Mark 12- 05.05.22
SCRIPTURE: Mark 12:29 NIV
“The most important one, ”answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.’”
OBSERVATION:
As Jesus and His disciples arrive in the Temple courts—the Pharisees, Sadducees, and teachers of the law gather around anxious to ask their questions in hopes of trapping OR discrediting Him. After the Pharisees ask Jesus about taxes and the Sadducees pose their question about marriage after death—both being stunned by Jesus wisdom—the teacher of the law steps forward with his question, “Of ALL the commandments, which is The MOST important?”
UNDERSTANDING:
I’ve read through this portion of scripture so many times that I was literally stunned when Jesus stopped me at verse 29. I became so enthralled with this verse I’ve been researching and meditating on it for two weeks now. The Two Most Important commands have a “Lead-in” command which I have glossed over, but here I am now and I’m sharing what I’ve learned.
Jesus began His answer in Verse 29 with a reference to a portion of scripture from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 which is the Shema. Shema is the Hebrew word for “Hear” and begins an important daily prayer the Jews recite. How important it is to God that we “Hear”. Hear His Word, Hear His Voice, and Pay Close Attention. Jesus says that “Hearing” Him identifies us as His Own.
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27 NKJV)
The LORD our GOD is ONE-uses two distinct Names for God. LORD used in uppercase is the name Jehovah and “I AM”, The Self-Existent One. Also inherent in this name is Redeemer. GOD as it is used is the Hebrew word for Elohim, meaning the “Strong One”, One who put forth Power. It is also a plural noun denoting the Trinity; Father, SON, Holy Spirit.
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
LIFE APPLICATION:
Our Faith LOOKS Like Something!
(Shout out to Pastor Levi for an AMAZING sermon series out of the book of James)
When we HEAR God’s Word AND Receive it INTO our Hearts, then the Holy Spirit can use the TRUTH to TRANSFORM us from within. God “Writes” His Word upon our hearts and we become His living letter for others to read, and our lives can influence them to Trust Christ. How we live is important Because it backs up what we say.
“You show that you are a letter from Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:3 AMP)
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22 NIV)
Lord Jesus,
I am overwhelmed by the thought of Your Sovereignty and Your Heart to draw us in and use us for Your Glory. Meld my heart to be One with You, Lord. May No “One” and No “Thing” ever usurp your rightful place as #1 in my life. Fine tune my ears to Hear You and quickly respond and may I be quick to repent when I fail. I pray my life will be a letter you are proud of Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Tina L Kudelka
Mark 11-4.4.22
Scripture
Mark 11:25
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Observation-What does it say?
Jesus was teaching His disciples about the importance of faith, prayer AND forgiveness.
Understanding-What does it mean?
Forgiveness is a HUGE part of being a follower of Jesus.
There’s a relationship between being forgiven of our sins and forgiving others of their sins (See Matthew 6:14-15).
Life Application
At the foot of the Cross, we are all the same. The one who has been forgiven much, loves much. (See Luke 7:47).
During one point in my life, I asked the Lord to teach me how to love like He loves. He taught me to be more loving through being generous, a servant to others, and to be caring/compassionate, but then He decided to take me through a lesson on forgiveness and I immediately regretted that prayer. LOL!
I’m not going to sugar coat this, but sometimes, forgiveness is hard. There are truly some deep hurts and traumas in life that many have experienced, with some situations which require boundaries/separation from the offender who continues to repeat the matter. There are situations where we may feel like it is impossible to forgive someone who has hurt us deeply. BUT, God is God of the impossible and His Word penetrates straight to the heart (Hebrews 4:12), requiring obedience regardless of how we feel. Remember, in order to be His servant, we must lose ourselves to find ourselves (Matthew 10:39).
When we bring our pains and hurts to the foot of the Cross and focus on what Jesus did for us first (His death and resurrection reconciled us to Himself), then we are able to forgive others and truly heal. Prayer is daily discipline/practice and forgiveness is a daily practice also, especially since our humanity would like us to do the opposite. Jesus told His disciples to forgive seventy times seven times. Basically, A LOT (Matthew 18:22)!
What are you holding against someone that God is asking you to forgive and release to Him today? (Please don’t call these people publicly out by name in the comments either—gossip and slander are also a sin.)
Thank you Lord for your abundant forgiveness of my sins. Please help me to take action in being a forgiving person the same way You have modeled it to me. I know that I would like the same done to me by others I have hurt as well. Amen.
-Michelle Gaddi
Mark 10-5.3.22
SCRIPTURE:
Mark 10:42-45
"Jesus called them over and said to them, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high position exercise power over them. But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life - a ransom for many."
OBSERVATION:
The brothers, James and John, who God had named, "sons of thunder' approached Jesus and told Him that they wanted Him to allow them to sit at His right and left side in glory.
UNDERSTANDING:
James and John had been with Jesus about three years when they told Him what they wanted Him to do for them, and, according to the Book of Matthew, it was their mother, Salome who had first approached Jesus regarding this same concern for her sons.
Their father, Zebedee was a wealthy man who owned his own fishing business. The two brothers, like most of the Jews living in that day had the wrong idea about the Messiah's kingdom. They were under the impression that Jesus was going to establish an earthly kingdom, so they told Him that they wanted to be honored by being able to sit on His left and right side. Their desire was to have the highest position in Jesus' kingdom. Jesus responded by telling them that to be great in God's kingdom, they must be a servant of all.
LIFE APPLICATION:
Once we make Jesus our Lord and Savior, we must allow Him to be Lord of all! Jesus is our example, and His life on earth demonstrated how important it was for Him to please the Father by serving others. He did not come to be served, but to serve.
The next generation is watching us closely and they see what is important to us by our actions. Do they see us modeling servanthood? Are we including them when we serve others? The mark of a true Christ-follower is one who loves and serves the needs of others.
Salome and Zebedee seemed to have shown more concern over attaining worldly greatness than serving others, and unfortunately their worldly mindset was passed down to their sons. But, as time went on, the loving and merciful influence of Jesus' servant attitude had rubbed off on the brothers, and James and John went on to become two of the greatest servants in the New Testament!
I pray that my life will reflect servant-leadership, and that my children and grand-children will follow as we allow Jesus to rub off on us, and model His likeness.
-Robin Orefice