Mark 15- Christ Forsaken, Yet Our Separation Removed

³³ When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴ At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ³⁵ When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Behold, He is calling for Elijah.” ³⁶ Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.” ³⁷ And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. ³⁸ And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

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For the first time Christ feels the separation from the Father caused by sin that we all have known.  Only in the first and only time the relationship between the Father & Son is divided because of OUR SIN!  But just three verses later, the veil of separation is supernaturally torn in two...signifying that God would no longer reside in the Holy of Hollies but in each of us!  What a powerful moment in time...

Lord, cause us to run to you so that we will keep the relationship open and strong.  Help us to love you by keeping your commands!

Mark 7- Message Missed

³² They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him. ³³ Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; ³⁴ and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” ³⁵ And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly. ³⁶ And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. ³⁷ They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

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Why would Christ command that they not tell anyone about the incredible things he was doing?  Because, when people were focused on what he DID they ignored what he SAID.  And for humankind the Message, the Gospel, is the only thing that matters.  It is foremost, of critical importance, unprecedented and ignored if we are only worried about our physical needs.

Lord, help me to share your Truth and protect me from loosing sight of the importance of the message amidst the success of the work you have us do!

Mark 5- Your Faith Has Made You Well

²⁵ A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, ²⁶ and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse— ²⁷ after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. ²⁸ For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” ²⁹ Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. ³⁰ Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” ³¹ And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” ³² And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. ³³ But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. ³⁴ And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”

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We are constantly afflicted by the battles of this world, the enemy and our own selfishness.  Time and time again we see that Jesus telling those that are healed that it is because of their faith.  We know that with even a small amount of faith on our part, can accomplish great things...if it is according to the will of God.  

Lord, give me faith to overcome the world and flee from sin so that You would be glorified!

Mark 4- No Faith?

³⁷ And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. ³⁸ Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. ⁴⁰ And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

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Are we just like the Disciples?  I think sometimes we are... We are going through life's storms with God right inside us.   He is not worried or fearful, but we are terrified.  We cry out to God, "don't you care that we are going to die?  Where are you? Why don't you stop this?"   Calmly He replies, "Why are you afraid?  Do you still have no faith?...haven't you been watching Me work in your life for the last few years?  I have done greater things than calm this storm...and I will do greater things for you, even more than you can think or ask!"

Where is my faith?  God, you are good and you work all things together for my good.  Help me to have faith.  Grant me the faith to move mountains, by trusting You!