Helping Others in Need

N.T.#343 "Helping Others in Need"

July 9, 2024 

Mark 3

LET IT GLOW 

Have you ever been in need? Perhaps it was a physical need, or encouragement, help with chores around the house, or just a listening ear. We are to show compassion to those in need, like Jesus did.

Earlier, Jesus and His disciples picked ears of corn on the Jewish Sabbath, which was against the Jewish law.  Exodus 20:10 prohibited working on the Sabbath, yet Jesus disciples and He did so. They were hungry, plain and simple. The Sabbath was established for people to rest and worship God. What will He do this Sabbath? 

Well, Jesus healed a man's withered (shriveled up, dried up) hand on the Sabbath. The condition was atrophy, the decreasing in size of a member of the body because of its lack of use. Jesus showed compassion by healing those with physical problems.

The Pharisees watched (to inspect alongside scrupulously) Jesus to see what He would do. They looked for a chance to accuse Jesus, critise Him in public. (verse 2)

Jesus wanted to do good on the Sabbath while the Pharisees conspired to do evil, plotted to kill Jesus. (verse 6) Since Jesus could see into the hearts of the Pharisees, He told the man to stand, then asked :

Jesus turned to His critics and asked, "Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?" (verse 4)

How did the Pharisees answer Jesus? They didn't for they were silent. Gotcha boys!

What is our intent? Is it to do good or take revenge? Is it to show our superiority or to be humble?

LET IT GROW

How did Jesus react? Verse 5 says He had anger, was grieved for the hardness of their hearts.

 Anger means indignation;  grieved means sorrow at (on account of) someone; hardness refers to stupidity or callousness, blindness.

Could we describe these spiritual leaders as being hard-headed and hard-hearted, spiritually blind?

Inspite of all of that, Jesus restored the man's hand, making it whole again.

 Deeds reveal one's true beliefs and a litmus test of true versus false religion is its response to injustice (James 1:27) the primary test of all theology and morality is one's response to the weak and defenseless members of society. (Swindoll)

We know how this all turned out-the Pharisees remained a thorn in Jesus side, then eventually a sword in His side while He was on the cross. the man's suffering was only temporary, but theirs would be for all eternity for not believing in Jesus to be God's Son.

Are you a believer in Jesus? What about your family members?  Are we sharing the love of Jesus with others?

LET IT GO 

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to see the need of others.

Meeting Needs

N.T.#342 "Meeting Needs"

July 8, 2924 

Mark 2-Part 4

LET IT GLOW 

What do we do on the Lord's Day? What should we not do? What does the Bible say? 

Mark changes the scene to another day and time but continues the same theme-legalism. By the time Jesus came, the Pharisees had a long list of specific prohibitions concerning the day of rest on the Sabbath. It included 39 categories of work, which had reaping, threshing, and winnowing among them. (Deut. 23:24-25) 

The Pharisees criticized Jesus and His disciples for picking corn on the Sabbath. Plucking corn from its stem is reaping, An act forbidden according to the Pharisees' laws. Jesus pointed out to them that David and his men were hungry and in need of food, so they went to the high priest, who gave them bread from the showbread table. (Only priests were allowed to eat it.) King David broke the law. Meeting a need and showing compassion was fulfilling the Law.

If the Lord's anointed could eat the sacred bread when in need and be innocent, how much more could the Anointed One do the same? (Evans)

The problem was:

1. The Pharisees placed the customs of men before the Law of God. God ordained the Sabbath as a day to reflect on Him and to rest in His provision and protection; the Pharisees spent it thinking of others and how they did not keep the Sabbath.
2. God gave laws to His people to bless the, not to burden them. One day in 7 was given for the human body to rest from work. The Pharisees mande it a burden, legalistic.
3. The Law was given by God, so it can never be greater than God. (Swindoll)

The Sabbath was not theirs to regulate; it is God's gift to His people. Grace is love in action, and it produces observable results.

Do we show grace to others in need?

LET IT GROW 

The Sabbath was made for man, to meet people's needs and benefit them. It was not a mere religious observance, absent of all compassion. Jesus established the Sabbath. He knew what it was intended for, after all. 

The Sabbath was mede for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath.(verses 27-28)

The Sabbath was instituted for man's benefit. God knew we needed rest from work and restored spiritually and physically. Are we focusing on God during the Lord's Day? 

When confronted with rules of our own or others' making, ask if it serves God's purpose, reveal His character, help people get into His family, have biblical roots supported in all Scripture. Good rules pass all 4 tests. (Life Application Study Bible)

LET IT GO

Show us Your ways of love, Jesus.

 

Patches and Wineskins

N.T.#341 "Patches and Wineskins"

July 5, 2024 

Mark 2-Part 3

LET IT GLOW 

Originally, God gave the Law to Israel for order and to set them apart as His covenant people. the Law was originally to be used as a diagnostic tool to show their need (and our need) for salvation. However, the Law was deficient, as Jesus showed through the analogy of the old garment and the new wine:

No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. (verse 21)

It is like sewing on a new piece of material as a patch for a hole on an old garment. The new patch will pull the hole and make it bigger. What it needs is to be preshrunk by washing it. Then when it is sewn onto the old garment, it will not tare it.

The Law cannot save. It only points out our sins and desperate need for salvation. We cannot meet God's standard of perfection. It doesn't fix our sin problem.

 Jesus didn't come to patch up the old religious system of Judaism with its rules and traditions. The Son of God came to earth to offer people forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. When we follow Christ, we need to be prepared for new ways to live, new ways to look at people, and new ways to serve. (Life Application Study Bible)

LET IT GROW 

And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles. (verse 22)

Newly made and unused wineskins provided the necessary strength and elasticity to hold up as wine fermented. A wineskin was a goatskin sewed together at the edges to form a watertight bag. New wine, expanding as it aged, stretched the wineskin. I read that new wine causes carbon dioxide, thus the expanding bag.

This second analogy Jesus used illustrated His new and internal Gospel of repentance from and forgiveness of sin could not be connected to or contained in the old and external traditions of self-righteousness and ritual. (MacArthur)

If keeping certain rituals, specific laws, avoiding forbidden behaviors, being good could gain favor with God, then Jesus did not need to die on the cross. But those things do not meet God's standards because man cannot keep them. However, Jesus could, so He offers forgiveness of our sins, since He paid the penalty for them. We have His gift of grace through faith.

LET IT GO 

Renew our hearts each day, Lord Jesus.

Forgive our sins and failures.

Help us show grace to others.

Walking in Freedom

 N.T.#340  Walking in Freedom"

July 4, 2024 

Mark 2-Part 2

LET IT GLOW 

Are you set free today? Are you walking in freedom today? We enjoy our freedom here in America. Although, we must not forget that freedom has come with a price-sacrificial lives of men and women. In similarity, as Christians we are free in Christ. It is through His sacrifice of death on the cross that has set us free from the penalty of sin-death and forever separation from God in hell. It is through His grace and our faith in Him, not works, that we can live forever in heaven after death. This freedom does not come by keeping of the Law, which we can never accomplish on our own.

LET IT GROW 

The Pharisees in Jesus' day did not consider themselves legalists. They are individuals who examine the external behavior of others as a means of gauging their spiritual health, when they should give more attention to their own internal thoughts and attitudes in the interest of their own spiritual maturity. Legalists may appear spiritually stronger than others, but they are most spiritually anemic. Rather than finding joy in a relationship with the Almighty, they become grace killers, joy stealers, and freedom destroyers. (Charles Swindoll)

Although we are free as believers, we are not to use that freedom to sin or cvause our brothers and sisters to stumble into sin. We don't have to prove our spiritual condition either. We are to serve, love, and live like Jesus, separate from the world. Let's not forget that Jesus is our righteousness, for ours is as filthy rags. 

LET IT GO

Thank You Jesus for Your Word preserved for us today.

Teach us Your ways of love and truth so we can share it with others..

What is Your Purpose?

 N.T.#339  "What is Your Purpose?"

June 3, 2024

Mark 2

LET IT GLOW 

Here we read about the fifth disciple which Jesus called to follow Him-Matthew. Probably Jesus passed by Matthew many times while in the area of Capernaum. This tax collector may have been listening to Jesus teach out by the seashore. Levi, or Matthew as he was called, would not have been welcome in the synagogue. Tax collectors were known for their inflating tax bills and growing rich from the excess. Levi had betrayed his people, rejected his heritage, despised his temple, and renounced his God. They sold themselves to foreigners, so the were seen on the same level as harlots. How it must have stirred up the people when Jesus made Levi one of His inner circle of disciples. (Swindoll)

What a scene when Jesus dined with tax collectors and such sinners.

  ...for there were many, and they followed Him. (verse 15c)

Folks should have rejoiced that Levi repented of his sins and turned from them. Yet the Pharisees still criticized Jesus for His choice of company to His disciples, not to the Master. How would the sinners get the spiritual treatment and teachings they needed if the religious ones avoided them?

LET IT GROW

When Jesus heard it, He saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physican, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (verse 17)

Those self-righteous Pharisees were religious leaders who needed to admit their sins and seek spiritual healing from the Great Physician-Jesus. Also, they needed to help bring healing to those who needed it most. Jesus had exposed the hypocrisy of the legalists. They had become enslaved to the endless list of rules, twisting the Word of God, and adding to it. 

Jesus accepts us as we are. He changes our heart when we admit our sins to Him and believe Jesus is the Son of God and Savior. We all are sinners in need of a Savior today. Have you asked for Jesus to clean your heart? Jesus is full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) Jesus loves sinners and I am one of them. 

When was the last time you spent time with a sinner so you could point them to the Savior? Isn't our mission to point sinners to the Savior in repentance, too?

LET IT GO

Use us today to share Your Word of Truth, Your love, grace and mercy.

Help us point sinners to You, Jesus.

A Paralytic Walked Home

N.T.#338 "A Paralytic Walked Home"

July 2, 2024 

Mark 2

LET IT GLOW

If you have studied the New Testament for a while, you will recall the healing of the paralytic being carried by his four friends to Jesus. They had heard of Jesus' healing previously and wanted their friend to walk. so they did what it took for this to take place. Because the room was so crowded with listeners of Jeus ' preaching, they couldn't get through the door, much less carry a man on a cot. How were those friends determined? 

• They went to the paralyzed man. 
• Put him on a cot and carried him who knows how far to the house in Capernaum where Jesus was.
• The 4 guys determined the best way to get their friend to Jesus.
• They carried him up to the roof of the house, uncovering it and breaking it up so there was a large enough hole for them to lower their friend down while lying on the cot.
• The roof probably had dried, hardened clay with sticks. It would not have been an easy task.

What a sacrificial love for a friend. They put legs to their love. They didn't just talk the talk but walked the talk. 

There are times we need to be broken up and laid down at the feet of Jesus. Continue to pray as one broken and laid down for friends and family to come to Jesus.

LET IT GROW

Did you notice that Jesus didn't say, "Be healed, walk." 

Son, thy sins are forgiven thee. (verse 5) 

That is what Jesus told the man. 

Forgiven means to send; to send forth; leave; put away; yield up.

Jesus was and is in the business of forgiving sins, so to speak. Healing is just an extra thing.

Jesus saw into the hearts of the sceptic scribes, their thinking Jesus was blaspheming. After all, only God could forgive sin. Jesus took the opportunity to reveal His equality with God the Father. 

A paralytic walked home that day with a clean heart. Others were amazed and glorified God. Here was a man with lame legs who got up with healthy legs when he encountered Jesus.

A word from the Son of God, whose command brought forth the universe, is sufficient. (Falwell)

What is your need today-spiritual healing or physical healing? Jesus can do both.

LET IT GO

Only Jesus paid the price for us. Only His love could set us free. He paid the price because He loves you and me. Have you come to the loving Savior?

Compassion

 N.T.#337 "Compassion"

July 1, 2024 

Mark 1-Part 8 

LET IT GLOW 

Because of the unsanitary conditions in Jesus' day, lepers were numerous. A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jeus, begging to be healed. "If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean," he said. Probably, the disease had advanced stages of decay so the lepose man was disfigured.  

What was Jesus' response?

• He was moved with compassion (feel sympathy; to pity).
• Jesus reached out and touched the man.
• Jesus was willing to heal the man and commanded his healing.(verse 41)
• Immediately the leprosy departed from him and the man was cleansed.
• Jesus commanded the man to tell no one about what happened.
• He was instructed to go to the priest and let him examine the healed man. (Lev. 13-14)
• He was told to take along a thank offering required in the law of Moses for those who had been healed of leprosy. It was a public testimony that he had been cleansed.

Leprosy would have made the man's rags bloody, soaked with puss and unclean. Yet Jesus touched him. No lecture, no sideshow, no elaboration to impress others, just a simple healing that changed the man's life forever. Immediately the man was healed.

However, the many disobeyed Jesus' instructions. (Had he obeyed, it would have shown Jesus' complete regard for God's law. Also, it would have verified Jesus' great miracle to the community.) Instead, the healed man spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus and He could publicly enter a town anywhere. Jesus had to stay secluded in the desert, but people came to him from everywhere.

Our response should be to King Jesus, "If You are willing, You can make me clean." (verse 40)

We sin daily and need His mercy and forgiveness.

How important is obeying God's Word and the Holy Spirit's directions?

LET IT GROW 

What can we learn from this situation?

1. Compassion encourages us to care for those who hurt.
2. Humility energizes us to remain gracious.
3. Solitude and prayer empower us to restrain our own ambitions.
4. Discipline enables us to continue reaching out to the lost. (Swindoll's living Insights on Mark)

We are to take what we gain from Jesus and release it to the world. (Swindoll)

We are challenged to share with others the Good News of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus this week. 

LET IT GO

Thank You Jesus for Your compassion on us sinners.