relationships (Mark 4:21-25) The Love of Our Lives

(Mark 4:21-25)

21 And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, or under a bed, is it? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? 22 For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

It's human nature to want to share to the world all about our greatest experiences, like one's engagement to the "love of our life", or the birth of a child, or all about meeting and chatting with some beloved celebrity.  And it's human nature to want to remember and disclose all the details about these experiences.  If anyone asks, we want to tell them exactly how and when we met our spouse.  Whether someone cares or not, we're going to inundate them with all our photos of every documented little expression the baby has ever made.  And we are probably going to broadcast to anyone with ears, every word that the very famous person said to us, which has been etched in our brain forever.  Oh, and let's not forget all the sports fans who remember and are overjoyed to rehash games, scores, players names and STATS.

Now, there is no one more famous than the Lord Jesus!  And He actually literally sacrificially, unconditionally and selflessly loves everyone, and desires to have a close, personal relationship with us.  He is the only One able to save us from death and despair.  And He knows all truth, and shares with us everything we could possibly need to know about life, and how to go about having better relationships with others - with His help, strength and guidance.  All we have to do is humbly repent, accepting His forgiveness for all our sins and accepting Him into our hearts.  Believing in Him, is trusting that everything He tells us is true and valuable!  Therefore, Jesus even helps us to understand more and more of His word.

For believers who know Him personally, we should be excited to soak up every word He speaks and has ever written to us.  And we should be overjoyed to rehash these amazing, life-changing truths and experiences, with people who also know Jesus, and with those who do not yet know Jesus!  And with this most famous One, not only can we, but He wants us to tell Him everything that is on our hearts and minds, all of the time.  You know, because it is a relationship, and He wants the best for us, and He is all-knowing and all-powerful and everywhere-present!.  

As verse 25 says, those who respond to His truth, will receive more, because the Lord is very generous, like, "the more you know..." And so, just as Jesus is generous, so we should be... willing to share the good news of Jesus to others when we are given opportunities.  The Lord is literally my soulmate, and THE Love of my life!  "Hey, I personally know the most famous, smartest, richest, strongest, and most powerful, generous and caring celebrity to have ever walked this earth!  Can I introduce Him to you?"  It's all about personally knowing and sharing God and His truth.

relationships (Mark 4:1-41) Making Decisions with Clarity

(Mark 4:1-41)

1 Again He began to teach by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat on the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. 2 And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, 3 “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.” 9 And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

10 As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve disciples, began asking Him about the parables. 11 And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but for those who are outside, everything comes in parables, 12 so that while seeing they may see, and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear, and not understand, otherwise they might return and it would be forgiven them.”

13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 16 And in a similar way these are the ones sown with seed on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 and yet they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown with seed among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 And those are the ones sown with seed on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

The Lord God desires that all come to know Him personally.  And we are truly saved and able to enjoy a close relationship with Him - only through Him - by spiritually wanting to hear, see and understand God's truth and receiving it.  This is to receive the Lord's forgiveness for sins and His indwelling Holy Spirit who seals us for eternity and changes us from the inside out.  He is the seed who works for us, in us and through us to make us productive and fruitful!

There are those (like the ones in the rocky places) who think they are Christians, but they are only going through the motions, in their own strength and wisdom.  So, as soon as they run into issues, they will leave the church, or even claim that they are no longer Christians.  The truth is that they were never Christians to begin with.  There will also be those who prefer to remain oblivious, because they simply want to do what they want to do, with their eyes fixated on selfish pursuits.  And then there will be those with very hardened hearts, hating and angry at the Lord God they claim doesn't exit.

Yet, God still loves everyone, and came in flesh to pay the penalty for everyone's sins, so that anyone who believers, can be saved.  And He makes sure that all have a very fair opportunity to hear "the word" (the gospel) in some way, so they are without excuse (Romans 1:18-22).  

It's interesting to know that many rabbis often taught in parables for students to understand the common folk, using allegories of royal courts and things that only people of privilege would understand.  This is because many of the rabbis believed that God didn't want the common people to really understand His word.  Cults and religions use this tactic, warning their followers to not ask questions, but just take their word for it, and in this way, they can control and manipulate them.  And then there are just the sad cases of where church leaders don't bother to further their knowledge and understanding in the Lord.  Like, I've heard some pastors say, "Oh, we needn't bother to study the end times, because it's beyond understanding."  

Actually the prophecies are not beyond understanding, otherwise why would God give us these words!  God gave us His word (the Bible) so that we can read, study and understand!  And because God wants us to know Him and His word, Jesus used allegories of things like farming and housework which were down-to-earth, so that everyone could understand, if they really wanted to.  Jesus didn't use parables to conceal truth from people, He used parables to illustrate and explain truth for those who were actually, really seeking truth, and for those who would be eager to ask the hard questions, and continue seeking more knowledge and understanding.

Therefore, because the Lord God loves all people so deeply, He makes salvation so easy that a child can understand, but makes it difficult for those with hearts that are not (yet) receptive, otherwise they might think they fully understand and think that they are gong to heaven, when they are not.  God cares!  So, He wants our decisions to be made with conviction and clarity.

(1 John 5:13)  These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

relationships (Mark 3:7-35) True Family

(Mark 3:7-35)

7 Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a large multitude from Galilee followed, and also from Judea, 8 and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard about everything that He was doing and came to Him. 9 And He told His disciples to see that a boat would be ready for Him because of the masses, so that they would not crowd Him; 10 for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had diseases pushed in around Him in order to touch Him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are the Son of God!” 12 And He strongly warned them not to reveal who He was.

13 And He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. 14 And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, 15 and to have authority to cast out the demons. 16 And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, “Sons of Thunder”); 18 and Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

20 And He came home, and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. 21 And when His own people heard about this, they came out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.” 22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23 And so He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! 27 But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.

28 “Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons and daughters of men, and whatever blasphemies they commit; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

31 Then His mother and His brothers came, and while standing outside they sent word to Him, calling for Him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” 33 Answering them, He said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 And looking around at those who were sitting around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, this is My brother, and sister, and mother.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

Having authority over demons does not include binding them up.  Jesus never said to a demon, "I bind you..."  At the end of the Tribulation, God will bind up Satan and the demons for a thousand years.  They will be released only for a short time at the end of the Millennium.  And then, right after the last battle, for all eternity, God will send Satan and the demons to hell, which has been prepared for them, and anyone who has committed the unpardonable sin, which is to reject the salvation of Jesus.  

Understand that God doesn't want any person to perish, but because He is love, fair and just, He has given everyone a free will, therefore He will never force anyone to believe in Him.  If a person doesn't want God in their life, then that is their choice for all eternity.  But because He loves all people and desires that all come to know Him, He gives everyone fair opportunity to make an informative decision.

Jesus is God, part of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).  Anywhere in the Old Testament, wherever we see "THE LORD", and 'THE Angel of the Lord" - THAT is Jesus pre-incarnate.  The Lord came in flesh as He promised, in order to prepare a way for us to have a personal relationship with Him.  This is why He created us in the first place.  It is all about God's agape love (selfless, unconditional and sacrificial love), and it is all about His desire to have a huge family, who loves Him back, and loves one another!

In this moment of time, Mary and the half brothers of Jesus had been swayed by the mob mentality against Jesus.  At the very least, they were probably there to convince Him to stop what He was doing.  Their intentions might have been only about a concern for His safety, as well as for their own;  but, hmmm, this was still, in reality, trying to stop the Lord God from doing God's will.  Anyone doing that, is doing Satan's work and Satan's will.  That should make us stop and think, and realize our need to confess, turn around, and run back to God and His will.

Understand that God is not divided.  He is sovereign (omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent)!  And God desires to have unity with us!

Satan's kingdom is also not divided.  Satan and the demons are very unified in their desire to destroy God, so that they can be in complete control.  And, while Jesus was on earth in flesh (fully man, while still being fully God), the demons took the opportunity to try to "bind the Strong Man" and plunder His kingdom!  

The demons probably thought they had won the spiritual battle when Jesus gave up His spirit on the cross - BUT - He rose again after three days, conquering sin and death, which prepared the way of salvation for everyone (past, present and future).  But one must accept His free gift of forgiveness, which comes with His indwelling Holy Spirit of promises. For that to happen, one has to believe that Jesus is God!  And that, therefore, the Holy Spirit is God!  This is why Jesus brought up the topic of the unpardonable sin, because the Pharisees were accusing Jesus of having an evil spirit... they were saying that the Holy Spirit was evil.

Another unified desire of Satan and the demons is to keep everyone away from God!  So, they will do whatever they can, which includes taking what God has created and deemed as good and beautiful, and they will distort, deceive, divide and destroy.  Yes, the demons are working hard to divide people!  Especially church congregations and Christian families!

Don't think that anyone of us is above falling for the evil schemes.  I mean, look at Jesus' own earthly family.  His mother, Mary, was already a believer, but in that moment, she had been convinced to help stop Jesus and His ministry.  The half brothers were not believers until after Jesus' resurrection.  So, even Jesus' earthly family was dysfunctional and had issues, therefore we shouldn't be shocked when we see this in our own homes and in our churches.  But this isn't a cause for us to just throw up our hands and walk away from the Lord.  No!  This is when we stop, think and realize that we all need the Lord and His love in our lives!  The God who created "relationships" is the only One who can help us with relationships!

We need to choose which family (kingdom) we want to be part of: Satan's or God's.  If we don't choose God's, then by default, one is part of Satan's.  Satan's kingdom represents slavery to sin, fear, hatred and hopelessness, leading to eternal death, darkness and despair;  while God's kingdom - is a family - that represents freedom, security, love and hope, leading to eternal life, light and blessings!

relationships (Mark 3:1-35) Joy vs Grief

(Mark 3:1-35)

He entered a synagogue again; and a man was there whose hand was withered. 2 And they were watching Him closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3 He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” 4 And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5 After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might put Him to death.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

At the root of religion is the desire to control.  It has nothing to do with God's love or true compassion on people.  It seems very possible that the Pharisees planted the man with the withered hand in the synagogue in order to trap Jesus.  But obviously, Jesus knew about their plan, and knew how to help the man, while not crossing any lines that the Pharisees themselves had drawn.

Meanwhile, the Pharisees, who were supposed to be the spiritual leaders of God's people, to guide them in God's love, knew nothing about God or His love.  They did not even recognize God in flesh, standing right before them.  And, instead, they hated the Lord Jesus, to the point of desiring to put Him to death.

Now notice the reactions of Jesus.  We know that God is angered at sin, because where there is sin, there is death, and separation from God.  In this, and His great love for all people, the Lord God will grieve (mourn) for those who cling to their sin, and cling to their death.  And we know that God desires that all come to know Him personally, which is exactly why He came in flesh, taking on our sin, death and punishment to pay the price, so that He can redeem all of those who humbly repent, believe, and put their faith in Him!

In the same way, when believers choose to sin and stray from the Lord, we grieve His Holy Spirit.  Our rejection will not and cannot undo our salvation, because God is faithful and patient.  But He will grieve the fact that, for whatever reason, we are distancing ourselves from Him, even though He always has purpose and a much, much better way for our lives, in which we can experience His very presence, and all of His blessings of peace and inexplicable joy.

relationships (Mark 2:18-28) It's Not About Appearances

(Mark 2:18-28)

18 John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they came and said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “While the groom is with them, the attendants of the groom cannot fast, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast, on that day.

21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

23 And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry; 26 how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

God did not institute the Sabbath in order to make us miserable, or for us to draw attention to what we do or not do.  It was and is intended for us to put our attention on God, and all that He has done, is doing, and will do.  Yet somehow, people still think that they have to make everything into a religion.

God also instituted an annual corporate time of fasting on the Day of Atonement, with the focus to be on "atoning" for sins committed;  therefore, fasting is to accompany one's humble prayers of penitence.  But the religious Pharisees had added many other fasts, fasting up to twice a week, even periodically refusing to drink water.  Their focus was not on the condition of their hearts, but on "spiritual appearances", and trying to maintain their power, and trying to control the people.  It's clear that they didn't understand what fasting is truly about, because instead of being humbly penitent, they were arrogantly judging others according to their own personal rules and regulations.  

People create religions, setting up rigid rules and sets of structures and rituals to follow, in efforts to somehow earn favor among others, and earn one's way to God and to heaven.  But, to get to God and heaven, one must be holy (perfect).  In our own strength, wisdom and efforts, this is impossible.  

Instead of religiously trying to patch a hole on a threadbare piece of clothing with a new piece of cloth --- Jesus wants to clothe us with His righteousness through His salvation...  

(Galatians 3:27)  For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Instead of religiously trying to pour new wine into an old wineskin which will burst --- Jesus wants to make us a brand new creation, filling us with His indwelling Holy Spirit of promise...

(2 Corinthians 5:17)  Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

As well, in our salvation, we are part of the Church, which is referred to as the bride, and Jesus as the groom (2Corinthians 11:1-2, Revelation 21;2).  And having this personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, we can celebrate in Him, and with Him!  He has set us free from sin, death and the law!  And while here on earth, because of God's grace and faithfulness, we cannot lose our salvation.  So while we strive in God's will, not because we have to, but because we want to, in His strength and wisdom, it is all to God's glory.  This is what pleases the Lord! 

relationships (Mark 2:15-17) Being Inviting

(Mark 2:15-17)

15 And it happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. 16 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

Here is our shining example of how to be "in the world, but not of the world".  Levi (Matthew) had just made his decision to follow Jesus.  And immediately, he invited Jesus and His disciples over for a meal, and invited all of his tax-collector-friends and other "worldly friends" to join them, and meet Jesus!

I love how Matthew didn't try to do this on his own.  He had the support of not only Jesus, Himself, but also his new brothers in Christ!  And he had everyone over to his house.  Maybe for him, it was an environment where temptations would not be as prevalent.  Who knows.  But there they all were, getting to know Jesus, and as verse 15 says, they were all following Him.  Just so, as we go out into the world, we should be inviting Jesus to go with us, be right there beside us, giving us opportunities, and the right words to speak as He presents the opportunities to us, to share the love and salvation of the Lord, and His life-changing power.

It was the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees who looked down on this, always with the intention of discrediting Jesus.  People, like the scribes and Pharisees, believe that in their own thinking and in their own strength, they are able to be "good enough" to work their way to heaven.  But no one can be "good enough."  One has to be perfect, which is impossible for anyone of us to be, even when and if we really, really, really want to be.

One will never understand what it truly means to be a believer (a Christian), until one realizes that they are sick with sin, and they need Jesus as their Physician!  And continuing on in one's journey of faith is not about the do's and don'ts, it's all about having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus... because we will still struggle with our sinful nature, and therefore we still need Jesus' help, nourishment, guidance, wisdom, strength, comfort, peace, hope, joy, grace...friendship!!!

relationships (Mark 2:13-14) Finding Greater Purpose

(Mark 2:13-14)

13 And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.

14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

God created us because He wanted someone to love, and desires that we come to know Him, personally.  Therefore, He created us, each with a soul, which can only be filled by Him, so that we can have a close relationship with Him.  But this is a personal choice that we each must make.  The Lord God will never force anyone to love Him back, or be obedient.

Well, here we see Levi (Matthew), a tax-collector, who was hated by other Jews because tax collectors not only worked with their enemy (the Romans), but they notoriously charged extra so that they themselves would become very rich.  So, I'm very sure that Matthew would have been feeling the guilt of his sins and crimes, feeling very much isolated from most of his community, and realizing that money wasn't enough to make him happy.  There must be more to life!  And there must be a solution and a way out from all our emptiness, guilt and shame.

All it took was Jesus saying to Matthew, "Follow Me."  Done!  And he never looked back.  In fact, we'll see in the next verses, he invited all his tax-collector friends over to his house so that they could meet Jesus!  Having Jesus in our lives is completely life changing, filling us with the Lord's presence, peace, joy, certain hope, and gives us a much, much greater purpose!
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