all one

Galatians 3 

24 The law was our guardian until Christ came; 

it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 

25 And now that the way of faith has come, 

we no longer need the law as our guardian.

26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 

27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, 

like putting on new clothes. 

28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, 

slave or free, 

male and female. 

For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

29 And now that you belong to Christ, 

you are the true children of Abraham. 

You are his heirs, 

and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

true following

Mark 8 

34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, (Jesus) said, 

“If any of you wants to be my follower, 

you must give up your own way, 

take up your cross, 

and follow me. 

35 If you try to hang on to your life, 

you will lose it. 

But if you give up your life for my sake 

and for the sake of the Good News, 

you will save it. 

36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world 

but lose your own soul? 

37 Is anything worth more than your soul? 

38 If anyone is ashamed of me 

and my message 

in these adulterous and sinful days, 

the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person 

when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

defiled

Mark 7 

15 It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; 

you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”

17 Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, 

and his disciples asked him what he meant by the parable he had just used. 

18 “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. 

“Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? 

(dan note: the Pharisees held to a tradition that certain foods "defiled" you.)

19 Food doesn’t go into your heart, 

but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” 

(By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.)

20 And then he added, 

“It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 

21 For from within, 

out of a person’s heart, 

come evil thoughts, 

sexual immorality, 

theft, 

murder, 

22 adultery, 

greed, 

wickedness, 

deceit, 

lustful desires, 

envy, 

slander, 

pride, 

and foolishness. 

23 All these vile things come from within; 

they are what defile you.”

word

I don't know why I feel compelled to share these 2 verses today.

They come from the last chapter of 2 Corinthians.

They are among Paul's last instructions in his second letter to them.

2 Corinthians 13 

4 Although (Jesus) was crucified in weakness, 

he now lives by the power of God. 

We, too, are weak, 

but we live in Him & have God's power...

5 Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. 

Test yourselves. 

Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; 

if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.

healing

Mark 5

 21 Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake, where a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. 22 Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, 23 pleading fervently with him. “My little daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.”

24 Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him. 25 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. 28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”

31 His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

32 But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

35 While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.”

36 But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”

37 Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go with him except Peter, James, and John (the brother of James). 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. 39 He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.”

40 The crowd laughed at him. But he made them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. 41 Holding her hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means “Little girl, get up!” 42 And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and totally amazed. 43 Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened, and then he told them to give her something to eat.

sowing

Mark 4 

1 Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore. 2 He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

3 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. 4 As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” 9 Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

10 Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and with the others who were gathered around, they asked him what the parables meant.

11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders, 12 so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:

‘When they see what I do,
    they will learn nothing.
When they hear what I say,
    they will not understand.
Otherwise, they will turn to me
    and be forgiven.’”

13 Then Jesus said to them, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables? 14 The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. 15 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. 16 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 17 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. 18 The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, 19 but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. 20 And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

All my life, it seems this is another passage used to challenge people to give themselves to overseas evangelism - iow, be a missionary.

But I've often wondered if this is simply an explanation of what ALL of us face as we share with others all through our lives about connecting with Jesus?

I believe we ALL are challenged to share with the people around us the wonder & incredible truth of what being a follower of Jesus is all about & what it promises for EVERYONE.

Maybe this passage is all about what the results of our constant sharing with be. Maybe Jesus is letting us know that sometimes our sharing will fall on deaf ears. And sometimes there will be lackluster or mediocre responses. And sometimes people will embrace what we tell them & join us in the life that Jesus can bring to each of us.

Maybe this isn't just a challenge for people to become missionaries, but a challenge to ALL of us to share our live with Jesus to everyone, fully know what the different levels of response to that sharing can & will be.

small minds

 Mark 3 

1 Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. 2 Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

3 Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” 4 Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him.

5 He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 6 At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.

This story always irritates me so much.

I've known plenty of people in churches who react with the same kind of "hard hearts" when something occurs that is outside their small minded small boxes.

Small minds aren't limited to just Biblical times. They surround us every day.

scum

Mark 2

 13 Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. 

14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. 

“Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. 

So Levi got up and followed him.

15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other notorious sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees[a] saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?[b]”

17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

I always share this passage every time it turns up in my daily readings.

Most of the time, people emphasis the last thing that Jesus said in it. I think it's appropriate to do that, but that's not what has always stood out to me.

What always struck me is that MANY "notorious sinners" were numbered among Jesus' followers.

I've often wondered what constituted a "notorious sinner" - I'm sure I could designate what those kinds of people might have been back then - I'm sure you could come of with some equally colorful possibilities.

As is highlighted, the Pharisees - the religious "happy pants" of the time 😁 - considered these notorious sinners, these social outcasts, to be "scum"

And yet, these "scum" WANTED to be around Jesus, & endured probable the socially rude behavior of others, to be around Jesus.

This situation begs 2 questions...

What was there about Jesus that drew these kinds of people to Him? I think we both know in general what it was. It's just very interesting that in each time this is related in the Gospels, it always says they WANTED to be around Jesus.

The other question is 2 fold & relates to ourselves...

As people who claim to follow Jesus & supposedly are trying to be like Him, is there so much of His personality & thinking at work in each of us that today's "notorious sinners" WANT to be around us?

AND (more importantly?) are we SO in tune to who & what Jesus is all about, & have we allowed Him to change who we are & the way we think, that we in turn WANT to be around such "notorious sinners" in our day & time?

healing

Mark 1 

40 A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. 

“If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said.

41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. 

“I am willing,” he said. 

“Be healed!” 

42 Instantly the leprosy disappeared, 

and the man was healed. 

43 Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning: 

44 “Don’t tell anyone about this. 

Instead, 

go to the priest and let him examine you. 

Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. 

This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”

45 But the man went and spread the word, 

proclaiming to everyone what had happened. 

As a result, 

large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, 

and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere. 

He had to stay out in the secluded places, 

but people from everywhere kept coming to him.

go

All my life, I've heard verses from this passage used to challenge people to accept a call to overseas missions.

And I suppose that is vital...

But I've always thought the operative word in this passage is the word, "go".

That could mean go to the people in our lives, in our homes, in our neighborhoods, our workplaces, or the affluent or poor neighborhoods of our city or state.

It could mean becoming involved in some sort of endeavor to reach people with Jesus who live in some other area of the county, or in another county, or in another state.

But as I said, the most important word in this passage is "go".

iow, don't sit around & do nothing to introduce Jesus & what He's done for us.

Don't just luxuriate in the blessedness of being a part of the Kingdom - go to someone, or a lot of someones, & tell them about what we know & have.

And here's a thought: what if the people who influenced us to be followers of Jesus had been reticent & lackadaisical about sharing Jesus with us?

Yeah... that puts a different spin on it...

Matthew 28

16 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, 

going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 

17 When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!

18 Jesus came and told his disciples, 

“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 

19 Therefore, 

go 

and make disciples 

of all the nations, 

baptizing them in the name of the Father 

and the Son 

and the Holy Spirit. 

20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. 

And be sure of this: 

I am with you always, 

even to the end of the age.”

this says it all

Matthew 25 

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

24

 I know this is long, but read it anyway. I'm not big on end times stuff, but this is Jesus talking here. Maybe He is talking about things to come in our lifetime. But one thing is for sure - He's talking about things to come someday.

Matthew 24 

1 As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. 2 But he responded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”

3 Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”

4 Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, 5 for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. 7 Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. 8 But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.

9 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. 10 And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.

15 “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!) 16 “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. 17 A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. 18 A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. 19 How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. 20 And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. 22 In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones.

23 “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. 25 See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.

26 “So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it! 27 For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man[e] comes. 28 Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.

29 “Immediately after the anguish of those days,

the sun will be darkened,
    the moon will give no light,
the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

30 And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

32 “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

36 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.

37 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 38 In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.

40 “Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.

42 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. 44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.

45 “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 46 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 47 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 48 But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ 49 and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? 50 The master will return unannounced and unexpected, 51 and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

selected verses

2 Corinthians 4 

1 Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, 

we never give up. 

2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. 

We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. 

We tell the truth before God, 

and all who are honest know this.

7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, 

but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. 

This makes it clear that our great power is from God, 

not from ourselves.

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, 

but we are not crushed. 

We are perplexed, 

but not driven to despair. 

9 We are hunted down, 

but never abandoned by God. 

We get knocked down, 

but we are not destroyed. 

10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus 

so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

16 That is why we never give up. 

Though our bodies are dying, 

our spirits are being renewed every day. 

17 For our present troubles are small 

and won’t last very long. 

Yet they produce for us a glory 

that vastly outweighs them 

and will last forever! 

18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; 

rather, 

we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. 

For the things we see now will soon be gone, 

but the things we cannot see will last forever.