Do you have a heart problem? Mark 10:17-31

Bible Bites 4 Teens Posted on by

HeartToday’s scripture reading is a little longer than I usually post, (Mark 10:17-31), so I’m going to do my best to entice you to click on the link and read it for yourself.

A rich man asked Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus first asked if he kept the commandments and the man responded that he had done so since he was a youth. But Jesus could see through the whole man and knew that he still had a heart problem. The man was very rich, and apparently not very willing to share his possessions. When Jesus told him to go and sell all he had and give it to the poor, the man left very sad.

Closer to the end of this passage Jesus adds that it is very difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, then he adds that with God all things are possible.

Is anything keeping you from giving your whole heart to Jesus? Is there something you love more than Jesus? If so, that could be your heart problem. Pray about this and ask God to help you gain a right perspective on it.

Read the full passage of Mark 10:17-31 here.

The faith of a child – Mark 10:13-16

Bible Bites 4 Teens Posted on by

Jesus and the Children 2

Chances are you are already familiar with this Bible passage if you were ever in church as a child. It is a favorite for teaching children that Jesus loves them.

Since I am writing to teens on this blog, you might wonder if it is just as appropriate for them. Let’s read the passage to look for an answer…

13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”16 Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.    (Mark 10:13-16 NLT)

First of all, the disciples thought the children were a bother until Jesus corrected them. I don’t believe Jesus considered anyone a bother, except possibly some religious leaders who were doing their best to discredit him at every turn. Jesus valued everyone beginning with the least of them.

But then Jesus continued in a different line of thought. Look again at verses 14 & 15. “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Jesus tells us that we must be like children before we can enter his Kingdom. A child learns who to trust and who not to trust at an early age, and their trust runs deep. This is what Jesus asks of us – to put our trust, our faith, in him in the same way a child puts his or her trust in a parent or teacher.

Cut it out – Mark 9:42-48

Bible Bites 4 Teens Posted on by

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERALet’s start with the scripture today.

Mark 9:42-48 (NLT)

42 “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell[a]with two hands.[b] 45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet.[c] 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’[d]

Whew! What do we do with this? Cutting off parts of our body? or hanging a millstone around your neck to be thrown into the sea? These are pretty strong statements. Obviously Jesus wants us to take our sins seriously and to go to the root of the problems that cause us to sin.

First, Jesus takes it very seriously when we cause others to sin – especially children and young Christians who have begun to trust in Jesus. What is our example to these people. Do they look at us and say, “Well Janice does it, why shouldn’t I?” Or do we take the current political trends as if they came straight from the Bible, and teach others that it must be OK — that even Jesus would approve, when in fact all of scripture speaks out against it?

If your hand causes you to sin… How can my hand cause me to sin? Jesus may be using figurative speech to mean what we do with our hands. Do we use our hands to comfort other people and to be productive, or do we use them to cause harm to others?

If your foot causes you to sin… Again, I feel this is figurative speech referring to places we go. Where do you spend your time? Do you go places that are uplifting? Places that will have a positive effect on your life? Or are you hanging out in places that will entice you to sin or to get you in trouble?

And how can your eye cause you to sin? Again, consider what you look at every day… We use our eyes to learn, but what are we learning? What do we read? What do we watch on TV, videos, or at the movies? What kinds of scenery do you seek out to look at? …beautiful mountain scenes and beaches, or half naked people lying on the beach? And what about pornography? One of Satan’s best tools for breaking down families and relationships is pornography. Make a sharp turnaround if you are only slightly tempted by porn. Images like these stay in your mind forever and can only affect your thinking for the worse.

Most of scripture speaks of the body as a temple of God. We are taught to keep it holy. Jesus isn’t encouraging us to mutilate our bodies, but to first consider the consequences of what we do. Perhaps we would be better off to remove a body part if that were the only way to avoid sin, but it certainly wouldn’t be the first place to start.

Who wants to be last? Mark 9:33-35

Bible Bites 4 Teens Posted on by

3991782_sWho hasn’t at some time or another wanted to be number one? …the quarterback on the football team, the homecoming queen,  the lead role in the school play, class president… the list of first place goals is endless.

The Twelve Disciples were not immune to this desire. Jesus caught them arguing over who was greatest among them. Read what Jesus had to say to them:

33 After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing out on the road?”34 But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. 35 He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”  (Mark 9:33-35 NIV)

Whoa! In the first place, they were probably embarrassed that he knew what they were arguing about. But then to hear him say that to be first they must be a servant to the others was totally unexpected. It goes against everything in our human nature to be willing to be a servant.

But Jesus didn’t ask us to do anything he wasn’t willing to do himself. He spent his time ministering to the lowly people, the outcasts and the sinners, rather than trying to gain the approval of the leaders of his day. He would soon wash the Disciples dirty feet in the Upper Room – a job usually reserved for a servant to do. And he willingly took his place on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven. As if that weren’t enough, he left his place in heaven with God where he had all the glory and praise of the angels for the privilege of carrying out this mission here on earth.

Who wants to be last? Are you willing to follow Jesus example? Are you willing to serve in a lowly position? Might you help another person win a prize even if you would like to win the prize for yourself?

It helps to remember that this life isn’t all there is. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” He also said “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.” (Matthew 20:16 NLT) If we consider how brief this lifetime is when compared to eternity, the trade off doesn’t sound bad at all.

Image credit: andreus / 123RF Stock Photo

Do you want to hear God’s message? John 8:46-59

Bible Bites 4 Teens Posted on by

DSCN8976 right leftThe religious leaders were determined to discredit Jesus in any way they could. They were jealous when the people listened to him because he pointed out their self-centered actions as well as how they were misleading the people. The religious leaders accused Jesus of blasphemy and of healing on the Sabbath among other things. Read Jesus’ defense of himself:

46 Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”   (John 8:46-47 NLT)

Verse 47 rings out loud and clear to me. It is equally as true today as it was when Jesus first said it. People choose not to listen to God. Only when they have the will to hear will Jesus’ life-changing message does it sink into their hearts.

In Jesus’ day people falsely accused him of sin. Today people decide to pick and choose what they want to believe about Jesus. But to disbelieve that Jesus is who he says he is is to call him a liar. God can not take this lightly. Verses 57-58 are among several where Jesus claimed to be God.

57 The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?[b]”

58 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am![c]”     (John 8:57-58 NLT)

His choice to use the words “I Am” was to take for himself the name God called himself when he revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush.

The willingness to believe in God & Jesus is truly an off/on switch. We believe or we don’t. The evidence of our belief is in our actions – we seek his direction through prayer and reading his word, then put it into action – or we ignore/neglect these things and go our own way. When we turn the belief switch on, Jesus promises to come into our hearts and give us his peace starting immediately and continuing through eternity.

You can read the full passage for today at this link: John 8:46-59