Mark 7,8

Jesus made enough food from 8 loaves and a few fishes to “satisfy” the hunger of 400 people.

The New Testament dictionary says it means “to fill up.” They received enough food from His miracle to make it home after listening to His teaching for 3 days without food. Amazing!

My trouble is that I probably eat beyond the point of satisfaction. I’ve done it for so long that I don’t rightly know when to stop … the “satisfy light” has been on for some time.

Was Jesus overweight? I doubt it. Do I want to be like Jesus? Yes.

Lord Jesus, sit down with me when I eat and give me grace to stop when I am sufficiently satisfied with my food. Thank you. I believe.

Mark 6

Jesus became a very popular figure to those living around Galilee. News also spread to other regions so that it was no secret what He could do. Whenever He went to a town, they assembled all the sick and placed them in the market area to be healed. Whoever touched His garment was healed. Without exception, Jesus was compassionate towards the common people and healed them and performed miracles providing food for them. He was such a compassionate Savior.

He’s STILL THE SAME today. He is compassionate and cares about every need. When we pray, we need to address this kind of Jesus. It helps build our faith that He will touch us.

Lord, touch us and fill us with Your compassion. Forgive us for our carnal, hard attitudes. We want to love people like You do.

Mark 5

The woman who reached out and touched Jesus was healed. He knew power had gone out of Him. I remember this chorus from years ago:

Reach out and touch the Lord
As He passes by,
You’ll find He’s not too busy
To hear your heart’s cry.
He is passing by this moment
Your needs to supply.
Reach out and touch the Lord
As He passes by.

How do we reach out? … through prayer, at the altar, in fasting, in waiting in His presence, with tears, with brokenness and humility, with faith, with anticipation.

Why didn’t He know exactly who it was who touched Him? Maybe He wanted her to show her faith by being bold enough to identify herself.

Be bold, be strong, for the Lord Thy God is with thee.

Mark 4

When Jesus told the wind and waves on the Sea of Galilee to stop their torrent, His disciples had been fearful.  He asked them, “Why were you so afraid? Don’t you have any faith?”

In this story, faith seems to be the opposite of fear. When life becomes the equivalent of a squall on the sea, Christ encourages us to rely on our faith rather than succumb to our fears.

Are you facing one of life’s storms? Don’t fear. Jesus is in your boat. Wake Him up and let Him calm your storm. You have ALL you need to overcome.

Mark 2,3

Jesus taught that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.

The political division and hate currently flooding our nation simply cannot be good for us. I have never seen this kind of division and rancor over a president. It is being fueled by something stronger than a bipartisan political rivalry.

It is a time to pray for the U.S. God must be up to something to allow such turmoil. The Word says everything that can be shaken WILL be shaken. This must be going on right now.

We need to stay ON THE ROCK CHRIST JESUS.

Mark 1

I have friends who LOVE to fish. They never get enough of the quest to land another one, whether they want to eat it or not. They have special poles and lures and reels and favorite spots to try to catch a bigger fish. It’s almost an obsession.

Jesus probably recruited fishermen because He knew they understood the principle … always thinking about another fish to catch. The Kingdom of God has and is being built on this multiplication technique … catching fish.

As born-again Christians, this needs to be our mentality. We should be much more aggressive about our strategies and energies aimed at catching fish. We are fishing for men to find their eternal place in God’s Great Big School of Fish.

Matt. 27,28

After Jesus had been crucified and had risen from the dead, He instructed His Disciples to go back to Galilee and meet Him on the mountain. There are many places surrounding the Sea of Galilee that this could have happened on.

We need our mountains to meet with Jesus. It an be a spot away from the hustle and bustle of life, someplace high where we can observe life from a higher perspective. There He gave them the Great Commission, orders for action that would consume their lives for the rest of their days.

Let’s meet Jesus on the mountain.

Matt. 26

During the Passion of Christ, evil resistance to His Lordship rose up in the form of false witnesses … liars presenting arguments supporting His demise. Even Judas was convinced He was a fraud. How hurtful it must have been to be falsely accused of sin and rebellion. His heart remained pure, but His condemners seared their reputations.

Jesus predicted that Christians would experience the same treatment in the last days.

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me.”  [Matt. 24:9]

Matt. 25

“The least of these” was the target for Christ’s encouragement on care. The least important, the humblest, the ignored, the overlooked … these seem to be the people group Christ established as the target of our care. The translators imply that they are Christ’s followers, brothers or sisters in the faith. Nevertheless, anyone whom we see with a heart of compassion would be a suitable receiver of our care.

“People don’t care how much you know … they want to know how much you care.”

Matt. 24

The faithful and wise servant of Christ will endure the trials and hardships of the events leading up to His return. Firm in the faith, he will display to the world a witness of God’s keeping power and strength.

While we are waiting for Christ’s return, we should prepare by staying fresh in The Word and abounding in good works which show God’s love to the people around us.

Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.