ADHD Gospel, Day 34 When to speak and when not to. Read Mark 9:1-6. Have you ever been so scared that you didn’t know what to say, and so you just started babbling? That’s actually not that unusual for people, especially when you get to the place where it’s silent and you feel that you need to fill the space with something. That’s where Peter found himself. Jesus had done something truly amazing and the disciples were having a glimpse of the incredible glory of God. But Peter was so overwhelmed that he just couldn’t stay quiet. I love that the Bible shares the detail behind his words because it…

ADHD Gospel, Day 33 Make a good trade. Read Mark 8:34-38. Have you ever traded an item? Many times when making a trade, there’s always a question as to whether or not each side of the trade is getting a good deal. We make trades every day, even if it is an exchange of money for goods or services. Today, Jesus is talking about making trade of a much different kind. As part of this trade, we trade our entire lives and ourselves and what we gain in return is Jesus. In reviewing the merits of this trade, we find that, while it seems extreme on our side to trade…

ADHD Gospel, Day 32 In mind. Read Mark 8:31-33. Jesus has been teaching his disciples and he’s doing incredible and miraculous things, and he even goes so far as to tell them what’s coming and all of the pain and the suffering that he’s going to go through. Instead of receiving the sympathy or the compassion that he would have liked to receive from his disciples, he has one of them pull him aside and tell him how wrong he is and that he doesn’t know where he’s talking about. Jesus uses that moment to go back to Peter and tell him he does not have the things of God…

ADHD Gospel, Day 31 Who am I? Read Mark 8:22-30. This is often seen as one of the biggest questions of life. Who are we? Why are we here? Jesus confronted this question head on because he knew exactly who he was and definitively why he was here on Earth. The question was more about whether or not others knew who he was or why he was there. When Jesus asked his disciples what other people thought about Jesus, it wasn’t as defined, but when then Jesus made it personal. Who did they think that he was? Now, given the stories just a few verses ago, it is important that…

ADHD Gospel, Day 30 Still not understand. Read Mark 8:11-21. Have you ever been in the situation where someone’s explaining something to you and you listen to their explanation, but yet it still doesn’t click. You still don’t get it. They get to the place where they finish their explanation and they look at you, and they say, “what do you think?” You have to admit to them that you still don’t understand. That can be really frustrating for both sides of that conversation. The person feels like they have done everything to tell you all about whatever it is and you don’t understand why they can’t explain it in…

ADHD Gospel, Day 29 Compassion. Read Mark 8:1-10. So much of what Jesus does is as a result of compassion for the people. We see him focus on the importance of their needs and ensuring they are cared for. This was not the focus of the disciples, but Jesus made it their focus. We may not always be focused on compassion toward other people, but Jesus sees their needs and he sees their shortcomings, and he knows how to impact them. If we will be listening and be patient and be obedient to what Christ tells us to do, we will impact others with the compassion that Jesus has for…

ADHD Gospel, Day 27 He does everything well. Read Mark 7:24-37. Jesus continues traveling places and healing people. As he goes, the conversations he has amaze and astound people. At the end of this chapter, we see a really interesting statement. People look at Jesus, and they say he has done everything well. At this point, it’s not even just about the miracles, although they do call those out. People are looking at everything about his life and saying he does everything well. When we look at our lives, there are so many things that I feel like I do well, and so many things I know I don’t do…

ADHD Gospel, Day 27 What comes out? Read Mark 7:9-23. The pharisees were so focused on cleanliness. They wanted to be ritualistically clean in everything that they did. However, Jesus gave them a different perspective. He wanted them to understand that what’s on the outside of a person doesn’t define whether or not they are dirty or clean. It’s about what’s on the inside of the person. What squeezes out? When we say things, they are a reflection of our heart and what we are thinking. When we do things, they are a reflection of what’s going on in our minds. When we are under pressure and stress, the way…

ADHD Gospel, Day 26 What are we holding on to? Read Mark 7:1-8. So many traditions. The Pharisees had a long history of all the rules and regulations that the Jewish people were to follow. They had been focused on ensuring that those rules were passed down from generation to generation as a way to ensure that they were never forgotten. However, while the rules were passed down, the meanings behind them apparently weren’t. The Pharisees are criticizing Jesus and his disciples for not observing all specific rules that they were accustomed to. However, Jesus turns it back on to them and asks why they are holding on to these…

ADHD Gospel, Day 25 Calm Waters. Read Mark 6:45-56. Jesus has just finished feeding over 5000 people. Counting the women and children, it would probably have been closer to 20,000. He took some alone time and sent the disciples off. Now, he is walking on the water. The water was stormy, but Jesus wasn’t bothered. He created the storms. I wonder if the storm matched his thoughts or mood at the time? He’s walking across the water and while the disciples are completely scared, Jesus is perfectly calm. Seeing this made me think, are we seeking calm waters, or a calm Savior? Jesus wasn’t bothered by the storms. In fact,…