BRF -- Mark 1-4

This was not a great week of reading for me. After reading Psalm 119 last week and wanting a real desire for God's word, I failed. Wanting and choosing to read are 2 different things. I need to do better.

On to Mark 1-4.

This was a crammed pack 4 chapters. There is no way to touch on all of it and not be long winded. I am trying to make these shorter (ha ha!).
What a scary time period. That was one thing that jumped out at me. First of all, politically it was a mess. There was great fear of the Romans and the Jewish leaders. Then there is this weird guy preaching in the wilderness. He's like no one they've met before.. a wild man who is preaching "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" The men probably think this is great... no TV remember? This is high entertainment! But this is really kinda weird. Then this other guy shows up, gets baptized and Heaven makes itself known. Ever wonder what the voice of God sounds like? The VOICE OF GOD... SPEAKS!!
This is not normal.
This is kinda weird and scary... and cool.
Is it any wonder that Peter, Andrew, James and John took off from their nets when Jesus called them?? How could they not know what happened out in the wilderness. Most likely they were even there to see it. GOD said this was His son!!!
I'd jump and run too. I'd probably be a little freaked out, while being amazingly honored that He would choose me to go with Him!!
Here's another weird thing... He casts demons out of people and they leave with a shriek. Again, would you be scared?? I would. I think its amazing that demon possession seemed to be so normal. Is it normal now and we just don't recognize it?
Jesus job was to go around and preach to the villagers. I wonder if He was mentally preparing Himself for that guy... y'know, the one with leprosy... the one that didn't obey as well as the departing demons did. Jesus said go, get cleansed at the temple and DON'T MENTION THIS HEALING THING TO ANYONE!!! Its ok to use caps and !!!'s because Jesus spoke strongly to this particular gentleman who promptly disobeyed and Jesus life was changed forever. No more easy travel and quiet visiting. Now He was a travelling sideshow!
There were crowds everywhere!! He was able to get away early in the morning to pray. It must have been really early. Remember, there was no TV, theater, hockey games, etc... to entertain these people. They came in huge crowds to check out this novelty, this faith healer.
The Jewish leaders were getting antsy. People now wanted Jesus opinion instead of theirs. Many were there for the show, a good many were there as seekers of the truth. God had been silent for hundreds of years!! How terribly exciting that God was on the move again!!
Gotta love the family, they thought He was bonkers. The Jesus they grew up with did NOT heal and perform miracles and speak to multitudes of people. He was a quiet carpenter who they thought was delusional and they were coming to take the dear boy home!
Meanwhile, the crowds were getting so big Jesus had to speak from a boat. I always wondered at this until it dawned on me this week... there were no microphones... just one man and a big crowd! Without an amphitheater the best way to speak to a crowd was over some water. If you've ever been near the water, you'll know how well sound travels over water!! There are a lotta maritimers here... even Charlotte County ones!! who would get this concept! Jesus on a boat, crowd along the shore... He talks, they can all listen... brilliant!
What a good job to grab the guys with the boats. They either have 'em or know everyone with one around the Sea of Galilee.
I missed one of these parables. I don't reacall ever reading the Parable of the Growing Seed. It never clicked I guess. Seeds that we sow for Christ, whether we are there to take care of them or not, have a habit of sprouting. The kingdom of Heaven will advance regardless of us. Little seeds grow, sprout and are ready for the harvest and we don't know how!! We don't need to know, God knows. We cannot make seeds grow and sprout. God can.
I have heard that the only thing that matters is bringing souls to the Lord. I disagree. The only thing that matters is that we are faithful to sow the seed. We may never know what happens to it. We may never see any harvest for any seeds we sow, and feel like we have failed the Lord. I've heard of missionaries going 25, 30 years and never seeing a convert. Did they fail? NO
They sowed the seed. The harvest is up to the Lord.
I love the boat story. Jesus is trying to take a nap. The storm acted like my kids when I try to take a nap... pestered the Lord until He woke up! "Quiet, be still!!" He says, just like its my naughty kids but unlike my kids the storm obeys immediately!!!
This even terrifies the poor disciples!
What kind of person is this??
They'll find out!