Mark 8 - 4.27.26

Scripture

Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭27‬-‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.””

Observation

In this passage Jesus and His disciples are traveling from village to village, doing ministry together. Jesus then asks his disciples two very important questions:

 1). “Who do people say I am?”

2).  “Who do you say I am?”

His disciples respond to that first question by saying that the public look at Jesus as John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the prophets. Basically the public saw Jesus as a holy figure, but not the Messiah.

But, Peter responds to Jesus’ second question by acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah, the promised Deliverer.

Application

Who is Jesus to you?

It is a pivotal point in the gospel and in all world religions today. Who is Jesus? Some religions think he is great guy, a great teacher. Some think of Jesus as a prophet. Some believe Jesus is just one of the many ways to get to Heaven and believe it or not, some religions even think Jesus is the “spirit brother” of Lucifer! 🤦🏽‍♂️ 

Peter knew exactly who Jesus was. He saw it up close and personal. That is why in this passage Peter acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah and if Peter’s admission wasn’t enough for you, we also have the 4 gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). These men were personal eyewitnesses of Jesus. They lived with Him. They broke bread with Him. They did life with Him. They even died for Him because they wanted to share the Good News of who Jesus was with everyone. 

So, even if you don’t buy in to what Jesus’ disciples are testifying to, historians can even vouch that a man named Jesus DID exist and walked the earth. He did have great life teachings and perform many miracles. He did die and 3 days later, his tomb was empty.  Now I don’t know about you, but if you put two and two together, (what the disciples witnessed and wrote about, and what historians wrote about), it is clear to me Who Jesus is and I have to say that I concur with Peter. Jesus IS the Messiah. He IS the Son of God. He lived a perfect life yet died a sinner’s death. He did it to pay for my sins and the world’s sins. Jesus is exactly who He says He is. 

“Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!” -John‬ ‭8‬:‭58‬ 

“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!””-John‬ ‭14‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ 

If Jesus is who He says He is, we better take a good hard look at how we answer that question, “Who is Jesus to you?”. It better determine how we choose to live our lives. Our eternal destination depends on it.

Prayer

Thank You Jesus for being exactly who You said You are. Thank You for being my Rock, my Redeemer, my Savior, my Lord, and my friend. May the life I live bring You the glory You deserve. I pray for others who may not know You the way I do. I pray that they may come to the logical conclusion of who You are. I pray for You to open their eyes so that they may see, open their ears so they may hear, and may You open their hearts so they may believe. In Your Holy and precious name I pray, Amen.🙏🏽

-Moses Gaddi 

Psalm 63 - 4.24.26

Scripture: Psalm 63:1-8

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1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.‍ ‍

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.‍ ‍

3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.‍ ‍

4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name, I will lift up my hands.‍ ‍

5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.‍ ‍

6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.‍ ‍

7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.‍ ‍

8 I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.‍

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Observation

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This is a Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. David spent years in the wilderness, hunted by Saul. He hid in caves, in the darkness, relying on God to take care of him. David would cry out to God early in the morning, seeking His face, seeking His protection, seeking His Love. To David, the Love of God was more meaningful than life itself. David longed for God’s love, presence and protection.‍

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Application

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I went through many years in the wilderness. Walking through a divorce after 24 years of marriage. Having my four children with me and not knowing how I would take care of them by myself. My son Joshua starting have mental issues, he did drugs with his friends and drove his car at 60 mph right into a traffic pole. He was in a hospital bed in my living room for 1 year. He started walking and working again, but the mental illness kept getting worse. He couldn’t keep a job, was abusing drugs and alcohol and was abusive verbally to all his family. I ended up kicking him out of the house and he started his seven-year journey on the streets of Santa Clarita.

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I had entered my wilderness season, but the Lord never left me or forsake me. I would worship and cry myself to sleep. The next morning, I would have renewed hope in the future. I would praise the Lord from the moment I woke up and thank Him for watching over me and my children during the night. I was in constant prayer for my son Joshua and would walk the washes praying and looking for him. I would wake up every morning at 3 am worrying about my son, so I figured God woke me up to pray. I would intercede for him about an hour, then I would fall back to sleep. I longed to be in God’s presence, I would close my eyes and picture myself crawling up into His lap and He would cover me with His wings. Day by day I grew stronger and Jesus walked with me every step of the way, His right hand was always there for me to grab hold of. He met our needs and He watched over my children, especially my Prodigal Son.

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If you see me at church, worshipping, praising God, lifting my hands and dancing it’s not that I want to make a spectacle of myself, it’s because I walked through the fire and came out the other side. I will praise Him for as long as I live and His name will forever be on my lips.

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His love is truly better than life!‍

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Prayer

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Dear Lord,‍ ‍

Thank you for never leaving me or forsaking me while I walked through the wilderness. Thank you for always reaching your hand out to me to hold. Thank you for protecting my children and walking them through the wilderness also. Thank you for your love that is better than life. I will forever praise your name!‍

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- Michelle Craig

Mark 4 - 4.23.26

SCRIPTURE: Mark 4:1 - 8

“Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:  “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

OBSERVATION

The sower never stops sowing.

I am someone who loves when something works the first time.

I recently started gardening , making sourdough, and getting into getting good at my espresso machine at home. Post grad hobbies are getting crazy, I know. 

If there’s one thing about me, I love when I get things right, and am great at it the very first time. I am sure someone reading this can relate. So it is a bit funny that these three hobbies have been my past times of choice . . . Why? Because they are hobbies that require patience and persistence. 

Though I wanted an artisan sourdough loaf my first go, that is most definitely what I didn’t receive. Katie Thompson gave me sourdough baking advice that encouraged me similarly to the Lord’s encouragement in this passage, “just keep on baking and eventually you will get a great loaf.”

When reading this part of Mark 4, God highlighted to me how the sower did not quit when the seeds he had planted withered or were taken away. He kept sowing. I can imagine it is discouraging for the sower to see what he invested in his efforts that did not grow into what he really desired them to be. Similarly to us, we can get discouraged in our faith when we sow and we sow, but are eagerly anticipating a seed to take root so we can experience a bountiful harvest.

But we pray for that person and see no curiosity in Jesus.

Or we pray for healing and still see sickness or pain.

We pray for reconciliation and still have not gotten a call back.

We are sowing good seeds - so where is the harvest?

The key lessons that are taught here are to keep sowing & to have faith in God’s generous heart, which is the fertile soil we are promised.

Though some seeds have fallen to die and not grow, continue to sow as God has asked you because He desires to answer. . . Not in our timing but in His.

The sower did not stop sowing, he sowed and sowed and eventually saw a harvest produce that was abundantly more than he had ever seen or could have dreamed; never stop sowing. 

We must not stop sowing love, even if we face hate in return. 

We must not stop sowing faith, when all we feel is doubt.

We must not stop sowing forgiveness, when we experience hurt. 

Even if there is no harvest immediately, these are actions the word of God guides us into, and there is no part of the word of God that will ever return void to us. We must sow, as He calls us to do. We must be like this sower, who is devoted and committed to what is asked of Him.

God wants to use every seed we sow as a way to get closer to us and that may be in obscure timing to our flesh, but God’s plan and sense of time is divine, and greater than our own. Sowing seeds cultivates faith, it cultivates relationship with God through prayer to Him about things, and it is a foundational aspect to our lives as laborers for the kingdom. 

Though the harvest timing may not make sense now, keep sowing and leaning in, for the harvest is coming. And even when it does, we must praise, celebrate, and keep sowing. 

APPLICATION

Pause and tell God where you are sad or grieved that you are sowing and seeing no harvest, confess this to Him.

Now pause and ask God to walk you through a time where He showed a harvest that is more than you could have ever cultivated on your own. As He brings things to mind, write it down.

Ask God for delight as you sow, no matter what happens to the seed - ask for delight in the gift it is to sow seeds for Jesus.

Now, pray and intercede for that area you want to see a harvest in. Whether it be a person you want to come to know the Lord or a situation you need breakthrough in, petition Him. Know He is the fertilizer to the soil our seeds are being planted in.

PRAYER

God, hear our hearts and see our desires for a bountiful harvest that honors you. Where we need to sow, guide us. Where we need to remember a harvest, remind us. Where we need to confess and repent for our tainting of soil where seed needs nourishing, reveal that to us. Lord, we give you our yes to sow faithfully. Help us be patient in the process and enjoy the ride. We love you. 

Amen.

- Tess Schrupp