Morning Grace

- Re-read Mark 12:38-14:2 from this week's devotions. - Read the passage again and identify a word or phrases that jump out at you. - Read the passage again, and if possible read from a different translation ( biblegateway.com  has many translations you can choose from). Identify where this passage might be touching your life today. How is this relevant to your life? - Read the passage a third time, again in a different translation if possible. Ask yourself what God is calling you to do or to be from this passage. What change might God be moving your toward? - Close with a silent prayer, listening to God rather than speaking to God. What actions will you take today based on this prayer? - Recite the Lord's Prayer.

It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him;  for they said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.” ~ Mark 14:1-2 Everything that has taken place in Mark has brought us to this point. All along Jesus has been pushing the boundaries and drawing attention to himself. He has had squabbles with scribes and Pharisees who are threatened by him, but until now those have seemed like minor threats. But now Jesus is in Jerusalem and the threat is no longer minor. Those who are against him are making the threat real. There is a craven-ness here. The idea of politicizing their destruction of Jesus around a festival that centers on the freedom of the Jewish people. Jesus has been trying to free people all along and they can't see that. They can't see or understand what it means to truly be free. They have ears but do not hear and eyes b...

As (Jesus) came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!”  Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,  “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?”  Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray.  Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.  When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs. “As for yourselves, beware; for the...

(Jesus) sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.  A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny.  Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.  For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” ~ Mark 12:41-44 I want to start this off by noting that Jesus isn't condemning the rich people who put in their large sums.  But he definitely is putting their contribution right next to the poor widow's in comparison, isn't he? It's important to note where this passage comes. We hear it directly after Jesus has called out the false piety of the scribes and how they "devour" widow's houses. Well, here is one of those widows who has been devoured. This is an examp...

As (Jesus) taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces,  and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets!  They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” ~ Mark 12:38-40 Does this resonate with you?  Sometimes I read a passage in scripture and can get clear images of the lesson playing out today. How much are people focused on status and looking their best these days? How often do we grumble about politicians who talk a good game but then pass policies that hurt the people who they are meant to protect? Or how often do we read news about religious leaders caught in a scandal? It turns out that as distant as we are in time from Jesus' day, people haven't really changed all that much. We still manage to put on face to be seen, and hide another face from view. I remember as a kid thi...

- Re-read Mark 12:13-37 from this week's devotions. - Read the passage again and identify a word or phrases that jump out at you. - Read the passage again, and if possible read from a different translation ( biblegateway.com  has many translations you can choose from). Identify where this passage might be touching your life today. How is this relevant to your life? - Read the passage a third time, again in a different translation if possible. Ask yourself what God is calling you to do or to be from this passage. What change might God be moving your toward? - Close with a silent prayer, listening to God rather than speaking to God. What actions will you take today based on this prayer? - Recite the Lord's Prayer.

While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David?  David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,      until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight. ~ Mark 12:35-37 As Jesus has entered Jerusalem, he finally engages in the conversation about the Messiah. Messiah = Chosen One. For the Hebrew people, the Messiah would come from the line of David (btw fun fact: the Greek for that is "Christus." We get the name/title Jesus Christ from the transliteration of the Hebrew into Greek and then into English. If you want to say Jesus name/title in Hebrew, it is "Yeshua Hamashiach"). The Jewish people have been waiting for a long time for their Messiah, and that Messiah will be David's son, or so their tradition goes. Jesus enters into a philosophical/th...