The Gospels through the Summer, Day 39 How do we use God’s house? Read Mark 11. As Jesus is entering Jerusalem, triumphantly, we see that he calls out all those people who are using the temple and that area for their own personal gain and profit. Jesus makes the statement that his house will be called a house of prayer. When we think about God’s house, how we using God’s house? Is it simply a place that we get together with friends? Is it a place of healing? Is it a place to socialize? Or is it a place of prayer? Also, because Christ lives in us, we are his…

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 38 Happy Independence Day! What does it truly mean to celebrate independence? Read Mark 10. Today, in the United States, we celebrate the day that we declared our independence as a nation. However, God gives us an entirely different definition of what it means to be free. God explains that he came in freedom as a servant. Jesus Christ, the king and ruler over everything in the universe, came as a servant. When we think about our freedom and when we think about those countries around the world that do not have the same level of freedoms, we all must remember that freedom is…

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 36 What’s on your mind? Read Mark 8. As Jesus is speaking, Peter explains that he’s not going to allow Jesus to do all that he says he is going to do. Jesus makes the statement that is highlighted here. Jesus emphasizes that Peter doesn’t have on his mind the things of God, but instead just has human concerns. What do we have on our mind? Are we thinking about the things of God? Do we get obsessed about what God is concerned about? Or are we focusing on only what our human concerns are? Stay focused of God, for his plan is better!

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 35 What do we hold to? Read Mark 7. This chapter sees Jesus working with multiple people in situations where they are dealing with tradition. What would people normally do? Who would people normally work with and who would they shun? Jesus takes these traditions and he turns them around to help the people see that, if they aren’t careful, their traditions will get in the way of their faith and the working of God. What do we put our faith in? Are we clinging to the things we’ve always done just because we’ve always done them? Do we understand how Christ works and…

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 34 How do you amaze God? Read Mark 6. Jesus is continuing his tour of the area, meeting with all the people, and performing amazing miracles in their midst. However, he stops by the area that he grew up in and finds that they have a lack of faith. And not just a lack of faith, but an “amazing” lack of faith. It says that Jesus is amazed at their lack of faith. I wonder if Jesus is ever amazed by my lack of faith? He does so many things in my life and impacts so many areas so regularly, providing miracles that I…

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 33 Share the message where we are. Read Mark 5. Jesus healed this man. It was miraculous and amazing and God got all the glory for it. Then instead of telling the man to come and follow with Jesus as he went, Jesus tells him to go home and share. We can not over-emphasize the importance of our role in our own homes sharing the message of Jesus Christ. That is the place we start. That is the place where things are real and where people can truly see if we live what we believe. Are we willing to start there and be the…

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 32 Nothing gets in the way of Jesus. Read Mark 4. As Jesus is speaking to the people in parables and teaching the disciples, we see that Jesus doesn’t allow anything to get in his way. Not even the wind and the rain. As Jesus teaches them, the disciples still don’t get it. They continue to struggle to understand that God truly is over everything. Do we believe that God is over everything? Do we live each day knowing that the things that get in Jesus’s way, he’s going to rebuke them? That shouldn’t be us. We need to be seeking obedience to God,…

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 31 What does it mean to be family? Read Mark 3. As Jesus began his ministry, we see so often Jesus doing amazing and miraculous things in the company of lots of people. However, when we see Jesus’s biological family come on the scene, they are trying to stop him and Jesus asks the question who is my family. It’s important to understand that when we belong to Christ, we are family. Not because of biology, but because of his blood that covers us all for the forgiveness of our sins. He adopts us into his family and as a result we have a…

The Gospels through the Summer, Day 30 Do something. Read Mark 2. As we continue in next chapter of the book of Mark, we see that Jesus is busy doing things. Jesus is meeting with people, and Jesus is impacting the lives of these people. They would have these verses where we see Jesus tell a paralyzed man to take his mat and walk. We can say that we believe in Jesus. We can tell others of our faith and all that we are doing. However, it only becomes real when we actually do something in response to our faith and our beliefs. Do we actually believe it enough to…