The Book of Mark

Ok, so this is how bad I am at the Bible....I knew that the Apostles wrote their stories of what happened during Jesus' lifetime (and they experienced it together) but I guess since I had never read it, I didn't think about how they would be so similar!  Duh!  So as I read Mark, Luke, and John, their similarities to Matthew are quite evident.  Please take this as a lesson to any of you out there that have also not read the Bible and learn from me that it's never too late.  I'm glad I'm doing it, even if I feel pretty dumb right now!

"If Jesus were to return today, would you be prepared?"  It's not too late! 

Today's Scriptures: The Book of Mark - Contents: 1:1 - 2:12 - Jesus' Introduction and Preparation; 2:13 -8:26 is about Jesus' public ministry; 8:27 - 10:52 are the stories of Jesus' teachings; and finally in 11:1 - 16:20 is the story of Jesus' trial, death and resurrection.  It can be found on  Bible.com.

Key Verse: Mark 10:45 - "In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served.  He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people."  

Application:  


My Thoughts: I love the stories that Jesus tells...I think I would have been someone that followed him around to hear his stories. A few of my favorites are the seed (Mark 4:13-20), and another seed (Mark 4:26-29), and still another (mustard) seed (Mark 4:30-34)!  

In Chapter 7, I find it interesting that he is differentiating between God's law and man's laws.  I have had issues with some of our church's traditions that seem to be more important than the most basic activities of church.  For example, incense must be done just this exact way every time, or specific motions must be performed when saying a prayer - touching your head a certain way, bowing at the waist when certain words are said....really?  Where does it say that in the Bible?  When did Jesus give us those rules and why must the church require such "traditions"?  Is it a sin if we don't do it this way?  I was taught by a priest that I loved and admired that we have traditions with a capital "T" and those with a small "t".  He further explained that those with the capital "T" can't be messed with, but those with the small "t" are more flexible.  I honestly forget now, which are which....but to me, if its not explained by the 10 Commandments (capital C), it would be a small "t".

Which brings me to a similar topic....I hear criticisms about the very large christian churches/fellowships that are "Bible based".  I don't really have a bone to pick with them since to me, they are very effective at getting the word - the Bible scriptures - out there to the masses.  Sometimes they are a little gimmicky but then just as Jesus did - they are going after the crowd that may not be comfortable with all those long-standing religious traditions...they can be confusing and put-offish to someone not raised with them.  It can even be stressful if they don't know what comes next or what memorized verse/prayer to say.  Imagine yourself going to a completely different religion as yours and trying to feel comfortable or at home.  No matter how kind the parishoners are, you wouldn't feel comfortable because its like a secret society and you don't know the secret handshake to get in.  Didn't Jesus go after the crowd that needed to be saved?  He taught by using stories so that the people could understand.  Its been my experience that when I listen to the stories on any given Sunday from these christian fellowships, they are teaching the same way...telling me a story about something in my world or something I can relate to and tying it to scripture, often retelling the Bible story along side the present day story.  I can appreciate their effort and am thankful so many fellow Christians attend, participate, and want to be there, not because of tradition, but because they choose to be present.  Mark 9:39-40 - "But Jesus said, "Don't stop him, because anyone who uses my name to do powerful things will not easily say evil things about me.  40 Whoever is not against us, is with us."  Enough said!