Shake the Dust

“Come on kid, shake it off.”  Can you remember some coach/parent/teacher saying that to you when you had really messed up?

Sometimes the Bible is challenging.  There are customs we are not familiar with as well as symbols and metaphors that are completely lost on us.  In Mark Chapter 6 we hear Jesus instructing The Twelve on how they are to behave when they go out and share His teaching.  The last instruction they are given is that when they leave a city whose people are unresponsive to His message; the disciple was to “shake the dust from [their] feet, as a warning to them.” (CEV Mark 6:11) The Israelites knew and understood the context of this gesture.  They believed the land [dust] from the surrounding countries was not worthy to enter into Israel and had the custom of shaking the dust from shoes, clothes and even produce before entering their homeland!  In this case, the shaking of dust from their shoes was an act symbolizing their separation from Gentile nations.  However, the idea of shaking the dust goes back further than this tradition.  When describing the coming Messiah Isaiah 52 says:

The Israelites were instructed by God through Isaiah to shake the dust from their past disobedience and welcome the Redeemer into their lives.  They, as a nation, were captive to their own sin and clung to the hope of a Messiah to free them.  Shaking the dust was a symbol of one who had turned away from disobedience, embraced the Messiah and been restored to God.  Those that hear the good news of Jesus respond by rising up to shake the dust of past habits, sin and guilt from their lives.  For the disciples this symbolic act stood as both a warning and a sign of hope to those who remained captive to their habits, sin and guilt.

So, come on kid, shake it off … shake the dust.  Shake the sin.  Shake the hurts.  Shake the guilt.  Shake the disappointment.  Shake it from your life and rise up to live free in Christ as an example to everyone around you.

Is there dust you need to shake off so that you can convey the message of hope and warning to the lost around you?

To read Mark Chapter 6, click here.

Key verse-  He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” Mark 5:39

Mostly Dead

“He’s not dead, he’s…. mostly dead” (said with a Yiddish accent, of course). This scene from the story of The Princess Bride describes the state of which the hero, Wesley, is in after being tortured and left for dead.

Do you sometimes feel that you are in a comatose state only functioning day by day through life but never really living? Do you sometimes feel that you are mostly dead? Fear and doubt can be so strong in our lives that they keep us locked up inside and in a spiritual coma. Many times we want to follow God’s leading but are just too afraid to take the step of faith.

In preparation for this past years’ Thanksgiving worship musical I experienced that fear and doubt for myself. The past several years I have compiled choir anthems from previous musicals and repacked them to create a new theme.

The feeling of angst set in when I discovered that some of the songs I chose had not been arranged yet for choir and orchestra. Feeling the pressure of having to write these songs was at times overwhelming. I can’t do this. What if it won’t work? I’m afraid people won’t like it. It’s out of my comfort zone. I’m dead.

With the help of the Holy Spirit and other musicians the task was completed. It wasn’t until the first night of the musical when I heard those songs being received by the congregation that I experienced the fullness of God’s blessing and LIFE! Up until that moment I needed to trust in God’s direction. I’m so glad I went through those growing pains of trust and faith.

“Now I’m coming back to life

I’m living inside

All of my fears are far behind

And I’m coming back to life

I found what I need and it’s You

That brings me back to life.”

Words and music by Scotty Wilbanks and Chris Peevy

Jesus has the authority to cast out demons, heal the inflicted and raise the dead.  Why then when Jesus speaks to us with his authority do we resist and prefer living life, mostly dead?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I want to live, and grow in the passion of serving you. I don’t want to become complacent in my walk. If I’m not growing, I’m dying. I believe that you will enable me to do whatever you ask of me. Thank you for bringing me back to life.

Click here to read Mark 5

One of my favorite Children’s Sunday School Songs is “This little light of mine.”  When the verse sings “Hide it under a bushel,” I enthusiastically and as loud as possible, yell “NO!” with the best of them.

In Mark 4:21 that song is crystallized for me as Jesus asks “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed?”

In Bible times oil lamps illuminated one’s surroundings, placing an oil lamp under something with the dust bunnies is silly.  Would you at a concert or in a power outage when they ask you to take out your cell phone and shine it as a light, cover it with your hand?  That too would be silly.

Jesus in this parable says to take the light “…put it on its stand. For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.  If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” (Mark 4:21-23)

God’s design is not to keep the light of his message hidden “…a lamp for my feet, a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)  It is our privilege to read Scripture, apply it, share it, acting upon it. 

As you daily read the Bible, go about it like you are taking light and placing it on a stand.    Know that as you infuse your life with God’s Word this better equips you to accept and share God’s love with those around you.  Don’t be afraid to say loudly and enthusiastically “YES!” to sharing the message of “light” with others.  Invite them to share God’s Word with you, don’t keep it to yourself.

Who in your circle of friends or family could you share an encouraging scripture with today?  Will you?

Click here to read Mark 4

Hard Hearted Religion…

 Chapter 3 of Mark opens with a moving story about a man with a hand that was paralyzed and had become debilitating for him.  The man’s need was obvious to all who knew him and to everyone who came to the synagogue to worship on that Sabbath. The Pharisees should have been filled with hopeful anticipation that this man had the potential of a miraculous life changing encounter with Jesus.  But instead, they were trying to find fault with the young rabbi from Nazareth and saw this as an opportunity for a religious debate over working on the Sabbath.   They watched closely to see if Jesus would heal the man and in doing so break the law by doing “medical work” on the Sabbath.  They didn’t come to worship, they were there to scrutinize!   Before Jesus heals the man’s hand, “He looked around at them in anger and was deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts.”

If the religion that we practice is nothing more than rituals and observances, but never moves us with compassion for others, according to Jesus – we’ve missed the point. The Pharisees were so concerned about winning the theological debate that they couldn’t even rejoice with a man who regained the use of his hand.  There is a kind of cold hard-hearted religion that is really no religion at all.  The contrast between the four friends we read about in chapter 2 (who dug a hole through the roof to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus) and these religious leaders who feel no joy in someone else’s healing , calls for a bit of honest introspection.

When it comes to the paralyzing needs of others am I moved to analysis or action?

Click here to read Mark 3

“Too Many Whys’ and How Comes’”

When our kids were young we played the “Why” and “How Come” game all too often.  If you have raised children you know exactly what I am talking about!  Why is the sky blue Daddy?  You need to clean up the living room Joshie—How come Daddy; Kristy is the one who messed it up.  Why did God make Green Beans anyway Daddy?  And the winner—How long until we get there Daddy?   Children asking questions is perfectly normal and healthy.  They are expanding their reasoning abilities and expressing their desire to understand the purpose of life.

When reading Mark chapter 2, I found myself thinking about how many times we ask too many questions of the Lord.  In this passage, Jesus was questioned by the Teachers of the Law about His ability to forgive sins.  He was questioned about His willingness to eat with sinners.  The Pharisees challenged Jesus because He did not make His disciples fast in the same manner as John the Baptist’s disciples fasted. And then the Pharisees even questioned the Lord because He was plucking a few grains of wheat as He walked through a grain field with His companions.

For children, the questions are rooted in the desire to grow and understand.  For the Pharisees, the questions came in the form of challenge because of established traditions.  The Religious Leaders were challenging the Lord’s spiritual intentions when they should have been watching and witnessing the Lord’s teachings.

Sometimes I wonder how we do when Jesus provides new revelations about our faith journey?  We read a passage of Scripture, and a new truth is presented.  Do we accept it, or challenge the new revelation? 

Maybe we just need to stop saying “How come” Lord; and start asking “How Lord?”

Click here to read Mark Chapter 2

THE EARLY BIRD …

Do you ever feel like life has gotten a little cluttered?

Like there is so much to do that sometimes you are not sure how you will ever accomplish it all?  Even with all the smart phone apps out there intended to us get “organized” and “connected” it seems that many times they only add to our list of responsibilities.  We live our lives at breakneck speeds with so much happening at times it becomes difficult to even enjoy all that is going on.

The first chapter in the book of Mark is stuffed with several huge events in the life of Jesus.  In order he: is baptized by John the Baptist, announced to be the Son of God, led to the wilderness to be tempted, calls his first disciples, teaches in the synagogue, drives out a demon, heals Peter’s mother and when literally the whole town shows up on his doorstep with their sick he heals them too!

What is Jesus’ response to this sequence of H-U-G-E life events?

A vacation?

No way.

Well, then a long weekend, he deserved it.

Nope.

He sleeps in though, right?

No … Mark 1:35 says that “very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

We might think we have a lot going on, and in some ways we do, but Jesus just went through this barrage of H-U-G-E events in his life and in the free moments he finds to himself what does he do?  Jesus steals time away to be alone with God and pray.  Time with God was an essential part of who he was and what he did.  Jesus had to MAKE time by waking up before everyone else to find a place to be alone.

The same is true of each one of us.  The way we live out our lives is largely determined by our dedication to spending time with God each day.  We get swamped with work/school/family so quickly.  We have to be intentional in MAKING daily time to find a secluded place and pray.

There is something pretty funny that happens in Mark 1 as Jesus is alone praying; his disciples are searching for him.  There was more work to be done!  Take the moments you find daily to pray, read scripture, and reflect on the presence of God in your life because there is sure to be something demanding your time and attention soon!

What takes you away from daily time with God?

What are ways you can intentionally MAKE time, even small amounts of time, to spend in prayer, study, and reflection?

Click here to read Mark Chapter 1