Author: Bill Hall

Mark 5:1
   The city of Gadara, in which the Gaderenes lived, was on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. It would have been, as the capital city of the Roman province of Perea, quite a large and prosperous city.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 14:1-15:33

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:10 “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us always to rely fully upon You, and trust in You completely. Even though our lives may not go exactly like we had planned, we know that You care and can guide us into the best plan for our life. Our job is simply to trust You and praise You. You are worthy of the praise! Your glory and honor should be sung forever and ever. You deserve it all! Your holiness and justice, mercy and love, wisdom and truth, are all that we need. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman who is having a stent in her heart checked. Pray for a young girl who will be traveling.

Journal Entry #15135

Mark 4:41
   Surely there were those among the disciples at this point who had already at least begun to understand true nature of the Messiah. However, most of the disciples still understood him only to be a great prophet, just like Moses and others. They did not yet understand the Messiah was and is God.
   We may wonder why this miracle seem to impress them more than others. But simply think of the facts of the case. Though there had been miracles in the Old Testament involving the weather to be sure, this is different. Jesus just directly commands the winds and sea, specifically telling them exactly what he wants them to do. Nobody had ever done anything exactly like that. It was a great confirmation of the deity of Christ that he could command the elements with such precision and ease.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 13:1-59

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:9 “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, sometimes, as you know, we feel as if we’re not growing spiritually at all. But, if we continue to faithfully depend upon you, and trust in you, and follow your commands, we will be changed by your Word. That’s a promise from you, and help us never to forget it. Our ongoing yielding to you, allowing you to work in our hearts, is the key. Though the changes may seem imperceptible, like a great tree, you will bring us to fullness. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman recovering from surgery. Pray for a man who is in a nursing care facility.

Journal Entry #15134

Mark 4:40
   How often is it that the faith we have is so small it will not bear out in daily practice? That’s was the case for the disciples. They had faith to be sure. They had more than most that were alive at that time. But, they did not have the faith that would live in dependence upon the Lord day to day. When faced with a great difficulty, they did not believe he could or would rescue them.
   In Jesus’ question to them he is literally asking ‘how, in what way is it, or because of what is it, that you do not have faith’? This reveals to us that many times it is not a lack of faith, but something that destroys our faith, that is really our problem. We believe, but we do not believe fully because something else prevents our faith from being strong. Sin, doubt, fear, and other problems get in the way of our faith.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 11:1-12:8

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:8 “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, may we always depend upon you in faith fully. Help us to avoid those things that might creep into our lives to cause us to fear and doubt. Free us from sin. Keep us holy and pure for you. May we always seek to glorify you, even when we do not understand your timing. Sometimes it seems like we may be waiting forever. Many times we do not understand your leading. But, we know that we can trust you no matter what. Like the disciples, our minds may say, ‘he doesn’t understand’, but we know you do. We will praise you forever for your wondrous truth, and your faithfulness to us. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman who will be flying today. Pray for a family that just recently lost a loved one.

Journal Entry #15133

Mark 4:39
   Please notice here that the Lord Jesus does not simply cause the wind to stop blowing. He also immediately settles the waters. As we all know, you can throw a small pebble into a large lake and it will continue with a rippling effect for quite some time. Instead of the lake having to calm down of its own accord, the Lord Jesus calms it down by command. And why would he bother? Because, quite simply, this helped the disciples to calm down.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 8:1-10:20

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:7 “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you so much for caring even about the little things in our lives. You understand our deepest needs, and yet you tolerate our wants as well. You know what will bring the greatest peace to our heart. You understand our feelings, and you know how to help us with them. Sometimes you make the storm go away completely, as you did for the disciples that day. Other times you walk with us through the storm, as later in their lives when they were preaching for you. Either way, you take care of us. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for 6 area churches that do not have pastors. Pray for the great needs in the country of Nepal.

Journal Entry #15132

Mark 4:38
   The irony here only serves to illustrate our common state of mind. The disciples fully realized that Jesus was and is the Lord. They knew that it would be inconsistent with his power and person to simply allow himself and all those on the boat with him to sink to the bottom. Yet they word their question in such a way as we see here.
   We have this tendency to dishonor God by our questions when we do not understand his plan. His ways, being inscrutable to us, often seem more than strange to us. As a result, we will say things that are ill advised. And the Lord, in his patience, corrects us.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 5:1-7:38

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:6 “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the way that you handle our shortcomings. Though the time of your wrath will surely come for those who are willfully disobedient, your merciful way of handling us is so kind. You give us a chance to get ourselves right with you. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for an elderly woman who needs to get up and around.

Journal Entry #15131

Mark 4:37
   The ship had taken on as much water as the experienced fishermen piloting it knew it could handle. Though Jesus still lay down in it, it was full of all the water needed to sink shortly.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 1:1-4:35

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:5 “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your provision. You always provide for what we need. May we live to serve you every moment. We cannot ever miss out by depending upon you. You have made life available and abundant by Christ. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a boy with an arm injury.

Journal Entry #15130

Mark 4:36
   Do not be puzzled by this phrase ‘even as he was’ in this verse. Remember that Jesus was already in the boat, thus this is why this strange explanation is made here.

Bible Reading: Exodus 39:1-40:38

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:4 “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, your great power and might is made known to us through your Word. Though many people try to deny it, you are unlimited, and we know it. Thank you for your great love for us. Although your power is so great, you will not be made a fool of. You have set your care upon us, and you have made good on your promises. You are truly wondrous! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman having surgery Monday.

Journal Entry #15129

Mark 4:35
   When Jesus was here on earth he was a leader. He called the shots. He decided what would happen. But, with him in heaven, we act as if he is an disembodied spirit that simply moved us to things, but doesn’t actually have a real human will or way of thinking and feeling.
   This is due to a misunderstanding of the creation of mankind. God made man to be a reflection of him. If anything, Jesus, as a perfect man, is more human than we are. We have been damaged by sin. We are not what we could be. So, we think of him as more of a force than a person. But, truly he is a person just as much, more really, than we are. He is the key to our humanity. He is the only way for us to be what we are intended to be.

Bible Reading: Exodus 36:1-38:31

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:3 “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your great love for us in sending the Lord Jesus Christ to make us what we could never be without him. He is the One we all need to be the beings that you intended for us to be. Thank you for your mercy by him. Thank you for salvation by his blood. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for two women with advanced cancer.

Journal Entry #15128

Mark 4:34
   Those closest to the truth will receive more truth, and those far away will receive less. This is a principle we see throughout Christ’s ministry here on earth.

Exodus 34:1-35:35

1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

Heavenly Father, thank you for your incredible live for us. You have given us so much, the least we can do is serve you. All earthly treasures are but fading fancies in contrast with abiding praise for you, Almighty God. All that we do should be for the purpose of honoring you. You are great and mighty indeed, and your works declare your awesome wisdom. Thank you for saving me! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Pray for several young people as they grow spiritually.

Journal #15127

Mark 4:33
   They were able to hear only that which was made simple. We often will go through quite complex processes in order to justify ourselves. We spend much time and effort aggrandizing our own intellect. But when truth comes to face us, we want it as simplified as we can get it.

Exodus 31:1-33:23

1 John 3:1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”

Heavenly Father, thank you for communicating your truth to us in spite of our poor hearing. You have showed us the path for our feet, and we cannot complain. We can depend upon you fully for all the truth we need. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Pray for a man with neck pain. Pray for a family that lost a father earlier this year.

Journal #15126