Live Simply, Stay Hungry, and Shake Off The Dust

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 6:7-13.  Let’s go!

Mark 6:7 (NIV)
7  Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.
 
On verse 7:  Jesus was not just about serving crowds.  Even more, Jesus was about making disciples and sending them into the world to do what he did.  And this is what he does here.  He’s calling the Twelve to Himself and then sending them out with authority. 

Mark 6:8-9 (NIV)
8  These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff–no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.
9  Wear sandals but not an extra tunic.

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Coming Home Can Be Hard

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 6:1-6.  Let’s go!

Mark 6:1-6 (NIV)
1  Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples.
2  When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles!
3  Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
4  Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”
5  He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
6  And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.
 
On verses 1-6:  Normally when a celebrity returns to their hometown, they receive an especially warm and passionate welcome.  But not in Jesus’ case.  Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth, and rather than being hailed as a hero people respond to Jesus with contempt and unbelief. 

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Who Will You Listen To and Who Will You Ignore

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 5:35-43.  Let’s go!

Mark 5:35 (NIV)
35  While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?”
 
On verse 35:  For everyone else in Jairus’ home, death meant the end, nothing more that can be done.  But for Jesus, when someone dies, that’s when his work is only just beginning.

Mark 5:36-37 (NIV)
36  Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
37  He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James.
 
On verses 36-37:  Here Jesus models this important truth:  Who you let you in and who you keep out is crucial to your destiny.  That is, who you choose to listen to and who choose you ignore will determine your direction in life.  More on this in just a bit.  First look at verses 38-40.

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Fall at Jesus’ Feet and Experience His Power

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 5:21-34.  Let’s go!

Mark 5:21-23 (NIV)
21  When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake.
22  Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet
23  and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”
 
On verses 21-23:  Had the people living in the region of the Garasenes welcomed Jesus to stay, Jesus may not have crossed over to the other side of the lake and met Jairus and his dying daughter so soon.  The Garasene people’s rejection of Jesus actually opened the door for Jesus to do other and greater miracles elsewhere.  When one door closes, another door opens.  In all things God works for good.

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Don’t Entertain Evil Spirits, but Welcome Jesus

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 5:11-20.  Let’s go!

Mark 5:11-13 (NIV)
11  A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside.
12  The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.”
13  He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
 
On verses 11-13:  Notice a couple things here.  First, notice the authority of Jesus.  When Jesus confronted the demons, the demons could only beg for mercy and plead that they take refuge in the pigs instead of the man they had possessed.  Jesus is far greater than evil spirits, both in power and in authority.  So if you have Jesus in your heart, you don’t need to be afraid of evil spirits; evil spirits need to be afraid of you, not because you are anything, but because the Name Above All Names lives in you.

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Jesus is Greater Than Evil Spirits

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 5:1-10.  Let’s go!

Mark 5:1-5 (NIV)
1  They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.
2  When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him.
3  This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain.
4  For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him.
5  Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

On verses 1-5:  Notice what happened when Satan got a hold of this man’s life: the man had unusual strength (v4) and yet he spent his days among dead people, hanging among the tombs (v3), cutting himself with stones (v5) and desperate for help.  Similarly, those who play around with the occult or who allow Satan to take hold of their life may from time to time experience unusual strength, but that strength also comes with a haunting emptiness, a depression, a loneliness, great fear and a lack of peace.  The fact that the word “tombs” keeps getting repeated (v2, v3, v5) suggests this:  Satan will never lead you to a place of life but a place of death.

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Jesus Will See You Through The Storm

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 4:30-41.  Let’s go!

Mark 4:30-32 (NIV)
30  Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?
31  It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground.
32  Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.”

On verses 30-32:  Whenever the kingdom of God starts in any heart, in any city, in any place in the world, it always begins the same way: as the tiniest seed.  Over time, however, it can become the biggest thing you see and strong enough to give protection and shelter to others.  So don’t despise small beginnings.  God doesn’t.

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Don’t Be Afraid to Share What God Has Given You

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 4:21-29.  Let’s go!

Mark 4:21-23 (NIV)
21  He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?
22  For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.
23  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
 
On verses 21-23:  Remember that Jesus is talking here with his disciples, to whom he has revealed the secrets of God’s kingdom (see v11).  As a disciple of Jesus, you’ve been entrusted with the light of His truth not just for your benefit but for the benefit of others.  God doesn’t give you this light so that would hide it (“put it under a bowl or a bed” – 21).   He wants you to share it, disclose it, bring it out into the open (v22). 

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Keep a Soft Heart Toward God

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Hi GAMErs!  

Today’s passage is Mark 4:10-20.  Let’s go!

Mark 4:10-12 (NIV)
10  When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.
11  He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables
12  so that, “‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'”
 
On verses 10-12:  Yesterday we learned one reason why Jesus taught in parables: to make truth about the kingdom of God easier for his disciples to understand and remember.  But here we learn a second reason why Jesus taught in parables and, paradoxically, it’s the opposite of the first reason: Jesus taught in parables in part to make it difficult for those whom God had not chosen to understand what Jesus was saying.
 

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Aim to Be a Great Communicator

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Hi GAMErs!  

Today’s passage is Mark 4:1-9.  Let’s go!

Mark 4:1 (NIV)
1  Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge.
 
On verse 1:  According to many scholars, Jesus’ voice would project more clearly by sitting in a boat out on a lake than standing on the shore.  This would make a difference especially when speaking to a large crowd, as Jesus often would.  So church volunteers and staff who are into sound crew and sound editing, remember this:  Jesus cared about good sound!  Your ministry matters so much.  For if the sound quality is not good, it almost doesn’t matter how good the message is or how well the band plays and sings.  If Jesus was intentional about having a good sound delivery system, we should be as well. 

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