Day 58 Bible Reading - Mark 9: 49-50 (ESV)

Leviticus 1 & 2, Mark 9: 33-50, Psalm 31: 9-18

Mark 9: 49-50 (ESV)

“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.””

Some theologians have speculated that fire in verses 49 and 50 from Mark 9 refers to troubles and suffering. But others have said that the fire refers to the Holy Spirit. I like the interpretation of fire being the Holy Spirit. As followers of Christ, we will be salted with the Holy Spirit. But to keep our faith constant and unwavering, we will have to keep the Holy Spirit in ourselves at all times. If we keep the Holy Spirit within us, then we will have always have peace. But I can see why the fire could be interpreted as troubles and suffering. When our faith is tested by troubles and suffering, our faith becomes stronger and we grow closer to God.

Day 57 Bible Reading - Mark 9: 23-24 (ESV)

Exodus 39-40, Mark 9: 1-32, Psalm 31: 1-8

Mark 9: 23-24 (ESV)

“And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!””

When I read verses 23 and 24 from Mark 9, I tried to imagine myself as the father of this child who needed healing. This man had so much belief in Jesus. I don’t know for myself if I would have that kind of belief in someone to heal my child. But the father does say to Jesus, “help my unbelief”, so he did have doubts but he asked Christ to help with his doubts. Christ healed the father’s son, even when it looked like the child had died. I’m trying to imagine what the father thought because the spirit did come out of the child, but then the child was lifeless. The father’s faith was tested again, until Jesus brought him to life. Asking for God to help us with our doubts even if we believe, is probably the wisest thing to do because there are times in our life when our faith will be tested like this father.

Day 56 Bible Reading

Exodus 37 & 38, Mark 8: 1-38, Psalm 30: 8-12

Mark 8: 33 (ESV)

“But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.””

I’ve always found verse 33 from Mark 8 very interesting. When I read his passage, I always think of Peter as just being mindful of any harm coming to Jesus and warning him. When Christ scolds him, it makes me realize that a person can so easily and unwittingly be used by Satan. God can do all things, but Satan whispers doubts in our ears and make us wonder if God is really that powerful even though we have evidence as did Peter to the contrary. We have always remind ourselves if our thoughts and words are contrary to the truth we know about God and the Christ.

Day 55 Bible Reading

Exodus 35 & 36, Mark 7: 31-37, Psalm 30: 1-7

Exodus 36: 1 (ESV)

“Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.”

I find verse 1 from Exodus 36 very intriguing. God filled the people who would be building the ark of the covenant with the necessary skills to build and decorate it. Does this mean if God tasks us with doing something, he will fill us with the “skill and intelligence” to complete the task? I think the answer is yes. I think of all the times God has asked me to do something, and I had doubts about doing the task. But if I just allowed myself to follow God’s wishes, I found myself able to complete the task even though I wasn’t sure at the start that I knew what I was doing. Did God fill me with “skill and intelligence” but I didn’t know it? I don’t know. I would like to think God did, because I know without God’s help I wouldn’t have been able to complete the task. So the next time God asks me to do something, I’m not going so much of doubter. I’m going to just do it, and trust that God will provide me with the skills I need to get the job done.

Day 54 Bible Reading

Exodus 33 & 34, Mark 7: 1-30, Psalm 29

Mark 7: 18-23 (ESV)

“And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean. And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.””

In these verses from Mark 7, we read of Jesus redefining the strict laws for eating laid down by the Pharisees. But I think Jesus in some way also expanded the kosher laws to include all things that enter our heart. If we hear things and let it enter our heart that are not in keeping with God’s laws in the both the Old an New testament, then slowly but surely it can start to poison us so when it does come out it will defile us. These last few weeks, Holy Spirit has been convicting me of listening to people who are all doom and gloom. I told myself I listen to these people because I am an open-minded person and I like to hear different points of view on a topic. But Holy Spirit has been warning me that listening to people with negative points of view is not a good thing for me because I feel depressed afterwards. If I look back on the track record of these people in predicting world events and trends, I have to say that 80% of the time their predictions have not come true. Some people even refer listening to doom and gloom as “fear porn”. So I stopped listening to them and my mood has improved because I think I am by nature a very optimistic person. And of course, Holy Spirit was right. I was letting myself take in something that started to defile me inside.