Listen to God

By Richard

Mark 6: 14 – 29 records the death of John the Baptist. Herod had imprisoned him for calling his affair with Herodias “adultery”. Later, having watched Herodias’ daughter dance, euphoric (and probably inebriated), he offers to grant her any wish. After a quick consultation with mummy she replies that she’d like the head of John the Baptist to be served immediately on a platter.

Right in the middle of this story we find a rather intriguing line. “Convinced that [John] was a holy man he gave him special treatment. Whenever [Herod] listened to him he was miserable with guilt and yet couldn’t stay away. Something in John kept pulling him back.” (Mark 6; 19 & 20, the Message).

It struck me how Herod never really listened to his heart. He never followed through on his obvious spiritual sensitivities. It got me wondering how many people out there in Madrid have spiritual sensitivities that they are not following through on. We need to pray for them. It got me thinking about the lives of believers, indeed, my own life. Are there things that God is saying to us, calling us to do, that we urgently need to hear is voice about and determine to follow through on?

Gentle Rain

By Richard

In Mark 6: 1-4 we read that in his hometown the packed synagogue is in one breath amazed at Jesus’ teaching and in the next cutting him down. “He’s just a local boy…who does he think he is!” It reminds me of the way Jesus tends to turn us “on” or to turn us “off”. I think that one of the reasons that miracles are given sparingly is that they are as much the means for our condemnation as well as for our salvation. Using a local illustration! In Spain after the hot dry summer the earth is dry and hard. Heavy rains tend to run off and cause massive floods. Light rains are much better because they sink in and prepare the ground to absorb more water. The earth could only handle Jesus’ ministry for 3 years before they said, “Enough, our boy from Galilee has got to go!” Why isn’t it pouring God on earth? Because of our hardness of heart and tendency to put out the light! But don’t get me wrong, if you stop for a moment you might catch the gentle rain; of his Spirit, the beauty of creation and those followers who are bringing Christ’s love to the dry earth. The gentle rain is falling, and so why not open your heart and let it sink in.

Women Matter to God

By Richard

In Mark 5: 21-43 we are shown how Jesus give a huge value to women. A woman who has been bleeding for 12 years, a “filthy” outcast in Jewish society is healed and called a “daughter”. A sick young girl of 12 years old, also of little value in the society is raised from the dead with the tender call of, “Talitha koum” (little girl, get up). We must not miss the strong statement that Jesus is making. Women matter greatly to God. They are as much “daughters” as men are “sons”.

Putting People First

By Richard

In Mark 5 Jesus travels across the lake to the land of the Gerasenes. He has a showdown with a man who is possessed by a “legion” of demons. The demons beg Jesus to spare them, and plead to be allowed to enter a herd of pigs. The demonised pigs, crazed, run like a herd of lemmings into the lake and drown. We read that when the locals showed up they were at first “in awe” at finding the previously sick man well but that in the next breath they got “upset over the drowned pigs” and “demanded that Jesus leave and not come back”.

I am reminded that people matter more to God than possessions. I heard about a pastor who faced an elder board who were complaining that bare footed hippies were dirtying the carpets in the church. So he left the meeting and started to rip out the carpets. He did not want anything to stop people coming to Jesus. Question: Do we put people before our possessions?

All by Itself

By Richard

Jesus tells a parable about God’s kingdom. He says that the kingdom of God is like, “Seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows – he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help; first a green stem of grass, then a bud, the ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps – harvest time!” (Mark 4: 26-29, the Message).

I don’t know about you but this parable reminded me of a couple of important things. The kingdom of God advances almost imperceptibly, but grow it does from seed through to harvest. We must not get discouraged in our "instant" world by the slowness of growth.

The second, and probably most important thing, is the reminder of just how much of the work is God’s. When I lie down to sleep and forget about all the hard work that I am putting into establishing Mountainview, God is still at work, driving the humble kingdom seeds that I have sown on towards an eventual harvest.

My prayer is that God might take the seeds we have sown at Mountainview, water them, germinate them and grow them towards an eventual harvest, and that we might end up reminded it is God’s work – so that he gets the credit.

Pushed Around

By Richard

Backtracking here to Mark 1! We read that the Spirit, “Pushed Jesus out into the wild.” (Mark 1:12). It seems strange to think of the Spirit “pushing” Jesus. Philip Yancey has commented in several of his books about how God is the perfect respecter of the human freedom he has given us and is very gentle with his advances towards us. But I do think that as our relationship with God grows and we have relinquished some of our human freedom back to God, that he does want us to be inviting him to push us and challenge us towards growth. My prayer is that God will do his will through me – even if he has to push me, hard at times, to get me where he wants me to be.

Mountainview Services - Being With Jesus

By Richard

In Mark 3 we read that Jesus chooses 12 disciples. We read, “The plan was that they would be, and he would send them out to proclaim the Word and [have] authority to banish demons.” (Mark 12:14, the Message). That is my prayer for Mountainview services that they will be a place where we can “be with Jesus” for an hour or more each week that we might be sent out by him to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom in Madrid, by deeds, and when necessary using words.

Watch Your Heart

By Richard

In Mark 3 we read that the Pharisees, “Had their eyes on Jesus…hoping to catch him in a Sabbath infraction." (Mark 3: 2, The Message). So Jesus, very publicly and very profoundly, heals a man with a shrivelled hand. The hand becomes as new. However, rather than celebrate we find the religious leaders plotting to get rid of Jesus. We discover later in the Gospels that the primary reason the religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus was not that he broke the rules but because they were envious. I think there’s a warning here that pride and jealousy can so easily blind us to the good around us. We need to keep a close eye on how we feel and be making absolutely sure that we seek the good over personal gain. I hope and pray that Mountainview becomes a church where we can celebrate the good that God is doing through others and being happy when others get the credit.

Getting Closer to Jesus

By Richard

In Mark 21-12 we read of the account where a paraplegic is brought to Jesus. The crowds are so thick that his friends remove part of the roof and lower the man down, right there in front of Jesus. As I was reading this passage a question hit me. What do I need to remove in order to get closer to Jesus?

Saved to Serve

By Richard

In Mark 1: 29-31 we read that Simon’s (Peter’s) mother-in-law was sick with a fever. So Jesus takes her by the hand and raises her up from the bed, fully healed. Mark records that, “No sooner had the fever left than she was up fixing dinner for them.” (Mark 1:31, the Message). I am sure that Mark’s aim is to let us know that she was completely healed. But, I think the line also reminds a western church, waterlogged with consumerism that we saved to serve. We are saved by Christ to become his hands and feet and ears and eyes in the world. It is through his followers and their service that Christ and the world meet. So let us rise up and serve Christ today.

Inside Out

By Richard

Ok - we are back to blogging after a few weeks break. Enjoy!

I liked this thought at the beginning of Mark’s Gospel. John, baptising in the river Jordan, pointed to Jesus, the one who would baptize us with the Holy Spirit, a baptism that he said, “Will change us from the inside out” (Mark 1: 8 , the Message). Much of religion is an attempt to change ourselves from the outside in whereas a relationship with Christ in an invitation to allow his Spirit to enter us and begin changing us from the inside out. It reminded me of Hebrews 12: 2 that describes Jesus as the “author and perfector” of our faith. I don’t need to try harder rather I need to call out for Christ’s power to bring about change. Let’s ask Jesus today to change us.