That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

 Mark 1:29-34

That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. Mark 1:32-34

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 1:29-34, which is the text for the next chapter of the commentary.  Using ScriptureMARK (part of Blue Letter Bible), I highlighted: 

•  Vv29-30 describes how both Jesus and His new disciples acted with urgency, implying that Jesus' ministry was urgent - there are many who are lost, need the Good News of Jesus and healing, including both physical and spiritual healing.  To be clear, all of humanity needs spiritual healing and salvation because we all sin and are in need of a Savior. Jesus is this Savior.  V31 describes how Jesus took Simon's (Peter) mother-in-law by the hand and healed her.  
• Vv21-28 - covered by my previous three posts, shares how Jesus healed a man with an unclean spirit.  Vv29-34 builds on this healing, as not just Simon's mother is healed, but also as vv32-34 describes Jesus healed "many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons."
• As I posted yesterday, sin, evil, and brokenness (including disease and death) have existed since the Fall, and Jesus' death on the cross meant that people can have eternal life (John 3:16) once they confess (Romans 10:10) with their tongue that Jesus is their Savior.  Without salvation, there is no hope - because if you are not saved, you continue to be slave to sin and condemned for eternity.  Again, we all need salvation and Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) - lostness encompasses both physical and spiritual healing and both are described in Mark 1:29-34.
•  V34b, where it shares how Jesus did not "permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him," implies that Jesus did not want others to know His true identity (as the Messiah) just yet because His time to go to the cross had not yet arrived.  It seems that Jesus was OK for others to see that He had power and authority, yet it seems that He was not OK that many others (i.e beyond people such as John the Baptist) did not know the extent of His identity.  Timing is often a subject in scripture as Solomon, the wisest person who ever lived wrote that (see Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) "[f]or everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven[.]"  
• Timing is a topic in the New Testament as well as Matthew 24:36 shares that "concerning [the] day and hour [when Jesus returns] no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only[.]"  Believers are often frustrated waiting - for example, we pray often for loved ones to be healed or saved, and our frustration mounts when we don't see prayer answered.  Believers can take comfort that God has a plan and that plan is good - see Romans 8:28.  We must trust God.      

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God that loves me, saved me, and who is constantly at work for me, providing mercies that never cease and that are new every morning, and whose plan is perfect and good.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You save, how You provide mercies, and how Your plan is good and perfect.  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. 

I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.

Ecclesiastes 3

I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. Ecclesiastes 3:14

I continue my study today of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Ecclesiastes 3:10-15, which is the second division of Ecclesiastes 3 per the commentary.  A few key excerpts from the commentary to unpack v11:

•  "God is the One in charge of these times and appointed activities. And it sets up what follows. The overarching point seems to be that God has appointed or ordained all of these things as part of His bigger, hidden plan." 
  
• "The limit of man’s knowledge is a major theme in Ecclesiastes, and the purpose of exposing that reality is to drive us to faith in God."
• "We perceive and long for better things than this cursed misery, but we cannot see the full picture, and we must lean on God. We are trapped between time and eternity, and we must trust that God uses the details to work out a grander plan."
• "You were made for the Divine and for His purpose, so there should be no surprise that you get frustrated when you turn away from Him. That is the frustration Solomon has been exposing throughout the book. God wants you to be dissatisfied until you come to fellowship with Him."

To help unpack vv12-13, the commentary shares: "[a]gain the question must be asked, Who pleases God? The answer is that none of us do because we have all sinned, but Jesus Christ is the well-pleasing Son who never sinned but took God’s wrath against our sins on the cross, so that by means of faith we might become pleasing and acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, only those who believe the gospel can rightly enjoy God’s blessings as God intended instead of turning the blessings into idols."

On the question of how God's plans are perfect - vv14-15 - the commentary concludes with encouraging words how believers should see the perfection of His plan, which included Jesus dying on the cross for all of humanity's sins, as hope for sinners not just in this world but in the world to come - Heaven.  Believe in Him!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - thank You for giving me hope in this world so that I don't feel futility but instead feel and see purpose...which is to bring glory to You.  I am not deserving of how You save me and give me hope.  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.

I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.

Ecclesiastes 3

I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. Ecclesiastes 3:14

I continue my study today of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my focus is an unassisted review of Ecclesiastes 3:10-15, which is the second division of Ecclesiastes 3 per the commentary.  Building on Solomon's words so far in Ecclesiastes on how all aspects of life are meaningless and futile without God, Solomon specifically looks at how time is meaningless in chapter 3.  Vv1-9 looks at the cycle of life, and how since the Fall we experience a fallen world of sin, pain, anguish, etc., how we are born and die, how there is joy and suffering, and everything in between, as God provides an appointed time and purpose for everything as He is in control. Vv10-15 describes how God's plans are perfect, and although in this life we may not understand God's ways (see also Isaiah 55:8), we know ultimately that God defeats both sin and death, and that He is saving a place for believers in Heaven and believers should have confidence and peace knowing these things.  When we get to Heaven and meet Jesus face to face we will have full understanding of His plans.  Time is meaningless and futile - but God has a plan and it is glorious indeed...and perfect...we should understand in the futility that God loves us, saves us, never leaves or forsakes us, and provides mercies that are new every morning and never cease (Lamentations 3:22-23)...and more!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me, and who is full of grace and compassion for me - revealing Yourself and speaking to me, lighting my path - thank You Jesus!  Without You I would be lost and damned.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  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 You as their Lord and Savior.  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.

The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.

2 Samuel 1-5

The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David. 2 Samuel 5:6-7

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 afternoon, I continue with the story of "David: Giant Problems and Colossal Collapses*".

*Title of lesson five from the Max Lucado study.

The commentary* of day three starts with Max Lucado discussing how David hears of the death of both Jonathan, a dear friend, like a brother, and Saul, someone who had been seeking David's death.  Yet David mourns over both, including Saul who is God's anointed.  David could have easily killed Saul at least once but he knew that Saul's was God's anointed.  David is not perfect but in his mercy and compassion for Saul, he is a man after God's heart. Lucado points to David's mourning as a season for David - temporary - and he uses Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4 to remind us how there are seasons in our life, including times to mourn, but again these periods are temporary and God helps us heal and move on in our lives.  David does and he ultimately finds his strength in the Lord and he takes Jerusalem and unifies the northern and southern kingdoms under his reign.  He defeats multiple parties and Lucado encourages us to find our strength in the Lord to defeat strongholds we see in our lives.  Lucado points to how God helps us fight "against the odds" and find the "nevertheless" moments where God enables us to rise up against and defeat our foes.

I am reminded of the highlighted verse in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 from a post couple of days ago.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who has helped me through seasons of mourning and difficulty and ultimately strengthened me to defeat foes in my life - including difficult fights with temptation and sin.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You love me and how You bless me.  I am harsh with others and often put my relationship with You below my earthly desires.  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.