By prayer – Mark 9:14-29

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16057954_s Girl praying by lakeJesus came down the mountain with Peter, James, and John (see yesterday’s post) and found the other nine disciples in a discouraging situation. They had failed to cast the demon out of a young boy and didn’t understand why. Some religious leaders had also come around and were arguing with the disciples.

Let’s look at a few verses together:

21 “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father.

He replied, “Since he was a little boy. 22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”

23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked.“Anything is possible if a person believes.”

24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

— Mark 9:21-24 (NLT)

The father was obviously discouraged when the Disciples hadn’t been able to drive the demon out of his son, and his faith was wavering. Jesus was quick to pick up on this: “If you can?” But he was also compassionate and healed the man’s son. He was willing to act on behalf of the man who felt the need to add “…help me overcome my unbelief.”

God appreciates honest faith. There is no need to put on a false face with God, because he sees right through it. He wants us to ask for things like a stronger faith, wisdom, courage… the list goes on. If we are honest with God and talk to him about our doubts, our relationship can begin to grow along with our faith.

After the Disciples went to the house where they were staying, they asked Jesus why they couldn’t cast out this demon. Jesus answered, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.” Some early Bible manuscripts say “by prayer and fasting.” (v. 29 and footnote)

Even though Jesus cast this demon out on the spot, this seems to imply to me that the Disciples (and the rest of us) should expect some kinds of healing to take longer than others, and to not lose hope if the results aren’t instantaneous.

Read the full account at this link where you can choose your translation: Mark 9:14-29.

Image credit: jarenwicklund / 123RF Stock Photo

The Transfiguration – Mark 9:2-13

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file451264266022 2 Mountain topSometimes Jesus chose Peter, James, and John to go with him on special occasions. One of these times was when he took them up on a mountaintop. To their amazement, Jesus changed before their very eyes so that he nearly glowed. Then Elijah and Moses appeared and Jesus talked with them.

Peter was beside himself not knowing how to respond. He offered to make dwellings so they could all stay up on the mountain. God spoke to them on the mountaintop telling them that Jesus was his Son, and that they must listen to him.

Have you ever had an experience that was so wonderful that you simply wanted to stay there forever. I’ve been to many camps and retreats like that. But life always goes on. We must return to our homes and pick up where we left off. The key to the success of such an experience is in whether we put to use the things we learned on the mountaintop.

If your mountaintop experience was with Jesus, you have the best opportunity for taking your experience home with you. Jesus promises to go with you and live in your heart – if you will welcome him in. Make sure to give him plenty of room to grow as you feed your spirit daily with Bible reading and prayer.

Read about the wonderful experience Peter, James, and John had in the passage below.

Mark 9:2-13 (NLT)

The Transfiguration

2 Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make them. 4 Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus.

5 Peter exclaimed, “Rabbi, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials[a]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He said this because he didn’t really know what else to say, for they were all terrified.

7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.”8 Suddenly, when they looked around, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus with them.

9 As they went back down the mountain, he told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man[b] had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept it to themselves, but they often asked each other what he meant by “rising from the dead.”

11 Then they asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?[c]”

12 Jesus responded, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready. Yet why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be treated with utter contempt? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they chose to abuse him, just as the Scriptures predicted.”

Do we let God be God? Mark 8:27-9:1

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6216761_sJesus asked his Disciples who people thought he was and they suggested John the Baptist, Elijah, or a prophet. Then he asked the Disciples who they thought he was and Peter quickly said he was the Messiah.

Then as Jesus warned them that he was going to be rejected and even killed, Peter, the same one who proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah, began to rebuke Jesus saying that these things would never happen to him.

How might we be just like Peter? Are we willing to take God at his Word, or are we quick to dismiss passages we don’t want to hear with our excuses based on human logic? There may be situations where the culture of the day shaped a particular verse, but if you find yourself excusing one verse after another after another on the same topic, it might be a sign to look inward for the real problem and let God be God.

There is much more in today’s passage that I barely skimmed over, so I encourage my readers to read it in full.

Mark 8:27-9:1 (NLT)

Peter’s Declaration about Jesus

27 Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

28 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.”

29 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.[a]”

30 But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Jesus Predicts His Death

31 Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man[b]must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. 32 As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.[c]

33 Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said.“You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, 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?[d] 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.”

9 Jesus went on to say, “I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!”

Image credit: designpics / 123RF Stock Photo

 

Prove Yourself – Mark 8:11-26

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Show MeThe state of Missouri is known as the “Show Me” state. The expression implies that the people expect you to prove it if you try to tell them something that seems incredible.

The Pharisees demanded that Jesus show them some miracle to prove that he had authority from God. Jesus was not pleased with their attitude. There had been so many witnesses to the miracles he had performed. The Pharisees’ problem wasn’t that they needed proof, they simply had hearts that were hardened to Jesus’ message.

A lot of people today have the same problem. They want proof that God exists. They want proof that Jesus was raised from the dead. But their hearts are so hard that they are unwilling to consider the evidence that is right before them.

The unending beauty and order in the universe screams of a loving Creator – not a series of happenstance accidents, but many refuse to recognize his creation as a testimony to the Creator.

The extensive list of witnesses to Jesus resurrection – enough to re-establish the calendar the world uses… The Disciples and other Christians who died for their faith because they refused to back down from what they knew to be true… It isn’t logic that keeps people from believing, it is their will to not believe.

Where are you in your faith? Is your mind open to consider what God’s word tells us? Are you open to Jesus’ teachings and claims? Your life for all of eternity hangs in the balance.

Mark 8:11-13

11 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

12 When he heard this, he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.” 13 So he got back into the boat and left them, and he crossed to the other side of the lake.

Jesus meets our needs – Mark 8:1-10

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file0002129665280 Teen worryDo you waste time worrying about things you need? Check out how Jesus stretched the Disciples food budget so they could feed 4000 people with only 7 loaves of bread and a few small fish.

Jesus had compassion on the many people that followed him to hear his teachings. The crowd in today’s passage had hung around to listen for three days and their food supply had run out. The Disciples had only seven loaves of bread left and a few small fish, But when Jesus blessed it, it was more than enough to feed all four thousand people. The Disciples gathered up seven large baskets of left over food. Here is the story:

Mark 8:1-10

8 About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them, 2 “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a long distance.”

4 His disciples replied, “How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?”

5 Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

“Seven loaves,” they replied.

6 So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd. 7 A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to distribute them.

8 They ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. 9 There were about 4,000 people in the crowd that day, and Jesus sent them home after they had eaten. 10 Immediately after this, he got into a boat with his disciples and crossed over to the region of Dalmanutha.

–Mark 8:1-10 (NLT)

Do you have unmet needs? What resources do you have? If we are willing to yield our resources to Jesus and our lives to his purposes, he can multiply our resources to meet the needs.