In Bold Pursuit

Mark 8:34-37

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

In Mark 5, we find 3 people who all desperately sought Jesus. All 3 desperate, but all 3 recognizing who the Lord truly was as well. The chapter opens on the "maniac of Gadara" who was possessed by a legion (somewhere between 3,000-6,000) of demons. His description is truly terrifying in verses 3-5:

Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

Even in his totally disoriented state, he recognized Jesus.  To approach Jesus as a total social outcast was bold. The people of the city had totally abandoned this man, so why should Jesus be different, especially once he recognized Him for who he was. We see in verses 6-7:

But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

The demons knew who Jesus was, and they had no power over Him. So their voice even recognized Jesus as the one true God. Jesus ends up casting these demons out into a herd of swine who end up falling off of a cliff. This man life is immediately changed, not only physically, but spiritually. In verse 15 we read

 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 

The people in this area were Gentiles, so they asked the Lord to leave. We're not exactly sure why although because they had many fake gods, perhaps they thought the Lord would use his powers to judge them. Perhaps they just didn't want anyone to effect their livestock since it was their livelihood. Either way, the Lord was going to leave. We see that our healed man is still desperate to be in Jesus' presence. In verse 18-20 we read,

 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

The Lord had compassion on this man that ran to worship him, even plagued by many demons and completely out of his right mind. He met his physical and spiritual needs because of it, and this man continued to crave the presence of Jesus. He implored or begged the Lord to be with Him. No longer possessed by demons, His heart was full of Jesus and He wanted to be a part of His ministry. Some say he was just afraid the demons would come back- but either way, He had become focused on Jesus and being in His presence. Instead, he obeyed the Lord without delay or question and told others of Jesus!


Two other people who are desperate to meet Jesus and who exert great boldness to come to Him enter the scene. Jairus, a synagogue leader responsible for coordinating worship, the building and contents of the synagogue who faced fury from the Pharisees was one. The other was a lady who had "an issue of blood" who would have been seen as unclean according to Jewish law (See Lev.15:19-30 for details). Jairus approaches Jesus because his daughter is dying and he knows who the Lord is. In verses 22-23

and, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.

Again, we see that he falls at Jesus feet- an obvious sign of worship, and begged the Lord's help. While he may not have understood everything about Jesus, he knew enough to worship Him. He believed in Him enough to seek him desperately to heal his daughter. On the way there, we meet the woman with the "issue of blood." In verses 27-28 we read,

 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.

She didn't want to risk making him unclean by actually touching his person, but she believed in Him enough to know He had the power to heal her. She had spent all her time and money for 12 years trying to be healed, so she desperately sought the Lord and touched his clothes. The Lord noticed and asked her about it. In verses 33-34, she responds:

But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

She again fell down at the feet of Jesus, and boldly proclaimed what she did all the while fearful of the fact that she had touched a Jewish man in any way and was considered unclean- again a social outcast. The Lord rewarded her faith by healing her and making her whole both physically and spiritually. She knew that she could not hide from the Lord her boldness is seeking Him, and because that is the Lord's desire for us all he rewarded her desire for his presence and power.

Back to Jairus, at this time, who must be frustrated in the delay. But Jesus, all knowing, knows that His timing is best and no matter what the girl's physical state when he arrived, he would be able to give her life. A person from the household comes to tell Jairus that his daughter has died. Jesus response to this in verse 36,

As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.

Only believe- only continue in the bold faith that you have already exhibited and all will be well. Upon arrival, the Lord reassures the scorners that the girl will be healed. He privately tells the girl to rise and she does! What rejoicing that must have been! But the Lord asks Jairus and his family to keep quiet about it. Obviously, Jairus and his family again worshipped the Lord and wanted to tell others. However, at that time and because Jesus had more ministry before confrontation with Jewish leaders, he asked them to remain silent. In verse 42 we see their reaction:

 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.

The responses to Jesus' presence was worship, a bold faith, and complete awe. Oh that we would have these responses to the Lord's presence everyday! Because of Jesus' sacrifice, we must worship him as our one true Lord. Because of who He is, we can enter the throne of heaven in bold faith that is not afraid to continually seek the Lord and His power in our lives. Because of His wonderful acts, how can we not be in awe of our truly AWESOME GOD! AMEN!

"Lord, I Believe!"

Without ever personally reading (or meditating on) the entire chapter of John 9, and only hearing of the account of the blind beggar being healed, I was delighted to find a picture of faith in the Lord that I want to have in me! We will explore the story outside of the healing account of the blind beggar, which is glorious in and of itself!

Jesus at first corrected his disciples by assuring them that his condition was not a result of the man's sin or family's sin. He states in verse 3- 5,

Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

Is not our lives' purpose to glorify God? How many times are we bitter or unbelieving in our circumstances when we should be focused on the Lord and how He will be glorified in our situation? Jesus again tells His disciples that He is indeed the one true God. So Jesus heals the man, and naturally the man goes and tells everyone- I would imagine His parents first! He had been reduced to a beggar because of His condition- this was truly a miracle and life changing event! I wonder how many miracles we miss out on or miss seeing because we're too busy focusing on our circumstances and all the negative surrounding us?

In walks our Pharisees, possibly you and me in some situations, looking for fault. Perhaps it's a person we know the past of that can't possibly be sincere in their faith. A person whose personal convictions make us uncomfortable. A pastor of a church that we feel is not up to standard. While I am not suggesting we accept all teachers as true, but compare their lives and their teachings to the Word of God, how many times do we compare people or leaders to our personal convictions or our personal church culture? (Before you think I'm picking on the more conservative, a legalist can be a "liberal" or "conservative" believer if they think they are the only ones who are right- Legalism is about attitude, not a comparison of personal convictions) If something matches up with the Scripture, we have no right to find fault. If the Almighty God is approving of this person's character or teaching, it should be good enough for us.

The Pharisees would not accept Jesus for many reasons, but the ones we see here are that they believe he is a sinner because he healed on the Sabbath. In verse 16 we see the Pharisees say,

Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.

So to the Pharisees, because Jesus did not keep the rules, the ones they held dear that had nothing to do with salvation, he was a sinner and so completely discredited the miracle as a hoax. Although this healed man was obviously of age where he could give an account of what happened (which he had to do repeatedly), the Pharisees even called in the parents of the man. Their issue was fear. Fear of religious leaders and their influence and how contradicting them would effect them. We see in verse 20-23

His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.

How many times are we afraid of speaking the Word of God because we may lose a relationship or be made uncomfortable? Maybe we will make less money, maybe lose popularity, maybe lose a friend from a long time ago because we can't go where they go anymore. Fear is not of God. He has given us as Christians the Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind!

Now we see a beautiful picture of faith from our healed man. Listen to his words in verses 27-38

 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

The pharisees technically were more educated than this man, and the man's parents were fearful of them, so he had every excuse in the world to deny that Jesus had truly healed him, or that perhaps He wasn't of God and was of the devil. He didn't though- he defended His faith because He knew the truth and He didn't let anything- ridicule, intimidation, parental example, anything dissuade him from that. Then he comes face to face with Jesus- Jesus says He's the Lord and immediately the man puts his faith in Him and worships Him. He doesn't question the Lord, and he doesn't compare Him to the beliefs of His childhood. The Lord's word was enough for Him.

Oh to have a faith like that! Regardless of outside or inside circumstances, let that be my cry Lord! Lord, I believe! I will worship You and You Alone!

The Time of Your Visitation

Luke 19:37-40

And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;
Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

A familiar account of the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ. I can imagine the anticipation, the excitement, the joy of knowing that their deliverance was at hand. Both the people and the pharisees saw Jesus with human eyes. Pharisees in disgust because he wouldn't cooperate with their religious agendas to control the people. The people with triumphant eyes over the oppressive Roman government who cared little about them and treated them as second class citizens. Can you imagine the sadness Jesus experienced at the fact that these people didn't see beyond the present to his real reason for being here. In reality, in a little known Scripture passage to me, we see his grief over the situations unfolding before Him.


Luke 19: 41-44

And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

The Lord Jesus wept over Jerusalem because of their blind eyes and selfish motives for their praise. Jesus longs to give His people peace, longs to stay the judgment He knows is coming, and longs for His people to know that His presence was all they needed. He was there in their presence on earth, and yet they still didn't see Him for who He was. The Great I AM!  As a result, His people were massacred- over 600,000 were murdered, and the rest were taken into captivity in pagan lands. All as a result of "not {knowing} the time of their visitation." Today, people still reject Him after seeing His hand in creation, feeling their insatiable need for Him, and longing for peace. Their sin becomes a dear friend to them and their eyes are blinded to Jesus Christ and His power to break the chains of their sin, loneliness, turmoil. Like the Jewish people, they are looking for someone or something to appease their needs for acceptance, success, peace, and the list goes on.  The fact that these are spiritual needs is not even on their radar. They try to be philanthropists, get behind social or political movements, donate all their money, go to self help sessions, all to no avail. And the Lord weeps over these people. He longs for them to get to know Him, He touches their hearts when they hear the truth and weeps when they reject Him again- His own beautiful creation. Please, know the Lord at the time of your visitation! One day, you will die and your eternal soul can be with the Lord- don't miss your time of visitation!!

Luke 19:45-48

  And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought;Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him,And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.

A note to church leaders and Christian lay leaders here- most of the Jewish people's issues stemmed from their resistance to Jesus and His influence. At every turn, they opposed Him and felt threatened by Him. The temple had become an economic success for these leaders, and they were comfortable with that. They didn't want anyone interfering with that or making their relationship with the Roman government more  strained than it already was. Leaders- is the church you lead a "House of Prayer," or merely a house of programs, philanthropy, and witty Bible lessons? Are you more concerned about popularity, economic success, political success, and social standing than you are about exhorting your brothers and sisters in Christ that you lead? Your responsibility as a leader is to be growing in a personal relationship with the Lord that is a testimony and springboard to minister to those under you. Leadership is not for you to control and rise in power and earthly success, but to serve those around you and placed under you. Can you honestly say your leadership invokes an attitude of prayer?

If you don't know the Lord, please recognize this time of your visitation and trust in the Lord's perfect gift of salvation to you. If you lead in the church in any way, is your personal emphasis on prayer, are you truly seeking the Lord's direction in your leadership, and are others invoked to an attitude of prayer by your testimony?

Isaiah 55:6  Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: