I’m sick today, no post.

Mark 9:1
This verse goes with what Jesus had just been saying previously about his betrayal and crucifixion. Why? It was a reassurance of his power and identity as the Messiah. These men were expecting the Messiah to set up a kingdom, not die on a cross. But, they had to learn that the cross and the crown went together.
Jesus words seem clearly to point to what to was about to take place on the mount of transfiguration. Jesus is the kingdom, for he is the king. And, he is revealed as such to the small group he takes with him to the mount.

Heavenly Father, thank you for King Jesus! I am so glad that he is not just my Savior, but that he is also my King. We are looking forward to that wonderful future in which Christ shall reign physically and spiritually over all of this universe. Thank you for his glorious power! You have made him the Head of all. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 8:38
Notice the way he describes that generation. This is once again a time when Jesus elucidates upon the principle of the acceptance of revelation. His response to us is based upon our response to him and his Word. When he tells us something, we are meant to take it seriously, and not to be ashamed to declare the truth of it.
To be ashamed of someone or something means that a person is embarrassed by that person or thing. Jesus doesn’t want followers who are embarrassed by him. He wants followers who rejoice that they have access to the truth in Christ.
Jesus is the future. He is all that there is when it comes to having hope for life in eternity. There is no other plan. He is the King of all, and he will rule all. So, to kiss the Son is the only option.

Heavenly Father, thank you for Christ! I am glad he is our future. I am glad that we can have life in him. May we never be ashamed of him, or embarrassed of his truth. Thank you for making your truth clear to us. You are so gracious and kind! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 8:37
Wow, what a quotable quote! What, indeed, would a person give in exchange for their own soul? The answer to this rhetorical question is of course, no one would want to give anything in exchange for their soul. We all want to keep it for ourselves. We think of it as our own prized possession.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Our souls do not even belong to us. Instead, we are, soul mind body spirit, whatever, the possession of the Lord. He has made us, and we are his. So, our soul is not our own, and yet we think of it as something that we may handle.
In any case, we cannot control the destiny of our own souls ourselves. We shall either lose them to destruction by living for this present world; or, we will yield them to Christ, and find eternal bliss.

Heavenly Father, thank you for how you treat us! You don’t just treat us like meaningless trinkets that you can cast aside. Instead you love us with an eternal love that is so precious. Your kindness and graciousness to us is a great glory to you! We will thank you forever for your great goodness and love. We will praise you for Christ for all of eternity! Thank you for giving us a destiny for our souls, a hope for all of forever. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 8:36
The value of an individual, and an individual’s soul, never find greater worth than in the thinking of Christ. Indeed, Christianity has at its very core a key emphasis on the worth of each human being. It is foundational because Scripture tells us we are created brings that God loves, and so our worth is more than we can immediately appreciate.
Thus, Jesus compares the life lived for this world and the eternal life that we may have in him. The result is that the loss of one’s soul is held out as such a grave and serious misstep as to be the least desirable thing one might imagine. This helps his hearers to realize how skewed our imaginations of reality actually are. Jesus is holding forth a measure of value completely foriegn to the vast majority of humanity.

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us a proper view of what it means to be human. Thank you for understanding our true worth. Thank you for helping us to see that we are created beings that need to consider our eternal souls. Thank you for the gift of life in Christ! May we not forget every day to evaluate what we are doing in comparison with eternity. I will praise you for all of eternity, and should start right here and right now. Your praise is always appropriate. It’s always time to bring worship to you. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 8:35
This is another of Jesus’ extreem statements that many misunderstand or take offense at. To lose one’s life is a serious thing. So what exactly does the Lord have in mind here? Did he expect his disciples to be crucified with him? No, we know that he knew that would not happen. But, we are told that they ‘forsook’ him and fled when the soldiers came to take him away.
And yet, every one of the disciples, except for Judas of course, seems to have come to understand what Jesus meant in these verses. They all gave thier lives for him. They realized that Jesus was calling for absolute surrender of self. No holding back.
A life lived devoid of Christ will meet only with death and hell fire afterwards. And, the measure of devotion Jesus calls for here assures the genuine Salvation of the offerer.

Heavenly Father, thank you for helping us to understand the reality of what we have in Christ. He is all that we need. We can live totally for him and not worry about what this world says is valuable. The true value in life is knowing the One who has given us a future. He has saved us from ourselves. Thank you for Christ! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Today, click the link on the right that says, ‘My Wife’s Blog’. It will be a blessing to you!

For my post today, click the link on the right that says, ‘A Friend’s Blog’. There you can read a blog post by Beth Durham about the message I just preached last Sunday about celebrating the feast of thanksgiving in a worshipful manner. Happy Thanksgiving!

Mark 8:34
Obviously, Jesus taught many things as a result of current events. This passage about living for Christ is a teaching Jesus purposely gave on the heels of his revelation about his crucifixion. It explains to the disciples how that they should be ready to give thier lives as well.
What Jesus is saying here would have been pretty hard to swallow for his hearers. To deny oneself is a noble goal that any religious person might aspire to. But, the taking up of the cross along with it indicates more than aspiration is being called for. Those who were crucified were made to carry their cross to the place of crucifixion. So to carry one’s cross indicates complete dedication to the destination. In other words, Jesus is not calling for fine religious aspiration, he wants absolute personal surrender.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the sacrifice of Christ! We will praise you for this for all of eternity. That you would even plan all of this is so amazing, and it reveals your love so much. We will praise you with our lives. I will live for him who died for me! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 8:33
Some debate has surrounded this, but it’s seems that Jesus actually physically turns his back to Peter. This is quite likely given that Jesus knew how to handle the deceptions if the devil. This was quite a temptation in that Peter was precious to Jesus and this persuasion against going through with the betrayal, rejection, and crucifixion, was very inviting.
So, Jesus knows how to respond because he recognizes the trickery. We might ask ask how Peter could be influenced by Satan this soon after having confessed Christ? But, we have Christ’s own words to show that this was the case.
What then does Jesus mean by what he says here? How was Peter to take this? Jesus spoke directly to the wicked one, knowing that Peter had been tempted to engage in this conversation. And, his words are quite appropriate. Unlike his temptation in the wilderness, Jesus did not directly quote Scripture, but his words were based in God’s Word. He made a statement on the basis of what we know from Scripture about the devil.
Indeed, Jesus words were a real demeaning and direct attack against the devil himself personally. He said that Satan was stuck on humanity, and that he had no desire for the things of God. Though this makes perfect sense, please understand what Jesus means by this. He is binding the destiny of the devil up with the destiny of evil men. Because Lucifer didn’t want to do God’s will, he has become nothing more than a pawn of sin like fallen humanity. His power is limited, he has little authority, and his days are numbered. In other words, it’s kinda like Jesus is saying, you’re the one in the cage, remember? No matter how free the devil feels at this time, his sphere of influence is doomed for destruction.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the victory in Jesus Christ! Thank you for his power over the kingdom of darkness. Thank you for rescuing us from the clutches of the lion in the cage. Thank you for giving us life in Christ. I will sing of your glory forever! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.