The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves. (Mark 6:30-32, NASB)
In the passage above, Jesus had sent His disciples out on a mission. He told them to go preach the gospel, heal the sick, and drive out demons from people. Now in Mark’s account, they were reporting back to Him. But Jesus tells them that they should all get away somewhere by themselves: “And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.’ (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)”
Jesus is teaching us a very important lesson: Sometimes we all need a break from our routines. In today’s world, it’s a hustle-bustle, fast-paced life. We all have to take a break. We need rest. If we know Jesus, we can rest in Him. Because we know Him, we’re promised perfect rest someday in eternity, in heaven. We’ll spend eternity with Him in heaven. I’m told it’ll be a very restful place. Jesus is the lover of my soul!
Worship: “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” by Hillsong Worship
And as Jesus returned, the people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house; for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him. And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped . . . When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace” . . . He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!” And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. Her parents were amazed; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened. (Luke 8:40-44, 47-48, 54-55, NASB)
Jesus performed many miracles. He healed the sick and the lame. He cast out demons. He turned water into wine. In the passage above, Dr. Luke recounts two miracles that Jesus performed on the same day, almost at the same time.
As Jesus was out one day, He was approached by a synagogue official called Jairus. He had a daughter at home who was deathly ill. He persuaded Jesus to come to his house to help her. While on the way to Jairus’ house, a woman who was plagued with a hemorrhage touched the fringe of Jesus’ cloak, and was immediately healed. Jesus spoke with her before He went on His way: “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” When He got to Jairus’ house, Jesus brought the little girl back to life!
God is still in the miracle business. He does miracles every day. I’m still waiting for mine. I may not be healed, however, before I get to heaven. But I have the hope, through the blood of Jesus Christ, that when I get to heaven, I’ll be there in a glorified body. My body will no longer be crippled with ALS, and I’ll be able to run and jump like I used to. Jesus is my hope!
“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5, NASB)
The Bible passage above is from Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is talking about judging other people. Jesus says that if we judge others, then God will use the same standard of judgment against us. Why is Jesus talking about this? Because He knows us, and He knows how judgmental we can be. He knows that we are hypocrites.
Jesus talks about specks and logs as a way of speaking about our hypocrisy. Why should we be critical of another person who is guilty of the same sins as we? Unfortunately, that’s the human condition.
To escape from this hypocrisy, we need Jesus. There’s no other way. To escape from this world of critical spirits and judgment means a trip to heaven, and that means we must put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ. He is where my hope lies.
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (John 3:19-21, NASB)
The Apostle John records the words of Jesus, Who speaks about light. Jesus IS the Light, and He says so. In this account, Jesus is speaking with Nicodemus, a Pharisee, “a leader of the Jews.” (John 3:1) Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again for him to receive eternal life. Nicodemus is rightfully confused. Nicodemus asks, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” (John 3:4) As part of His explanation, Jesus tells Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_of_the_World
Further, Jesus explains that the Light has come into the world, “and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” It’s interesting that most of all evil is done under the cover of darkness, so that the evildoers hope to avoid being discovered. Jesus says the same: “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” In contrast, “he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
Jesus is the Light of the World. We saw in Chapter 1 of John that the Light came into the world, and we hated the Light! The Light was too bright for us. It exposed our sins. The Light made us accountable for our sins. But, wait! If we would accept the Light, then we shall not perish, but have eternal life. This is good news! Like Jesus says at the end, if we would walk in the truth, then we will come to the Light! Is it dark where you are? Then come to the Light!
There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:9-13, NASB)
In the writings of the Apostle John are two main themes: Light and love. In the excerpt above, John speaks of Jesus as “the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.” So Jesus is the true Light! John goes on to say that Jesus created the world, but when He came into the world, we didn’t know Him. Such is the state of our rebellion! Perhaps we didn’t WANT to know Him!
Further, “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.” Many people like to say that we are all “God’s children.” But this isn’t so. In order to become adopted into God’s family, we must receive Jesus. We have to “believe in His name.” Then we are reborn, “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Jesus is the Light of the World. God sent Him to the earth on the greatest rescue mission in history. But we failed to see that He was the long-awaited Messiah. To those who recognize Him, and believe in His name, God has promised eternal life. Have you accepted Jesus as the Christ? Have you believed in His name? Have you called upon Him to rescue you? There is hope in the name of the Lord Jesus!
Worship: “The Light of the World,” by Lauren Daigle
“And now this commandment is for you, O priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,” says the Lord of hosts, “then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart. Behold, I am going to rebuke your offspring, and I will spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it. Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My covenant may continue with Levi,” says the Lord of hosts. “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he revered Me and stood in awe of My name. True instruction was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of hosts. “So I also have made you despised and abased before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in the instruction.” (Malachi 2:1-9, NASB)
Malachi was a Prophet of God Most High. In the passage above, Malachi reports on God’s rebuke of the priests. This has implications for today.
God rebukes the priests for not following His commandments, and for not honoring Him. God promises to curse them for their transgressions. Further, He promises to curse their children, the boys of them who would be priests themselves. They are the descendants of Levi, the priestly order established by God when His people were in the wilderness after escaping from Egypt. Aaron was the first High Priest of God. God reminds them that they are sons of Levi, and He states that they have fallen significantly since the days of Aaron.
God states the duties of the priests: “For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” But God says that the priests have “turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi.”
This has implications for today. Instead of the priests, the sons of Levi and the sons of Aaron, followers of Jesus have pastors and teachers. These have higher accountability before God, because they should know better than to corrupt God’s word. They’re supposed to lead people to Jesus. That’s their job. There’s a real lack of pastors and teachers doing this work today, and this has eternal consequences. This is life or death! Life is spending eternity in heaven with Him! Death is eternal separation from Him in hell!
Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.” So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty. (Ezra 8:21-23 , NASB)
Ezra was a Jew exiled to Babylon, which had since been defeated by Persia. Ezra was also a priest of the Most High God. He received permission from the king to go to Jerusalem to participate in the rebuilding of the Temple, and to lead his people in worship. Ezra assembled the people he needed to do the task, Levites and others, and led them to Jerusalem. The passage above tells of what the people did before setting out on their journey.
They did exactly what God wants us to do: They humbled themselves and prayed, seeking His guidance and protection. God had punished Israel and Judah for idol worship, and for not seeking Him. Ezra was wise in teaching the people priorities. He also says that since they were to rely on God for protection, that he rejected the offer of troops for the journey. The Israelites were totally reliant on their God for provision and for protection while on their trip.
The return from exile is depicted in this woodcut for Die Bibel in Bildern, 1860, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Found at Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra.
God wants us to do the same. That doesn’t mean that we should take unnecessary risks. But He wants us to rely on Him. He wants to be involved in the decisions we make. He wants to be involved with everything we do. God loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to the earth, so that if we would believe in Him, we will have eternal life with Him in heaven!
Worship: “Waiting Here For You,” by Christy Nockels
Then the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’ Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets’ . . . Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.’ (Zechariah 9:1-5, 7-8, NASB)
Zechariah is considered by scholars as one of the minor prophets, although I don’t know that the age of the prophet has anything to do with how effective he was ( 🙂 ). The Bible passage above is from one of the visions of Zechariah.
First, God announces His jealousy for Zion. One of God’s names is “Jealous.” God desires to live there, and to live among His people. Indeed, Jerusalem is His city. He says that when He sets up His throne there, that “it will be called the City of Truth.” God loves truth. He hates lies and deceit. It’s no wonder that He wants His city to be named after what He loves. Further, God says that “the mountain of the Lord of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.”
Further, Jerusalem will be a city of peace. How peaceful will it be? “Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.” Compare that to the turmoil taking place in the city right now, with weeks of political demonstrations in her streets.
Finally, God promises to bring His people back from all over the earth to populate the Holy City, “and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.” The only time we will see truth, righteousness, and justice, is in God’s Kingdom of Heaven, in the New Jerusalem! God has promised that if we will believe in His Son Jesus, then we will spend eternity in heaven with Him!
I prayed to the Lord and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.” (Daniel 9:4-8, NASB)
The Prophet Daniel was among the exiles taken from Judah to Babylon. He was among the Jews who were appointed to King Nebuchadnezzar’s staff. Daniel discovered early on that he had a gift from God of interpreting dreams, and he interpreted one of the king’s dreams when no one else could. The king appointed Daniel to a high position in his court. Daniel was later framed by jealous Babylonians, and sentenced to the lion’s den, from which he emerged unscathed. Through it all, Daniel was faithful to the Lord his God, and gave credit to Him for all his success.
In the Bible passage above, Daniel had referenced the book of the Prophet Jeremiah, and discovered that Jeremiah had written that the exile would last for 70 years. That time was almost done. As you can see, he gave a great prayer for his nation. This is a wonderful model for us as we pray for our Nation.
In his prayer, Daniel acknowledges the sins of the people, and identifies with those sins. He acknowledges that God is great, and that He has laid out His covenant, which the people have broken. Daniel says that the people, and their kings, have ignored the voices of the prophets, God’s representatives. Daniel agrees that those in exile have not learned their lessons, because they still have sinned against their God. Lastly, Daniel acknowledges that everyone is at fault, kings, their fathers, everyone.
This is a great template to use as we pray for our Nation. We have sinned against God. There’s enough blame to go around. We’re all complicit in our Nation’s transgressions. While we have fallen far, God is not done with us yet. There’s still time for those of us who love Jesus to come together and pray for God to forgive us!
“My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them. They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.” (Ezekiel 37:2428, NASB)
Ezekiel chapter 37 is well-known for The Prophecy of the Dry Bones. Ezekiel finds himself in a valley with many dry bones. God tells him to prophesy to the day dry bones. They are joined together as skeletons, then they grow sinews, then skin, and God forms an army with them. Also in Chapter 37 is the prophecy of This Davidic Kingdom. This is in the excerpt above.
God makes several promises in this passage to His Prophet Ezekiel: First, God will raise up a King from the house of David; next, there will be one Shepherd for all Israel; everyone in heaven will walk according to God’s laws; they will live at the place of Israel (I think this means that the New Jerusalem will be at the same physical place as Israel? We’re told elsewhere that there will be a new heaven and a new earth.); this arrangement will be in place forever; David will be their prince; God will make it “covenant of peace” with His people; God will multiply His people; God’s sanctuary and dwelling place will be among His people forever; they will be His people, and He will be their God; and all the nations will recognize Him as Lord when they see Israel redeemed.
Russian icon of the Prophet Ezekiel holding a scroll with his prophecy and pointing to the “closed gate” (18th century, Iconostasis of Kizhi monastery, Russia). Found at Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezekiel
The Messianic King will be King Jesus! He shall reign on David’s Throne forever and ever! He is the Descendant of David we’ve been promised.
What king would die as a sacrifice for his subjects? My King did!
