Devotional Thoughts for Today
Mark 2:23-28 (ESV)
One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Many Christians today consider the Sabbath to be an archaic, obsolete regulation that is out of touch with our busy and competitive work environments—not realizing that the Sabbath was designed exactly for this reason. For a moment in our week, we can allow God to remind us that our lives belong securely in His hands—that ultimately, we are not the authors of our own success, and we can stop striving for that unreachable goal. The problem that we find is that many of us look at church not as a place of rest but just another place to strive. We do this by reducing the Sabbath to just another obligation that we need to fulfill in order to prove that we are good Christians. This is what the Pharisees were guilty of, so Jesus tells them: “Man wasn’t made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man.” In other words, God doesn’t require the Sabbath for His benefit but for our own.
One of the great benefits, for those of us who are committed to a Sabbath rest, is the flourishing of our relationships. All Christian fellowship is dependent on cycles of rest, because you cannot establish deep relationships if you are otherwise consumed by your work and your ambitions. It’s amazing how much of a difference rest can make in our relationships with one another. The Sabbath was designed to intentionally put enough space in our lives, so that we could enjoy the relationships God has given us. But knowing the rich benefits of the Sabbath is still not enough motivation for many of us to take the rest that we need.
Unless you live with a deep sense of freedom, you won’t pursue the rest that your soul is longing for. As many of us think about our schedules and our future success, there doesn’t seem to be any other option but to continue this frantic pace. There are many factors that contribute to these feelings: In this economy, job security is a major concern. There are hundreds of people waiting to take our jobs if we don’t do well. Technology is another culprit. We now have the capacity to work anywhere and at anytime—meaning, we don’t have the luxury of clocking out. Finally, sociologists tell us that for the first time in human history, we now have a society that determines personal identity and worth based almost completely on achievement. The traditional value of having your identity linked to your family is something that has essentially disappeared
For all of these reasons and more, many of us feel trapped by our work. One of the things that Jesus did so well in his interactions with people was to identify the things that enslaved them. Christianity—more than any other religion—emphasizes the recovery of human freedom. This connection between freedom and rest is most clearly revealed in Deuteronomy 5:15: in instituting the Sabbath, God tells the Israelites, “Remember you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God brought you out with a mighty hand; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.” The Sabbath was given to the people of God as a reminder of their freedom. And whether your master is Pharoah, corporate America, or your own ambition, the results are exactly the same—you feel like you have no control over your time and work. That is the bottom line definition of what is means to be enslaved.
In every age and culture, the most dangerous master is the unrelenting lure of success and wealth. The nature of man can’t help but base his identity on these things that are so artificial and fleeting. Unfortunately, we are often driven by this master, not realizing the negative impact it has on our lives. By realizing God’s loving intention for the Sabbath, we can prevent this self-induced bondage and learn how to live life in all its abundance.
Prayer: Father, we confess that none of Your commands are burdensome or restrictive. Everything You teach us is meant for our good and for our freedom. Help us to learn what it means to rest in You, by observing the Sabbath and keeping it holy. As we cultivate this discipline, may we experience the renewing effect of the Sabbath on our body, soul, and mind. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Judges 4
In this passage, we see Jesus calling Levi—better known to us as Matthew, the author of the first Gospel—to be one of His disciples. The first thing we learn about this man is his occupation, that he is a tax collector. Now, as much as we might dislike taxes and tax collectors, the typical Jew would have had a bitter hatred for tax collectors—especially if they were one of their countrymen. And this hatred would have been justified because tax collectors were employees of the occupying Roman Empire and their governors. The Jews absolutely hated Roman control over their land, and so collecting taxes for the Romans would have been viewed as a traitorous act. Therefore, the only people who would be willing to take such a job would have been those who were desperate for money and already outcasts of society. If you have already been rejected by society, what does it matter if you are cast out even further? At a certain point you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by betraying a society that has already betrayed you. Why Matthew chose to become a tax collector, we don’t know, but we do know that he was very comfortable being around other “sinners.”
In this passage, Jesus gives the crowd physical evidence of His spiritual authority to forgive sin. But in order to prove to the religious leaders and skeptics that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sin, He commands the paralyzed man to rise up and pick up his mat. From man’s perspective, we would conclude that it is far more difficult to command a physical healing, because you can’t prove if someone’s sins are forgiven. However, from God’s perspective, the forgiveness of sin comes at a far greater price and is a much more difficult thing—something only God can do.
A great number of evangelical, Bible-believing Christians don’t truly believe that God performs miraculous healings today. These views are largely shaped by the negative publicity of healing ministries and their leaders, who make a fortune on the misfortune of others. Investigations show little documented evidence of the names and illnesses that they have healed, and some even use actors to fake healings. These ministries seem to be a far cry from the way Jesus healed in the Gospels, and appear to be driven more by money than faith.
What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ? The topic of discipleship is something that I’ve thought about since my time in seminary. I vividly remember our New Testament professor asking the class, “How many of you consider yourself to be Christian?” I wasn’t sure if this was a trick question, but it certainly was the easiest question we’ve been asked in seminary; so all of us raised our hands confidently. But after our response, the professor asked the hardest question in my years of theological training: “How many of you consider yourself to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ?” I remember looking around the room, and at first no one raised their hand, and then about five of us in a class of twenty reluctantly put our hands up. Now you need to realize that this was a class of third year seminary students, many of whom had decided to make ministry a full-time career. Yet we were unsure and confused about what discipleship to Christ meant. And then my professor taught me a lesson that I will never forgot and one that I hope you will never forget. In the New Testament, there is no distinction between being a Christian and being a disciple of Christ—they are one and the same.
Each of the four Gospels begins with differing points of view and emphasis according to each author and audience. The Gospel of Mark begins the story of Jesus Christ, not by tracing His genealogy down a long list of names or even going back to a certain point in time, but it begins with a location. From the vantage point of this particular Gospel, I believe the Spirit of God is interested in teaching us that the gospel had its beginnings in the wilderness. And as we recognize this theme being played out here in this first chapter of Mark, we need to ask ourselves what is the significance of the wilderness.
The AMI QT Devotionals from March 5-11 are provided by Pastor Mark Chun of Radiance Christian Church in S. F. Mark, a graduate of University of California, San Diego, and Talbot School of Theology (M.Div.), has been married to Mira for 20 years; they have two children, Jeremiah and Carissa.
The Gospel of Mark opens with John the Baptist’s acknowledgment of the superiority of Jesus’ ministry, based on one very important distinction—the nature of their baptisms. We read that while John baptized his followers in water, Jesus came to baptize His disciples in the Holy Spirit. John clearly saw the limitation of his own ministry, and in this passage he talks about the fact that his own work is limited to baptism by water.
My father passed away the summer of 2017. For many years of his life, he faithfully served as an elder at a large Korean church. I still remember as a kid how happy he was in becoming an elder. His primary function as an elder was to lead and direct the choir, since he had studied music in college; so he faithfully directed the choir to sing songs of worship every Sunday for over two decades. He was also given opportunities to travel throughout parts of the world with the choir on their short-term mission trips—he enjoyed them so much! Those privileges and responsibilities given to him truly motivated him to work even more diligently, preparing Sunday after Sunday. He’d stay up for hours writing and re-writing some of the music pieces for the choir members. Of course, his pursuit of excellence and the hours and hours he put into his preparation also led to a certain set of expectations for the choir members; thus, he also become known as the “scary” elder, as he would at times yell at choir members for not performing to his high standards.
My wife sometimes gets in the mood for jigsaw puzzles, so we’ll get out a 500 or a 1000 pieces puzzle set and get to work putting the picture together. You can spend hours or even days putting the puzzle together, depending on the picture. I’ve asked people their opinions on puzzles; while some feel that it is a total waste of valuable time, others enjoy the satisfaction of finding the matching pieces as they rummage through hundreds of pieces searching for that match. Our family enjoys jigsaw puzzles as our children also get involved.
Today’s AMI QT Devotional is provided by Rebecca Wong, who is currently serving as the Children’s Ministry Director at Kairos Christian Church. Rebecca is a graduate of Point Loma Nazarene University with a degree in Media Communications.
What is the first word you associate with the word “dysfunctional”? Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be a glitching laptop, a broken zipper, or even a failing organ. I think most people would think of either “family” or “relationship.” Never in the history of mankind has there ever been a “perfect family”—and I think each and every one of us can personally attest to this. We can even see dysfunctional families all throughout the Bible: Adam and his wife playing the blame game right at the beginning of time, their son killing his own brother, Abraham’s family tree of adultery, lies, deceit, and betrayal, and David and his sons targeting each other for the throne—just to name a few of the big ones.