Daily Thoughts From God's Word

Jesus “called the twelve together . . . and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God . . . And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel” (9:1-6). Now, the disciples healed and they cast out demons as they went, but their primary work was the preaching of the gospel. In fact, remember, as Jesus began his ministry, Mark reports, “Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God i

The healing of the centurion’s servant just amazes me. First, this is a Roman centurion. I underline that word because it is important. The Jewish leaders had good reason to receive their messiah but rejected him. This pagan Roman guy had no skin in the game, so to speak, but relates to Jesus with uncommon grace and belief. Jesus himself explained, “The centurion sent friends, saying to him, ‘Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my ro

Before he left to return home to Auburn, yesterday, Dr. Jackson gave me a copy of his book The Joshua Mandate, in which he provides 52 Scripture memory verses with commentary, one per week over a year’s time, to encourage Christians to memorize Scripture. Just one verse per week. Throughout the Bible, we constantly come across brief statements, questions, phrases that, in such short compass, provide us with powerful meanings. Consider the following from just one chapter, c

Luke’s birth narratives, our Christmas story. His introduction is interesting. These observations. Though others had written about “things that have been accomplished among us” (1:1), Luke tells the story again. The story of Jesus is one that can be told over and over again with much benefit. We should tell it over and over again and never get tired of it. “Tell the old, old story; tell me the old, old story; tell me the old, old story of Jesus and his love.” The Gos

I suppose it is proper that, on this morning of Baxter’s missions weekend in which we are beginning more directly to point toward December and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for Foreign Missions, that our Bible reading is found at the end of the Gospel of Mark, which includes this: “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (16:15). The people of Baxter will gather, this morning, for fellowship and worship with a particul

In today’s reading, there’s the story of the rich young man who sought to justify himself before Jesus by claiming that he had obeyed all the commandments and, essentially, then, was without sin. Jesus knew better. Still, “Jesus, looking at him, LOVED HIM, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me’” (10:21; emphasis mine). This report by Mark got me thinking about the lov

The Pharisees “saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches” (7:1-5). As if soapy hands and dishes and couc

“A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse-- after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For she thought, ‘If I just touch His garments, I will get well.’ Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction” (5:25-29). After al

Just like Matthew, at the very beginning of his Gospel, Mark emphasizes the continuity of the biblical story by quoting from the Old Testament. Major themes of the first chapters: preaching, healing, and the calling of the disciples. Jesus used human instruments, as frail and prideful and slow to learn as they were, to accomplish his purposes. One of Jesus’ most quoted teachings is in 2:17. In response to the Pharisees’ question to his disciples – “Why does he eat with

We heard Dr. Al Jackson speak in Auburn, last week. He talked about the establishment of the Southern Baptist Convention. He did not paper over the failings of the Convention. He told about those matters. But he focused on the reason for the founding, that is, to more effectively take the gospel to the lost both in North America and the world. If one pays attention to social media, lots of folks are arguing over and debating many contemporary issues within the churches.

Of those who opposed him, Jesus explained, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others” (23:2-5). In other situations, Jesus had illustrated his warnings about such hypocri

The parable of the wedding feast. Remember that one? A king gave a wedding feast for his son. He invited many guests: “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast” (22:4). However, “They paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them” (22:5-6). So, the king sent his servants out i

The thing that strikes me from these chapters is the constant jockeying for position and approval and prestige among men, even among the disciples. The Pharisees sought to put themselves above Jesus by asking their trick questions (ch. 19), the rich young man sought self-justification (ch. 19), the laborers in the vineyard wanted more money (ch. 20), and even the mother of James and John wanted them placed at the right and left of Jesus in heaven (ch. 20). Jesus, on the oth

The disciples sometimes just seemed slow, slow of learning. Jesus had taught them that a man is defiled from within, not from without. But they did not understand. He asked them, “Are even you still lacking in understanding?” (15:16) On another occasion, Jesus had just finished feeding around 12,000 people (4,000 men plus women and children) with only seven loaves and a few small fish. Almost immediately, after reaching the other shore of the Sea of Galilee, the disciple

The story returns to John the Baptist in prison: “When Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, ‘Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.’ And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given” (14:6-9). This story reminds me of the story of Jepthah and his foolish vo