Whisper Of God Ministries

Giving It All

This week we have been spending time again in Mark’s Gospel looking at chapters 11 – 14. Mark is a fast paced book that rapidly moves from one thing to another. Each section is powerful in truth and gives the reader great insight into Christ. Don’t forget to look at the parallel passages on the other Gospels to sometimes get additional insight into the particular section you are reading.

I want to concentrate on chapter 12 this week. In three separate teaching events, Christ teaches us to give Him all that we have. The first section we will consider is the teaching on paying taxes to Caesar. As someone once said, this is the only section in the Bible that I wish Christ has answered a different way! The Pharisees try to trap Christ by asking him if it was indeed right to pay taxes to Caesar. Of course, Jesus sees their hypocrisy, but asks for a denarius. Then he asks them, whose image is on the coin? They reply Caesar’s image. Then Christ delivers the answer that amazed them in its simplicity and depth. Christ says, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” Do you see the implication? The coin has Caesar’s image. Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Whose image is stamped on you and me? Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.” You see, Christ is teaching that we should give to God what has God’s image on it – that is, you and I. Did you realize that God formed you in His own likeness? We are to render unto God that which is God’s. You and I belong to him, we bear His image.

In verses 12:30-31 we have Christ’s teaching on the greatest commandment. Again, the teachers of the law come to trap him by asking which commandment is the most important. Jesus replies, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” I hope you catch the implication here. Christ has summed up all that we are and called on us to love God completely. The word for love here is one that means a divinely inspired love – one given by the Holy Spirit. We are told to love God with all our hearts – that is in our deepest desire, with all of our emotion. We are to love him with all our soul – our very being, to spiritually give him all we have. We are to love him with all our mind – to mentally love him as the spring of all truth. We are to love him with all our strength – to physically give him in love all we have to give. The greatest commandment is to bring in adoration and to love all that we have to God and to present it to him.

Finally, we read in Mark 12:41-44 about the widow’s offering. Jesus and his disciples were near where the offerings were put into the treasury. Mark tells us that many rich people came by and “threw in large amounts.” Then they see a poor widow come by and put in two small coins, what we would consider less than even a penny. How many times have I seen a penny on the street and figured it was not worth even picking up. Yet this woman brings less than even a penny to the treasury. Jesus grabs the moment to teach a great lesson to his disciples.

Amazingly he says that she has put in more money than the rich people. How can that be? She has given less than a penny when the rich have thrown in large amounts of money. What does Jesus mean? He tells them that this is so because the rich have given out of their plenty. They had plenty more at home so it “cost” them nothing, but this poor widow had given all that she had. She held nothing back from God – even though it was all that she had. God calls us to sacrificially give. Giving something that means nothing or very little to you is sacrilegious. Giving when it hurts is sacrifice.

God wants our very best and he should. After all, it all belongs to him anyway. What are you giving to God? Are you holding back – maybe giving him your soul but not your mind? Do you love him with all your being? Do you render that which bears his image? Do you give sacrificially or sacrilegiously? God gave his one and only Son for you. That Son gave all he had to give – his very life. He set aside his glory and rightful place to bear my sins and your sins. He deserves my very best. He deserves my all.

The Slough of Despond

Reading the Bible daily is addictive. I hope you are keeping up with one of the Bible reading plans for this year or at least spending time in God’s Word everyday. When I miss a day – even if I miss a morning – I feel that emptiness inside. I thank God for that because it means that He has instilled in me a hunger for His Word. I encourage you that if you have missed a few days or a few weeks you would renew your desire for more of Him and His Word.

This week we have read Mark 8:1 – 11:19. In this section Mark continues his hectic pace as we race toward the final week of Jesus’ life before his trial and execution. Within this section Christ feeds the four thousand, begins to teach his disciples about his coming death and resurrection, along with a variety of other teachings and, finally, the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. There is so much material here we could spend many weeks looking at what all is here. Today, I want to touch on one particular story from the 9th chapter that concerns the healing of a boy, but it speaks more so to me about the faith of the father.

Through the years I have often been asked which Bible character I can relate to the most. That question is always full of trappings and dangers, but we all have favorites even if we never feel like we could measure up to their stature from Scripture. These men or women we come to love and identify with are anxiously awaiting the chance in eternity for us all to talk with them in heaven. I know I have many questions to ask so many of the Bible’s saints. There is one character, however, that I can identify with all too often. It is the unnamed father in this story. Unnamed I believe because he so often carries my face and perhaps yours as well.

In chapter nine, as Christ and Peter, James, and John come down from the Mount of Transfiguration, they find the other disciples arguing with the teachers of the law. It seems that the other disciples had tried but failed to drive out this evil spirit. As Jesus asks what all the commotion is about, the father explains what has happened to his son. Christ asks to see the boy and asks how long he has been in this dreadful situation. The father says since childhood. He then asks a very pointed question in verse 22, “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” Christ gives him a staggering response that must have overwhelmed him. The magnitude of this statement by Christ is almost beyond comprehension. Christ says, “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Notice he does not say that “most things” are possible – he says “everything” is possible. Faith brings with it such life changing power.

It is in reaction to Christ’s phenomenal statement that the father replies, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.” So often that is my cry to Christ as well. Faith is a wonderful gift from God. Prayer and Bible study builds and grows that faith, but we all struggle with doubts as well. This unnamed father speaks for me and so many more when he cries out – I believe; help my unbelief. So often we think we are the only one who has doubts. We think that surely the elder or leader in the next pew would never have doubts in his or her faith life. We all, if we are honest, wrestle with doubts at one time or another. John Wesley did. C. S. Lewis went so far as to say, “Often when I pray I wonder if I am not posting letters to a non-existent address.”

John Bunyan writes mightily on this subject in his classic Pilgrim’s Progress. Soon after leaving the City of Destruction and heading toward the Celestial City, Christian and Pliable soon fall into the Slough of Despond. Here they struggle mightily against the mud and muck. They are attacked by their doubts. Are they going the right way? Is it too hard? Will they survive? Pliable eventually heaves his way back out on the side closest to his home and leaves Christian alone to struggle on.

So it is with us, we all struggle with doubts from time to time, but we must move on. Don’t be embarrassed that you wrestle with them; be honest with God. Tell him of your doubts, your difficulties. The man in our story believed and yet he recognized that at this point his faith was not complete. He admitted to Jesus that he was struggling. Jesus knows our weaknesses and our strengths. He knows when you cry out to him in belief and unbelief. One of the important aspects of our story in Mark is that even the doubting man came to Jesus. Are you at a point in your life where you are struggling with your faith? Have the circumstances of your life driven you to a point where you wonder where God is at all? Maybe you have walked with the Savior for many years and yet your times of doubt still creep into the recess of your soul. Cry out to him. Work through your Slough of Despond with him as Christian did. He knows our frailties and doubts but stills stands ready and able to lift us from our mud and muck to walk with us to our Celestial home.

FW Boreham closes one of his essays in his book, The Other Side of the Hill with these words, “Lord I believe; help my unbelief.” “It is Christian in the slough, but it is Christian in the slough with his back to the City of Destruction, and with his face toward the City Celestial.”

A Compassionate Christ

Our reading this week’s takes us through three chapters in the gospel of Mark. Jesus and His disciples are teaching in many places to many people and performing many miracles. He is demonstrating His power through healing demon-possessed people as well as physically sick and disabled people. He is raising people from the dead, feeding the multitudes, walking on water, and confronting the Pharisees. And He is doing all this while people are running Him out of town, laughing at Him, and rejecting Him. At the same time, Jesus is teaching His disciples His ways and what/who is truly important.

That brings me to our passage for this week. Let’s look at Jesus feeding the five thousand which is a very familiar passage of Scripture. Earlier this day, Jesus sent out the disciples (two by two) to proclaim repentance to the people. Also, they were casting out demons as well as healing many people. They were tired and we are told that they hadn’t even eaten. They were headed to a quiet place for some rest and many recognized and followed them. Jesus, our Great Shepherd, saw the crowd and had compassion. So He began teaching them. However, the disciples did not share this same compassion. “And when it grew late, His disciples came to Him and said, ‘This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.’ But He answered them, ‘you give them something to eat.’ And they said to Him, ‘Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?’” (Mark 6:35-37)

I read that the disciples, the very ones that were to be like Jesus, were done with the people. They were tired, hungry, and ready to call it quits for the day. Their hearts, stomachs, minds, and wallets were on themselves and not the other people. However, Jesus was focused not only on the people but on His disciples. He wanted to minister to the people by teaching and feeding them. But He was also teaching His disciples that their concern should be for the people. Even though Jesus was tired and hungry, too, He didn’t send the people away. He continued to show compassion by meeting their need for food. I have often said “God is in the people business.” We are who He loves more than any of His other creation.

We read in the Scripture about God’s principle of thinking of others before thinking of ourselves. Certainly, Jesus continually demonstrates this to His disciples and to us. Do you live by this principle that was so very close to the heart of our Savior? Is your concern for people even when you are uncomfortable, weary, or feel that you have nothing else to give? I believe Jesus’ concern was always for other people even if that concern was expressed through prayer instead of satisfying a physical need.
Ashley Jones

Twelve Ordinary Men

This week we come to Mark’s Gospel. John Mark, who was Peter’s associate, wrote the book. The Holy Spirit inspires this work to John Mark with much of the content probably based on experiences from Peter. It is a fast paced Gospel that uses words like “at once” or “immediately.” The book of Mark is also probably the first Gospel to be written. Again, for a complete overview visit our website.

Our reading this week covers the first 4 chapters of Mark. There are many meaningful and important stories found here with significant lessons. However, one section that we tend to overlook caught my attention this week. It is simply the listing of the twelve apostles in Mark 3:16-19. This is a listing of those that Jesus called out to be his disciples. He chose them from a group that contained perhaps 100 people. Why these specific ones?

Recently, I had the opportunity to teach in India. As part of my trip I had asked to see the church that was built over the traditional site of the martyrdom of St. Thomas. There in that beautiful little church is the spot where Thomas was killed with a spear while praying for the people that he loved. All along the walls of this church were paintings depicting in brilliant colors the martyrdoms of all of the apostles. The only one to escape his own murder was John. He is depicted in a scene where the enemies of Christ tried to kill him. As I read this passage in Mark, my mind’s eye returned to the paintings of those twelve ordinary men.

The fact is that we know very little about them. The Bible gives some short details on a few of them. We know that some were fishermen; one was a tax collector, one a Zealot. We know that while they were Jews, they certainly were not part of the established synagogue elite. Even today, most folks in our pews could probably not name all twelve. These were rural, low class some even uneducated men. Yet the One who created the universe and set the stars in their place called these twelve. Surely there were more qualified people available. Certainly there were men available that communicated more clearly, spoke more eloquently, and commanded a greater public presence. Yet these men were chosen.

With these twelve men, the world was changed forever. From the work of eleven of them and one chosen later, the Holy Spirit would issue in the New Covenant and the Kingdom of God would be at hand. Who would have ever thought that these twelve ordinary, everyday men would even be capable of such greatness? Who would have ever thought, when they looked at this ragtag group of men who were barely out of their teenage years, that these men would have freely and willingly given their very lives for such a cause, but they did. I read their names and I feel as if I am treading on sacred ground for these men who were willing to leave all they had to follow the Christ. And yet they were such ordinary working guys. What made the difference? What changed them?

In a word, the Spirit of God changed them. The church has placed them in such reverent positions we often forget that they were just twelve ordinary men. Men just like you and me or your neighbor or the lady who works at the next desk – Just ordinary people who did extraordinary things for the Kingdom. What is so exciting to me as a Christian is that the same power that was at work in these ordinary men is in me! The same Spirit is in you as a believer in Jesus as Lord and Savior. The fullness of God dwells in you and me – John 14:23.

How then do we tap into this power? How do we make ourselves useful to the King, pliable to the Potter? We do so by being willing to give up all for him. We do so by being willing to die to our own wants and needs and wanting only to serve Him. So often we are very hesitant to do this. We hold back not being willing to jump into his arms. We are afraid we might loose our comfort or security. Even worse, we may have to change jobs or move away! In that lack of faith, we so often forget that God wants what is best for us. He doesn’t want to make you miserable. He wants to make you his own. I cannot think of anywhere else I would rather be. Just imagine for one minute that with all your comforts and security and money and relationships and happiness, what if God had something much, much better for you but you lacked the faith to take it on. God may very well take away your money and your comfort and your false sense of security but he will replace it with eternal wealth, eternal peace and eternal life. Are you willing to even ask the question, “Am I where God wants me to be?” If you haven’t asked it and prayed through it, then I encourage you to do so this very weekend.

I close with my favorite quote that speaks to this very issue of the use of ordinary people for the cause of Christ. It is of course an F.W. Boreham quote:

“I look around and admire the wondrous web that God has woven – out of nothing. I gaze at the stars, the mountains, the ocean, the fields, the flowers, the birds, and I remind myself that He drew it out of the empty void. And I catch myself wondering what He can make of me if I place myself in His almighty hands.”