Skip to main content

Lent Devotional Day 13

Lent Devotional March 17, 2014

Mark 3:7-19th.

7 Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him;
8 hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon.
9 He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; 10 for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him.
11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, "You are the Son of God!"
12 But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.
13 He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him.
14 And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message,
15 and to have authority to cast out demons.
16 So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);
17 James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);
18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean,
19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

DEVOTIONAL
We return to Mark this morning, and we find multitudes gathering around Jesus. The story has begun to spread, and people flock to Jesus, just to touch him and gain healing. It’s gotten so bad that Jesus has to seek refuge on a boat.

Jesus then climbs a mountain to call the disciples. These backdrops, the sea, the mountain, call to mind the stories of Moses, Elijah, and Jonah. As a storyteller, the narrator is letting us know that something important is happening. And Jesus then chooses 12 disciples, many of whom we’ve already encountered in Mark’s pages.

It’s also worth noting that even as Judas is first selected, we are introduced to him as a traitor. This is our first exposure to Judas in the book, and he is identified as a traitor. It’s something so painful yet true—legacy can be defined by a single action. We never know of Judas as anything but a traitor.

Message provided by the Miller Summer Youth Institute.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Spectators Never Win

1 Corinthians 9:24-26 in the NLT Paul tells us, “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing”. I am reminded with every breath, the race I am running. I know that God has given me the vision and because He alone is omnipotent, having unlimited power, I have won, I just have to run. I may stumble and fall, I may get scratched up and bruised, but run I must.   An athlete does not go into a race with doubt and fear. They are not concerned with who is cheering them on. A runner cannot focus on the runner next to them thought they are aware that they are there. A runner is focused on the run, the finish line, and the score board that tells them if they have beaten a previous record for the win.   Being a runner on the track is the same as

Win The Race With Endurance

Today has been a good day. How many of you get up in the mornings and say this? Do you get up with anticipation and drive to do all that you can in peace, or do you get up dreading the day before it even starts? You have a choice to either be grateful or in torment.  After a great call with a friend I haven't seen or talked to in over 30 years until a few weeks ago spoke so much life and confirmation in to me today.  I was reminded about endurance and running the race that God has placed me in. This race is nothing about what I want, it's about what His will is for me and nothing more. You see, we have to surrender our will for His will because as you know, God's will is the platform in which we have been placed at the starting line to run and not faint or grow weary. We been called and hand picked for a time such as now. Its urgent and immediate. Are you running to it or from it?  The past few months have been challenging on many levels and with these challen

Thought Of The Day

My thought for today: If you want quality you must be quality. Many of us expect so much but only give so little. We seek love but we put conditions on it. We want more money but refuse to put in the hours required and complain when millions do not have employment. We admire things but fail to see there is a cause and effect to having things. Never expect from another what you are not willing to give and if you try to beat the system of life, karma is real and you will no doubt pay for it somewhere in your life's walk. Nothing that happens in your life is by chance, its allowed by God. Change your thinking, change your mind. Feed your thoughts with positiveness. Your eye-gate is the door to growth or destruction meaning, what you choose to see can either bring you growth or cause destruction not only for you but for those around you. One of my favorite quotes from back in college is this, “Determination rules out doubt theory can not solve” penned by an unknown. I wake up det