June 25th, 2017
Devotional
“The Gospel of Mark: The Last Shall Be First” - Mark 9: 30-37
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Monday: “The Son of Man is to be Betrayed” - Mark 9: 30-32
The disciples also knew that they had to prepare. Jesus had told them time and time again that something was coming - that he would be killed and then would rise again. Only they didn’t understand it. Not the first time they were told, and not on this instance either. There was something about how Jesus was talking - the mixture of sadness and intensity in his eyes that caused them to be just as afraid as the words he was speaking. What did he mean that he would be delivered into the hands of man?
The disciples knew that not everyone loved Jesus the way that they did. They understood that Jesus seemed to caused a disturbance wherever he went. They saw the ways that the Pharisees whispered about him in disapproval - but how could any of those people hand him over to be killed? And why would he rise again. Dead men didn’t rise. At the very best, God lifted them up into the heavens before their death - but dead people coming back to life, especially after three days, was unheard of.
Sometimes, we too, do not know how to react to what Jesus is trying to teach us. We pick and choose the scriptures we relate to and like and brush others aside. We are quick to minister to those we like and slower to be present to those who are our neighbors, in the broadest sense of the term. Yet, not everything Jesus says is easy to understand, but it is vital to our walk as disciples.
Tell of a time you didn’t understand where Jesus was leading you. How did you respond?
Prayer: Jesus, we come before you today and admit that we do not always understand. We do not understand where you are leading or how we are to respond. Help us we pray. Meet us in our unbelief and lift the veil from our eyes. Amen.
Tuesday: “Who is the Greatest” - Mark 9: 33-34
The disciples needed a distraction from all of this teaching that saddened and confused them so they found themselves returning to their favorite subject - who was going to be the greatest. Who was going to rule with Jesus. Because to rule you needed to be alive and surely their rabbi was going to live for a long time, just to teach them.
Jesus must have overheard them however because he asked them what they were discussing. But no one would answer him. Then he started up with his confusing teachings again - to be first you needed to be last, very last, and be a servant. That was not what they had signed up for. No they wanted to be first. Not a servant.
Do we want to be a servant? Or do focus on the rewards of service instead of seeking just to serve on behalf of our Lord and Savior?
What are some of the images that come to your mind about being first and last?
What does it mean to you to live like a servant?
Prayer: Lord, help us to have servant’s hearts. We know Lord, that we would prefer to be first instead of last. Prefer to be served instead of to serve. But you call us to have your heart - a servant’s heart. We cannot do it alone, O Lord. Help us, we pray. Amen.
Wednesday: “Welcomes One Such Child” - Mark 9: 35-37
Then he picked up a child - a child! - and said that only if they welcomed a child, one whom they didn’t even know, they could welcome him. Jesus, we don’t understand! Why do you make things so difficult!
Even with knowing about Jesus’ death and resurrection, even with all of the writings of the church mothers and fathers and two-thousand years of being the church to work in our favor, I’m not sure we understand Jesus’s teachings any better today then his disciples did so many years ago. But now is the time to pray that we understand Jesus’s teachings a little more each day so we can more fully live into them. Time to pray for the needs that surrounds us.
What do you think Jesus was saying by referring to the little child?
What do you think the disciples miss about this teaching? What do we miss?
Prayer: Lord, sometimes we don’t get it. Sometimes we think your ministry is about lifting us up and leaving others behind. Sometimes we forget about the children, the vulnerable, those overlooked by society. Forgive us we pray. Help us realign our priorities with your Kingdom. Amen.
Thursday: “The First Must Be Last” - Mark 9: 33-37
Even with knowing about Jesus’ death and resurrection, even with all of the writings of the church mothers and fathers and two-thousand years of being the church to work in our favor, I’m not sure we understand Jesus’s teachings any better today then his disciples did so many years ago.
One of the things that I am called into ministry to do is listen to stories. Especially the stories of those who have left the church who have been hurt by church. At times I just want to weep when I hear about people who have been hurt by people who, like the disciples, just wanted to exercise their power, to let others know that they were greater than then. This season is our time to repent church of hurting people. To ask God for forgiveness for not putting first things first.
What does it look like in your life to be last?
Prayer: Lord, we come today to repent. To repent for the times when we have let power obstruct our hearts. Times when the church has not put first things first and has hurt people, intentionally and unintentionally. Forgive us, your people, we pray. Amen.
Friday: “But They Did Not Understand” - Mark 9: 30-37
Now is our time to be a people of prayer. A people who pray for those who are broken in this world, including ourselves. Now is the time to pray that we understand Jesus’s teachings a little more each day so we can more fully live into them. Time to pray for the needs that surrounds us.
May we also be a people who remember. We remember that we don’t know everything. We remember that we don’t have all of the answers. And we remember that we don’t fully understand, just like the disciples so long ago.
What freedom comes from admitting that we do not understand?
How can we bring our lack of understanding before Christ?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for approaching us with care and compassion when we do not understand. Allow us to come to you with our lack of understanding and find grace. Remind us that we do not have to have all the answers or have it all together to be your children and serve you. Amen.
Saturday: Preparing for the Word
You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Gospel in Storybooks: A Porcupine Named Fluffy” - Genesis 17: 5-15 and John 15:16
Family Activity: Practice being last. The last one to be served at dinner. The last one to get ready for bed. The last one to be picked for a game. How did it make you feel? What do you think Jesus meant about the first and the last?
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