Mark – Page 38 – The Arnold Journey

Stretch

Mark 2:1-12 Jesus had two primary missions in His life. The first was the preaching of the message of God. God had intervened in history in a very personal way, in the person of Jesus. The second mission was to bring reconciliation between God and humanity through his own sacrifice on the Cross. WithoutContinue reading “Stretch”

Mat Talk

Mark 2:1-12 This section marks the third teaching-miracle segment in this section of Mark’s Gospel. Mark continues to alternate between teaching and miracles for much of his book. Jesus’ authority as the Servant of the LORD is emphasized again in this section. In these verses we see demonstrated Jesus’ ability to forgive sins. AndContinue reading “Mat Talk”

Could Have Been’s

Mark 1:45 Have you ever thought about a decision you made and wonder what would have happened if you had made a different choice? It is amazing the way our minds work. We have the ability to run multiple scenarios in our minds and guess what would have happened. Sometimes this leads to regrets,Continue reading “Could Have Been’s”

Clear Instructions

Mark 1:43-44 Disobeying clear directions can be dangerous! Think about it. Don’t use around open flames. Pretty clear instructions, right? And yet hundreds of people are burned every year by gasoline used to light fires, mostly men, I might add. Don’t drink and drive, and yet people still do it. Don’t text and drive.Continue reading “Clear Instructions”

The Touch

Mark 1:41-42 A potentially explosive situation arose. Have you ever had this happen in your life? One minute you are minding your own business and whammo, you are face to face with a situation and you don’t know the outcome. It can be pretty uncomfortable to be in that spot. And yet, most ofContinue reading “The Touch”

Incurable

Mark 1:40 Having physical illness can bring societal rejection, or at least apprehension. When people see others with obvious physical abnormalities, there is a tendency to stare and then to move away. Children haven’t learned these social practices and will often ask questions out loud about the abnormality, much to the chagrin of theContinue reading “Incurable”

Blabbermouth

Mark 1:40-45 Did you ever want to keep something under wraps, quiet for the moment, secret? My wife loves throwing surprise parties for people. She loves putting all the details together and seeing the smiles when she pulls it off. It can be difficult to get the word out without the news spilling overContinue reading “Blabbermouth”

Leave

Mark 1:38-39 Our natural tendency is to want to stay where things are going well, where things are easy. We like success. We like it when things are going smoothly. At least most of us do. We generally want to take the easy path, the one most traveled. We like sticking with the crowd.Continue reading “Leave”

“Private Lives”

Mark 1:35-37 Have you ever wondered what famous people do in their private time, when there are no cameras and reporters around? This private conduct does say a lot about a person’s character. It is not our character when we know people are looking that matters. We can all put on a good faceContinue reading ““Private Lives””

Winning Hand

Mark 1:32-34 Gambling is about the odds. One of the games that you can put the odds in your favor is Blackjack. If you can mentally keep track of which cards you have seen already, and follow a strict set of rules, you can at least break even, and perhaps even win. This processContinue reading “Winning Hand”