A HOUSE OF PRAYER : A LIFE OF PRAYER

 

Mark 11:15-19 "the cleansing of the temple" is a very remarkable story of Jesus. It was an event that happened prior to Passover - just a few days before He died on the cross to save mankind. 

Mark told us that when v15-16 Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices, knocked over the tables of manoey changers and chairs of those who are selling doves. He stopped  everyone from using the Temple as marketplace. 

The Temple must be the place of worship but it turned into a den of thieves, greedy busninessmen and a place for religious elite to get wealthier. 

Let us all keep in mind, that Jesus' action in this passage is calculated, he carefully examined and observed what was going on in the the Temple before He took action. His Actions were deliberate and well thought of - it wasn't a burst of anger or random act of violence .. His anger though real was perfectly holy.

He cleansed the Temple - with calculated action deliberately for He said the temple must be a HOUSE OF PRAYER. 

Let us reflect:

Jesus cleanses our temple - our body, ourselves because we are His temple. He owns our body- it is His temple so feel blessed if Jesus will deliberately cleansed us from all our sicknesses and sins, noises from the outside and worries of the world. 

Let us allow Him to overturn our addictions, break our pride, drive out our every demon of selfishness, anger and hatred and allow Him to knock over our worries and problems. 

He wants our temple to be a house of prayer -- He wants to transform us into A LIFE OF PRAYER, for He wants to be able to listen to us and us be able to listen to Him. 

When was the last time we heard His voice?

When was the last time we truly had fellowship with Jesus?

Let us always invite Jesus to clean our temple, everyday is a struggle of noises of the world but with Jesus, we can get rid of all these noises and have a quiet time with Him. 

Let us live a life of prayer.

Amen.

JESUS' INNER CIRCLE: ARE YOU IN OR OUT?

 

As we read Mark 9, verse 2 says, ‘’and after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,’’.

This verse states that only the three of them, Peter, James, and John were chosen to go with Jesus to the mountain and have witnessed His transfiguration.  

Why would Jesus only choose the three of them?

Peter, James, and John were called ‘’The Inner Circle’’ because they were accorded special privileges. 

Mark 5:37 says, ‘’And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.’’

We notice that even Jesus has chosen His companion in special occasions. This does not mean that there is favoritism. It means that among the 12 apostles, the three were the closest to him and whom He can be trusted. 

Matthew 26:37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch[d] with me.”

How can we be close with Jesus? 

How can we earn His trust just like the three of them? 

1.  Fellowshipping with Him- Go wherever He goes (follow where His heart is)

2.  Spiritual talk – (talk to Him in spirit as possible)

3.  Know Him deeper – read and meditate His words

When we earn His trust and become more closer to Him. He is welcoming us and opening the door to the ‘’INNER CIRCLE. ‘’

What’s in the ‘’INNER CIRCLE’’?

There, 

-  We experience God’s Glory (Mark 9:3-8)

-  Hear God’s inner heart (Matthew 26:37)

-  Deeper, inner talks

-  Strong bond with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

Let us reflect:

Imagine yourself as one of the Apostles in your church, 

-  Where is your position right now? Are you in the INNER CIRLCE or OUTER CIRCLE?

-  What will you do to be in the INNER CIRCLE?

-  Are you ready to sacrifice your time and spend it more with Jesus?

-  Are you excited to talk to Him spiritually and do not feel bored?

-  How do you respond when your brothers and sisters invite you to a fellowship with the Lord? Do you feel burden or excited?

-  Are you ready to be trusted by God with greater things or still working with the little things?

Amen.

MP

EPHPHATHA : BE OPENED

 

Mark 7:31-37 talked about a man who could not talk and hear. Jesus healed him and gave him the ability to hear and talk. This man represents us in so many ways. 

In v 32 - 32 A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to Him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him.

- brought to him - in our lives there are people who tirelessly kneel down and pray for us. Your parents, pastors, churchmates, friends and siblings. 

In v 33 - 33 Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. 

- the man's healing was very personal. Jesus did not heal him in public it happened in private. 

Isaiah had prophesied regarding the time of Messiah: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing” (Isa. 35:5-6).

Even David praised God for opening his ears and giving him the ability to hear and obey the word (Psalm 40:6)

Everyone of us starts off spiriutally deaf and spiritually mute. We cannot hear the truth of God and we can't even talk to God. 

Thanks to people who loved us so much, who kept praying for us and brought us to Jesus and let Him know our spiritual condition.  

Just like the deaf man - we were disconnected, isolated and unaware of the power of the Lord and His truth. We had very little knowledge of God. 

And because Jesus cares, He took us aside and restored us personally. When the Lord works in us He does it intimately with us. 

Let us reflect:

Several times if not most of the time we feel disconnected with the Lord - we experience spiritual paralysis - we are unable to receive Go'd love and are cut off from spiritual connections with the Lord. 

Do we allow the Lord to whisper to us - EPHPHATA! BE OPENED!

- Many people are praying for us - that's why it is always important to have fellowship even in times of our spiritual paralysis.

- Jesus is always waiting and willing to set us aside and restore us in AN intimate manner. BUT do we set a special time to get intimate with Him? Remember only in intimacy with the Lord that we receive restoration. 

EPHPHATA! BE OPENED!

- He wants you to hear what He is saying.

- He wants your mouth to open with praise and thanksgiving, with prayers for others and with the love for the lost.

- He wants to open your life to Him alone - be opened on where He wants you to go and to do. Be opened to changes and His new direction to your life.

AMEN. 

TRUE FAMILY

 

In this chapter of Mark, Jesus Redefines the concept of "family". His Family - brothers and mother thought He was losing His sanity, so they came to bring Him back to Nazareth. (v 21) But He answered them that those who do the will of the Lord are His family not the people who are related by blood. 

In this scene, Jesus did not just established His kingdom and new nation but also a new family. His vision of the family is not the physical relationship but the spiritual kinship. Such relationship is inseparable from obeying God's will, that is, God's word.

When we become true followers of Christ, we are called to a whole new world, including a new set of relationship and true loyalty.

This doesn't mean we abandon our physical family to avoid our responsiblity of taking care of our parents (Matthew 7:11)  but they shouldn't be the reason for us not to obey the will of the Father and If they do hinder us, let's take Jesus example and keep our eyes on Him even if it means stepping back and leaving your family behind, He promised that if we do, He will replace what we have lost. (Mark 10:29-30)

Let us reflect:

Who is our TRUE FAMILY?

- Was there a time when we hinder our loved ones to do God's will by persecuting them? Then, you are not a family. 

- Was there a time when you supported your loved one to continue working for the Lord? (financially or spiritually) Then, you are a family.

- Was there a time when you were ridiculed, call you fake or hypocrite by your family for doing God's will? (because you have corrected and rebuked them) Then, they are not your family.

- Was there a time when your family was all support to your endeavor with the Lord? Then, they are your family.

**It does hurt so much when we are persecuted by our own family -- but....

Let us remember this: 

Jesus is clear that following Him will cause serious divisions within families. In Mark 13:12–13 He says, "And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name's sake.

Amen.

THE FOUR FRIENDS : COLLECTIVE FAITH

 

WE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT FRIENDS! 

This was the case in Mark 2:1-5. The story of paralytic man who was brought to Jesus by his 4 FRIENDS.  

Since Jesus became so popular many would come and hear him preach so there was no way the paralytic man and his friends can get through the crowd. 

BUT because they have so much faith and confidence that Jesus will be able to heal their friend, they found an extra-ordinary way to get through. THROUGH THE ROOF! 

It was so much effort to bring him up the roof how much more digging a hole - it also implied that they were willing to pay for the damages. 

What the world sees as crazy, JESUS SAW IT AS FAITH. 

                And when Jesus saw their faith, 

                he said to the paralytic, 

                “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Jesus healed the paralytic, not only because of His faith but the faith of his four friends - THEIR COLLECTIVE FAITH!

Let us reflect:

The dedicated friends can be US - THE WORKERS OF THE LORD - willing to dig a hole in order to bring sick and lost people to Christ.

- Are we true servant of the Lord who will sacrifice everything, life, money and materials things just to bring a soul to Jesus?

- Are we that kind of friend, who can't stand still to see a friend suffering and blinded?

- Are we faithful enough to dig a hole in every life of our relatives, friends and stangers we meet no matter what the damage it may cause us just to bring them to Christ? (they may hate or persecute us)

LET US ALL BE THAT FAITHFUL AND DEDICATED FOUR FRIENDS!

Amen.

ARE WE ALL IN?

 

The book of Mark is about Jesus as SERVANT and was presented Jesus as God's suffering servant and redeemer of the Lord.

Jesus' ministry started with His baptism. Though John's baptism is all about repentance and turning to God, Jesus as sinless, submitted himself to baptism to mark his ministry.  As He said in verse  15 But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him (Matthew 3:15)

His submission shows His humility as a servant of the Lord. He was identifying with us - sinners. 

As Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens splitting and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. He was identified by the Father as His own. 

His baptism is a perfect picture of commitment and surrender. When Jesus was baptized he was saying to us He was completely committed to this mission. He was all in. 

When a believer is baptized one of the things they are saying is I am all in with Jesus. When we are immersed in the water our whole body goes under and it is a demonstration that our whole life is now about Jesus. He saved us. He set us free. He forgave us. He is now the very air we breathe. He is our living water.

Let us Reflect: 

On our Baptism when we shouted " I am yours Jesus!"  we shouted, WE ARE ALL IN!

But, are we really ALL IN?

When we joined the church and was baptized are we true to our covenant with the Lord that we are all in?

-How many times we backslid because there are things that we don't agree with the church? 

- How many times we declined the leading of the Holy Spirit to read the bible and pray because we are busy?

-How many times we hurt Jesus by being selfish - we get offended of small things, we throw tantrums when we cant get our way? 

- How many times have we joined the ministry to evangelize and seek the lost?

- How many times we forget that we have to love each other unconditionally without self-love?

ARE WE REALLY ALL IN?

WELL DONE MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT

 

If God will meet you today - will you hear 'WELL DONE MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT OR YOU WICKED AND SLOTHFUL SERVANT (be thrown to the pit of darkness)?

Matthew 25:14-30 "The parable of the Talents" , impresses the weight of our responsibility and the serious consequences of neglecting God's instruction to us.

Matthew, in chapters 24-25, records the Lord’s heart of compassion and love mingled with unwavering holiness. This section of Scripture, including the Parable of the Talents, constitutes final warnings, prophecies, and encouragements to His people Israel prior to His departure.

This parable is the instruction of the Lord to everyone on how to live on the last days. in Matthew 24:13, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved," is a key statement. This is the believing remnant that will receive the promise of the kingdom.

Each of us have  God-given talents - our diverse skills and abilities. It is not acceptable merely to put those gifts in the closet or ignore them. He expects us to take risk and employ them in His service. 

The return God expects of us is commensurate with the gifts we have been given. The servant who received one talent was not condemned for failing to reach the five-talent goal; he was condemned because he did nothing with what he was given. The gifts we receive from God include skills, abilities, family connections, social positions, education, experiences, and more. 

This parable is a WARNING to those who slack and don't use their talents for the glory of the Lord. The servant was thrown to the darkness and was stripped off of all his talents. 

Let us relfect:

- We've given so much talents, are we taking risk to use it for the glory of God? or we are too shy to even share it to others?

- We received so much blessings, especially our loved ones, are we even taking care of them and our relationship to them - what if we have no more time to show them our love?

- if God will meet you today - will you hear 'WELL DONE MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT OR YOU WICKED AND SLOTHFUL SERVANT (be thrown to the pit of darkness)?

. As Christians, we have the most valuable resource of all – the Word of God. If we believe and understand Him, and apply His Word as good stewards, we are a blessing to others and the value of what we do multiplies. We are accountable to the Lord for the use of His resources.

Amen.