February 16: Mark 8:27-33
Key Verse: Mark 8:33
But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ he said. ‘You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’
Devotion:
What has been the hardest thing in life for you to believe or understand? As a person with a scientific and engineering mindset, I have always looked for the practical answers to almost everything in life and have found most things to be explainable in some manner, but when it comes to the ways of the heart and spiritual ways, I find myself lacking in understanding and sometimes lacking in faith because of that!
Another thing I struggle with is biology and things concerning the body; my hat goes off to all the doctors and nurses out there who have an understanding on how the human body works!
So what do you do when you don’t understand? What do you do when you find yourself lacking the knowledge or wisdom to get through the next step you are trying to take? I found this out when I was in hospital because I had no idea how serious my illness was until I was well enough to speak to the doctors and nurses who looked after me – I then began to understand the seriousness of my situation! But, all throughout my stay in hospital, I knew God was looking after me and He was encouraging me to look for the positive and spiritual sides of everything.
When we don’t understand things we need to defer to someone who does understand and someone who knows what the outcome is going to be! I had no idea and so deferred to God because I had no idea. But for someone who has a partial understanding, it may have been a very different story! I find that with mechanical stuff – I know it is possible and I know there is a physical way forward, but sometimes I cannot see the wood for the trees!
Points to Ponder:
Do you give God a chance to explain things?
Or do you rush in and break stuff?
February 15: Mark 8:22-26
Key Verse: Mark 8:26
Jesus sent him home, saying, ‘Don’t even go into the village.’
Devotion:
When you read verses by themselves you begin to wonder why Jesus did some of the things He did; this is why our study of the bible study should always take into account the whole bible and not just a couple of verses by themselves! Jesus was having a hard time with people in Bethsaida and because of that He took this man outside of the village before He did anything.
When Jesus performed the miracles He did, it was always to bring glory to God and to focus peoples minds on God. If He had stayed in the village and done the healing there, we don’t know what would have happened – but Jesus knew something would go amiss and so took the people out of the village.
Sometimes when we are faced with strife we need to take a step back and think of another approach rather than fighting against the local people. When we are faced with disagreement and conflict which we know will affect how people perceive the Gospel, we need to change our approach. We must not bring doubt into the equation when we are trying to tell people the truth. Jesus was doing the same thing here, knowing someone would disagree or make a scene, so He avoided the conflict and doubters altogether.
When Jesus had healed the man He told the man not to go back into the village and not even to tell them about what had happened outside the village. We can only imagine what was going on to force Jesus to come away from the village in the first place! We should be willing to stop and listen to what God is telling us through the Spirit and through Christ and through His Word; only then can we too avoid the disagreements and doubters who may affect our own faith.
Points to Ponder:
Do you get upset by people talking against God?
Will you try to avoid the doubters and see how your faith changes?
February 14: Psalm 29:1-11
Key Verse: Psalm 29:7
The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.
Devotion:
When you were growing up, who had a voice which would strike fear into your soul when you heard them shout out? For me as a very young child it was my Dad’s voice which struck fear into me. If he had to raise his voice at me, I knew I was in big trouble!
When the Psalmist wrote these words, I wonder who he was thinking about to describe the voice of God in such a manner. He would have known what the people thought about God from growing up and learning from the scriptures. He would have heard how Moses described the voice of God and how His voice struck fear into many people’s hearts over the years. King David, assuming it was him who wrote these words, knew how dire it was to get on the wrong side of God and having a good knowledge of the history of Israel through the Old Testament meant He knew how serious it would be if God were to speak directly to him!
I think we often gloss over just who God is when it comes to our Bibles. We like to look at the side of God which shows His love and mercy which enables so much in our lives when we need Him, but not to be reminded of the power and might when we do something wrong! I think these words should be read from time to time to remind us of the power of God.
Think about any time when you have been told off for doing something wrong. Think of the feeling of being told you are wrong and knowing it in your heart. Think of the fear which drained the blood and feeling from your face when the fear overtook you. Then think of God’s power in a new light, the light of His wrath when we do things wrong.
Points to Ponder:
Do you always make excuses when you have done something wrong?
What would God say to you?
February 13: Mark 8:11-13
Key Verse: Mark 8:13
Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
Devotion:
One of the things we don’t get to hear much about is Jesus’s anger. Each time we are told about a situation where we would have probably “flow off the handle,” Jesus would calm the situation down after telling people the truth. Here the Pharisees came to question Jesus because it seemed like He was not following the laws they were giving out. They had a very strict sense of the law and they would make sure people knew all about the law. This would give them a position of importance and would make sure everyone else would be in a position of being guilty!
What better way to placate people than to blame them for things so they are forced to back down because of some feeling of guilt! They came to Jesus and demanded He show them some sort of sign to prove He was the Messiah – what better way to corner an imposter than to force them to back down… at least that is what they were probably thinking!
Instead, Jesus kept the peace by simply saying He would not give them a sign and walking away from them. Sometimes the best way to win an argument is to walk away from it… Jesus was not about to give in to the Pharisees and He certainly did not want them to be in any position of power over His actions – how could they be!
When we are faced with any situation we think puts us in a difficult position, we should be trying to move forward with the truth and without aggravating other people. Much easier said than done because we will always take offence when faced with a truth we do not like… So next time you are cornered, think about the truth and not just your feelings...
Points to Ponder:
Do you retaliate when faced with the truth?
Will you allow God to show you the whole truth?