Category Archives: Intimacy with God

The Bible Book of the Month Club The Gospel of Mark — Mark 12:1-17

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Today is Mark 12:1-17 ❤️🙌🔥 for the “Bible Book of the Month Club — The Gospel of Mark”

“Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” - verse 17

The religious leaders of Jesus’s time rejected Him. They perceived Jesus as a threat because He only cared about what His Heavenly Father thought and commanded, not all their man made laws and traditions. So they looked for ways to trip Him up in what He did and said over and over.

They came to Jesus with a question on taxes. Jesus’s reply strikes a chord in my heart this morning. He told them to pay what was Caesar’s to Caesar- the coin bearing Caesar’s image. BUT He turned it around to point to something in the very heart of the Religious leaders and each of us . “Give to God what is God’s.”

The coin beared the image and inscription of Caesar on it. We are like that coin. We bear an image and inscription upon us — the image and inscription of our Maker, God. Therefore, we belong to Him. We are to give “to God what is God’s”— our entire self!

What is God showing you? Post it below. 👇👇👇

The Bible Book of the Month Club The Gospel of Mark — Mark 11

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Today is Mark 11 ❤️🙌🔥 for the “Bible Book of the Month Club — The Gospel of Mark”

“Have faith in God…” verse 22

Faith — belief, trust, confidence… the assent of the mind to the truth.
Assent is the act of the mind in admitting, or agreeing to, the truth of a proposition. (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

I have complicated faith for years. I thought if I worked hard enough at it and gritted my teeth tight enough, I could have faith and see God move in my life. But faith is actually quite simple. It is this statement: “God said it. I believe it.”

Faith comes to us by hearing and hearing comes to us by the Word of God. Faith is simply agreeing with the truth of God’s Word. It is trusting in God’s Word. It is having confidence that God is who He says He is and He will do what He says He will do.

In order for me to walk in that kind of faith, I have to know the Word. I have to have an intimate relationship with it. When we come to the Word of God expecting to hear from Him, our faith in who God is grows. Because we are interacting with Him in relationship. We will see the truth about Him and we will agree with that truth.

Jesus tells us to “Have faith in God.” It is a command that is for our good. When we live in intimate, close and connected relationship with God interacting with Him through His Word, we will have faith in Him. We will see God do the impossible in our lives that is always for our good because He is always good!

What is God showing you? Post it below 👇👇👇

Let The Little Children Come

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“When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Today I find the words of Jesus to be so comforting. Jesus loved the children.

Our family has suffered a great loss this past week. My great niece, Kinsley, drowned in an accident. She was 2 1/2.

Even though we are left with such sadness, we are assured that Jesus loves and welcomes children.

The moment Kinsley left us here on earth Jesus welcomed her just as He did the little children 2000 years ago. The Word says, “He took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.” I can picture Jesus doing the same with sweet little Kinsley. He took her in His arms, where she will never have to leave, and is blessing her now and throughout eternity.

Jesus will welcome us too as He did the little children and little Kinsley. But we must come to Him. He is our only hope for an eternity of peace in His presence that is filled with His blessings.

Have you come to Him as the little children did, seeking His touch and His blessing?

The Bible Book of the Month Club The Gospel of Mark — Mark 9:30-50

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Today is Mark 9:30-50 ❤️🙌🔥 for the “Bible Book of the Month Club — The Gospel of Mark”

We are born selfish. Our tendency is to figure out how to put our thoughts, our desires, and our feelings first. Our world tells us to “live our own truth”, “follow our hearts”, and “chase our dreams.” The disciples exhibited this selfish nature as they walked along the road arguing with each other over who was the greatest.

Jesus told His disciples the way to greatness in His kingdom. “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” The nature of a servant is to serve and to give up their selfish ambitions in order to please their master.

Life is not about the positions we attain, but the pursuit of Jesus. His Lordship means we give up ourselves, listen to His Word and obey it fully. We serve Him and those whom He puts in our path to serve. This is greatness in His Kingdom!

What is God showing you? Post it below 👇 👇👇

(Tomorrow’s reading is Mark 10:1-31)

The Bible Book of the Month Club the Gospel of Mark — Mark 8:22-38

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Today is Mark 8:22-38❤️🙌🔥 for the “Bible Book of the Month Club — The Gospel of Mark”

In 1991, Steve Camp wrote a song called “Consider the Cost.” One phrase from it’s lyrics has stuck with me through the years. “To give all that you are for all that He is, this is the gospel according to Jesus.” There is so much truth in that statement.
In verses 34-37, Jesus plainly states that if we want to be His disciple, we must take up our cross and follow Him. To take up our cross is to let our plans, our will, our thoughts, our desires, die so His can live in us. It is losing our selfish self life, letting it die, so that the life of Jesus can be lived in us. It is as the lyrics of that song proclaimed — “giving all that we are for all that He is.”

A few years ago I was at a decision in my spiritual journey… my way which was producing death, darkness, and destruction, or Jesus way which would require that my way would be nailed to the cross to die. When I chose Jesus way and not my own, dying to myself, I finally experienced peace.

The only way to a vibrant and fulfilled life is to “take up your cross and follow Jesus. Lose your life to gain His!”

What is God showing you? Post it below 👇👇👇

(Tomorrow is Mark 9: 1-29)

The Bible Book of the Month Club the Gospel of Mark — Mark 7:24-47

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Today is Mark 7:24-37 ❤️🙌🔥 for the “Bible Book of the Month Club — The Gospel of Mark”

“After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus…” verse 33

I love how Jesus took time for the individual. He interacted with them. The man who was deaf and could not speak could have been healed in a manner of seconds with Jesus’s touch, but Jesus took him aside. He gave the man one on one attention.

Jesus is personal. He is all about connecting with “the one” i.e. you and me. He loves to take us aside, away from the crowd, to be with Him in a deep, personal, and intimate relationship.

What is God showing you in these verses? Post it below 👇👇👇

(Tomorrow is Mark 8:1-21)

The Bible Book of the Month Club the Gospel of Mark — Mark 4:26-41

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Today is Mark 4:26-41 ❤️🙌🔥 for the “Bible Book of the Month Club — The Gospel of Mark”

“”Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”” Verse 41.

Crowds followed Jesus. Some followed out of curiosity. Some followed wanting to hear Him speak. Some followed looking for a miracle. Everywhere He went there was amazement over the words the people heard and the miracles they saw. The disciples were able to experience all that Jesus said and did on a personal level. I’m sure what they saw left them standing with their jaws dropped time after time.

In this section, Jesus does the impossible once again. I love the response of the disciples… “Who is this?”

Jesus is the same today as He was when He calmed the storm over 2000 years ago. Walking and talking with Jesus should leave us in a sense of amazement time after time. When He speaks to us and we see Him do the impossible in our lives we should respond the same way they did long ago, “Who is this? Even this is not too hard for Him.” You cannot experience God in a close relationship and not be left in awe of what He does!

God is a God of miracles! You may ask, “how can you say this with confidence?” I have seen them with my own eyes and experienced them time after time. I have been left saying, “Who is this? Even my storms of anxiety and fear, obey His voice of peace!” (This is just one miracle. There are so many more miracles I’ve seen and experienced. God is real!! 😉)

May we be left in awe time after time as we recognize the amazing things He does and is doing in our lives.

Testify!!

What is God showing you in today’s reading? Post it below 👇 👇👇

(Tomorrow’s reading is Mark 5:1-20)

The Bible Book of the Month Club The Gospel of Mark (Mark 2:18-27)

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Today is Mark 2:18-27 ❤️🙌🔥 for the “Bible Book of the Month Club — The Gospel of Mark”

I love what Jesus is saying in verse 28 “So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

The Pharisees thought they had God figured out. They had a list of laws with boxes to check off on that list. If they fulfilled it all they thought they were all good with God. They had “religion”…

Jesus came. He was Emmanuel — God with us. He came displaying God the Father to anyone who would pay attention to Him. Jesus walked and talked with the people who followed Him. He lived in relationship with them. His words He spoke and His call to follow Him literally changed lives. Relating to God was no longer a list of boxes to check off. Relating to God became a relationship — the very thing God wanted all along. Following the list of rules regarding the Sabbath was not what God was after all along. It was their hearts.

God wants our hearts as well. When we truly love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, we will do the things that God desires. We do not need a list of rules regarding the Sabbath when our greatest desire is to love and obey the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus.

Jesus will give us a new heart that desires to do what is right if we will only ask Him to.

Bible Book of the Month Club — The Gospel of Mark (Mark 2:1-17)

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Today is Mark 2:1-17 ❤️🙌🔥 for the “Bible Book of the Month Club — The Gospel of Mark”

I love verse 17, “On hearing this Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus spoke these words in response to criticism He was receiving from the religious leaders of His time. They didn’t like that Jesus was eating with the “tax collectors and sinners.”
Jesus came to give new life and new hearts to those who would simply respond to His call and be willing to leave it all behind to follow Him.
Jesus is still the same! It does not matter what mess we have chosen to become entangled by… our sins… Jesus came to set us free and give us relationship with Him. He has come to call sinners to come and to sit with Him at His table. He has come to forgive us and give us new life and a new heart so we can obey Him and live close to Him!!
I am so thankful Jesus calls out to sinners (i.e. me) with the same call He gave Matthew the tax collector, “Follow Me!”

What did God show you in today’s reading? Post it below 👇 👇👇

(Tomorrow’s reading is Mark 2:18-28)

Bible Book of the Month Club — The Gospel of Mark (Mark 1:1-20)

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Today is the big day, the launch or the “Bible Book of the Month Club — The Gospel of Mark”
Let’s read Mark 1:1-20 ❤️🔥🙌
Here’s what I got out of today’s reading:

What sticks out to me in what we are reading is the lengths God has gone to in order for us to know Him.
First He sends a messenger to announce Jesus’s arrival, John the Baptist. John the Baptist talks about Jesus coming. He describes Jesus as being more powerful than him and able to Baptize with the Holy Spirit. Then God the Father speaks about who Jesus is in front of everyone when Jesus is baptized. Plus Jesus, Himself, tells the ones He is calling to follow Him that He wants to teach them how to fish for people so they will come and follow Him too.
God wants us to know Him! That is awesome news!
What is God showing you? Post it below 👇👇👇

(Tomorrow we will read Mark 1:21-45)