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Learning to think as Jesus thinks…. (devo reflection)

Mark 6:35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 

Sometimes I am so like the disciples, so literal, so practical, so blind. I could see myself, doing the calculations, realizing it will be time to eat soon, “Oh, we need to let them go get food. We certainly don’t have food to feed them.” And then Jesus says, ”You give them something to eat.”

Mark 6:36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

I would have balked–”What in the world are we going to feed them? Do you *see* how many people there are?!?” But Jesus is teaching them a lesson–in what? Trust? Provision? His goodness? He feeds five thousand men plus women and children. I wonder what the disciples were feeling afterward. Joy? Incredulity? Relief?

Mark 6:37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

Lord, Learning to think as You think is hard. I am concrete and practical. I tend to think in very concrete, practical ways. But You think with love, mercy, and compassion. You see a way where I see no way. Thank You for Your perception and sovereignty. Help me to follow Your lead. Amen.

Mark 6:38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

Have a blessed day.

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A quiet place…. (devo reflection)

Mark 6:31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

The introvert in me breaths a deep sigh of relief at the last sentence of verse 31. I like people. I really do, but they are exhausting. After time with lots of people, I desperately need “a quiet place” to “get some rest.”

Mark 6:32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 

But even when they go off in a boat to a solitary place, the people follow them. Jesus describes them as being “like sheep without a shepherd,” lost, wandering, afraid. He has compassion on them and He teaches them, even though He is exhausted and was on His way to get some peace and rest.

Mark 6:33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 

Lord, When I am exhausted, I tend to shut down, shut out the world, withdraw. Folks who run across me during those times don’t get the best of me. Thank You for the reminder that You’ve got me, that You will give me the strength, and that I need to point people to You. Always. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Mark 6:34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

Have a blessed day. I love you.

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This issue of worry…. (devo reflection)

Mark 6:8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 

These verses are still on my mind. I have a trip coming up, and just thinking about everything I need to remember to pack and do is seriously stressing me out, which is ridiculous. What if I just didn’t…didn’t pack, didn’t stress, didn’t fret. What if I just went and had a good time. I could buy or borrow anything that I needed. It would be fine, and much less stressful than what I’m currently experiencing.

Mark 6:9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 

Typically, when I ruminate over verses in this manner, it’s because God has something He wants me to see, realize, recognize, learn. I know that I stress too much. I know it. I know that God will provide. I know that, too. Truly. So why do I rob today of its joy? Worrying won’t add anything useful to my life.

Mark 6:10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 

Lord, Thank You for continuing to work with me on this issue of worry. I know I do it. I know I shouldn’t. It doesn’t help. It isn’t uplifting. It points no one to You. Help me lay my burdens at Your feet and leave them there. Help me to trust You. Always. Amen.

Mark 6:11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

Have a blessed day.

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God’s mercies and His provision…. (devo reflection)

Mark 6:8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 

I woke up this morning thinking of God’s mercies and His provision. Today’s verses speak of the same thing. Jesus sent out the 12 disciples; HOWEVER, He gave them very specific instructions: Don’t over pack. Just take what you need. Don’t even worry about food or money. I’ve got you. I will provide.

Mark 6:9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 

As someone who stresses about trips long before they happen, someone who packs an extra snack just in case, someone who packs an extra outfit because you never know what might happen, I am both intrigued and terrified by Jesus’s directive. But I think it would be incredibly freeing to pack that light, to trust that completely.

Mark 6:10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 

Lord, I want the freedom that comes from You, the freedom to pack light and trust You completely for every single thing I need. *I* am the one who gets in my own way there, and I know it. Help me to trust You, even when I am afraid, which is so very often. I know You love me. I know You’ve got me. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Mark 6:11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

Have a blessed day.

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Lord, Forgive me…. (devo reflection)

Exodus 32:1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

I struggle with laying my worries at Jesus’s feet and leaving them there. I put them down easily enough, but I usually only step away for a beat or two before I pick them back up. If I want to give myself the benefit of the doubt, I would probably say that I felt like I need to *do* as well as *be,* so I pick them up because I don’t want Jesus to perceive me as a slacker. I’m not sure the truth is that kind, though.

Exodus 32:2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 

I see myself in the Israelites’ behavior today. Laying  my troubles at Jesus’s feet is like the Israelites waiting while Moses goes up the mountain. Me taking those troubles up again is like the Israelites asking Aaron to make them an idol because, essentially, Moses is taking too long. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matt 26:41).

Exodus 32:3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 

Lord, Forgive me for my impatience and self-reliance. Forgive me for my fear and doubt. I do trust You, Lord. Help me to trust You more, to lay my worries at Your feet and leave them there. Period. “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). Amen.

Exodus 32:4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

Have a blessed day.

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Better than I could ever imagine…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 55:8a “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD….

I am terribly guilty for limiting God with my imagination. I think I know how something should be, should turn out, and all the while, God’s plan is so much bigger, so much greater, than I can even fathom.

Isaiah 55:8 b …“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

It’s no surprise that trust is the root of the issue here. And it feels frustrating and ridiculous that I struggle so to trust God, though I know that this struggle is part of being human. And honestly, I do trust Him, truly, but my fear–of the unknown, of what might be, of what won’t be– can become so great, so all-consuming that it becomes a living thing that overshadows God’s grace.

Isaiah 55:9a For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways….

Lord, I believe that You are God of all creation. I believe that Your ways are far beyond anything I can imagine. I trust that You have a better plan than I could ever fathom. I do trust, You, Lord. Truly, I do. I believe; help my unbelief (Mark 9:24). Amen.

Isaiah 55:9b …and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Have a blessed day.

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Complete trust…. (devo reflection)

Mark 15:1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.

What strikes me most in today’s reading is the fact that Jesus says very little in response to the charges brought against Him. He doesn’t try to defend or explain or clear up anything. He trusts His Father. He knows His truth. There is so much power in His silence.

Mark 15:2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus replied.

I think about human tendency, my tendency: throw lots of words at the situation, try to explain. Jesus knows they won’t listen, won’t understand. He knows that His Father is firmly in control. He knows that He is in the process of redeeming all of humanity. He knows complete trust.

Mark 15:3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”

Lord, Thank You for this beautiful example of complete trust in the Father. Help me, when this world gets loud and insistent about who it thinks I am, help me to stay strong in You alone. You are my refuge. You are my truth. I trust You, Lord. Amen.

Mark 15:5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

Have a blessed day.

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An answer I have to know for myself…. (devo reflection)

Mark 14:60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?”

My students are getting ready for AP exams. They are nervous, not sure they are ready, but I have been with them every day, teaching them, guiding them, preparing them, I know they will be ready, but they doubt. So what does this information have to do with today’s scripture? A lot, I think.

Mark 14:61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

Jesus spent His time with the disciples teaching them, guiding them, preparing them. He didn’t worry about labeling who *He* was. He just made sure they would be ready when the time came. The disciples doubted, but Jesus encouraged: “…I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32).

Mark 14:62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Lord, Thank You for showing me who You are again and again—in Your word and in my life. It doesn’t matter who the world says You are. That is an answer I have to know for myself. All my reading and studying and praying has helped me to understand, to prepare, to be ready, so that even in the difficult times, when life makes no sense, I can trust who You are and who You are to me. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.

Mark 14:63-64 The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”

Have a blessed day.

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More than the sum of our mistakes…. (devo reflection)

Matthew 26:49-50 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.”

These are Jesus’s disciples: one who betrays, one who is impetuous, who acts rashly, one who flees naked. Jesus knows exactly how this scene will go, exactly how these disciples will act, and yet they are His chosen, His beloved. He knows they are more than the sum of their mistakes. He loves them just because they are His. This is the foundation on which He built His church.

John 18:10-11 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear…. Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

We serve a loving, compassionate, merciful Savior. The grace He gives His human, fallible disciples (and His persecutors), He freely gives us. We don’t have to—we can’t—do anything to be enough in His eyes. He loves us simply because we are His. Period.

Luke 22:50-51 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

Lord, It is so easy to fall into the lies of the world—that we have to earn Your love, that we have to do something to be worthy of Your mercy. You love us deeply, fiercely just because we are Yours. That simple truth is hard for us to comprehend and trust. Help us, Lord. And thank You for Your undeserved grace. Amen.

Mark 14:51-52 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

Have a blessed day.

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Freely giving…. (devo reflection)

Mark 12:41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.

Scripture about giving—freely giving, cheerful giving—always makes me think of my husband, who is one of the most generous people I know. If someone is in need and he can help, it’s second nature for him to help—without reservation or hesitation. I wish I were more like him in that regard.

Mark 12:42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

For me physical giving always feels more complicated. There’s always a scarcity mentality at play—What if I need this resource, this item, this money someday? But giving time, encouragement, prayers, support—those things I can easily, freely give. When I see someone hurting or struggling, I am compelled to reach out and try to assist or encourage. That’s giving freely, right?

Mark 12:43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.

Lord, Thank You for giving us many ways to give, to serve You. I absolutely have areas of shortcoming when it comes to giving. Help me to get better at those. But thank You for my compassionate, encouraging heart. Thank You for the insight that encouragement is a form of giving, too. Help me, Lord, to give freely out of a heart of love for You. Draw me closer. Always. Amen.

Mark 12:44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Have a blessed day.