All these evils come from inside and make a man “unclean.” —Mark 7:21 Jesus rattled the Jewish dietary cage when he told them to forget this “kosher” nonsense; it’s what goes into your heart, not your stomach that corrupts. It is the thought-life that defiles you. For from within, […]
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Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. —Mark 6:51 He had agreed to join them, but evening came and “Jesus had not yet come to them” (Jno. 6:17). Their boat was being tossed like a toy by vicious wind
Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place. —Mark 6:31 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where
Isn’t this the carpenter? —Mark 6:3 Carpenters do two things: they make things and fix things. Jesus was a carpenter. He made us: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” But we stumbled, fell, got broken. We need to be fixed. He can
He who has ears to hear, let him hear. —Mark 4:9 President Franklin Roosevelt loathed formal reception lines at the White House. All show no substance. People don’t hear a word you say, he complained. One day his mischievous side won out. Each
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Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. —Mark 1:41 His hand was hideously deformed—a silent sufferer, neither seeking Jesus’ attention, nor asking for his help. But his affliction awakened an ache in
Very early in the morning … Jesus got up … and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. —Mark 1:35 A polished violinist was asked, “What is the secret of your success?” “Planned
I am with you always. —Matthew 28:20 “In this world you will have trouble,” Jesus said. Not “In this world you may have trouble,” but “In this world you will have trouble.” If you’ve been around for a spell you’re saying, “Yep.” But he also made you a promise—a promise that when trouble comes calling,
“I don’t know the man!” —Matthew 26:72 It was the most painful night of Peter’s life—the night he denied knowing Jesus. Jesus told him he would. Peter said he wouldn’t. He did. But that’s not the end of the story. Peter faced his failure, admitted his sin, repented in tears, and was a fearless and
Rise, let us go! —Matthew 26:46 Crushed with anguish over what he was facing, Jesus stumbled deeper into Gethsemane to pray. “Stay here and keep watch with me,” he implored his three best friends. And three disappointing times he came back to find them sleeping instead of watching. Emotions of sorrow and shame must have
