With Prayer Comes THIS

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Mark 9:24-32.  With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!
 
Mark 9:24 (NIV)
24  Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” 

On verse 24:  After realizing that the size of his own faith mattered, the boy’s father declares his faith in Jesus and asks Jesus to help him overcome his unbelief.  That is a legitimate prayer and request you can make to God: “help me overcome my unbelief”.  When you pray that way, you’re coming to God honestly, humbly and with an open mind.  God loves to give grace to those who come before Him with honesty, humility and an open mind.

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The Size of Your Faith Matters

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Mark 9:14-23.  With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Mark 9:14-23 (NIV)
14  When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them.
15  As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
16  “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.

On verses 14-23:  At first in verse 19 it seems that Jesus is rebuking his disciples for their lack of faith.  But in verse 23, Jesus turns his attention to the father’s apparent lack of faith (v23).  The father’s words “If you can” suggest that the father’s faith was not strong that Jesus could help his demon-possessed son.  So when Jesus says in verse 19 “O unbelieving generation”, perhaps Jesus is not just referring to his disciples but also to those who would come to Jesus for help.

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Understanding the Transfiguration of Jesus

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Mark 9:1-13.  With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Mark 9:1-2 (NIV)
1  And he said to them, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.”
2  After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them.
 
On verses 1-2:  It’s not too much of a stretch to say that when Jesus lived on earth, His glory was under cover, veiled by human flesh.  For while Jesus came to the world revealing God’s glory, in some ways by being limited to a human form Jesus was also concealing God’s glory. 

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Who Are You Living For?

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Mark 8:31-38.  With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Mark 8:31-33 (NIV)
31  He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.
32  He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33  But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
 
On verses 31-33:  Peter rebuked Jesus for talking about how Jesus must suffer many things, be rejected by the religious establishment, be killed and rise again after three days. 

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It Takes More Than One Touch

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Mark 8:22-30.  With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!
 
Mark 8:22-26 (NIV)
22  They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
23  He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

On verses 22-26:  I appreciate Mark’s honesty here.  Here we have a case where it took not one but two touches from Jesus for this blind man to be healed.  Some might see this as an embarrassing fact for Jesus.  I don’t.  To me there are some important lessons we can learn from this miracle:

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How to Listen to Jesus

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Mark 8:14-21.  With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Mark 8:14-21 (NIV)
14  The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.
15  “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”
16  They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

On verses 14-21: The disciples were concerned about how they had forgotten to bring bread with them on the boat (v14).  So when Jesus says, “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod” (v15), the disciples immediately assume that Jesus is talking to them about how they had no bread (v16). 

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The Difference Between Having Questions and Unbelief

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Mark 8:1-13.  With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Mark 8:1-10 (NIV)
1  During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said,
2  “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.
3  If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

On verses 1-10:  Like when Jesus fed the five thousand in Mark 6, here we see:

– It was Jesus’ heart of compassion for the people, not the desire to put on a show, that led Jesus to feed the people.  Out of the heart the mouth speaks, and out of the heart ministry happens. 

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Let The Deaf Hear, Let The Mute Speak

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Mark 7:31-37.  With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!
 
Mark 7:31-35 (NIV)
31  Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.
32  There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.

On verses 31-35:  At first glance, to us reading these verses today, the steps Jesus took to heal this deaf and mute man might seem strange.  But keep in mind that Jesus would often touch people as a part of healing them.  He would often look to heaven while praying.  He would sigh out of compassion and sometimes frustration.  So perhaps it’s just the spitting part that throws us off. 

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If Jesus Squeezes You Today, What Will Come Out?

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Mark 7:24-30.  With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!
 
Mark 7:24-30 (NIV)
24  Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret.
 
On verse 24:  Jesus goes into Gentile (non-Jewish) territory, visiting the city of Tyre.  Whereas the Pharisees and teachers of the law would be concerned about becoming ceremonially by getting close to Gentiles, Jesus had no such concern.  The fact that Mark places this passage right after the passage where Jesus declares all foods clean suggests that just as there was no food that could not be eaten, so people of all cultures are loved by God and God does not discriminate based on culture or race. 

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To Be Truly Clean Before God

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Mark 7:14-23.  With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

 
Mark 7:14-23 (NIV)
14  Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this.
15  Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’
17  After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable.

On verses 14-23:  The Pharisees and teachers of the law focused so much on physical cleanliness, washing their hands, cups and dishes, all under the belief that those who washed were clean before God whereas those who didn’t were unclean. 

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