Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.

Mark 5:21-43

Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live. Mark 5:23

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, I focus on an unassisted review of Mark 5:21-43, which is the text for the next chapter of the commentary. Observations of the text based on the Sword Bible Study Method: 

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: God is all powerful, able to do what no mortal being can do - He raises Jairus's daughter from the dead and heals the bleeding woman (after she had spent all that she had with doctors and her condition not only did not improve but grew worse).  God is also one of great compassion, referring to those who come in faith as daughter (v34) and He takes Jairus's daughter by her hand (v41) - He wants us to be part of His family which is a family with bonds much stronger than with earthly families.  
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: People are desperate for Him, yet they don't fully understand who is He is as He is still referred to as Teacher.  Of course He is Teacher but He is the One True God and it is only the demons that recognize Him at this point in scripture - they even laugh at Him (v40).  People both seek Jesus and they fear Him (v33) for His power - this is a reverent fear and it is appropriate because if we anger or disappoint Him, He holds our lives in His hands  
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): We can claim the promise that Jesus heals - this is guaranteed both spiritually and physically and while it may not be in this life, it will be in Heaven (see Revelation 21:4). Jesus came to seek and save the lost so we should as well - following His lead as well as those such as Paul who mission work and fruit is detailed in Acts and much of the New Testament. Our faith should follow those of Jairus and the bleeding woman who sought simply a touch. I am reminded of the Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew 13:31-32). 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and who is seeks for us to be part of His family - You care for us SO much that You sent Your One and Only Son Jesus to die for us.  Thank You Father!  I am not deserving of such a gift - the greatest gift of all time.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

 Genesis 25, 27, 30, and 32

 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

I continue with my study of - Ten Men of the Bible: How God Used Imperfect People to Change the World - eBook by Max Lucado (for purchase). This morning, I continue with the story of "Jacob: Wrestling with the Past*".

*Title of lesson three from the Max Lucado study.

The commentary* of day two starts with Max Lucado discussing how Jacob wrestles with God and Lucado indicates that once Jacob recognizes that he has encountered God, He seeks God's blessing and that this is a bold ask.  We are encouraged to approach God boldly in our interactions - not in an arrogant manner, but in a manner where we know that God is all powerful and He is capable of doing anything - assuming it is His will.  Lucado points us to Ephesians 3:

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. Ephesians 3:12

Lucado then wants us to look at how God has left reminders (physical or otherwise) for us to remember the encounters we have with Him. 

Finally, as part of today's review of Jacob's story, we are encouraged by Lucado to see how Jacob's request to be blessed can be distilled down to a simple matter for God to settle: "God, do I matter to You?"

Lucado points us to the following verses:

• John 1:12 (NCV)
• Romans 8:15-16 (NIV)
• 1 John 3:1 (NLT)
• Ephesians 2:19 (NLV) 
• Galatians 4:7 (NIV) 
• Isaiah 49:16 (NIV) 
  

All of the above verses underscore how we DO matter to God, and how believers are part of God's family.

I am encouraged to be bold in my interactions with God.

Discuss and comment on this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God and I know I matter to You...deeply.  I am part of Your family - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a gift...my sin continues, including worry, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message to me today and every day.

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Mark 1:1, John 1:1-18, and Luke 1:1-4 

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:12-13

Day 289 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues as my commentary* moves into the New Testament and notes, with the Gospels as a starting point, "[a]ll is now ready for the most important event in human history. It is an event planned even before the creation of the world. It is the keeping of a promise made to Abraham over 2000 years earlier....Until now God’s blessings have been reserved mostly for a chosen people, but now they are to become available to all people in every generation....But because his teaching challenges traditional practices of the Jewish religion of his day, and because he claims divine authority, Jesus meets strong opposition from religious leaders." 

*Smith, F. LaGard. The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

Although I've posted this previously, I am reminded of it this morning - John Piper's post on how though we may all be created by God, only those who are believers are children of God, adopted into His family. 

Similarly, and naturally, this rebirth into God's family, means we are citizens of Heaven and our allegiance lies there first and foremost. This is particularly relevant for those in the U.S. today as many may be uneasy about an election. Belief in the lamb (Jesus Christ), and not in any party or public official, is what provides us the peace we so desperately seek.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who humbled Himself as a man and then died on the cross for me - so that I would have life...incredible.  The greatest gift of all time.  I am not deserving of such love.  My sin is great and it continues - gossip, worry, etc.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

John 1

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. v12-13

In verses 6-8, John (the apostle) tells us about John the Baptist (John the Baptist is not John the apostle (author of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation) - the messenger sent by God to "prepare the way" for Jesus and His coming ministry (see also Matthew 3, Isaiah 40:3, Mark 1, Luke 3).  

In v9-13, John then shares with us that: Jesus is the light of the world, Jesus came into the world to both be with us (to minister and teach to us, then to die for us), and that many did not recognize or believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah.  John then gives us this great truth about this "right" that Jesus gave us "to become children of God". 

What an amazing right!  We ALL want to be part of something - something that gives us community, love, etc.  When we believe in and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are grafted into His family.  We must also understand that if we do not believe and receive, we are not His children - listen to John Piper on this.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who Has grafted me into His family!  Thank You Jesus for inviting and receiving me into Your family!  You are a great God - I love You Jesus! I am undeserving of such a God.  I daily miss the mark.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.