Lies 1

 I like how John Mark Comer emphasizes the three obstacles to our faith, the world, the flesh and the devil. Each day is a new battle to experience Faith, Hope and love because it s a war within ourselves. The world, our cultural, and each person has a unique struggle between choosing what is good or what is negative and harmful. It’s an inner battle each day.  “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but . . . against the spiritual forces of evil” and that “the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world,” but like, Ephesians 6 says, we have “divine power to demolish strongholds.”  But I’m learning that as we grow deeper in our faith, realizing that our Triune God will NEVER leave us or abandon us, we can experience that power to overcome the darkness of the moment with His light, each step in our journey. 

Mark 5-10

 I’m sure you and many more have worked through this part of Scripture in far more depth than I have. But each time I’ve read and re-read these verses, the context is hard hearted and hard headed individuals, those who have difficulty finding a repentant and contrite approach to a resolution. Jesus points to the core problem of the heart yet emphasizes a compassionate understanding. He draws each of us to Himself as His beloved, wanting us to surrender our whole being into His love. 

“We seek to know truth and we teach others: There is a God. This is his world, and we with it. This God is totally good and totally competent. He comes to us in Jesus Christ, whom we can totally trust. He gives us a book and a history, through which his Spirit will lead us to all we need to know about him and about us. Respecting the priority of the mind in spiritual formation means that we seek to understand these things and to help others understand them. We work in depth. We can choose to turn our minds toward these truths. Belief will come as God’s gift within the hidden depths of our lives and will grow under the nurturing of the Word and the Spirit. That is what is going on in a local congregation that is following God’s plan for spiritual formation.” - Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ

“This statement of Jesus shows why it is important to take the whole counsel of God on any given topic. If this were the only passage on divorce and remarriage in the Bible, then we should say that if anyone divorces for any reason, they then commit adultery and therefore God never permits remarriage in the case of divorce. But taking the whole counsel of God into account, it is impossible to say this.” - David Guzik Enduring Word Commentary

Mark 5-9

 How have you handled situations of turmoil and chaos?  Few circumstances are as upsetting as the death of a loved one, a divorce or a betrayal. Emotionally wreckage is difficult and can blind side us out of nowhere. For me as I have thought about the promise that He will NEVER leave us or abandon us is that our Triune God is loyal to His commitments, despite our circumstances. As a consequence, I want to be that person as well, discerning how to navigate life with Him inside and beside me. He is faithful and I want to be faithful as well. 

“The intention to be formed is to have the great God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ a constant presence in our minds, crowding out every false idea or destructive image, all misinformation about God, and every crooked inference or belief.” - Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ

“The key to living into the ideal that Jesus described is a servant spirit—the character of a disciple modeled after the character of Christ. As long as we live out of our ego-centric, constructed selves, we will avoid dealing with the hardness of our heart. We will instead focus on the failure of the other, judging, criticizing, and condemning them.” - Excerpt, Following Jesus: Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark by Steve Langford

Mark 5-8

 Surrounded by critics, Jesus focuses everyone’s attention to the hardness of one’s heart. How many life problems are caused by our own selfish desire to get ahead, to live out our own way?  What changes would take place if we each became someone different, transformed by His love?  Navigating our world with distractions, evil intent by many, and a crowd searching in all the wrong places for meaning takes a steal spine and a soft heart. May we become what who God wants us to be. 

“Securely attached people are not exempt from trauma. However, they are more anchored in their God-created sense of worth, more apt to have healthy relationships, and more connected to a personal sense of meaning, call, and purpose. They are less likely to self-soothe in addiction, cope with distraction, even plummet into depression. To be sure, they can’t avoid the challenges of life. Storms will come. The Fog will envelop. But they are anchored in their Home, resourced internally to navigate the inevitable weather patterns that come their way.” - Excerpt, Healing What’s Within by Chuck DeGroat

“These teachings remind us of our failure to live up to the ideal. They remind us of the reason for our failure, i.e., the hardness of our heart. The problem in any marriage is always a heart problem—a stubborn will that resists God and God’s ways while pursuing our own. All of us have this problem, not just those who have experienced a divorce. Divorce is only one expression of the heart problem. It certainly is not the greatest.” - Excerpt, Following Jesus: Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark by Steve Langford

Mark 5-7

 I used to think that strong Christians had fewer problems. If we really try hard to do what is right, we will be blessed. I’m not sure how I acquired that mindset, but it’s not in the Scriptures. Trials and tests are sure to come, refining us, opening door to depend on our Triune God that we never thought possible. We are salted with His grace and mercy, preserving us to the core, enabling us to be resilient, enduring the situation. His salt has a way of reducing the influences of our shame, guilt and pain. May we become saltier!

“Lord, the world is tearing itself apart. The fragmentation we see is distressing. But you have called me to be a witness to reconciliation. I pray for a life that is saturated with the good news of the gospel—a gospel large enough to address the fractures of our racialized society. May I walk humbly, live in truth, speak the truth, and urgently work for the advancement of your just kingdom. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.” - Excerpt, The Deeply Formed Life by Rich Villodas

“Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another” (Mark 9:50b). The way we have salt in ourselves, individually and as a community, is to pursue growing as a disciple—allowing the ways of the kingdom that Jesus taught to shape how we think and live. The servant spirit becomes the governing principle guiding our relationships. Such a spirit allows us to live in peace with one another whereas the competitive nature of the ego-centric, constructed self produces conflict and division.” - Excerpt, Following Jesus: Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark by Steve Langford

Mark 5-6

 Jesus made a radical statement about the dangers of temptation to sin.  It’s much better to develop the habits and practices to prevent our wandering to wrong places and thoughts. Managing our sin, trying harder, and following rules don’t work in ghe long run. But wanting to be a person who doesn’t need the temptation is even better. Wanting to love Him more, love others, to be content and full of joy are character qualities to pursue. There is no formula for character development other than wanting to become someone different is key. 

“Genuine transformation of the whole person into the goodness and power seen in Jesus and his “Abba” Father—the only transformation adequate to the human self—remains the necessary goal of human life. But it lies beyond the reach of programs of inner transformation that draw merely on the human spirit—even when the human spirit is itself treated as ultimately divine.” - Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart

“His words are hyperbole, of course, and not to be taken literally, but they convey the level of commitment needed to deal with those things in our own lives that are hindrances to our growth as the followers of Jesus. Such stumbling blocks are generally expressions of the ego-centric, constructed self.” - Excerpt, Following Jesus: Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark by Steve Langford

Mark 5-5

 It seems like many children in our culture are being pushed in ways that do not allow creativity. maturity and growth. Many have ample opportunities to explore their talents and gifts while others are far less fortunate. Today’s study highlight’s the pressures of parenting and encouraging growth among children. The Christ followers who are serving in education and children’s ministries have a unique eye witness view of our Triune God working in soft hearts. For me, I’ve been amazed and humbled to participate in unique conversations with children and teens focusing on a relationship with God. We should never minimize what God is doing in a child’s heart, whether 9 or 90 years old. 

“People say that if you’re still angry at 52, you’re not an angry young man, just a grumpy old git.” Without effort, most people become more of what they are.” - Paul Weller, Autjor of Learning From Children

“The ego-centric, constructed ‘self’ judges people based on merit. The ego-centric, constructed ‘self’ lives with expectations by which others are evaluated, judged, criticized, and condemned. John’s rebuke of the man casting out demons in Jesus’s name is an example. The man did not measure up because “he was not following us” (Mark 9:38). John’s sharp rebuke and biting word of criticism had the potential to drive the man away from Jesus as opposed to drawing him to Jesus. It would have caused him to stumble, interrupting his discipleship journey.” - Excerpt , Following Jesus: Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark by Steve Langford