Listen to the words of Jesus from Mark 4:21-25: “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him…
Anyone can look like a Christian for a week or a month. So what’s the proof that God’s Word and the gospel have truly taken root in your heart? Well, in Mark 4, Jesus helps us with the answer by telling a story, a parable. He describes a sower scattering seed on four soils. Some…
What qualifies you to do great things? Your resumé? Your education? Your status? Look at who Jesus chose. In Mark 3, he goes up on the mountain and appoints twelve men. Four were fishermen: Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John. They smelled like fish and had calloused hands from working. One was Matthew, a tax…
Have you ever felt like you just couldn’t find relief? The crowds in Mark 3 knew that feeling. They came from far and wide — Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and beyond the Jordan. And they packed so tightly around Jesus that He asked for a boat so He wouldn’t be crushed. Why did they come?…
We as human beings just get tired. I was so sleepy driving home the other day from my son’s football practice at like 6:30 PM that my eyelids felt like they weighed a hundred pounds. I could barely stay awake to drive. When I got home, I went straight to bed at like 7:00. Maybe…
Have you ever written someone off before they said a word? Levi’s reputation often caused people to do that to him. In Mark 2, he sat at his tax booth, labeled a cheater, a traitor, a sinner. Then Jesus walked up and said, “Follow me.” Not “clean yourself up first.” Just, “Follow me.” That night,…
Do you ever find yourself too busy to pray? Most of us say it, and it’s usually our first excuse. But we should take a look at Jesus in Mark 1. The night before, the whole town had crowded His door. By morning, everyone was looking for Him. Yet the Bible says, “rising very early…
What if one command could silence the darkest thing in your life? In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 1, we read of a man in Capernaum tormented by an unclean spirit. Jesus spoke just a single sentence—”hush, and come out”—and the spirit obeyed and left him. It happened in that city’s synagogue. Jesus was teaching…
What is holding you back from following Jesus? Maybe it’s not what’s holding you back. Maybe it’s what you’re holding onto. Many times in life, those things that we hold onto are what hold us back. Simon and Andrew were casting nets when Jesus called in Mark 1, “Follow me, and I will make you…
Anybody out there excited about a season of testing? No, I didn’t think so. Nobody raises their hand for finals week, medical tests, or running a gauntlet. Testing exposes weakness. It costs time we didn’t budget. It leaves us uncertain how we’ll perform until we’re already in it. Yet look where obedience led Jesus. We…