Today’s scripture: Mark 7:31-36 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.
My thoughts (Ben Lamb):
This small passage rings out with a heap of reminders (oh, ok, wake up calls) of some things I need to include in my own life:
- Go where God leads you. If Jesus hadn’t gone to Decapolis, this entire episode wouldn’t have taken place.
- Godly friends are priceless. I can picture this group of friends as the man’s “spiritual cheerleaders” standing with him while they’re being bold and earnest enough to ask the genuine Son of God to take the time to heal their friend. Then, they stick around for the floorshow, too. And how spectacular it is!
- A “Look at Me, World!” attitude isn’t necessary in order to do great things. Jesus performed this miracle after “taking the man aside from the multitude.”
- Look to God for the best Action Plan. Since Jesus chose to “look up to heaven” while performing the miracle, there must be something about keeping our Creator front and center in our minds.
- Some things in the Bible simply can’t be 100% conclusively agreed upon by everyone here on earth; so get on with the genuinely important task of doing Jesus’ work! What’s up with the spit?! You, me and a gazillion people on my Google search have expressed opinions about it. There’re a gazillion and two opinions about why he included spit in the miracle. Who knows? None of us were there to interview him on camera. It isn’t as though the answer is on an entrance exam for getting into heaven. The important fact is: Jesus healed the man!
- The good news about Jesus is too good to keep cooped up. Jesus gave explicit instructions to everyone at the scene of the miracle not to say a word about what he’d just done. (Why? I don’t know. Please refer to bullet point above.) Anyway, the people were so astounded and overjoyed that they still had a news leak — or rather a flood, of a good kind — about what had happened. We’re his followers today; what’s to stop us from doing the same?
Thought for the day: How well am I attuned to the clear and simple examples laid out in the Bible that Jesus and his early followers displayed?
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.