Today’s reading is Mark 9:1-10:52.

Twice this year already, I’ve had opportunity to travel with some other preachers to hear a series of lectures by multiple preachers. On the way home, I noticed how easy it was for us (the preachers who had not been asked to be in these series) to talk about the mistakes the presenters had made. (To be fair, we also talked about the great lessons we heard and learned.)

One of the fellows traveling with us on both occasions was a young man who has just started working in a training capacity with a friend. Recognizing how much we were talking about the supposed mistakes of our brethren, I turned to the young brother and said, “Don’t mind us, this is the part of the trip in which we try to make ourselves feel better about our preaching.”

Sad, but that is often the way it works. Fortunately, on one of those trips we got to hear a great lesson on envy. That helped keep us in our own skin a bit.

However, I can’t help but think of this when I read of Jesus’ disciples arguing about who is the greatest in Mark 9:33-37. I still seem to get that backwards. Too often, I want to be the greatest, the greatest preacher, the greatest teacher, the greatest pray-er, the greatest song leader, the greatest whatever. That is not what being God’s child is about. God isn’t looking for the greatest. He’s looking for servants. He’s not looking for people who can prove how amazing they are. He’s looking for people who are asking, “What can I do next for others?”

The fact is, the preachers we heard in those two series did a great job. They didn’t do everything the way I would, but then why should they? God didn’t put us here to compete with each other. He put us here to serve as best we can. That’s what I need to do today.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Mark 7:1-8:38.

The healing of the blind man in two stages has often puzzled me. Jesus clearly had the power to heal the man in one shot. Why go through this two step process? The only reason I can see is as an object lesson for the apostles who continually had trouble seeing and understanding Jesus.

They had just had trouble seeing how Jesus would feed the 4000 despite having experienced the feeding of the 5000. They had just had trouble understanding Jesus when He spoke of the leaven of the Pharisees. With the blind man of Mark 8:22-26, Jesus let’s the disciples know they will see and understand in time. They are like this blind man. They are beginning to get a broad outline of Jesus and His teaching. In time, they will come to see clearly. They will grow.

This comforts me. I often feel like I only have a broad outline of what Jesus and HIs teaching are all about. That’s okay. I’m growing. As I continue in Christ, I will understand more and more. That is what being in Christ is all about: Growth. I don’t have to be perfect today. I don’t have to know everything today. Jesus is still working on me. He will conform me to His image as I continue in Him (cf. Romans 8:28-30).

Thus, my goal today is not to be absolutely perfect. My goal is to stay in Christ and draw closer to Him. He will perfect me in His time.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What did you get out of today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Mark 5:1-6:56.

We speak and preach so much about self-sacrifice, that we often miss the need to take care of ourselves as well. We should be kind to ourselves and make sure we do the things that take care of us physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. Sadly, as Stephen Covey taught, we often kill the goose in order to get to the golden eggs. We claim we are just sacrificing ourselves for others but then we work ourselves into the ground so that we can’t actually serve others anymore. Yes, there is a time for self-sacrifice in the service of others, but there is also a time to take care of ourselves in the service of others. 

I’m amazed at what Jesus did with the disciples as they struggled to cross the Galilee. Notice in Mark 6:47 that Jesus sent the apostles across the sea at evening time. Then He went up on to the mountain alone to pray. He needed some spiritual renewal time. He needed to connect with God on His own for a time. He was taking care of Himself spiritually. According to Mark 6:48, He saw the apostles making headway with difficulty. I don’t know if this is a reference to his omniscience or if it means He literally could see their boat from his vantage point on the mountain. What I do know is Jesus wasn’t oblivious to their plight. Yet, He didn’t simply drop what He was doing and go their aid. Instead, He let them struggle for hours. They left at evening time, that is around sunset (cf. Deuteronomy 16: 6; Deuteronom 23:11; Joshua 8:29). However, it wasn’t until the fourth watch, that is 3 am, that Jesus finally went to the apostles and helped them. 

Jesus needed some time to take care of himself spiritually and he left the apostles to toil on their own while He did that. There is a time to take care of ourselves. I think this applies spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically. The fact is, God didn’t create us to burn the candle at both ends. When your body needs rest, let it sleep. God did create us to eat. When your body needs food, eat. I know of some who are hypoglycemic that feel themselves pulled by others and think they need to sacrifice, they put off eating until they are in a terrible place physically and emotionally. Take care of yourselves physically. Sometimes we need alone time with God. Sometimes we need together time with other people. Sometimes we need to simply take a quiet walk through nature to meditate. Sometimes we need time to just curl up with a good book. Sometimes we need to pursue education. Sometimes we need to tell our friends that we simply can’t go a certain place or be involved in a certain activity because we know it will lead us to sin. There is no shame in taking care of ourselves. 

The world is not going to come completely apart because we take some time to take care of ourselves. In fact, sometimes our over zealous need to sacrifice ourselves stems from an overdeveloped sense of how important we are. We become convinced that we have to be at the center of everything or it will all fall apart. We have to be the ones to help, or it won’t be done properly. We have to be there or someone else may die or go to hell because of us. The fact is, while God uses us in ways we cannot even imagine, none of us is so important to the world that taking a few minutes or hours to take care of ourselves will cause the world, our families, or our congregations to fall apart.

Yes, we need to put others ahead of ourselves. Yes, we need to sacrifice for and serve others. But there is a very real sense in which we need to take care of ourselves. Jesus did it. We can. What do you need to do today to be kind to yourself and take care of yourself?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Mark 3:1-4:41.

After Jesus told the parable of the sower, the disciples asked about them and Jesus gave the explanation. However, His first statement was, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables” (Mark 4:11).

What struck me today is this statement and the explanation of the parable was preserved for me and you. We get to read Jesus’ explanation as well. That means we don’t have to be outsiders. We get to hear the secret of the kingdom. It has been given to us. We don’t have to hear and not understand or see and not perceive. We can read, study and be one of Jesus’ insiders.

How awesome is that?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Colossians 1:1-2:23.

Colossians 2:18-19 caught my attention today: “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.”

I’m thankful for the focus reminder again today. If I let go of the Head, I’ll be disqualified. I can come up with all kinds of great rules for how I should be religious. I can establish a daily regimen of Bible reading and prayer time. I can make a decision to deprive myself of all kinds of things in an attempt to show God how great I am. No doubt, study, prayer, fasting, looking to the spiritual instead of the physical are all good things when done properly. However, when my asceticism is me in my strength trying to prove I’m spiritual, it never works. 

I have to hold fast to the Head, that is Jesus Christ. My number one goal today must be to connect with Him, to know Him, to be in Him, to let Him guide and direct me. When I’m doing that, the rest will take care of itself. Actually, He will take care of the rest.

God, please let me know Jesus better today and give me the strength to carry out His will.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Romans 11:1-12:21.

I’m so glad for today’s reading: “Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.’ But what is God’s reply to him? ‘I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal’” (Romans 11:2-4).

Sometimes I can feel so alone. I think no one else knows what it is like to be a sinner in need of a Savior, desperately striving every day to cast themselves on God for the strength to stay alive another day. Sometimes I feel like everyone else has their righteousness down pat and they don’t seem to need Jesus to come in and take control like I do. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only oddball out there who has stray thoughts and actions, choosing to sin even when I know better. Sometimes I’m afraid to admit how much I really need Jesus. I do need Him desperately because when I do things on my own, I mess them up so royally. 

But I’m not alone. There are others who think like I do. There are others who do what I do. There are others who have learned the answer is in Jesus and not in themselves. There are others who are taking today one day at a time surrendering to Jesus and letting Him have control. 

We can uplift each other. God can work through us to give us strength and give strength to each other. Just knowing you are there gives me strength to go through today in faith. We need to find each other. We need to talk to each other. We need to support each other. God will work through us when we do.

I’m not alone, no matter how much I think I am. Neither are you. Let’s let God strengthen us through each other in order to survive today.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Luke 23:1-24:53.

I can hardly fathom, hanging on a cross in immense torment and agony, dying, but then crying out, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46). What absolute trust. What absolute surrender.

Jesus was quoting Psalm 31:5. Just listen to the beginning of that Psalm: “In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.”

We know how the story ends so this statement may not seem as powerful as it really was. Having seen the end, we know Jesus was wise to commit His spirit into the Father’s hands. He was going to be resurrected on the third day. He was going to be delivered. But thing of this from the stand point of hanging on the cross. Think of this from the standpoint of being in the midst of the separation of the Father. How hard it must have been to look at the big picture of where all this would lead when distracted by the intense agony both physically and spiritually. Yet, Jesus trusted the Father.

I need to learn this kind of trust. Letting God be my refuge doesn’t mean I’ll never suffer. It means I know God will use it for good and I trust His knowledge of the big picture of my life, the lives around me, and eternity.

This helps me knowing that God if God is letting me go through some suffering, He has His reasons that will be for my good in the long run. When I actually have this concept firmly in my mind and heart, it produces a peace that passes understanding. I don’t have to live in fear that something awful might happen. If it does, I can know that God is working. He is my refuge. He is my stronghold. He is my deliverer. Instead of taking my spirit into my own hands, I can commit it into the hands of my loving, faithful Creator who really does have my best intentions at heart.

I’m going to make this prayer of Jesus a regular prayer for me, especially if I’m in the midst of something that I don’t like.

Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Luke 21:1-22:71.

Luke 22:24-27 smacked me between the eyes again. I’m glad I’m reading this passage twice a year right now. Of course, there are also the parallels found in Matthew and Mark. I need to read this often.

“The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But no so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.”

Being a Christian isn’t about progressing up the ranks of authority. Being a Christian is about becoming more and more of a servant. After all the second greatest commandment is to love my neighbor as myself.

I have to remember this because all too often, I want to be the master, not the servant. I want to be the lord who gets to exercise authority. I want to be the one who speaks and people listen. I want to be the one people look up to as the leader. I don’t want to be a servant. I don’t want to listen to others or be directed by others. I want to command my days. I don’t want them determined by the needs of others.

But Jesus was a servant. His entire life was about serving. It was not merely this moment of serving around the Passover table. He was serving because He was on His way to the cross to die for me. If God’s Son would do that for me, how much more should I do that for others?

I need to remember this at home. I need to remember this in my congregation. I need to remember this in my community. God hasn’t placed everyone else here to serve me. He is raising me up to be a servant.

God, make me a servant, just like your Son.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Luke 7:1-8:56.

At first glance, there is something wrong in Luke 8:40-56. I mean sure, it is great that Jesus healed the woman with the issue of blood and it is great that He raised the little girl from the dead. However, he touched an unclean woman with a flow of blood and a dead girl. There were laws about that. That made Him unclean. See Numbers 19:11-16. See also Leviticus 15:25-27.

I guess we can say that being unclean is not the same thing as sinning and so it doesn’t matter if He was made unclean. However, if we take that route, I think we actually miss the great point.

If you or I touched the woman or the girl, we would be made unclean. However, Jesus was so clean that when He touched them, their uncleanness didn’t rub off on Him. Rather, His cleanness rubbed off on them. They did not defile Him; He purified them. The woman became so clean her discharge stopped. The girl became so clean, she was made alive again.

What does this mean for me? When I draw close to Jesus, His cleanness will rub off on me. His touch cleanses me.

What am I going to do today? I’m going to figure out how I can get close to Jesus and touch Him.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Revelation 17:1-18:24.

Two things struck me in today’s reading. First, there is the whore of Babylon. In Revelation 17:3, John was carried away in the Spirit and “I saw a woman…” I can’t help but remember the last woman he saw in Revelation 12:1, “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun…” The first woman was attacked by a dragon. The second woman sat on a beast. The first woman was pregnant and giving birth. The second woman was sexually immoral. I can’t help but notice how Satan’s side tries to copy and mirror God’s work.

Then again, I noticed the beast described as “it was and is not and is to come” (Revelation 17:8). Who does that remind you of? Alive, dead, and alive again? What a mockery. Of course, the difference is Jesus arose never to die again. The beast arose to go into destruction. Again, I can’t help but notice how Satan strives to copy and mirror God’s work.

Therein lies the warning. Satan doesn’t offer something completely different from God. In fact, it will often look very much like what God offers. The devil, as they say, is in the details. Those few differences that Satan offers lead to destruction. Satan will offer mediocre copies of God’s great blessings, but Satan’s copies will not provide God’s blessings. Satan’s copies lead to destruction. Just ask the whore of Babylon and the beast on which she rode. Neither of them got the great life they had been expecting.

Take care. Follow God’s truth, not Satan’s lies.

***Question: What do you do to stay in God’s truth and not be diverted by Satan’s lies?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC