First Baptist Church, Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Devotional: Mark 2:18-22

Today’s passage: Mark 2:18-22

Helpful thoughts:

  • Jesus is the “bridegroom.”
    • In the Old Testament, the Lord is the bridegroom (Hosea 2:19-20).  Jesus is again proclaiming His deity.
    • Later in the New Testament, we see the church called His “bride.” (Ephesians 5:25-33)
  • Jesus did not come to patch up a whole on the Old Covenant.  He brought with Him the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
  • There was no need to fast as a way to draw near to God when God was right there with them.
    • When fasting becomes a ritual and way to impress people (Matthew 6:16-18), the original purpose gets lost.

Questions to consider:

  1. If Israel is the Lord’s bride, and if the Church is the Lord’s bride, then what does that add to the conversation concerning the correlation between Israel and the church?  In what facet is there distinction between the two?  In what way are we together?  (Galatians 3:29, 1 Peter 2:9)
  2. How does this passage and Matthew 6:16-18 help us to understand better what fasting is and isn’t?  What would be a wrong motivation to fast and pray?  What would be some good reasons?
  3. Why did we need more than just a “patching up?”  What was man to learn about ourselves through the Law?  What did Christ come to do for us?  (Galatians 3:23-26)

Devotional: Mark 2:13-17

Today’s passage: Mark 2:13-17

Helpful thoughts:

  • Levi is Matthew (Mark 3:18) and the writer of the Gospel of Matthew.
  • Levi’s/Matthew’s having a tax booth by the Sea of Galilee implies he was collecting taxes for Rome from the fishermen.  The men Jesus called to follow Him as His disciples were men who were supposed to hate each other from the world’s perspective.  Yet they were united in Christ.
  • The scribes and Pharisees didn’t think they needed spiritual rescue.  Therefore, they were unwilling to hear any help, rebukes, correction, etc.

Questions to consider:

  1. Who are the people the world says we should be against?  Why and how should we be for those very people?
  2. What was Matthew no longer doing after he got up and followed Jesus?  What had he left behind?  Why do you think the scribes and the Pharisees were more upset with Jesus than they were excited for the change in Matthew?  What is the mission of the church (Matthew 28:18-20) and therefore what things should we be fired up about?  What do we need to care less about?
  3. What understanding/attitude must we have about ourselves if we are going to be able to hear when others lovingly strive to help us see our “blind spots” in life?  Why do we tend to get defensive when we sense people are about to say something about us?  How does the Gospel remind us that we need people to speak into our lives?

Devotional: Mark 2:1-12

Today’s passage: Mark 2:1-12

Helpful thoughts:

  • Only God has the authority to forgive sin like this.  When Jesus forgave the paralytic’s sin, He was letting the people know who He was.
    • The scribes were not necessarily wrong to be shocked by this declaration of forgiveness.  Jesus had been teaching the word, and now He had just done something that would have been blasphemous…if He wasn’t God!
  • Jesus refers to Himself in verse 10 as the “Son of Man.”  This is a name for the Messiah taken from Daniel 7:13-14.  Again, Jesus was letting this crowd know who He was.
  • The preaching of the Word of God, the forgiveness of sins, and the revelation of the Messiah were the most important activities in this passage.  The healing was simply a sign to point to the truth of Christ’s identity and ministry.

Questions to consider:

  1. What might the scribes have been thinking after these events?  How did Jesus know what they had been thinking?
  2. In what way would it have been easier to say, “your sins are forgiven” than to say, “take up your bed and walk?”  Which one was immediately verifiable?  Why did Jesus heal the paralytic?
  3. How did the actions of the paralytic and his friends display the faith that Jesus saw?  What is the result of saving faith in the life of a believer?

Devotional: Mark 1:21-45

Today’s passage: Mark 1:21-45

Helpful thoughts:

  • Jesus’ teaching and healing (Both physical and spiritual) are presented in this passage.
    • The people were amazed by both.  It seems however they were more interested in healing.
    • Jesus was more interested in teaching, but with pity He also healed.
  • He spoke with authority over all things.
    • When scribes spoke, they had to reference others who had gone before.  When Jesus spoke, His words were the words of God!
    • Jesus is Lord over all.  Even sickness and the demons must obey Him.
  • When anyone touched the unclean (e.g. leprosy) they also became “unclean.”  Not so with Jesus.  When Jesus touches the unclean, they are made clean!

Questions to consider:

  1. Why are people prone to desire physical healing over spiritual nourishment and salvation?  Have people changed since the 1st century?  How is this greater desire for the physical/temporal even evidenced in the church at times?
  2. At the same time, why is it right to also pray for the physical and temporal?  Who is Lord of all?
  3. In what way can we eternally sympathize with the man who became physically “clean?”  When Jesus took our sin upon Himself, what did we become? (1 John 1:9)

Grieving Tragedy

Our daughter shared something with me this morning before getting out of the car at school.  She noticed the kids from Oxford had clear backpacks at their track meet this week.  I wouldn’t think a teenager would typically be too excited about everyone being able to snoop around the contents of their bag, but when evil comes so near people are willing to sacrifice these things, it seems.

The reason I heard about these clear backpacks is not because we were talking about the shooting at Oxford, but the latest one at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

The latest one.  Why do we even have to say or write those words?  The latest one?

This is in addition to what we have seen of church shootings, the war in Ukraine, threats in the Far East, sex-scandals, etc.  And those are just the stories that make the headlines!  With an unprecedented number of news agencies throwing information at us, there’s still not enough time and print space to keep us up to speed with all the evil going on in the world around us.

Then there’s all that will transpire in the wake of these latest tragedies.  Pundits, politicians and social media influencers are arguing their cases for whatever cause they might be fighting to have written into law to eradicate the perceived problems.  Fingers will be pointed and a majority of them will not be pointed at the shooter.  Someone or something needs blamed.  We yearn for resolution.  We yearn for justice.  People want answers.  We want to make evil go away.

When things like this happen and people are hurting, I often think about the beginning of the book of Job.  At the end of chapter 2, Job’s friends got off to a great start.  It says in verses 12-13, “they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.”  What an amazing response!  They wept with their friend in the midst of his grief (Romans 12:15). 

When it is time to say something, we need to keep in mind the kinds of things God taught Job in the final chapters.  In trying to find immediate answers and quick relief, Job and his friends took their eyes off of the big picture.  As a result, Job felt the need to put his hand over his mouth in repentance before God by the end of the book.  When we are slow to listen and quick to speak, we will find ourselves in the same place (James 1:19).

Here are some truths to consider that can help us to process evil events like this, and perhaps even prepare us to be ready to point others to the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4):

  • God alone is good and righteous.  Everything He does is good and right.
    • Luke 18:19 – And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
    • Psalm 119:68 – You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.
  • God is just and He is the rightful judge over all.  Even when injustice occurs in this world, full and final justice will come.  God will see to it.
    • Deuteronomy 32:4 – The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice.  A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.
    • Revelation 20:12 – And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
  • This world is under the curse and full of sin.  This means we will continue to see tragedy as long as the world remains in this state.
    • Romans 3:10-18 – As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
  • It is right for us to groan in response to the evil we see and to yearn for resolution.
    • 2 Corinthians 5:4-5 – For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
  • We must remember that we also have evil in our own hearts.
    • Romans 7:24-25 – Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
  • We must ultimately look to Jesus Christ to resolve the problem of our own sin and the sin of the world.
    • Ephesians 2:4-5 – But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.
    • Romans 3:23-26 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
    • Revelation 21:4-5 – He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”  And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
  • While we wait for Jesus, Christians are to represent Him in the world.  This means we should strive for righteousness, proclaim the Gospel, help the weak, pursue justice, etc.  We must strive for these things in humility.
    • Micah 6:8 – He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
    • Matthew 5:13-16 – “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

When things like the tragedy in Uvalde happen, it is right to grieve!  That’s not how things are supposed to be!  Where we are able to, it is good to look for practical ways we can help.  We can also weep with those who weep, lend a listening ear and a helping hand, pray with and for the people who are hurting.  Christians, be the kind of people God has sent us into the world to be!  Pursue righteousness in your own life, treat others how you would want to be treated, be generous, offer hope, comfort, rest, and forgiveness through Jesus Christ!  Let’s be shining lights in a dark world, pointing them to the only One who can truly rid the world of evil.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20).

Devotional: Mark 1:9-20

Today’s passage: Mark 1:9-20

Helpful thoughts:

  • Jesus had no sin for which to repent, but he was baptized “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).
  • Jesus was tempted, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).
  • These fishermen were called by God to be fishers of men (Jeremiah 16:15-17).  God had promised the day would come when He began gathering His people away from their idolatry and to Himself.

Questions to consider:

  1. What truth claim from Mark 1:1 did God the Father confirm at Jesus’ baptism?  Why is this important?
  2. What was the summary of Jesus’ preaching?  What was He telling the people to do?  How is this message continuing to be proclaimed today?  What will be it’s conclusion?
  3. If James’ and John’s father was left in his boat with their servants, they probably had a successful business!  What might it have been like for these men to leave everything behind immediately to follow Jesus?  What is the picture then for followers of Christ today?  How does the Christian view their job, their relationships, their possessions, etc. in a way that shows we have “left everything” to follow Christ?  (1 Corinthians 10:31, Colossians 3:23-24)

Devotional: Mark 1:1-8

Today’s passage: Mark 1:1-8

Helpful thoughts:

  • The Gospel of Mark was written by John Mark, who served along with the Apostle Peter.  Mark has written down what he learned from Peter, who serves as the eye-witness for the account, as he was “carried along” by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21).
  • This Gospel begins with a statement of affirmation/belief in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.  He is the Son of God!
  • The prophecy recorded from Isaiah concerning John the Baptist is taken from Isaiah 40:3.  However, Malachi 3:1 is also used here.
  • John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance.  The Jewish people who were coming to him for baptism were proclaiming they had NOT been following God and needed to turn from their sin.  Their baptism symbolized the cleansing they needed to be consecrated to the Lord once again.
    • This was to prepare their hearts for the One who was about to come…Jesus the Messiah!

Questions to consider:

  1. In what way does verse 1 serve as a purpose statement for this Gospel writing?  What does the author want the reader to understand by reading this book?
  2. In what ways was the baptism of John different than what the church practices today in baptism?  In what ways is it similar?  How can baptism today serve as a symbol of repentance and cleansing, along with new birth, resurrection, etc.? (Romans 6:1-4)
  3. How does John’s voice, “Crying in the wilderness” also picture Israel’s coming into the Promised Land?  How does this add to the importance of the Jewish people being baptized in the Jordan River?  What is the “Promised Land” the Jewish people were about to be offered?

Devotional: Malachi 3:16-4:6

Today’s passage: Malachi 3:16-4:6

Helpful thoughts:

  • Judgment is coming.  Those who “fear the Lord and esteem His name” will be spared and counted as God’s treasured possession.  Those who reject him will suffer.
  • We see in today’s passage more prophecy concerning John the Baptist (Verses 5-6, Luke 1:17)
  • “Healing” came to God’s people through substitutionary sacrifice (Isaiah 53:5).

Questions to consider:

  1. How are the sufferings of judgment and the life of the redeemed compared/contrasted in this passage?  If a person were to decide this was inappropriate or unacceptable, what choice have they made?
  2. Who is the sun of righteousness, whose light will dispel the darkness and whose coming brought and will bring healing from our sin? (John 8:12)
  3. How does this short prophetic book set up a time of waiting before the coming of Jesus Christ?  What thoughts and expectations could have been in the hearts of Israel?

Devotional: Malachi 3:6-15

Today’s passage: Malachi 3:6-15

Helpful thoughts:

  • God has made covenants to Abraham and to David that are going to be fulfilled.  God is immutable, He does not change.  Israel’s continued existence will not be a result of their faithfulness, but God’s.
  • The law required Israel to bring in tithes.  These tithes were not optional offerings, they were required.
    • The tithes provided for the spiritual leaders and function of the worship of the people.  If there were no tithes coming in, the worship would be negatively effected.
    • God allows the people to test Him!  He is urging them to do what He has commanded them to do by faith, and then wait and see how He provides.
      • It is important that we read this challenge/testing in the context where it was presented, under the Old Covenant in Israel.  It is good for Christians under the New Covenant to give willingly and with a cheerful heart (2 Corinthians 9:7).
  • Israel had not been following God, and yet they said it hadn’t been worth it to follow God because He hadn’t blessed them the way they wanted.
    • If we design our own version of Christianity and then expect God to uphold our expectations on Him, we’ve got things upside down.

Questions to consider:

  1. How would it be helpful to encourage people to give today with what we read in verse 10?  When could that encouragement go too far and become harmful?  When is encouraging giving good discipleship, and when does it cross the line into becoming harmful?
  2. How can we know that we aren’t redesigning our own version of the faith?  Where could we go to see who He is and what He has called us to be?  How must we approach the Word of God if we are to grow in Christ-likeness to serve the “Lord of Hosts?”
  3. What did God’s unchanging promises result in for our salvation?  Who made up that plan?  Who saw it through?  To whom belongs the glory and praise?