`DAILY REMINDER – Today, October 17’s Bible reading is Mark 6-7.
NEXT DAY REMINDER – Tomorrow, October 18’s Bible reading is Mark 9-10.
May God bless you with the reading of His WORD.
MARK MOMENT – (17OCT19)
“These were his instructions: ‘Take
nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.
Wear sandals but not an extra shirt.
Whenever you enter a house, stay there
until you leave that town. And
if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake
the dust off your feet as a testimony against them’” (Mark 6:8-11). The disciples had been with Jesus for a while as they watched Him
heal the sick, raise the dead, give sight to the blind, teach about repentance
and the kingdom of God, cast out demons, and give hope to the hopeless. Now,
Jesus was sending them out in twos to do the same. He told them not to take
anything with them on their journey except a staff because when they went into
a town and entered a house, that home should be the one to bless them, but if they
were not welcomed, the blessing was to leave with them that would have been pronounced
over that place.
On any given day, one can hear
pastors, evangelists, and others in the five-fold ministry asking people to
give to their ministry and sometimes, promising blessings of prosperity for
those who plant a certain amount of money. This, however, is not how Jesus
taught the disciples to operate. Jesus taught on giving, but He never taught
His disciples to beg or use manipulative tactics to get anyone to give. Jesus
told the disciples to not take anything with them so that they could give
people the opportunity to give freely on their own accord. A ministry should
never have to beg anyone to give. There is nothing wrong with reminding people
to give, but begging is not of God. Christians should give freely to the cause
of God’s work and the people who spend time feeding them spiritually. The Bible
says: “The elders who direct the affairs of the church
well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and
teaching. For Scripture
says, ‘Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,’ and ‘The worker
deserves his wages’” (1 Timothy 5:17-18). This means that those who preach and teach deserve to be
financially supported where they work and plant. But this is to be done by the
body of Christ without any guilt being attached. Nevertheless, those who lead
must also rely on God to supply their needs and not their greed as they render
their services unto Him. Million-dollar mansions, private jets, tailor-made
suits, and high-priced cars is not what the Apostle Paul was writing about in
the above text. The Bible says: “And my God shall supply all your
needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians
4:19). Something to ponder….
QUESTION OF THE DAY - (17OCT19)
“She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ ‘The
head of John the Baptist,’ she answered” (Mark 6:24). John the Baptist had been preaching a word against sin. He taught
the people to repent of their sins and be baptized. John the Baptist even baptized
Jesus whose way he had come to prepare. Now, his life on earth was nearly done,
and He had been arrested by King Herod for declaring him to be an adulterous. King
Herod had taken his brother’s wife and married her. Her name was Herodias and she
was very wicked. According to the Mosaic laws, a man was able to marry his
brother’s wife only after he had died leaving him no heirs. This, however, was
not the case with Herodias. According to Jewish history, King Herod had
divorced his first wife, Phasaelis, to marry his half-brother, Herod II’s
wife. This arrangement led into a war later over territory. King Herod was
later exiled to Spain, along with Herodias, where he later died but not before
honoring a blind oath he made to his step-daughter, after a dance, which led to
the beheading of John the Baptist.
Sometimes, calling out
sin can cause for one to be disliked and disowned by people. Many Christians
have a problem with the truth and anyone who does not condone sin is oftentimes
being considered as judging. Nevertheless, we have to say what’s right and
wrong regardless of who likes it or not. John the Baptist was right in telling
the king that he was an adulterer. Just because someone is in authority does not
mean that they are exempt from being corrected when in error. King Herod knew
that what he had done was against the laws of God, but rather than be like King
David and admit his wrong, he imprisoned John instead. Christians are operating
the same way today.
If you call out their
favorite preachers, beloved political leaders, or someone they adore, who is in
error, sometimes believers are the King Herods of today and will behead or assassinate
your character for speaking truth. They fail to realize, however, that God has
no respect of persons and rather an individual has a title, large following, or
money, they still have to adhere to His ordinances. Nevertheless, we must stand
on the Word of God even when it makes us unpopular. In the end, we will answer
to God and not man. “The apostles were brought in and
made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.
‘We gave you strict orders not to teach
in this name,’ he said. ‘Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and
are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.’ Peter
and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than human beings!’”
(Acts 5:29). Something to ponder….
MARK MOMENT – (17OCT19) “’First let the children eat all they want,’ he
told her, ‘for it is not right to take the children’s
bread and toss it to the dogs.’ ‘Lord,’” she replied, ‘even
the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs’” (Mark
7:27-28). A Greek woman, who had a daughter that was demon-possessed,
was hoping to receive help for her child. She came to Jesus out of desperation
even though she knew that she was not looked upon with kindness from the Jews. The
Gospel had not been given to the Gentiles at that time so when Jesus told her
that food was not to be taken out of the children’s mouth to feed the dogs, He
was referring to the Gospel being given to the Jews first and then the
Gentiles. The Bible says: “There will be trouble and
distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the
Gentile; but glory, honor
and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism”
(Romans 2:9-11). Jesus had come to save the
whole world, but His ministry was amongst the Jews first, and then, He was
going to send the disciples out to minister to the Gentiles once He left.
Nevertheless, Jesus had compassion on the woman because of her faith in saying
that even dogs can eat the crumbs from the master’s table. She did not consider
herself above anyone else but was asking for whatever leftovers she could
receive. The Lord freed the child from the demon that had overtaken her because
of her mother’s great faith.
Jesus came to save
the lost and show the world the love that the Father has for His children. In
so doing, we can learn from His example about being compassionate to others
even when we feel that they do not deserve it and faith that moves in
impossible situations. Jesus modeled
both to this mother who had come to Him out of desperation for her child. He
did not have to comply with her request, but Jesus showed that every soul
matters to the Father. Too many times we see self-professed Christians act as
if only black lives matter, white lives matter, Hispanic lives matter, or whatever
group of ethnicities they belong to. Yet, in Jesus’ eyes, we all matter to Him.
There will be no such thing as the white church, black church, red church or
brown church in Heaven. We are all one body in Christ. Earth is our training
ground and if we cannot get it right down here, how do we expect to make it
into Heaven? We as believer should be the trend setters for the rest of the
world and not following behind race-baiters and those who wish to cause
division. The Bible says: “So in Christ
Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor
is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are
Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26-29). Something to ponder….
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