5,000 and 4,000, walking on water, calming the storm, healings, and the Transfiguration, were all to help them, and us, to have faith in God’s ability to redeem us. It took them longer to see and to hear God’s purpose, but they too eventually believed. Peter exclaimed what each of us must also exclaim, “You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Promised One of God!” (Mark 8:29). Do you believe He came to live, die, and rise again, so that we could be redeemed when we trust in Him? That is the question you must answer.
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Rejection
One of the greatest tests of our character is dealing with rejection and suffering. No one likes it! But rejection is inevitable. Sooner or later, all of us will experience it. And when it happens, we can’t help but ask ourselves some questions: Why me? What did I do wrong? Then come the thoughts we rehearse over and over, replaying that moment of rejection…wishing we’d seen it coming so we could avoid it.
But the Scriptures reveal to us that when it comes to living like Jesus Christ, there will be rejection. 2 Timothy 3:12, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…” In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 10:24-25, “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!”
And in John 15:18-21, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed My teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of My name, for they do not know the one who sent me.”
How did Jesus handle it? He spent a lot of time with God in prayer. A lot of time meditating on God’s will and promises to us. It’s through that reflection, and the support and comfort from brethren, that we start to see that rejection is a normal reaction of those still opposed to the truth.
Peter said in 1 Peter 4:12-19, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you… So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”
Time after time, we’re told and reminded of God’s comfort during even the toughest obstacles in life. Persecution for doing right comes in many different forms – even from within the church. But take comfort in these verses as you experience it in your life:
Luke 6:22-23, Acts 5:41, Phil 1:29-30, James 5:10-11
But the Scriptures reveal to us that when it comes to living like Jesus Christ, there will be rejection. 2 Timothy 3:12, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…” In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 10:24-25, “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!”
And in John 15:18-21, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed My teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of My name, for they do not know the one who sent me.”
How did Jesus handle it? He spent a lot of time with God in prayer. A lot of time meditating on God’s will and promises to us. It’s through that reflection, and the support and comfort from brethren, that we start to see that rejection is a normal reaction of those still opposed to the truth.
Peter said in 1 Peter 4:12-19, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you… So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”
Time after time, we’re told and reminded of God’s comfort during even the toughest obstacles in life. Persecution for doing right comes in many different forms – even from within the church. But take comfort in these verses as you experience it in your life:
Luke 6:22-23, Acts 5:41, Phil 1:29-30, James 5:10-11
Sunday, April 1, 2018
Proving Who You Are!
How would you prove who you really are? We have to do it all the time at stores, or on applications, even amongst our friends at times. Whether it’s proving our name and address, or our ability to do what we claim, it’s a regular part of life.
What if you claimed to be the son of God? How would you prove that? Obviously, that might get us checked into some kind of hospital if we went around claiming that, but think about what Jesus had to go through to get people to believe that He really was the son of God who came to earth to redeem all of mankind from their sins that separates them from the creator of the universe. It may sound like a daunting task—unless it's true.
John came as a “forerunner” for Christ to testify that what He said and did was from God (John 1:34, John 3:31-36). Jesus said of Himself in John 5:31-47, “If I testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. There is another who testifies in My favor, and I know that His testimony about Me is true. You have sent to John and He has testified to the truth.… I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent Me. (47) If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
Nearly every prophecy given in the Old Testament pointed to the Promised One—Jesus. Ultimately, that’s how the Apostles could prove that what Jesus spoke was from God, because God had already given us enough evidence even from the Old Testament to trust in His son.
The Apostle John says of Jesus’ miracles in John 20:30-31, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”
Every word and every action pointed to His authority. But the pinnacle of the evidence was revealed on what He did on the cross. It was not just His death, but more powerfully, His resurrection that set Him apart from any person before or after Him. Paul spent 58 verses in 1 Corinthians 15 illustrating how much our entire faith would be pointless if Jesus hadn’t been able to conquer the grave. His dominance over death gave us the hope that everything else He said and did was indeed from God.
As you study the bible, Bake time to be amazed at how Jesus took advantage of difficulties, fears, and obstacles to prove God’s supreme power—then praise God for caring enough about us to prove His love for us. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
What if you claimed to be the son of God? How would you prove that? Obviously, that might get us checked into some kind of hospital if we went around claiming that, but think about what Jesus had to go through to get people to believe that He really was the son of God who came to earth to redeem all of mankind from their sins that separates them from the creator of the universe. It may sound like a daunting task—unless it's true.
John came as a “forerunner” for Christ to testify that what He said and did was from God (John 1:34, John 3:31-36). Jesus said of Himself in John 5:31-47, “If I testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. There is another who testifies in My favor, and I know that His testimony about Me is true. You have sent to John and He has testified to the truth.… I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent Me. (47) If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
Nearly every prophecy given in the Old Testament pointed to the Promised One—Jesus. Ultimately, that’s how the Apostles could prove that what Jesus spoke was from God, because God had already given us enough evidence even from the Old Testament to trust in His son.
The Apostle John says of Jesus’ miracles in John 20:30-31, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”
Every word and every action pointed to His authority. But the pinnacle of the evidence was revealed on what He did on the cross. It was not just His death, but more powerfully, His resurrection that set Him apart from any person before or after Him. Paul spent 58 verses in 1 Corinthians 15 illustrating how much our entire faith would be pointless if Jesus hadn’t been able to conquer the grave. His dominance over death gave us the hope that everything else He said and did was indeed from God.
As you study the bible, Bake time to be amazed at how Jesus took advantage of difficulties, fears, and obstacles to prove God’s supreme power—then praise God for caring enough about us to prove His love for us. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”