John 6:60-71

There is just so much that I do not know. Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray Him, yet still He allowed Judas to follow Him like the others. Also, Jesus points out that the Spirit is the only one to give life--the flesh doesn't help at all. We cannot trust the flesh.  It will lead to our destruction.

Romans 8:1-16

Living in the flesh CANNOT please God. Living in the Spirit will reap peace and happiness. When it comes down to it, the flesh is a dead end road. Only the Spirit will bring us eternal life. I feel I need to get to closer to the Spirit, know Him better. I feel oftentimes I'm oblivious to His works. I need to be more aware of the bigger picture.

Matthew 4:1-11

Jesus' strength and courage against Satan is so inspiring. He does not fall for Satan's tricks. Satan tempts, and Jesus resists. What Jesus has done here is nothing I can't do. All I need to do is recognize temptation for what it is.

Psalm 119:25-40

This is what I needed.
"Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
   and give me life in your ways."
How very appropriate. I see God working. It reminds me that even when I mess up, He's still there to nudge me back on the right track. Even breaking our dryer- that was an act of God.  I need understanding. Open my heart Lord. I see you working, now let it settle into my bones.

Psalm 33:1-11

The beauitful sovereign Lord has created all, and has a plan for all. Nothing will change His plan, and we can trust it to be righteous and true forever. Just as His love is steadfast. I really love how music is such a common method of praise. It really shows God's majesty, that these special sound waves are so pleasing to the ear. It is how He likes to be praised. Worship is amazing.

John 17:1-19

"The High Priestly Prayer" Jesus is praying for us, His people. I see here a parallel between us and Jesus. We have the same purpose to serve as He did here. We are to go out and glorify His name. We are not of the world, and therefore will experience trials and troubles in it, but if we are chasing after God, that is all that really matters.

Mark 16

I can not imagine watching your savior die on a cross, and then being told that He is risen! The excitement that must have caused probably had the adrenaline pumping. The disciples don't believe those who saw Him with their own eyes, showing how we are still stained by unbelief. Jesus does rebuke them for it though. He basically tells them, NOW do you believe them? Now hurry up and make disciples. We are indestructible through Christ. He offered Himself to pay the price for all of our sins--our unbelief.

Mark 15

The Crucifixion. It's hard for me to even come close to understanding what happened here. I can't even fathom what it must have been like for Jesus. Denied, over and over and over again. Tortured, mocked, spit upon. Raised up for all to see in the most vile way possible. He did it for us. He was spotless- The last person on Earth who would have deserved it. It's so hard for me to wrap my head around.

Mark 14:53-72

These terrible people who tried to testify against Jesus, spewing lies, spitting on Him, they did not understand. They did not see. We are just like them. It's a terrible thing to behold. How incredibly unclean we all are. How badly we need Him. He speaks the truth, even when we spit lies against Him. The rooster doesn't get a chance to crow twice before Peter denies Jesus three times. How quickly we fall apart. Someone who has lived by and followed Jesus, denies Him like that. We really are broken people in need of a savior. Somehow, God gave up His son for us when we had done absolutely nothing for Him. Ah, the beauty of Grace <3

Mark 14:26-52

Betrayed with a kiss. This truly is "scandalous" as Wes says. Everyone thought they'd be strong enough to sacrifice their lives for Jesus, but even Peter denies Him 3 times, and falls asleep when He's supposed to be keeping watch. What a terrifying reminder of reality, and our weaknesses. This is WHY we need Him. He came to fulfill the prophecy.  "the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." It is just so true. What Jesus went through to pay for of weaknesses, no words can truly describe. Just, let us be thankful.

mark 14:12-25

The last supper. It's wonderful to read how the disciples can forever trust Jesus. They follow a man with a jug of water, and the house he enters will be where they feast. I wonder how Judas felt when Jesus said He knew he was going to be betrayed by one of them. It would have been better if he was never born? Wow. Did Judas have any conscience at all?

Mark 14:1-11

Jesus was betrayed. We think it so unthinkable for someone to do, but we betray Him every day too. We sin. Why on Earth do we do it?

Mark 13

If this chapter tells us anything, it is to be prepared for the return of Christ. He tells us what is going to happen during the "birthing pains." I can just imagine what this world is going to be like. The world is so indulged and wrapped up in things that please our sinful nature; what happens when destruction hits? Will we be completely without power or electricity? Even that disruption alone would send this world into chaos.  We're such a fragile people, and God has been so gracious to even allow us to walk this narrow balance beam for so long.  Let us glorify Him and His awesome power. He will bring justice. With our minds and hearts set on Him, He will carry us through any tribulation.

Mark 12:35-44

I'm very confused by the first part of this passage. Not exactly sure what I should be getting from it. Did people think David was THE son of God? I see in the second part of this scripture the value of a purity and honestly of heart. Prayer should be sincere, not lengthy for time's sake. And money tithed should be given with trust in the Lord, pushing ourselves to lean on Him. I need to do this more. I've been afraid to lean.

Mark 12:18-34

The weight of these verses is tremendous. Jesus speaks with such divine authority, and commands the people to love with everything they have. He speaks to me and you. I too want to be not far from the Kingdom of God. Glory to God, the almighty and powerful--creator and controller of heaven and earth.

"Take my life and let it be all for You and for Your glory, take my life and let it be Yours!"

Mark 12:1-17

This parable is yet another example of Jesus foretelling his death. I read this as a servant, but I know I am just as guilty as the tenants striving for their master's inheritance--killing the precious son. Yet still, God does not take away from us the opportunity to stand. We do not have to be destroyed. There is a cornerstone on which we can lean for all support. Jesus is that cornerstone.
 I also find it interesting to be able to relate my secular history class to the Bible. Sometimes it's hard for me to remember what else was going on during the time Jesus was here. Jesus and Cesar were from the same time period. That just strikes me as odd for some reason. Anyways, what is Cesar's money is Cesar's money--Not God's? interesting.

Mark 11:15-33

We are to keep the temple holy. This is the story I always think of when I think of righteous indignation. This is Jesus' fervor to respect and obey his Father. We can not use the temple for our own glory--only God's for it is HIS.
I read verses 24-25, and I find the power of one word to be awe-inspiring. Believe. All we have to go is believe. Being without doubt is the only way to truly believe, otherwise you're assuming. When we pray, we are to believe.
The last section of this passage makes me think of how amazing it is that Jesus is both 100% man and 100% God. He asks the chief priests and scribes if John's baptism was from man or from God. The can not answer. He tells them that is why he cannot answer about his authority. If I am interpreting this correctly, the answer was both!

Mark 11:1-14

Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a colt that had never been ridden before. It just seems to be the right thing to do. A humble servant, pure and righteous.  It just fits. I feel as servants of a servant, we should be that much more humble. I believe Love and humility can lead to a real sense of purity. I do believe it also takes some self control, which is a gift of the spirit. I really wish I had more self control.

Mark 10:35-52

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

We must never think ourselves as above anyone else. Our mission hear on Earth is to follow Jesus Christ's example, and that is from a position of humility. We are here to help others and glorify Christ in the process. We must keep our eyes on what matters most, and not fear what doing the right thing will result in. God is good. Having relentless faith in Him will never result in something wrong.

Mark 10:17-34

I think a big part of growing close to Christ is realize how everything of this world is meaningless. We as God's people, originally created in His image, are loved so preciously by Him. His adoration is invested in nothing else. And we would be nothing, literally, without Him. Yet somehow we are attracted to destruction.  We sin. We do things we know isn't God's will, and bear the consequences. We give value to things that aren't capable of holding any real value. He knows what's best. We just have to trust Him on that.

Personally, that scares me. The idea of giving up everything is mind-boggling. I want to try that, but I have no idea how. I don't think I can fathom permanently giving everything up, so I could never come back to it. That's the scary part. Amazingly scary.

Mark 9:30-50

Wow. There is so much in the world that pollutes our minds. We can't easily see good for good, and bad for bad. It's so much clearer when we can see it in Jesus' words. I'm hoping that I can see through all the pollutants and live the way Jesus would like me to.

Mark 10:1-16

This philosophy I've always held true about divorce. One flesh shall not be separated.
What I do notice at the end of this passage is that the disciples rebuke the children, and Jesus gets indignant. It reminds me that even the disciples weren't perfect. We all have our problems. I'm hoping I can help friends through theirs by leading them to Jesus.

Mark 9:1-29

I love this story of of Peter talking to Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. He is terrified has no idea what to say, so he just babbles about making tents or something. It reminds me that he was just as human as me, because I'm sure I would have done the same thing.
Again, Jesus delivers a child from an unclean spirit. This is an interesting case though, because the apostles could not cast out this demon. Jesus says that it was the kind that could only be driven out by prayer. This simply reminds me of the true power of prayer.

Mark 8:22-38

It baffles me how God works. When Jesus heals this blind man, he first sees men as trees. I wonder what significance this held in God's eyes. Why not just give the man his sight back perfectly right away? Maybe it comes down to trusting Jesus, trusting the power of God. The man did not run away when his sight was returned only partially. He waited it out and God what he wished for--his sight completely returned.
Reading this too about who Jesus is...it is just so deep. He requires so much of us- to lose our life in order to save it. These are the stakes of a God, the one true God. Something so much bigger than us. Our lives have so much more meaning than what we can give ourselves. That's why we need HIM! He's got a plan. Only by denying ourselves and following Jesus will we experience the true mercy of God.

Mark 8:1-21

Again, Jesus feeds thousands of people with a few loaves of bread. These kinds of things we don't see every day, and now that His people saw Him do it twice, you'd think they'd understand by now that Jesus can and will take care of His people, even when it seems like there is no way.
The pharisees want proof. God does not have to prove Himself to us. Letting us exist is more than loving on His part. We've given ourselves a severe importance, and a standard of living we see fit. It's a sad thing to realize there are so many devoted to a life without Christ.

Mark 7:24-36

I remember going over this part of Mark in Seek. It is difficult to understand the dog and breadcrumb verses. What can we learn from the verse "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs" ? How is this the right answer? She says yes to Jesus--that's always the right answer, at least. The dogs are indeed not first to eat, but they do get the breadcrumbs. This is all I understand the verse to be at this time.


Jesus heals a deaf man with a stutter. I love how Jesus heals. He heals someone in almost every reading, and He heals by touching the sick part of the body when the ailment is physical. I would love to see Jesus at work. The beautiful thing is, is still happens today through His power.

Mark 7:1-23

I enjoy how Jesus tells the pharisees that their traditions do not honor God. It puts into focus how we can not work our way into heaven by what we consider good deeds. It needs to be God's will we follow. 

 Also, it is not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out from within. This is so powerful and true. Just as Pastor Jerry talked about, it does not matter what type of food we eat, because that goes to our stomachs, not our hearts. Out of us comes our character, and that's what matters to God.

Mark 6:45-66

Jesus walks on the water. I found it interesting that He meant to go by the boat, until the men saw him and were terrified. Also, it was incredibly windy. Every story I usually see shows him calmly walking on the gentle water.  It isn't until you read the word for yourself that you really understand what happened.  I don't know how many times I've heard this story, but now I understand it much better. He also continues to heal the sick.

Mark 6:30-44

Here, Jesus feeds five thousand people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. It seems to me that this is all I can say--It speaks for itself. It's a miracle only God could execute. I wonder how He did it....did He just regenerate the fish with each bite? Did He make one tiny bite fill the stomachs of each person?  They were satisfied, in any case. That's what God does--He satisfies.

Mark 6:14-29

This was the story of King Harod beheading John the Baptist when the daughter of Herodias asked for his head on a platter on her mother's behalf. God raised John from the dead. John had spoken truth to Herod that he should not take his brother's wife. Herodias spitefully wanted him dead. There isn't much that I got from this other than don't be spiteful and God is amazing, yet again--Raising the dead like only he can!

Mark 6:1-13

I think it's interesting how there are so many people who reject Jesus, back then and today.  It's all over the New Testament--unbelief. I wonder if people today even consider that as Christians we are "used to" and expect rejection and unbelief.  Jesus just tells His apostles to shake off the dust from their feet as they leave from a house that doesn't accept nor listen to them. Great teaching--we should not carry around with us that rejection.