The God Who Answers

Psalm 3:3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
    my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
    and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

Psalm 4:1 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
    the Lord hears when I call to him.
4 Be angry, and do not sin;
    ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

A very common element of many of the Psalms - especially those of David, the writer here - is calling out to God in times of distress.  David was often on the run, from either Saul or the Philistines or both, and found himself trapped, alone and fearing for his life.  He would call out to God.  Since he could not go to the temple to pray, he would often imagine in His heart and mind God on His Holy Seat there.  No matter how bad things were, but the end of the Psalm, David knew God had heard and was in the process of answering his prayer.  He wanted us to learn from his experience and wrote these psalms for our hearts.  Think about how God has heard your cries; continue to call upon Him. 

From Two Perspectives

 

Psalm 1:Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Psalm 2:Why do the nations rage

    and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth set themselves,

    and the rulers take counsel together,

    against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,

3 “Let us burst their bonds apart

    and cast away their cords from us.”

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;

    the Lord holds them in derision.

Psalms 1 & 2 examine the relationship between God and man from two perspectives. Psalm 1 examines how a person lives by looking at his/her lifestyle here on earth. How seriously does he/she take his/her relationship with God and His word?  Psalm 2 begins from a heavenly perspective, with God looking down on rebellious people, thinking they can run their own lives and the whole world on their own.  Both have a long-term perspective: the humble will stand; the wicked will fall.  Fools will rebel; the wise will humbly submit before their loving King. 

The Man Who Makes You Marvel

Mark 5:17 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

One might ask what - if anything, could outdo seeing Jesus calm the storm on the sea instantly.  The back-to-back miracles that followed did not necessarily overshadow it, but they definitely added to it. These verses from the middle of the chapter conclude Jesus' casting out the demons that went into the pigs, only to run off the cliff and be drowned.  Everyone marveled, but that marveling led to different subsequent reactions.  The man wanted to go with Him; the majority wanted Him to go away.  Next, Jesus healed the woman with internal bleeding, which was a miracle in passing.  How many people later connected the dots to her healing and the encounter with Jesus? That's because many were pressing on Him to see what He did with Jairus' daughter, but very few got to actually witness Jesus raising her death.  Even those closest to the situation thought it was hopeless.  Many marveled, but soon turned away to living life business as usual.  How many things do we need to see Jesus do in history and our lives before we do more than marvel? What does it take for us to trust Him?

The Power of Parable

 Mark 4:10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that
“‘they may indeed see but not perceive,
    and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”
13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

In this chapter, Jesus began to teach in parables, beginning with the parable of the Sower, the seed, and the soil.  These were short and simple stories with strong spiritual lessons.  Yet, many seemed to struggle to understand what the most child-like could.  Parables had the power to divide true seekers from those who wanted to "get it", but not really change.  The seed is planted to grow into something different, just as lamps are meant to shine not to draw the attention to themselves, but to what is really there. After saying the same things a few different ways with parables, Jesus then calms the storm.  His demonstration of such power was to add punch to His words, His parables.  They were to be heeded and obeyed just as the sea did. 

Crazy or Courage?

 Mark 3:20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

In this chapter we find a few ways that it seems maybe Jesus was not thinking well.  The chapter begins with Him healing again on the Sabbath, when He had just gotten in trouble at the end of the last chapter for doing so.  Why push His luck?  Next, we find him traveling around, letting all these "unclean" people touch Him - those with diseases and with demons.  After that, He chose twelve "losers" as team members. It is at this point that, as we read above, His family wanted to have Him committed as being out-of-control."  At the end of the chapter their concern seems justified when He seems to shut them out of His life.  But in between we get a clearer picture of what is going on.  There is a spiritual battle taking place. Rather than Jesus being crazy or driven by demons, He is the only One willing to take on the enemy - to deal with the unseen forces behind all the evil going on.  He knew exactly what He was doing, and was the only one with the courage, and the Authority, to take on the enemy and win.  You don't have to be crazy to follow Jesus, but it will require courage.

What Right Does He Have?

Mark 2:5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

In Mark 2 we find that early in His ministry Jesus experienced pushback.  Here, the religious leaders doubted His ability to forgive sins, so He healed the paralytic to demonstrate His power and authority.  The chapter goes on to show that He had the authority to penetrate a world of sin, receive worship, and call the shots about the Sabbath. Why? He is the Son of God. So the question is: "What right does Christ have to walk in and make demands on my life? Every right indeed. 

Do It Now

 

Mark 1:16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

When we read through Mark's gospel, something that immediately sticks out is the word "immediately." Coming from Peter's perspective, it is not surprising that we find an "impulsiveness" to the account, but there is much to be said for "doing it now" - not hesitating to respond, overcoming our tendency to procrastination.  John Mark is presenting to us the Son of God Who came, whom we should promptly receive as Savior and follow as Lord.  It is not a call to irresponsible recklessness, but to do the right thing while we still have the opportunity.  How many things have you let slip by in your life that have never again been repeated, and probably never will again? To witness for Christ? To learn something new? To serve someone in need? Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, don't watch many more opportunities fly by without your response.