This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Thank you for reading the message this week. I hope that everyone is doing well.
Last week, we saw that Jesus went to His hometown of Nazareth. The people there did not want to listen to Him. A few people did have faith, but not many. Most rejected Him as the carpenter who is just someone who grew up here.
Jesus, rejected by His hometown, went out to the other surrounding villages and began to preach and to teach and heal those who came or where brought to Him. He had many who did want to hear His message of love and forgiveness. Many came to be healed in body, mind, soul and spirit.
One of Jesus' missions while on this earth was to train up those who would carry on His message when He returned to the Father. He had disciples that He decided to send out two by two into the villages to preach and teach. Jesus told them to go without money and with just the clothes they had on. They should stay in the home of the one who offered and not travel from house to house. He said that if the people didn't want to listen to shake the dust off your feet and go to the next place.
The disciples went out and preached a message of repentance. Many were healed of their sicknesses, and demons and evil spirits were cast out.
What can we learn from Mark today? First of all, we have all been sent by Jesus to spread His message. Jesus sent out His messengers then, and He is sending us out into the world today. Our job is to tell others of the love, mercy and forgiveness of Jesus. We also have the mission of helping to deliver people from those things that are hindering them spiritually and physically. We can help feed the hungry and clothe the naked. We can be the ones that share the love of the Lord in a multitude of ways in a world that is truly in need of His life-changing message.
I remember when I was doing a lot of evangelism work that we often went out two by two just as Jesus did. We can go out that way today and tell others about Jesus. In our day and age, I believe that we will be most effective in sharing the message of the Lord by telling those in our circle of influence about what faith in Jesus has meant in our lives. We have a mission field so to speak with our own family, friends and circle of influence.
What I would like each of us to do is to find some way to tell others about the Lord Jesus. It might be through writing like I do here on the blog. It might be through music or the arts. It might be through conversations that you have that will allow you to bring up the words of the Lord about a given situation. We all need to find some way to get the message out to others.
I am convinced that one of the best ways to share the love of Jesus is by being a consistent testimony of the values of Jesus. When we are people of love and goodness in this harsh world, people will see that Jesus and His love and life are in us. People will see that we are acting like Jesus, and they will want to know more about the one who has influenced the course of our life and actions.
I also believe that by working to make this world a better place, we are helping to spread the message of Jesus. Jesus cared for everyone. He said that He had come to preach good news to the poor. He wants us to be the ones in His stead who help others and work to change things for the better in His name. When we seek to make a difference in the name of Jesus, we are giving them the message of the power of Jesus for good and right.
This week, let each of us tell others about who Jesus is and what He has done. Let us strive in all things to bring glory to His name so that others might know Him and the power of His resurrection. Amen.
Prayer Requests
I am about ready to sign the contract to sell my house. Please pray that I will have wisdom in all this. It is hard. Also, please pray for me regarding my deep depression that I am in. I am having a very hard time. Please pray for me.
Let us pray for an end to the parasite Cyclospora infection in many parts of the US right now.
Pray for an end to the Ebola outbreak.
Keep praying for aid and help to reach the people in Venezuela.
Pray for peace throughout the Middle East, in Ukraine and in Sudan.
For our prayer focus countries, this week we will pray for those in China and Turkey. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, we will continue in Mark. I will post the verses on Tuesday. I am currently working on my new commentary on I John. Hopefully, I can post that in a few week. May God bless you all.
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