Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Mark Chapter 10 - March 5, 2008

10:5 - Jesus says that the OT Jews were allowed to divorce because of the hardness of their hearts. I believe that there are times when we allow ourselves to keep on sinning because we have allowed our hearts to be hardened. There are things in our lives that we make excuses for and sin traps that we continue to fall into over and over, because we don't want to stop. Sure, there are going to be mistakes in our lives and sins that we fall into (Thanks be to God for the gift of his son Jesus!), but that doesn't mean that we throw up our hands in defeat and allow it to keep happening. We need to turn to God for strength and fight for personal holiness because we serve a holy God. I don't want to make concessions for myself when it comes to sin because, "I just can't beat it!" I want to honor God with my life.

10:15 - May I go into each new day on a mission to step into the kingdom of God...excited about why God allowed me another day of life. That is how my sons wake up - excited about what the day holds...smiles on their faces. I often find myself wishing I could sleep more and dreading what the day holds. May I choose to humbly give each and every new day to God and enjoy the wild ride that will ensue.

10:18 - A good reminder for me - no one is good except for God. I need his merciful sacrifice today just as much as I needed it yesterday, and just as much as the "sinful, self-serving heathens" that I share this world with (I have also occasionally been known to be sinful and self-serving - DOH!). Like I talked about in the first paragraph, I want to fight for holiness and then fall into the merciful arms of Jesus when I realize that I will never be good enough.

10:46-52 - God, please heal my blind eyes when I fail to see you at work in my life and the lives around me.

2 comments:

James said...

Just like in 43-44, may I always exhibit a servant mentality, putting others before myself, not worrying about my position in Heaven. Even the lowest person (if there is such a thing) in Heaven is still in Heaven.

In serving others, we are set free. (name that movie)
Peace,
j

Ish said...

Why did Jesus go straight to the extreme of "sell everything you own?" Why didn't he offer another option that would show progress? I've slowly come to know that in leadership, you don't slow down for others. Yes, you are in responsible for leading a group of people, but that doesn't give you the right to slow your progress down. Be a standard; set the example. Let the people follow you at their pace, but don't slow yourself down.