Famous last words - Mark 16

Jesus was about to leave the disciples and this was His last chance to talk to them in person. Do you think His words would be some of the most important of all His conversations with them? Wouldn’t you think He’d want to summarize all His teachings into a few short things the “duh-ciples” can [...]

“Never!” - Mark 15

Do you have memories of odd conversations from the past that you frequently think about - perhaps thinking of different ways to approach the conversation? I have one that deals with the final hours of Jesus’ suffering.
I was a young man in my first worship leader role back in the early 1980s at a small [...]

What a night - Mark 14

As I read the chapter this morning, I couldn’t help feeling how awful everyone must have felt. They were celebrating the Passover feast, but this was no celebration.
First, Jesus tells everyone at the feast that one of them is going to betray Him. Talk about a joy killer…betray Jesus? Is it me? Who is it? [...]

“Just say what God tells you to.” - Mark 13

This chapter was a bit confusing for me. I meditated on it a bit and prayed for some help. I’ve heard some comentary on this chapter that tries to say that all things spoken of are for the disciples in their time, but I can’t justify that. Basically, I have come to the conclusion that [...]

Forgive - Mark 11

Please don’t forget to pray for Erica as she attends VN this tonight through Sunday! (www.vntb.com)
Once again, I’m enjoying reading about the fig tree story. God has taught me more about my prayer life through this story than anything else. And, Mark’s rendition is my favorite because it contains the words “it was out of [...]

Concerning Divorce - Mark 10

This chapter is packed with important messages. It was hard to focus on a single thought to share.
Considering what’s going on in my life, I didn’t want to skip over Jesus’ teaching about divorce. Well, the truth is I wanted to, but I thought it was important for me to dwell there for a few [...]

“…only by prayer & fasting” - Mark 9

This chapter contains Mark’s version of my favorite parts in “The Rock & The Rabbi” where Peter babbles all over himself about the 3 shelters…what a hoot! But, I’ve written on that before…
The thing I was drawn to today was the story about the boy with the dumb & deaf spirit. First, I believe there [...]

Yeast in my bread! - Mark 8

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m encouraged when I read about who Jesus picked to be His closest friends, the disciples. Jesus could have picked Biblical scholars and religious leaders and upstanding pilars in the community, real leaders that would easily be able to pull a large crowd because of their reputation and fame. Instead, He [...]

“Farceful” Worship? - Mark 7

6 Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said, 7 ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. Their worship is a farce, for they replace God’s commands with their own man-made teachings.’ 8 For you ignore God’s specific laws and substitute your own traditions.”
Once again, [...]

Soil Test - Mark 4

Yummy! I got a tasty treat from this chapter this morning. It took some effort, but I’m so grateful for this tidbit. Take a look…
Jesus had just finished telling the parable about the seed that fell on various types of ground. I was a bit confused when I read:
11 He replied, “You are permitted to [...]