Mark 3

The gospels keep historical record of the events which took place while Jesus was on earth, but they also hold important spiritual truths and lessons. One such example is in the third chapter of Mark. The opening verse explains the obvious afflicted condition of a man seeking help.

Mark 3:1-6

1 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.

2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.

Verse two is interesting because it reveals two things: the Pharisees were actively observing Christ and they did not doubt his supernatural power of healing. They knew his abilities and only questioned whether he would exercise them on the sabbath or not. Their careful attention to Christ was not to heed instruction or experience the wonders of Jesus' time on earth. They sought only to find fault with the Savior. Yet, they knew the truth of His ability.

3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.

4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

Jesus openly and directly asked the Pharisees about the sabbath. He charged them with a question that would challenge their tolerance of Christ as King. They knew to save life was good and that to kill was bad, but thy weren't willing to accept that Jesus was not bound by the old law and could perform healing miracles at any time. In our human understanding, as did the Pharisees, we are tempted to stick too closely to earthly things and how we expect things to be done. The Pharisees knew their answer would not be acceptable to the Lord, so they kept quiet. Jesus speaks in the voice of truth. His speech cannot be argued.

5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored as whole as the other.

Mark is the only gospel that mentions Jesus' anger. The Pharisees' hearts were hardened to the point where they willfully rejected God's truth. Jesus was grieved by their outright rejection. Yet, despite people opposing the work, Jesus performed a miracle. The man's hand was made whole. God's power does not depend on the opinion of man. It is not bound by the old law. It is not limited by man's rejection of the truth. He is still able to work in divine ways for the restoration of the soul and body of those who are willing to accept His truth.

6 And the Pharisees went forth, and striaghtway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

Without noting the miraculous work which had just been performed, the Pharisees instead moved right away to how they might get Jesus in trouble. The world won't always recognize the works of God for what they are, and will instead seek for ways to cause trouble. The enemy doesn't care how God works on the behalf of His children, they only desire to turn people away. Insterestingly, the Pharisees and Herodians had very different veiws on some things, but the gospel was a message which threatened them both. Even the most diverse political and religious factions were united in the cause of bringing to naught God's plan. Even when God's power is clearly manifested, it can be lost to those whose hearts are set against Him. That makes it all the more important for use to be instant in season and out of season (II Timothy 4:2) and live an example at all times.

We have to be careful ourselves not to neglect the dealings and workings of God. He has shown Himself powerful time and time again. To deny that power as the Pharisees did is grievous to God. Even if it doesn't make sense in the eyes of man, God's ways are best. The Pharisees rejectred the truth of God. We need to be careful not to reject the truth He presents to us still today.

Keep encouraged!

Life

I was reading in Ecclesiastes 2, where it talks about the writer's (Solomon's) quest for meaning in life. I think everyone has a similar search in life. We each want to find a place in life and be recognized for it. The chapter outlines many things Solomon did in his search for meaning: vineyards, gardens, pools, servants, singers, musical instruments, entertainments, power, almost anything we could imagine. Yet, verse 11 says "Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of the spirit, and there was no profit under the sun." This verse can be taken a number of ways. You can take it as meaning there is no point in living, working, and trying to make your life enjoyable, but I believe that's the wrong interpretation. Instead, the chapter highlights the emptiness of earthly accomplishments and treasures.

The human soul longs for more than the things of earth. Solomon realized that none of his feats or "things" gave him the true pleasure and satisfaction he desired. I also don't believe this chapter condemns planting vineyards, listening to music, or working towards a successful life. Yet, it underscores the need for God, and placing Him before all of those earthly goals. I know for me, personally, there are many things I enjoy doing. But, I've found they don't bring the true joy that comes from serving the Lord. Historically speaking, Solomon was right. Virtually nothing remains of his architectural achievements at the time. When we place too much value on the things of the world, we lose sight of what really matters, and what really brings satisfaction. It's a constant struggle with all of the entertainments of the world vying for our attention and time. It's hard to do, but we need to put that time and attention towards things for God, that carry the weight of an eternal award, not one that will last only our time on earth. Later in the chapter, verse 16, it says "And how dieth the wise man? as the fool." We all face the judgment, regardless of what we were like on earth. If we placed too much value on earthly things, we'll find ourselves lacking in the eternal things. And there is a promise from God that if we appropriately allocate our time and do the things He wants us to do, we will receive His blessings. Verse 26 says "For God giveth to a man that is good in His sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy." I know I've struggled with doing things I think are important, but are not so important to God, and I'm sure others have, too. I want God to be able to use me in the way HE wants, not in the ways that seem to fulfill my flesh.

Yet, just because this passage reveals the emptiness of earthly pursuits, that doesn’t mean our life here is entirely meaningless. God wants us to enjoy our time here and make the most of it. We just have to make sure our priority is in doing His will first. In fact, in chapter 11 verse 9 it says “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.” God gave us the gift of life to enjoy. Yet, we will be brought to judgment for those things we do. That’s why the things we do on earth must be wholesome and pleasing to God. There is definitely a balance. God wants us to serve Him above everything else, but He also wants us to have an enjoyable life.

Keep encouraged!

Greatly Blessed, Highly Favored

I was privileged to be able to be in Guthrie, OK for the entirety of the campmeeting. It was so encouraging and helpful to me, and I'm so glad I was able to be there. I have been through a lot of tough things lately, and I greatly needed some time for spiritual growth. There were many challenging messages, but I don't have time to talk about them all. I'll write about a couple of the ones that were most impactful to me.

We also had some very good young peoples meetings. Several of the older saints shared their testimonies of how they found God despite bad circumstances in their home lives or how they had chosen the wrong path. It was such a challenge to me to realize how blessed I am to have the raising I've had in the church. Not everyone has the teaching and instruction I have been blessed with for my entire life. It's not something to take lightly. We were given a pearl of great price, and we can't give that up for the heartbreak that is in the world around us.

My favorite message was one Bro. Michael Smith preached about going back to Bethel. God met Jacob in Bethel, and later on, when times were hard again, Jacob had to go back to the place God had met him and helped him. For me, especially because of growing up in the church, I have felt God's presence and His dealings with me. But the cares of life get in the way and often times I find myself drifting away from the source of life. I need renewal, restoration, and revival. We have to make sure we are living right and sinch it down. That message was such a stirring and challenging message to me. I knew there were areas of my life that really needed work, and I thank God for His mercy and help.

The next morning, God gave me a scripture, 2 Thessalonians 3:3 -
"But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil."
Not only is God faithful to us in helping us become established and ready, He has grace and power to keep us from wrong. God will always be right there after we seek His guidance and help. Faithful means dependent, loyal, stedfast, and constant. Each time we have problems, He is consistent to be there to help us and establish us -- to help us grow in areas we thought we couldn't. He'll anchor our feet on the rock and give us firmness in our battles. Over all of that, he has the keeping power to make us without spot and blameless before His judgment. We don't have to give in to sin and evil. God has grace and power over that. I am so very grateful for His revelation to me through that message and verse.

Another great message was also one of Bro. Michael's messages about the things we need to do. We all have a spiritual checklist with plenty of things on there that we need to do. Yet, many of them are neglected, which is one of the most dangerous problems in spiritual matters. At the end of our lives, our intentions will have no impact on what we did during our lives. Convenience for spiritual things is incredibly dangerous. A more convenient time for Felix and his salvation is never recorded in the Bible. If we pass the opportunities God grants us because the time isn't right for us, it may never be that way. Not only is salvation important, though, but specific issues in our individual lives are things we need to address. We have limited time on earth, and therefore limited time to get those things done. We have to deal with them because growth doesn't come from recognizing the need, it comes from the recognition coupled with prayer and seeking God. Saints have a lot of work to do after salvation. We have to perfect our vessel to be worthy unto Christ. It was very challenging for me. I know there are many shortcomings in my life and plenty of things I need to work on. I want to be active in fixing those things instead of letting them gather dust on a to-do list.

There were many more great messages, and I encourage you to listen to some if you weren't able to attend the meeting. It was such a great encouragement and help to me to realize God is for us, willing and able to help us, and with us every step of the way. Through these hardest months of my life, God has shown himself the strongest. Keep me in your prayers. :)

This song has been a real encouragement to me as well. We have a privilege to take all of our needs and desires to the One who controls everything:
https://www.facebook.com/sherie.benson/posts/1330501030391270

Keep encouraged!

God Sees

As some of you may already know, my grandpa has been very sick recently. We're not exactly sure what the problem is, but we're trusting that God will work a miracle in him. However, seeing someone so close to you in a poor state. At first, I didn't think too much about it, and figured it'd be over soon and there'd be no lasting effects. But, after awhile, the problems persisted, and I began to worry. I was really stressed with school and my grandpa's condition didn't help anything.needless to say, I was pretty worried, and didn't see how everything would work out. But I found a song, and listening to it gave me a peace. It's called "He Sees What We Don't" by the Carr Family.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V6jyyJpz1w

The words really spoke to me. Sometimes we only see the worst of our situation, but with time, God has promised he'll bring us out to a wealthy place. Very thankful for the way God helps us! My grandpa is still in need of prayer, but we're thankful for some things the Lord has already worked out.

Keep encouraged!

The Sweet Savour of the Saviour

I was very blessed by a comment recently made by one of my uncle's during a Wednesday night prayer meeting. He commented on a verse in 2 Corinthians 2:14. He was explaining how if God is on our side, He is always sure to bless us. It says:

"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place."

That's a wonderful promise. God is deserving of such great thanks. He causeth us to triumph ALWAYS. Everything He does for us works for our ultimate good. But our victory is in Christ, not in ourselves. It is imperative to note -- our victory comes at the expense of giving ourselves to Christ. Our service and dedication to Him is what allows us to have the victory by His grace. Our triumph is also evidence of the Gospel's empowering work and transformation of our lives not only to ourselves but to others. Triumph in Christ manifests (or makes openly known) the power of God and His majesty.

This particular scripture uses the word "savour" to describe how victory through Christ is manifested. Savour refers to a smell, taste, or odor. That is something real we can experience and so can others. Historically, successful generals utilized the burning sweet incense to accentuate their victories on their return from battle which gave citizens evidence of the victory. Here, the scripture denotes our victory in Christ as evidence of the emboldening power we can obtain. This isn't the only instance in which smell, taste, or odor is used to signify how great God is. In fact, in Psalm 34:8, the Psalmist David offers:

"O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."

As humans, we have the privilege of determining for ourselves how magnificent God's plan is for us. The word "taste" here indicates "judge." We have the blessed opportunity to prove in our own lives that God is good and cares for us. It is not something that is strictly faith based. Our lives and His blessings are evidence of His work. The wonder of experiencing this salvation for ourselves is unparalleled.

In the natural, physical world, when we taste something delicious, we have an innate desire for that taste afterwards. Personally, I love steak. I've tasted it on plenty of occasions (including yesterday), and it's something I really enjoy and want more of. It is the same way with God. This verse is indicative of that. We taste and experience the goodness of God and only want more. The following verse in 2 Corinthians 2 gives us another promise:

"For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved."

If we are saved, we are a sweet savour of Christ to the Lord. Our life in Christ doesn't go unnoticed. It is pleasing to God for us to live in a way that demonstrates His son's death was not in vain. We have a blessed, unmatched opportunity to experience individually the greatness of God. When we do, the results are noticed by those around us. Christ's knowledge and power is manifested "by us in every place." Our lives lived pure and holy in the sight of the Lord is pleasing to Him and makes manifest the sweet savour of our Saviour.

Keep encouraged!

Love One Another

How do we love one another? It's easy to love the people who are kind to us, the ones we feel comfortable with, and the people we know will treat us well in return. But, God's commandment is more than that. John 13:34 says:

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."

First of all, Jesus extends this charge as a new commandment, but there are similar commandments given earlier in the Bible. Under Mosaic law, people were already told to love their neighbors as themselves (Leviticus 19:18). But, since this was given as a NEW commandment, there has to be something different. Jesus adds "as I have loved you." That puts a lot more impact in what our love to others should be. Christ loved us enough to die for us, give up privileges on earth, and expend His time doing things for us. He gave us everything, without reservation, and did so with a positive attitude. He befriended the lowliest sinners and people who deserved (under the old law) to be put to death. Yet, He cared for them. We're supposed to do the same. The command to love others wasn't new, but the charge to do so as Christ loves us was unparalleled.

But, how do we love one another? Jesus gave an example in Matthew 25:35-36:

"For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."

Jesus correctly predicted people would question about when these things had actually happened, so he explained in verse 40:

"...Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

So, if we combine how Jesus treated people (loving, caring, compassionate) and how He explained these basic courtesies to others, that's a pretty good idea of what it is to love one another. Treating people with respect and being kind (even if the effort isn't returned) goes a long way towards winning people to Christ, and showing them by our actions the love of Jesus. Not only that, but Jesus explained in the next verse (John 13:35) another reason it is important to love one another:

"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."

If we show Christian principles by loving each other, the world will recognize something greater than our kindness. When we exemplify Christ's love in our lives, it points those around us to God. Not only are we treating people with decency and compassion, we're also witnessing for the truth. Personally, I want to be more loving and compassionate to people. It's important for our own lives, but it's also something we can do for the bigger cause of furthering the gospel. Pray for me!

Keep encouraged!

The Fear of the Lord

We had a very good Bible study last night on the fear of the Lord. It's Halloween, so I thought a post about fear would be an apt one. :P Yet, the fear of the Lord is entirely different than the brand of fear generally attributed to Halloween. While monsters and goblins of today's holiday aim to instill a scary type of fear, the fear of the Lord is something quite different. The fear of the Lord really isn't a fear at all. It's a true reverence of His majesty. Recognizing how awesome God is and accepting His divine power as superior to our own is what the fear of the Lord is about. God is not our equal. Instead, He is our superior, and having a fear of the Lord is acknowledging that fact.

The Bible describes the fear of the Lord as wisdom and knowledge. Proverbs 1:7 says:

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Proverbs 9:10 says:

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding."

These two verses encompass both knowledge and wisdom. The Bible gives more than sufficient account of heroes who had the fear of the Lord and obedience to His will. Abraham had the fear of the Lord to the point he would have sacrificed his son. Noah, in spite of doubt from his neighbors, built an ark out of the fear of the Lord (not to mention having never seen rain). Job demonstrated the fear of the Lord when He trusted God despite severe persecution. In the end, his reverence to God allowed God's omnipotence to be shown. All of these men exhibited the fear of the Lord by their actions. There is no doubt the fear of the Lord and our faith in His ability rather than our own is helpful. Conversely, there are plenty of other examples which manifest the fate that comes to those who do not fear God. Jezebel is a fitting example of someone who did not give the Lord respect or reverence. Her end was surely undesirable. Saul eventually neglected to revere the Lord in his latter days and his consequence was equally severe.

Uncle Clifford also briefly mentioned an analogy about the fear of the Lord in relation to cars. Not having a proper fear of the Lord is like driving on the wrong side of the road. You're out of line with His command of the law, and place yourself and others in danger. You're still a car either way, but you're much more vulnerable if you aren't in the right lane. We are still humans whether we fear God or not, but we can be much more safe if we keep following God.

He also mentioned a verse that really stuck out to me. Isaiah 33:6 says:

"And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure."

Wisdom and knowledge, as the study already brought out, referred to the fear of the Lord. In other words, the fear of the Lord shall be the stability (or security, safety, etc.) of thy times. "Thy times" makes the verse timeless. There is strength, and stability, in the salvation of the Lord. Our personal treasure can be the fear or the Lord. Reverence to God is will undoubtedly be favorable to the Lord. It can be our treasure of immeasurable value if we keep Him first. We'll be able to weather the storms of life by the stability service to God provides.

Keep encouraged!