Acts 7

Acts 7 bring us the stoning of Stephen.  I believe Stephen was the first follower martyred for Christ. - I could be wrong, but I don't think I am.  Stephen's story elicits several different emotions in me.  His total commitment and whole hearted obedience inspire me.  His obvious love of God is so clear (did you get that by the use of obvious?).  It is truly amazing to me.  He's also the epitome of "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44) as he prays "Lord, do not hold this sin against them"  (Acts 7:60) while he is being stoned to death.

As I read this story of Stephen, and read that "the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul." Acts 7:38, I know that one of my favorite parts of the Bible is coming.  The story of Saul (Paul) makes me want to jump for joy.  Paul is my favorite new testament writer and I love his story.  But that will have to wait.  I don't want to get ahead of myself.

I did notice something in Stephen's speech in Acts that I hadn't thought about before, but it wasn't about Stephen, it was about Moses.  We hear the story of Moses and how he was so hesitant when called by God to go to Egypt and lead the Israelites, but I forget that the Israelites, at least some of them, had already rejected him while he was still living there saying "Who made you ruler and judge" Acts 7:35.  Now he's being asked to go talk them into following him when they have already scoffed at him.  Made me think about his lack of confidence in a different light.

Acts 5

In Acts 5:33-42, we read about the high council wanting to kill Peter and the other apostles.  One of the Pharisees, Gamaliel, spoke up and said that they should be careful of what they were planning to do.  One of two things could happen.  First, this could be a fad that would wear itself out over time (SOOO not the words of the Bible, I'm paraphrasing) or second, they could find themselves on the side fighting God himself.

Obviously a good point.  It makes me wonder about a couple things.  Did Gamaliel every become a believer?  Even though he was a famous Jewish teacher (and was actually (Saul) Paul's teacher according to the notes in my Bible), he seemed to have an open enough mind to accept that there was a possibility that what the apostles were teaching was true.  And, although I know Jesus needed to be crucified for us to be saved, was anyone at the time thinking - but what if?  What if this is the Son of God?  Should we really be doing this?  Nothing that we will ever know, but it just makes me think.

Acts

I love Acts because I love hearing about the beginning of the Church.  I also love it because Luke, the author of Acts, tells of Paul's conversion.   That is probably one of my favorite parts of the Bible...but I don't want to get ahead of myself since we're only in Acts 2 at the moment.

The Holy Spirit has descended upon them and they are speaking different languages.  Although some realize they are speaking foreign tongues, others think they are drunk.  Peter refutes this and reminds the people what was told to them by the prophet Joel.  "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, you old men will dream dreams,  Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy." Acts 2:17-18.

Peter then goes on to tell them that Jesus of Nazareth was their savior and reminds them that they put him to death.  "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this:  God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ"  When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"  Peter replied, "Repent and by baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."  Acts 2:36-38

Three thousand were converted that day.  And it begins.  What an exciting time!

Mark 14 & 15

I'm trying very hard to not type Mary instead of Mark these days.  As you can imagine, I'm very used to typing Mary and K happens to be my middle initial so I end up with Maryk instead of Mark alot.  I catch them most of the time.  Now that the reading of Mark is almost over I probably could have gotten away without mentioning this, but I'm tired and I'm afraid it's going to happen again and I'm not going to see it.

A few passages from Mark 14 & 15 that "speak" to me:

Mark 14:72 "...'Before the rooster crows twice you will deny three times that you even know me.'  And he [Peter] broke down and wept."  

I wonder how much anguish Peter is in at this point.  Jesus has been arrested and on top of that, Peter finds himself denying the Son of Man.  Scared, lonely, not yet understanding what was to happen.  I feel for Peter, no wonder he broke down and wept.

Mark 15:34 "Then at three o'clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabach-thani?' which means "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?'"

I found a writing on this passage in Commonly Misunderstood Bible Verses by Ron Rhodes.  It was very enlightening and I'm going to quote it.  "Jesus' statement reflects that fact that His greatest suffering on the cross was not physical, but spiritual.  He bore the guilt of the entire world on Himself.  Christ became sin for us ( 2 Corinthians 5:21).  And that moment brought an agony of the soul that was unparalleled.  Christ had become the object of His Father's displeasure, for he became the sinner's substitute."   And He did that for us.  That's a very humbling thought.

 Mark 15:37-39  "Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last.  And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, 'This man truly was the Son of God!'"

I have to imagine that a very intense sense of dread may have fallen over those who witnessed this and realized what had just happened.  This passage always sends chills through me.

Mark 12

See if this reminds you of anyone (minus the dress style):

Jesus also taught: "Beware of these teachers of religious law!  For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces.  And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets.  Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public.  Because of this, they will be more severely punished."  Mark 12:38-40

I don't know about you, but I think I see some current time politicians in this scripture.  If you change a few words - just take out synagogues, change prayers to speeches - I think there's a fair chance that some of us have even voted for them in the past.  And if you live in Illinois (especially the Chicago area) we have a long history of this sort of person.  

The more that I read the Bible, the more I can see that the times of the New Testament are not that much removed from our times.  Teachings still apply, people are the same.  The Bible speaks to everyone no matter when you live.  It is definitely a timeless work.  Thank God.

Mark 9 & 10

Mark 9:23-24  

"What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked.  "Anything is possible if a person believes."  The father instantly cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!"

How many times have I felt this way?  Yes, I believe, but I don't believe that my faith is strong enough.  Help me. Strengthen me.  This is a constant prayer.

Mark 9:35b; Mark 10:43-45

"Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else."

"But among you it will be different.  Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many>"

Think about these passages as it relates to government.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if our leaders kept these scriptures in mind?  In a smaller setting, we need to remember as parents, managers, teachers that to lead we need to serve.  

Mark 10:25-27

"In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!"  The disciples were astounded. "Then who in the world can be saved?" they asked.  Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible.  But not with God.  Everything is possible with God."

I feel blessed to know that anything is possible with God.  I know that if it wasn't for His grace there would be no point to anything I do.  With His grace I have HOPE and a reason to keep trying to be a better person.

Mark 8

Once again I have learned something new.  Another admission, I did not understand "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod" in Mark 8:15 before.  I didn't understand that "yeast was often a symbol of evil or corruption"..or that it "represented an invisible, pervasive influence". (Commonly Misunderstood Bible Verses by Ron Rhodes)  It makes sense though, yeast in bread acts as an invisible, pervasive influence to make the bread rise... okay, it's not actually invisible when you add it in (I'm guessing, I never make bread), but it is pervasive.  As was the hypocrisy and non-belief of the Pharisees, which is what Jesus was warning against.   I knew He wasn't talking about actual bread, but I wasn't sure what He was referring to.  

My favorite part of Mark 8 is something Jesus says "If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.  Bit if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.  And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?  Is anything worth more than your soul?"  Mark 8:35-37

Isn't it interesting that even when you believe and you try to live the life that God intended you to live, you  (and me!) still hang on to things of this world?  Even when we know that we have to let go of this world to gain the next?  Is anything worth more than your soul?  Anything?  It seems like a no-brainer, but it is sure hard to live by...even when you believe it with all your heart.

Mark 6 & 7

We read Mark 6 and 7 today and I thought I would write my notes with Katie's perspective.  Katie doesn't always comment when we read the Bible.  I always ask her if she understands and sometimes she questions it and sometimes she seems to "get it".  Tonight was one of those nights that she seemed to be "on".  Maybe it had something to do with having just finished our homework for our Mountain Mover's class on Tuesday, maybe she was still in "the zone".

The first time that her voice piped up while I was reading was when during Mark 6:14-29.  This is one of the Bible stories that touches me because the death of John the Baptist seems so wrong.  Not just that he was killed but that he was killed over something as trivial as a reward for a well performed dance.  Apparently my daughter agrees with me.  She was upset with Herodias...I believe indignant would be a better word for the look on her face and the attitude with which she stated, "That girl is NOT nice."   I do find it interesting that "Herod respected John and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him.  Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him."  Mark 6:20    How many times are we disturbed when we talk to God - feeling convicted by our own actions/thoughts - and yet we like to listen to Him.   I believe that what Herod was feeling may have been the conviction that we feel at times.

The other thing that Katie picked up on was the same topic that I've been considering.  She commented at the end of Chapter 7  that the people were not listening to Jesus when they spread the word of what he was doing after He told them not to.  I thought it was interesting that she noticed this...although not listening is a regular topic of conversation in our house, so maybe she recognized it purely as something she'd been hearing about herself. :)   It is human nature, I think, that when you are told not to say anything, one of the first things you want to do is go out and say something.  But I'm not sure that I can blame these people, they were hearing amazing things, seeing miracles...it would have been extremely hard not to tell people.

"They were completely amazed and said again and again, 'Everything he does is wonderful.  He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who cannot speak.'" Mark 7:37    Yes, I think that would have been hard to keep to myself.

Mark - the first week

I learned quite a bit this week, and while it was of course based on the Bible readings, I have a couple books on understanding Bible verses that helped as well.  (And I believe I owe a thank you to my Pastor for pointing the books out to me.)

There are three things in the first five books of Mark that always confused me.  Two are pretty big, the other not so much.  I always wondered why Jesus didn't want people (or demons) to talk about what he was doing or who he was.   What I've read is that demons were known liars and a demon testifying would not do Him any good.  That made sense to me.  The problem with people testifying for Him is that His ministry would not have progressed the way He wanted it to.  People had a preconceived notion of what a Messiah was (which I do remember from one of the Sunday messages, but I didn't put two and two together) and He was not that Messiah.  So people needed to get to know Him and His teachings before they thought of Him as the Messiah. 

I read something about dealing with this issue in Hard Sayings of the Bible by ...several authors that I loved and want to share it.  "Those who take the risk of faith and commit themselves become disciples and learn more, but others receive teaching only in obscure parables."   People have wanted to commit me alot during my lifetime, but this time I'm going to agree with them.  I definitely want to commit.

And speaking of parables, I have to admit something.  I never understood the new/old wineskin and/or new/old clothing parable.  I do now though.  Again, thanks to my new books, I learned that the new wineskin/clothing represented Christianity and the old wineskin/clothing represented Judaism.  Jesus was not reforming Judaism, he was offering something completely new - Christianity.  And Thank God for that and all the comes with it.

The last thing I never understood is somewhat petty, but having found it in the Hard Sayings of the Bible, I felt better knowing that I wasn't the only one that had wondered about it.   When Jesus sends the demons into the herd of pigs in Mark 5:13, I wondered why?  If not because it didn't seem fair to the pigs, what about the livelihood of the pig herders?  Well, apparently the answer to this is pretty simple.  It's a matter of perspective.  Pigs were unclean to begin with, so from a Bible perspective, not a huge leap to put unclean demons into unclean pigs - well actually huge leap in reality, just something that is not incomprehensible.  But the more important point may be that "so precious is human life that, when necessary, a whole herd of animals may be sacrificed for one or two people".  (From Hard Sayings)

I am really enjoying this Bible reading plan so far!

Day 5

I haven't forgotten about the blog, but I am going to post tomorrow or Thursday, one of the "reflection days" when I have more time on my hands.

In case I didn't make it clear for those who don't go to my church but may be reading, we read for 5 days and have 2 days for reflection before we read for another 5 days.  If anyone would like the reading schedule, I would be happy to share.

Talk to you soon!

Day 4 - Mark 4

There are a few things that I take away from chapter 4 in Mark. 

One is from the parable of the seeds.  I want to be the seed that fell on good soil representing those who hear and accept God's word.  I think I am, but sometimes I feel inadequate (okay, all the time) and while I'm trying to hear and trying to accept, sometimes it's hard.  But I know that "I can do anything through Christ who gives me strength"  Philippians 4:13, so I know that I will be fine.

The second thing that strikes me in this chapter is Mark 4:25 "To those who listen to my teaching more understanding will be given."  I like to think that the more I listen and try to understand, the more understanding He will give me. 

Thirdly, the story of Jesus calming the storm reminds me of a saying that I've heard, although I'm not sure of the origin.  It says "Sometimes God calms the storm. Sometimes he lets the storm rage and calms his child."  I love that saying.  Even if the world is whipping around us and tossing us around, we can go to God for peace and calm.  That's a very comforting thought.

First Church of God

I wanted to share that our Sunday messages can be found on the church's website, the Link is on the right hand side of the blog, as will be the Pastor's blog once I add it.   You can listen to the messages  or download them.

Day 3 - Mark 3

"Anyone who does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." Mark 3:35


It is going to be a short one today since I was originally intending on doing only a couple per week. I took out my new favorite book "Commonly Misunderstood Bible Verses" by Ron Rhodes and I have to admit, a couple of passages that were throwing me are much clearer now. I'll be getting back to that later though.


For now, I hope everyone that was going to do the daily reading is enjoying it, and those that are just reading the blog - if any :) - may get something out of my rambling.

Day 2 - Mark 2

My favorite part of Mark 2 is when Jesus speaks about the sabbath. "The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath." Mark 2:27 (My bold)


We need to use the Sabbath to remember, to be in the Word and to reflect. The life of this world gets in the way too much. We need to focus on what is important. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone focused on what was TRULY truly important. Imagine that.

Day 1 - Mark 1

He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord's coming! Clear the road for him!' ''Mark 1:3 One of my favorite verses.

More to come ....