TEXT: ‘Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”’ (Mark 10:17) THOUGHT: I love reading Mark’s gospel. It appears the author was in a hurry to cram in everything he wanted people to read, for he used the word “immediately” thirty-six times! This encounter between Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler is also recorded in both Matthew and Luke’s gospels, but Mark includes one phrase that makes their meeting all the more special, as we will see later in the teaching. Urgency – ‘one came running’ As Jesus was leaving the city on the road to Jerusalem, this man came running after Him. He did not want to miss seeing Jesus and ran to catch Him up. Why he had not spoken to Jesus earlier is not known, but perhaps he had heard Jesus say something that touched his heart. He wanted further information to a question he needed answering. Too many think it is alright to leave things until they are much older and nearer death. That is too costly a mistake to make, for when the time comes it may be too late. The Bible says,...
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TEXT: ‘Listen to this, O Job; Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God’ (Job 37:14) THOUGHT: Last Saturday I was in Brixham Marina on my sister and her partner’s twin-engine speed boat. Talking to a man who had his boat moored nearby, he told me it only had one engine as he preferred to travel more slowly. He said one disadvantage having two engines is that it can get there so quickly, people then speed on somewhere else without fully appreciating the first place they arrived at! Today’s Teaching is entitled, “Stand Still!” I want to encourage you to do that for the following reasons. Stand Still for God’s Salvation – ‘Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today’ (Exodus 14:13) The Children of Israel had just escaped from Egypt. Pharaoh was glad to see the back of them having suffered the plagues. Then he changed his mind and sent his army to get them back. The Israelites were trapped by the Red Sea ahead and the army behind. What could they do with no weapons or experience of warfare? They cried out in fear but Moses told them, “Stand still!” Supernaturally God made a way through the Red Sea....
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TEXT: ‘For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land’ (Song of Solomon 2:11-12) THOUGHT: Over seven years ago, while visiting the National Trust property Lanhydrock House, we admired a trough full of flowering plants which we later discovered to be the Shaving Brush or Haemanthus Albiflos. We purchased two in bloom and looked forward to a colourful display the following year. Alas it was not to be and for six years all we had was greenery but no sign of any flowers. Then a couple of weeks ago we suddenly noticed flowers appearing. How we rejoiced! Today’s Teaching is about how this experience can help us spiritually. Separation We had kept the plants separate but discovered they needed to be clumped together rather than on their own, keeping the new shoots all in the same pot. The Bible says, ‘Let us not neglect our church meetings’ (Hebrews 10:25 TLB). Take a hot coal from the fire and it soon cools on its own. People, trying to justify non-attendance in church say, “I can worship God anywhere”. True, but in order to produce something worthwhile,...
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TEXT: ‘Do not judge and criticize and condemn [others unfairly with an attitude of self-righteous superiority as though assuming the office of a judge], so that you will not be judged [unfairly]’ (Matthew 7:1 AMP) THOUGHT: In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught with a clarity the Jews were not used to. There was no ambiguity or loopholes. Just plain speaking that leaves us now in no doubt as to what we should do, whether it is the God/Man relationship or with each other. This is especially true when it comes to what we think of other people. When we judge others we are in danger of devaluing them Jesus taught the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. ‘The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector’ (Luke 18:11). He judged the tax collector to be far beneath him but his prayer never went further than the ceiling! Judging others means we end up thinking or saying they are not worth as much as they used to be. It is not what we think they are worth but the value God places on them. Many times we write people off but God...
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TEXT: ‘Yet you say’ (Malachi 1:2) THOUGHT: Malachi, last book of the Old Testament, is a warning from God to His own people, the Israelites, and may have been written during Nehemiah’s absence when he returned to report back to King Artaxerxes.1 How quickly the Israelites had departed from God’s ways and degenerated into wickedness, for when Nehemiah came back from Persia, he found God’s house neglected and the Levites and worship leaders working in the fields in order to survive because God’s people had stopped giving their tithes and offerings.2 Also, instead of keeping the Sabbath holy for the Lord, it had been reduced from a day of rest to just another day of the week for buying and selling.3 This is similar to when Moses went up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments from God and stayed for forty days. In his absence the Israelites soon persuaded Aaron to make the golden calf and cast off godly restraint celebrating, totally unaware of their true spiritual condition. Likewise the Laodecian Christians thought they were, ‘Rich, wealthy and in need of nothing’ but in God’s eyes they were really, ‘Lukewarm, wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked’ (Revelation 3:16-17). They were in denial just like in the time of...
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