Reading:    Mark 3:1-6

Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.   Mark 3:6

Sometimes there’s just no cure for blindness.  Jesus had an active ministry teaching people to live lives that honored God’s law.  He brought healing and blessing wherever He went.  Many came to Him blind but went home able to see.  But others had a blindness that even Jesus couldn’t cure.  They weren’t blind in their eyes, they were blind in their hearts.  They were unable to see God at work because of the eternal blindness of refusing to believe.

One of the continual arguments against religion in general is that it is nothing more than a set of rules.  Proponents of each religion believe their rules to be right and the rules of others to be wrong.  Outsiders look and see two factions bickering over rules.  This is what keeps some away from Christianity.  They have only seen Christianity displayed as a set of rules to follow with consequences if you fail.  But Christianity isn’t about a set of rules, it is about a relationship.  God isn’t interested in our creating a rigid code to live by; He gives us His will to guide us.

When we get caught up in defining the rules of living a Christian life, we run the risk of missing the blessing of God.  We too can fall into eternal blindness to the work of God around us.  God wants us to live rightly in His will.  But He doesn’t want us to live it through a set of rules.  When we open ourselves to His will, He can heal our eternal blindness and we will see around us the work of Christ.

Challenge:  What rules do you have that keep you from seeing God’s will being fulfilled in your life?

Prayer Request: Pray that God will open our hearts to see His work this Good Friday and Easter weekend.

Reading:    Luke 9:28-36

While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.  A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”  When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.   Luke 9:34-36

Poor Peter, he just never seems to say the right thing.  Peter was obviously thrilled to be standing on the mountain in the presence of Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.  This was a holy place.  So he had an idea.  Why not build three shelters, or tabernacles, for them?  And then comes one of the greatest lines in scripture, “He did not know what he was saying.”

What was wrong with the three shelters idea?  Besides the fact that Peter was making camp on the mountain and not returning to the people, he was also equating Jesus with Moses and Elijah.  He wasn’t going to build a tabernacle to Jesus that all could worship Him.  He was building three places of worship for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus.  Peter was putting Jesus on the level with Moses and Elijah.  But God had other things in mind.  When He spoke of His Son, only Jesus remained.  God declared Jesus as His Son, above Moses and Elijah.  They were gone and only Jesus remained.

We try at times to equate Jesus with people or ideas that can never measure up to His stature.  Doing good to others is definitely something Jesus taught, but equating Jesus with only good deeds is to underestimate who He is.  There are many great people and ideas to guide us in life, but there is only one Jesus.  He is above all things because He created all things.  He alone is God’s Son.  And God calls us to listen to Him.

Challenge:  What is the guiding factor in your life?  Is it a philosophy or is it the Son of God?

Prayer Request: Pray that God’s voice will be heard in our hearts this Good Friday and Easter weekend.

Reading:    Mark 1:21-28

The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching– and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” Mark 1:27

I read on a friend’s blog recently about a doctor who had been often used as an expert witness who was not qualified to do so.  He had been certified as a surgeon in 1977, but his certification had lapsed.  When he was asked about certification, he would reply that he was certified in 1977, but did not mention that he was not currently certified.  While everyone thought that he was an expert, the reality was that he lacked the credentials and was nothing more than a pretender.

Sometimes it’s hard to pick out pretenders, but the truth is a different story.  When the truth is shown to us fully and we begin to understand it, it becomes evident what is true and what is not.  The truth of Christ stands in stark contrast to the imitation truth of the world.  Jesus testifies to the love of God with perfect knowledge.  We can trust that the words of Christ are true because they come from the God of truth.  His truth reveals to us the falsehood of the world.  The world may pretend to have all the answers, but God tells us the truth in Christ.

We have a choice to make as to what we are going to believe.  We can continue to follow the pretenders of the world or we can follow the truth of Christ.  God has revealed to us His truth in His Son Jesus Christ.  We can not only trust that truth, but follow it to eternal life.

Challenge:  What pretend truths are you still following in your life?  Turn from the falsehood of the world and follow the truth of Christ.

Prayer Request: Pray that God’s truth will be heard this Good Friday and Easter weekend.

Reading:    Mark 8:11-13

The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven.  He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.”  Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. Mark 8:11-13

One of the things I do occasionally to reduce stress is to juggle.  It’s not as hard as it looks and it really does get your mind off of things.  I can juggle three balls in a number of patterns and can even take a bite out of an apple while juggling.  What I can’t do is juggle four balls.  I’ve never really tried.  Why?  Because I don’t want to fall victim to the “one more ball” syndrome.  If I juggle four, then people will want me to juggle five.  If I juggle five, they will want six.  Once you start juggling more, people will always want one more than you can handle.

Some people expect Jesus to fill their “one more ball” mentality.  They know that God has worked miracles in the past, but they need just one more to prove it to them.  The problem is that they are never satisfied with one more.  They refuse to believe, and want God to show them one more “sign” before they make a step of faith.

God continues to work miracles today, but not to impress us.  Instead, He acts to bless us.  He doesn’t want our faith to be based on His miracles, but on His Son.  God isn’t interested in giving us one more reason to love Him.  He’s given us the ultimate reason in Jesus.  He wants us to love Him for who He is, not what He does.

Challenge:  What signs are you expecting from God?  Are you waiting on some miracle to trust Him more?

Prayer Request: Pray that God will be loved through our Good Friday and Easter weekend services.