To serve or not to serve, that is the question

TODAY'S BIBLE READING:

Leviticus 1:1–3:17 
Mark 1:29–2:12 
Psalm 35:17-28 
Proverbs 9:13-18


BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Mark 1:35 "Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray."


REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Throughout Jesus' ministry, there is an obvious tension between what He desired to do and what people wanted Him to do.

He saw people's deepest need and wanted to teach them and invite them into the fellowship that He enjoyed with the Father. That was His primary desire. Healing people was a secondary activity to show that He genuinely cared for people and to validate that He was who He said He was - the Son of God.

Yet, while people flocked to hear Him teach, they primarily wanted to see Him perform miracles. They also wanted Him to fix their problems. They wanted Jesus to focus on the secondary issues.

Jesus was focused primarily on the eternal; they were focused primarily on the temporal.

... and things haven't changed much in the 2,000 years that separate us from the New Testament events. We tend to focus on the temporal while God is primarily focused on the eternal.

If you don't believe me, just pay a little extra attention to "prayer request" time when believers gather together. Most of the time, we are praying for sick people. We spend most of our efforts praying to keep Christians out of Heaven rather than praying for lost people to receive eternal life so they can go there.

In this morning's reading, we come across a passage where Jesus clearly chose the primary over the secondary. He was enjoying time with His Father when He was told that people wanted Him to spend yet more time fixing their temporarily issues. Listen to what He did.

Mark 1:35-38 "Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him. When they found him, they said, 'Everyone is looking for you.' But Jesus replied, 'We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.'"

Did you get that? Jesus had spent the previous night healing people. Now, very early in the morning, more folks had shown up to Peter's house (where Jesus was staying) to get fixed. 

... and Jesus said, "Let's go somewhere else."

Never get so focused on the secondary that you neglect the primary. Those around you have temporary, tangible needs. Virtually everyone does. If you are able, meet those needs. 

But, if that is the extent of your ministry (or your church's ministry), you're settling for the temporal and neglecting the eternal. Essentially, everyone you and I meet desperately needs a relationship with the Father. That's primary.

So, serving others' needs is good. It's helpful. But it is only secondary. See it as an avenue to get to the primary - telling them about Jesus.

Silence and Solitude and Communion with God

To our own detriment, we have lost the art of being still and knowing that God is God (Psalm 46:10).

When we read Mark 11:15-17 and visualize in our mind's eye what it would have looked like for Jesus to run the money-changers out of the temple, we wrongfully assume that this principle applies only to church life. When we realize that we (Jesus-followers) are now the temple (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), we come to understand that it is our minds and hearts that Jesus must clear of distractions.

Mark 11:15-17
"And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, 'Is it not written, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations"? But you have made it a den of robbers.' "

To experience our God and enjoy His presence, we must get rid of any clutter that would distract us in our times of prayer and reflection upon His Word. After all, Jesus did this. We are told that He often went to the desert (Matthew 4:1), a mountain (Matthew 14:23), the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 21:37) and other places of solitude (Luke 5:16) to experience quietness in His mind and heart as well as communion with His Father.

But, many in our culture do not value quietness. It drives us crazy. And we don't value anything except busyness. We often pride ourselves in how much we have accomplished ... and how much busier we are than others. And we feel horrible (even guilty) when there is a span of time that we have not accomplished anything.

So, work with Jesus to have times in your day when you chase distractions out of your mind and heart so that you can enjoy prayerful communion with God. Doing so will go against the way many of us are wired. But, if we would enjoy our God, we must seek out daily time to quiet our minds and hearts and sit in the presence of God with reflective Bible reading and prayer.

God made us to need this time of communion with Him just as much as we were made to need air, food and drink. So, work to carve out space each day for quiet fellowship with God.

Psalm 42:1-2
"As a deer pants for flowing streams, 
so pants my soul for you, O God. 
My soul thirsts for God, 
for the living God. 
When shall I come and appear before God?"

Reflections on Luke 4:42-44

In my Bible reading this morning, I came across a passage that seemed to jump out at me. It's as if God were saying: "Slow down here. These verses have many powerful principles that can help you grow. See how many you can get out of them."

So, here goes...

Luke 4:42-44 (NLT)

"Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. But he replied, 'I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.' So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea."

1. Jesus didn't stay in bed long after other people got their day started, at least on this morning. He rose early (possibly long before sunrise).
2. He recognized the benefit of solitude. He went to a place where he could be alone. Possibly He spent that time in reflection and prayer.
3. Often, what we need and what we get will be two different things. Jesus needed time alone but the people wouldn't give it to Him.
4. God does not often speak through the masses. The crowd "begged" Him to stay with them. Yet, Jesus' response makes it clear that He did not believe they were speaking for God.
5. If we were to speculate on the motives of the crowd, we may come to assume that they were selfishly motivated. They wanted Jesus to stay not because of who He was but because of what He could do for them. Humanity has not changed.
6. Jesus didn't mind telling the people that He could not meet their expectations. They wanted Him to stay but He had a mandate that wouldn't allow Him to comply with their wishes. So, His answer to them was "No."
7. Jesus was about the business of evangelism. He realized that the Gospel was Good News (that mankind can be forgiven and brought into relationship with God) and people needed to hear it. So, he was going to travel to where the people where to tell them about that news. This was why He came to earth.
8. He met the people in their places of worship and throughout the region. This means that He showed up to places of worship to explain how the folks got it wrong.