Tag Archives: Mark 10:13-31

March 1, 2015 Bible Study — Accepting the Kingdom of Heaven Like a Child

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 10:20-21

    I find it interesting that the proverb writer suggests that one is either godly or a fool. He, further, tells us that the godly speak words which encourage others, suggesting that if you do not do likewise you are a fool on the path to your own destruction.

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Psalm 44:9-26

    The psalmist reminds us that God’s plan will result in our suffering even if we are faithful. Sometimes we will face difficulty and trouble in this life, but let us never forget that God’s love will never fail. Sometimes God will bring trials and difficulty into our lives because of His love for us. However, that does not mean that we cannot, or should not, call out to God for rescue when we are in such situations.

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Mark 10:13-31

    I really want to write about Jesus’ statement, “I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” The problem is that I am not sure what to say. When Jesus says that, what does He mean? Part of it is about the faith that children have, not just their faith in God but in many things. This faith is not questioned. It just is.
    Of course we must never forget that most annoying of children’s questions, “Why?” So, even though we are to receive the Kingdom of God like a child that does not mean that we can’t ask questions. It does mean that we accept it even when we don’t understand.
    However, the thought I had was about children and their belief in Santa Claus. Children do not ask how Santa Claus can possibly visit every child on earth on one night. At least, not until they start to lose their child like belief in him. And now I come upon the problem I always run into when I start down this road, how do I express this thought without suggesting that Christian faith calls for suspending our reason? There is a definite paradox here. We are to accept the Kingdom of Heaven with a child’s unquestioning faith. Yet we are to apply our reason, given to us by God, to that faith.

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Leviticus 24-25:46

    The concept of the Sabbath and Jubilee year are interesting concepts. As we read through the Old Testament, we discover that their celebration is more noted as an exception than as a rule. I wonder to what degree this failure was a result of the other failures of the Israelites to keep God’s Law and to what degree those other failures were a result of their failure to celebrate the Sabbath and Jubilee years. I think that in many ways it worked both ways.

March 1, 2014 Bible Study — Let The Children Come To Jesus

I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Proverbs 10:20-21
     Do I value what the righteous people around me have to say? And, am I afraid of being held in poor regard by the wicked? If we listen to what the righteous have to say, we will be encouraged and prosper. Fools come to destruction because they discount the advice they receive from the righteous.

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Psalm 44:9-26
     Sometimes God’s plans for us seem cruel. We do not always face roses and parades when we follow God. We may not understand what God is doing in our lives, but God’s love is unfailing and He will rescue us. Actually, I am reminded of a thought I had while listening to a song. The song said that God turns ashes to gold, and there is truth to that. However, as I listened to that song I realized that too often we look at the ashes around the crucible, rather than at the gold which God used the fire to purify. When I have passed through the fires which God is using to purify me, I will strive to look at the gold he has brought to light, rather than at the ashes that are all that remain of the dross He destroyed to free that gold. (I know, I am not keeping my metaphor clean there, but I think you can understand what I am saying).

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Mark 10:13-31
     Mark recounts how some parents wanted to bring their children to Jesus for Him to bless them. His disciples rebuked the parents for wasting Jesus’ time. When Jesus saw what the disciples were doing, He was angry. He told them (and us) not to interfere with children coming to Him. I am a firm believer in adult baptism and am disturbed when I see young children being pressured to “make a decision for Jesus.” I think it is very important that someone be old enough to truly understand the decision they are making and to count the cost (as Jesus elsewhere tells us to do before we choose to follow Him). However, this passage makes clear that parents should bring their children to Jesus and that Jesus welcomes the children.

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Leviticus 24-25:46
     God commands the people of Israel to observe a Sabbath year and a Year of Jubilee. During the Sabbath year they are not to plant their fields or prune their grape vines. They are not to gather the grain which grows on its own into barns nor harvest the grapes that grow. They are allowed to eat what grows on its own, but they are not to cultivate anything during that year. In response to their fear that they will not have enough to eat God promises them that He will bless them with a surplus in the sixth year sufficient to tide them over.
The Year of Jubilee was to occur every 50 years. It was to be a Sabbath Year with additional provisions. It was to be a year of restoration where those who had done well would restore those who had suffered misfortune. The provisions can be analyzed many different ways, but the key concept is that we do not truly own anything. It all belongs to God and we are merely allowed to make use of it in trust from Him. The whole concept of the Year of Jubilee is a reminder that we are to use every thing which comes into our possession to bring glory to God.

March 1, 2013 Bible Study — What Shall I Do To Inherit Eternal Life?

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

More fencing
More fencing

Leviticus 24-25:46

     Today’s passage begins by giving instructions for the oil which was to be used in the lamps in the Tabernacle that were to burn continuously before the Lord and for the bread which was to be placed on the table in the Tabernacle. This is followed by a story of a man who blasphemed the Name of the Lord during a fight. This story is the impetus for God to give Moses instruction on punishments for various crimes.
     Moses next laid out the idea of the Sabbath Year. Every seventh year, they were to leave their land fallow. They are not to plant crops or harvest what grows “volunteer”, although they are allowed to pick and eat what grows. In addition, Moses gave them, as an instruction from God, the Jubilee Year. The year after every seventh Sabbath Year (that is every fifty years) they were to celebrate a year of Jubilee. The Year of Jubilee was to be like a Sabbath Year, except that in the Year of Jubilee in addition to allowing the land to lie fallow ownership of the land would revert to its ancestral owners. As a result of this practice, Moses instructed them that the value of the land would go down the closer they got to the Year of Jubilee since what they were really purchasing was a number of harvests. God assured the people that if they kept His commands regarding the Sabbath Year and the Year of Jubilee on the sixth year their harvests would be so large that they would still be eating from those harvests when the crops were harvested in the ninth year of the cycle. The land was never to be sold on a permanent basis because the land actually belonged to God. The people of Israel were tenant farmers working for God.
     The passage goes on to tell them that the ancestral owners of a piece of land who has been forced to sell land because of poverty must be allowed to buy it back at any time if they can raise the money. The land is to revert to them in any case in the Year of Jubilee. In addition, God told them to care for those among them who become impoverished. If one of the people of Israel was forced by poverty to sell themselves into slavery, they are to be released in the Year of Jubilee.
     There is a lot of things in this passage to be looked at, but I think the biggest take away for me from this passage is that we are to treat what we own as if it is on loan from God, because it is. We have the things we have because God has loaned them to us and we will be held accountable for how we use them. The passage also talks about caring for our neighbors who fall into poverty and not taking advantage of their misfortune. It promises that if we treat our neighbors and the land with respect, God will bless us bountifully.

Snow on the trees
Snow on the trees

Mark 10:13-31

     Mark tells us the story of parents bringing their children to Jesus for Him to bless. Jesus’ disciples thought that dealing with children was a waste of the great man’s time and rebuked the parents for attempting to do so. Jesus did not agree with His disciples to the point of being indignant with them. Jesus went on to tell them that they should not hinder the children coming to Him, that the Kingdom of Heaven belonged to those who were childlike in their acceptance of it. Today I want to highlight three things. The first is something that is often mentioned with this passage. We should strive to approach God with a childlike faith. The second is something that is brought up less often. We should work at bringing children into the presence of Jesus so that they can experience His blessing. The third is something I am not sure I have ever heard talked about. We are not to act as gate-keepers for Jesus. It is not our job to decide who may or may not come to Him. We should never do anything that discourages others from coming to Jesus. In what ways do I cause others to think that they are not worthy (or to think that I think they are not worthy) to come before Jesus? What other ways might my actions discourage others from approaching Jesus?
     Next is the story of the rich young man who came to Jesus to learn what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. First Jesus told him that he should obey the commandments. The young man replied that he has kept those commandments since his childhood. At that point, Jesus told him to sell all that he has, give the proceeds to the poor and come follow Jesus. The young man turned away saddened because he was unwilling to give up his wealth. Jesus turned to His disciples and told them that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. His disciples ask Him if that is the case, who can be saved? To which Jesus replied that for man it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.
     Today what struck me about this passage is its connection to today’s Leviticus passage. The Leviticus passage talks about us being tenant farmers on God’s land. Jesus told the young man to sell his possessions and give to the poor. The two passages come together to emphasize that we are to treat what we have as belonging to God to be used for His purposes. How often do we reserve our wealth from serving God’s purpose because we would have to give up some pleasure that we would rather have? If we want to inherit eternal life we need to recognize that it and everything else is only available as a gift from God and we need to be willing to sacrifice all that He has given us in order to serve His will.

How did he end up in such disreputable company?
How did he end up in such disreputable company?

Psalm 44:9-26

     After giving acknowledging that God had been responsible for giving them victory over their enemies when they first settled the Land of Canaan, the psalmist expresses that God has now delivered them into the hands of their enemies. The psalmist says that this has happened despite the fact that they have continued to serve God. He tells us that even those who serve the Lord will face difficult times, times when it seems that God has abandoned them to their enemies. Yet even in this circumstance the psalmist expresses faith in God’s unfailing love, confidence that God will restore them. No matter how difficult the circumstances which we face, we can rely on God’s unfailing love. In His time He will deliver us and redeem us from our tribulations.

Snow on the road
Snow on the road

Proverbs 10:20-21

     Those that are righteous speak words that are valuable to those who hear them, while the wicked offer nothing of value, not even their love. The godly offer words of encouragement and wisdom to all, while fools die because they do not listen.