spend time with Jesus – Be Still…

Mark 14:1-9 – Honoring Jesus

Read Mark 14:1-9

What’s the most valuable thing you own? Would you be willing to give it away to honor Jesus? The woman in our reading did just that. It was a surprising act to everyone, except Jesus. He was blessed and explained to the onlookers the beauty of what she had done. Truth be told, we are still talking about this woman and her extravagant faith all these years later.

What do you think about Jesus’ rebuke? We’re not told here who was sitting at the table, but Jesus said, “You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me.” What a wake-up call to help them realize their focus had been all wrong. Rather than fuss about earthly things, Jesus wanted them to focus on him in that moment. How much better it is for us, too, when we focus on Jesus rather than the world.

Mark 9:30-32 – Jesus Says He’s Going to Die Again

Read Mark 9:30-32

Here we have the second time Jesus spoke of his death in Mark’s gospel. The disciples still don’t get it. By now, they seem hesitant to ask for clarification. Has that ever happened to you? You have a question for a teacher or professor and are afraid to ask because of how you may look? I wonder what held the disciples back from asking Jesus to explain. Maybe they remembered Peter being called Satan the last time Jesus spoke like this.

What I liked about this passage is the intimacy Jesus displays. He wanted to lay low, avoid clamoring crowds, and just spend time with his disciples. I suppose that struck a chord with me because my love language is “quality time.” Jesus was desiring special time with his followers. He still desires that from us today.

Hebrews 4:1-11 – What A Gift!

Read Hebrews 4:1-11

God’s rest is meant to be a gift! This is especially good news if you are one of those people (like me) who have a hard time sitting still. You want to be doing something, always keeping your mind or body in motion. The gift of rest is meant to slow us down – spend more time in God’s presence. The Preacher even says we ought to “tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it.”

This rest is so much more than the Sabbath rest mentioned here briefly. Do you find it difficult to cram everything you need to do into six days so that you can have your Sabbath on the seventh day? Having Sabbath rest is the ideal God intends for us. Consider how God offers us that day of rest as a gracious gift pointing to our ultimate rest in God’s presence. But often we fall short. That’s probably why when we read about Jesus healing on the Sabbath, for example, we have a hard time fathoming the seriousness of his actions.