Lent Day 20 – The True Vine

Image by Felix Wolf from Pixabay

Lent Devotions
Lent Week Three – for Catch up.
Lent Week Four started March 5, 2018, March 23, 2019, and Feb 22, 2023

Lent Day Twenty
The True Vine

Music

You are the Vine – True Vine Music

Scripture Passage

John 15:1-19

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper. ²Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. ³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.

Devotion

Actually, we are going to discuss John 15:1-19.

1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper.
⁵“I am the vine; you are the branches.
- Jesus is speaking, so HE is the true vine.
²Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.
⁸My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be^[a] My disciples.
- Branches are to produce fruit
⁴Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.
⁵…The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.
- Branches need to remain in the Vine
²Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes,
⁶If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
- Not remaining in Him is disastrous.
⁴Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.
⁷If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.
- There are benefits to remaining in the Vine

How do we ‘get into’ the vine?

Romans 11: ¹⁷But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root^[b] of the olive tree, ¹⁸do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. ¹⁹Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. ²¹For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.

Romans 11: ²²Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.

Romans 11:²⁴For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

Yes, the Romans passages are talking about an olive tree, and the John passage is talking about a Vine, but I believe they are talking about the same concept.

There were those that were part of the Vine/Tree.
The disobeyed/unbelief
The vinedresser, husbandman found other healthy branches
They were grafted in

Now – just as in the John passage, if you don’t remain in the Vine you will be cut out, there is the warning to these branches that if they, the grafts, were to fall into unbelief, they would not be spared the outcome of the natural branches.

Once we are engrafted into the Vine or tree, it is our responsibility to remain in the vine/tree. IT IS OUR CHOICE!

How do we remain in the Vine?

In yesterday’s Lent, Day 19, we looked at how believing was a condition for receiving the Spirit of Truth.

Romans 11:²⁰That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith.

In The Itty Bitty Bible Study Ephesians 2, I talk about how

Ephesians 2⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.

This bears repeating:

Romans 11: ²²Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.

We are IN the Vine/Tree because of God’s grace!

We love because HE first loved us. 1 John 4:19

Lent Day 19 talks about how we show our love to God – John 14 ¹⁵“If you love me, keep my commands.

And then, we produce much fruit. John 15⁸My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be^[a] My disciples.

Matthew 13²³But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

We have been given the opportunity to be engrafted into the Vine, by grace through faith so that we can do good works and produce much fruit. It’s up to us to stay there – to remain – to abide.

There’s one more point – but I don’t know how to make it fit into this devotion. I do want to point it out. Jesus says:

John 15 ³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

YOU ARE ALREADY CLEAN because of the word I have spoken to you!

Ephesians 5:²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶to make her holy, cleansing^[a] her by the washing with water through the word,²⁷and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

This says that husbands should follow Christ’s example, loving the church, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word. If there’s no earthly husband, we have the heavenly Bridegroom that will still wash us, as we go to Him in prayer and study.

Let’s stay engrafted!

Let’s stay clean!

Worship

I am the Vine – ILP Music

Remain in Me, I am the Vine – Steve Angrisano

~~~~~~~

Hi!
My hope in the midst of despair and my joy in the face of depression is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not have one, or are not sure you will join him in heaven, please check out these links:

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Copyrights and Legal-eze
There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

Marching into Mark Chapter 7

Marching into Mark Registry,
the collection of these studies
(First 100 days of 2023, day 75, March 16 )

On Facebook, you can join us at Itty Bitty Bible Study Group.

Passage
Mark Chapter Seven

It doesn’t matter which version you choose. It can be digital or paper. You can use one of those fancy coloring bibles and do a page or coloring along with the passage.

I will mostly do Holman Christian Standard Bible because of their copyright freedoms.

The Images that I use are from Knowing Jesus and are available as downloads in every format that I can imagine for screen savers and wallpapers.

Mark 7(With cross referencing to Matthew 15)
- Mk 7:1-23 – What causes defiling
- 1 The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Him.
- They observed the disciples eating with unclean hands which went against the teachings of the Leaders
- ⁵Then the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why don’t Your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders, instead of eating bread with ritually unclean^[b] hands?”
- Jesus calls them on their hypocrisy
- ⁸Disregarding the command of God, you keep the tradition of men.”^[d] ⁹He also said to them, “You completely invalidate God’s command in order to maintain^[e] your tradition!
- The leaders had made it so that a son could say his wealth was for God and therefore didn’t need to take care of his parents, invalidating Honor your Father and Mother command.
- The point –
- ¹⁵Nothing that goes into a person from outside can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
- ¹⁸And He said to them, “Are you also as lacking in understanding? Don’t you realize that nothing going into a man from the outside can defile him? ¹⁹For it doesn’t go into his heart but into the stomach and is eliminated.”^[i] (As a result, He made all foods clean.^[j])
- What actually defiles
- ²⁰Then He said, “What comes out of a person—that defiles him. ²¹For from within, out of people’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, ²²adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, promiscuity, stinginess,^[k] blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. ²³All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”
- Mk7:24-30 Greek woman asking for healing
- Jesus – “…because it isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
- Woman – “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
- Jesus – “Because of this reply, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.”
- Her faith wouldn’t take a NO answer, and it seems she understood the heart of God.
- Mindfully Meditating in Matthew Chapter 15
- Mk 7:31-35 Deaf man with a speech difficulty
- ³⁵Immediately his ears were opened, his speech difficulty was removed,^[o] and he began to speak clearly.
- Mk 7:³⁷They were extremely astonished and said, “He has done everything well! He even makes deaf people hear, and people unable to speak, talk!”

A place to see the four gospels compared is from Synoptic Gospel Parallels.

Mindful Meditating

choose a verse,
set a timer for 5 minutes, or whatever works for you.
example: Mark 7:37
repeat to yourself, and at each word, enunciate the next word in the sentence starting with the first word…

example:

³⁷They were extremely astonished and said, “He has done everything well! He even makes deaf people hear, and people unable to speak, talk!”
HE has done everything well! He even makes deaf people hear,
He HAS done everything well!
He has DONE everything well!
He has done EVERYTHING well!
He has done everything WELL!

and so on. This will cause you to look at the verse more intently, and may have you memorize it before your five minutes are done.

Songs for Meditation

All Things Well – A’Men Quartet

This is the Kingdom – Elevation Worship

We Declare that the Kingdom of God is Here – Ron Kenoly

Coloring – I use coloring to help me focus on the fullness of a verse.

Mark Coloring page – Ministry to Children – simple enough to finish in an hour or less

Quick Questions – if you have time, or to think about over the course of the day, and jot down thoughts later. Some thoughts to dig deeper.

Why do you think Jesus went from talking about unclean hands to talking about honoring your Mother and Father?
1. GotQuestions answers what is CORBAN?
Why did Jesus call the woman a dog?
1. GotQuestions discusses this from the Matthew account.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

Lent Day 19 – Promise of a Comforter

Lent Devotions
Lent Week Three – for Catch up.
Lent Week Four started March 5, 2018 and March 23, 2019

Lent Day Nineteen
The Promise of a Comforter

Music

Come Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove – First Congregational Church of LA

Scripture

John 14:15-31
¹⁵If ye love me, keep my commandments.
¹⁶And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
¹⁷Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
¹⁸I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

white dove with an olive branch in it's mouth

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Devotion

This week we looked at
on Monday, Mansions
Then, The WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.
Tuesday, we looked at THE WAY.
Wednesday, we looked at the TRUTH.
Thursday, we looked at THE LIFE.

But today, we are jumping back to the original plan, and talking about the Promise of a Comforter.

Passage

John 14:15-31
¹⁵If ye love me, keep my commandments.
¹⁶And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
¹⁷Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
¹⁸I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

First, we need to look at

John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

The whole reason for this chapter is that Jesus doesn’t want the disciples hearts to be troubled. He says “LET NOT your hearts be troubled:”

There is something we can do to let not our hearts be troubled – and that is “ye believe in God, believe also in me.”

For us to be comforted, we must do something – BELIEVE!

John 14:1 HCSB – Your heart must not be troubled. Believe^[a] in God; believe also in Me.

“Let” is a verb.

“must not be” is a state of being.

The command is BELIEVE in God, BELIEVE also in Me.

We must believe in order to receive, and I’m not talking about “name it claim it” stuff…I’m talking about the fact that

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:6 ⁶But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

This gift is to BELIEVERS. Those who chose to live their life by FAITH.

The beginning of our passage is this:

John 14¹⁵If ye love me, keep my commandments.

New Living Translation says it “If you love me, obey my commandments.

Every other version I looked at through www.BibleHub.com said Commandments.

What are the commands of Christ?

We could say the Beatitudes – but I think he was describing character qualities to aim for in the Sermon on the Mount.

Then what?

That brings us back to

John 14:1 Amplified
“Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me.

Doesn’t that fit? heart, soul, mind and strength – LOVE – and this being the main outcome of BELIEVING. These are the commands of Christ that I can absolutely say.

There are other things, like telling us to believe. But, he said it. If you love me, keep my commands. So, by faith – we are to love and believe. Yet, there is a condition for the promise:

John 14:1 Believe in, God believe also in me.
John 14:¹⁵If ye love me, keep my commandments. ¹⁶And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, ….

Does this “commandments” get repeated?

John 14:²¹He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

John 14:²³Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

We’ve agreed that the commandments are His great commandments given in Mark 12:30-31 (above). And the promise is that if we keep his commandments, He will send a comforter (vs 16, 17,26 ), He will come to us ( vs 18,21,23,), we shall live (vs 19), have His words brought to our remembrance ( vs 26) and PEACE (vs 27).

John 14:¹⁶And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; ¹⁷Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Who or What is this Spirit of Truth?

THE MYSTERY

John 14:¹⁷Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

John 14: ¹⁸I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

John 14:²⁰At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

John 14:²³Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Jesus is hinting at the Triunity of God. Father, Son of Man/Son of God are spoken of in John 14:20 – and a comforter is mentioned in John 14:16.

The Spirit of Truth is part of the Godhead – but that’s another study. GotQuestions discusses the personhood of the Holy Spirit as God in great detail.

So assuming that the Holy Spirit is God – John 14:17 says He dwells with us and in this time, shall be IN us.

Who comes to live in us? THE GODHEAD!

Colossians 2:⁹For in him(Christ) dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

In Christ, dwells all the fulness of the Godhead – we know that.

Colossians 2:¹⁰And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

It is NOT unthinkable that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in us through the redeeming work of Christ, and our faith (belief) in Him.

A cool thing is that the power of the Godhead is the very power that existed in the beginning and created everything – CREATION POWER LIVES IN US!

Genesis1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Genesis 1:²And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Colossians 1¹⁵The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

What are some of the promises that come as comforts? I’m defining comfort as the freedom from fear.

verse 17 Spirit of Truth – freedom from lies
verse 19 Live eternally – freedom from fear of death
verse 26 Teach all things – freedom from spiritual ignorance
verse 26 bring remembrance – Proverbs 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. – freedom from power of Sin
verse 27 Peace – freedom from fear

Got Questions discusses what the Holy Spirit does – it’s A LOT. HE is a great gift!

The comforter, or The Comforter or The Spirit of Truth. The Holy Spirit, the third person in the Trinity. The gift is that He will dwell in us and help us, guide us, comfort us and protect us and lead us

Ephesians 4:13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

I wrote about the differences between the works of the flesh and the works of the Spirit in Itty Bitty Bible Study Ephesians 2.

Worship
Come Holy Spirit, Fall Afresh on Me – Maranatha Singers

Spirit Song – Edwin Hatch

Spirit of Our Living God, Fall afresh on Me – Marble Church

Spirit of the Living God – Vertical Worship

Where the Spirit of the Lord is – Hillsong Worship

~~~~~~~

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

Marching into Mark Chapter Six

Marching into Mark Registry,
the collection of these studies
(First 100 days of 2023, day 73, March 14 )

On Facebook, you can join us at Itty Bitty Bible Study Group.

Passage
Mark Chapter Six

It doesn’t matter which version you choose. It can be digital or paper. You can use one of those fancy coloring bibles and do a page or coloring along with the passage.

I will mostly do Holman Christian Standard Bible because of their copyright freedoms.

The Images that I use are from Knowing Jesus and are available as downloads in every format that I can imagine for screen savers and wallpapers.

Mark 6 (cross referenced to Matthew 9, 10 and 14)
- Mk 6:1-6 Rejected
  - Hometown Boy – Nazareth
  - Preached – they dismissed him
    - ²When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. “Where did this man get these things?” they said. “What is this wisdom given to Him, and how are these miracles performed by His hands?
    - ³Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t His sisters here with us?” So they were offended by Him.
    - They also probably remembered the whole mess about Mary’s pregnancy – but that’s not Bible.
  - Because of their unbelief – few miracles were done there.
    - ⁵So He was not able to do any miracles^[a] there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶And He was amazed at their unbelief.
- Mk 6:7-13 Commissioning the Twelve
  - ⁷He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs
  - and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
  - ⁸He instructed them to take nothing for the road except a walking stick: no bread, no traveling bag, no money in their belts.
  - ⁹They were to wear sandals, but not put on an extra shirt.
  - ¹¹If any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
  - ¹²preached that people should repent.
  - ¹³And they were driving out many demons,
  - anointing many sick people with olive oil, and healing them.
- Mk 6:14-29 Death of John the Baptist in Detail
  - ²⁹When his disciples^[i] heard about it, they came and removed his corpse and placed it in a tomb.
- Mk 6:30- 34 The Apostles returned
  - and Jesus tried to get them to a quiet place
  - People found them and surrounded them
  - ³⁴So as He stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then He began to teach them many things.
    - Mindfully Meditating on Matthew 10
- Mk 6:35-44 Feeding the 5,000
  - Got late
  - Master – send them away so they can eat
  - ³⁷“You give them something to eat,” He responded.
  - What DO you have?
  - five loaves and two fish
  - Jesus sat the people down in an orderly fashion
    - ⁴¹Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke the loaves. He kept giving them to His disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.
    - ⁴²Everyone ate and was filled.
    - ⁴³Then they picked up 12 baskets full of pieces of bread and fish.
    - ⁴⁴Now those who ate the loaves were 5,000 men.
      - Mindfully Meditating in Matthew 14
- Mk 6:45 -52 Sent the Apostles ahead in a boat
  - ⁴⁶After He said good-bye to them, He went away to the mountain to pray.
  - ⁴⁸He saw them being battered as they rowed,^[l] because the wind was against them.
  - Around three in the morning^[m] He came toward them walking on the sea and wanted to pass by them.
  - ⁵⁰for they all saw Him and were terrified.
  - Immediately He spoke with them and said, “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
  - ⁵¹Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. They were completely astounded,
    - MMM14
    - Dear Peter
- Mk 6:53 – 56 Healings all around
  - ⁵⁶Wherever He would go, into villages, towns, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him that they might touch just the tassel of His robe. And everyone who touched it was made well.

A place to see the four gospels compared is from Synoptic Gospel Parallels.

Mindful Meditating

choose a verse,
set a timer for 5 minutes, or whatever works for you.
example: Mark 6:50
repeat to yourself, and at each word, enunciate the next word in the sentence starting with the first word…

example:

⁵⁰for they all saw Him and were terrified. Immediately He spoke with them and said, “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
HAVE courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.
Have COURAGE! It is I. Don’t be afraid.
Have courage! IT IS I. Don’t be afraid.
Have courage! It is I! Don’t be afraid.

and so on. This will cause you to look at the verse more intently, and may have you memorize it before your five minutes are done.

Songs for Meditation

Little is Much if God is in It – Bible Baptist Church

This is the Kingdom – Elevation Worship

We Declare that the Kingdom of God is Here – Ron Kenoly

Coloring – I use coloring to help me focus on the fullness of a verse.

Mark Coloring page – Ministry to Children – simple enough to finish in an hour or less

Jesus Walking on the Water – SuperColoring

Quick Questions – if you have time, or to think about over the course of the day, and jot down thoughts later. Some thoughts to dig deeper.

1. 1. Why do you think that Jesus was rejected by his hometown?
    1. is this the answer”
      1. ⁴Then Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his household.”
  2. How can we apply Jesus asking the disciples What do YOU have? YOU feed them?
    1. Got Questions discusses it from both Matthew and Mark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

Marching into Mark Chapter Five

Marching into Mark Registry,
the collection of these studies
(First 100 days of 2023, day 72, March 13 )

On Facebook, you can join us at Itty Bitty Bible Study Group.

Passage
Mark Chapter Five

It doesn’t matter which version you choose. It can be digital or paper. You can use one of those fancy coloring bibles and do a page or coloring along with the passage.

I will mostly do Holman Christian Standard Bible because of their copyright freedoms.

The Images that I use are from Knowing Jesus and are available as downloads in every format that I can imagine for screen savers and wallpapers.

Mark 5 (some cross referencing in Matthew 8 and 9)
- Mk 5:1-20 Gadarene or Gerasene Demoniac
  - vs 1-2 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes.^[a] ²As soon as He got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met Him.
  - Description:
    - ³He lived in the tombs.
    - No one was able to restrain him anymore—even with chains
    - ⁴because snapped off the chains and smashed the shackles.
    - No one was strong enough to subdue him.
    - ⁵And always, he was crying
    - out among the tombs and in the mountains
    - and cutting himself with stones.
    - recognized Jesus
    - ⁸For He had told him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
    - 7 “What do You have to do with me,^[b] Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg^[c] You before God, don’t torment me!”
    - named Legion
  - Negotiation
    - begged to be send into a herd of pigs – about 2000
    - Pigs, demon possessed, committed suicide.
  - Results
    - The pig herders ran off and told the town
    - ex-possessed man now dressed and in his right mind, next to Jesus.
    - eyewitnesses repeated the story
    - townsfolk ¹⁷Then they began to beg Him to leave their region.
  - The rest of the story
    - the man who had been demon-possessed kept begging Him to be with Him.
    - given a mission – go back and tell
    - ²⁰So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.
    - Mindfully Meditating on Matthew Chapter 8
- Mk 5:21-24, 35-42 Jairus’s daughter healed
  - Jairus came and begged Jesus to come and heal his daughter
  - ²⁴So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against Him.
  - “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher anymore?”
  - ³⁶But Jesus said, , “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.”
  - ⁴²Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. (She was 12 years old.) At this they were utterly astounded.
- Mk 5:24-34 Women that touched His garment
  - ²⁴So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against Him.
  - Woman suffering for 12 years (issue of blood made her unclean)
    - ²⁶had endured much under many doctors.
    - She had spent everything she had
    - and was not helped at all.
    - On the contrary, she became worse.
  - ²⁸For she said, “If I can just touch His robes, I’ll be made well!”
  - Immediately healed
  - ³⁰ Jesus said, “Who touched My robes?”
  - ³⁴“Daughter,” He said to her, “your faith has made you well.^[h] Go in peace and be free^[i] from your affliction.”

A place to see the four gospels compared is from Synoptic Gospel Parallels.

Mindful Meditating

choose a verse,
set a timer for 5 minutes, or whatever works for you.
example: Mark 5:28
repeat to yourself, and at each word, enunciate the next word in the sentence starting with the first word…

example:

²⁸For she said, “If I can just touch His robes, I’ll be made well!”
IF I can just touch His robes, I’ll be made well!
If I CAN just touch His robes, I’ll be made well!
If I can JUST touch His robes, I’ll be made well!
If I can just TOUCH His robes, I’ll be made well!

and so on. This will cause you to look at the verse more intently, and may have you memorize it before your five minutes are done.

Songs for Meditation

He Touched Me – Joey + Rory

This is the Kingdom – Elevation Worship

We Declare that the Kingdom of God is Here – Ron Kenoly

Coloring – I use coloring to help me focus on the fullness of a verse.

Mark Coloring page – Ministry to Children – simple enough to finish in an hour or less

Coloring pages for Jairus’s daughter story by Connect Us

Quick Questions – if you have time, or to think about over the course of the day, and jot down thoughts later. Some thoughts to dig deeper.

1. Why do you think the demons did not want to be sent out of that region?
  1. I didn’t find great references to that, but I found GotQuestions starts by addressing why only one of two(spoken of in Matthew) and if you go to the additional resources, you can find more information about this account.
2. Why did Jesus know power had gone out of Him?
  1. GotQuestions has some insight into the Women with the Issue of Blood.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

Marching into Mark Chapter Four

Marching into Mark Registry,
the collection of these studies
(First 100 days of 2023, day 69, March 10 )

On Facebook, you can join us at Itty Bitty Bible Study Group.

Passage
Mark Chapter Four

It doesn’t matter which version you choose. It can be digital or paper. You can use one of those fancy coloring bibles and do a page or coloring along with the passage.

I will mostly do Holman Christian Standard Bible because of their copyright freedoms.

The Images that I use are from Knowing Jesus and are available as downloads in every format that I can imagine for screen savers and wallpapers.

Mark 4 (cross reference Matthew 5, 7 and 8, mostly Matthew 13)
- Mk 4:1-2
  - Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. ²He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:
  - Mk 4:¹³Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?
- Mk 4:11-12 & 33-34 the reason for parables
  - ¹¹He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables
  - “‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
    otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’
  - ³⁴He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
- Mk 4:3-8 and 14-20 The Parable of the sower and interpretation
  - 3 & 14 farmer sows seed – seed is the Word of God.
  - 4 &15 birds steal seed – satan steals word
  - 5-6 & 16-17 rocky places scorched – received with joy, but no root
  - 7 & 18-19 Thorns choke seed – worries of this life choke out Word of God
  - 8 & 20 good soil, hears, accepts, and does therefore produces fruit.
- Mk 4:21-23 Lampstand Parable
- Mk 4:24-25
  - ²⁴“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. ²⁵Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
- Mk 4:26-29Parable of the Growing Seed
  - ²⁶He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.
  - ²⁷Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.
  - ²⁸All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.
  - ²⁹As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
- Mk 4:30-31 Parable of the Mustard seed
  - ³¹It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. ³²Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
- Mk 4:35-39 Jesus calms the storm – the Prince of Peace
  - Jesus and a bunch of boats start out to go to the otherside
  - ³⁷A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
  - ³⁸Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
  - ³⁹He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
- Mk 4:40- The rebuke,
  - ⁴⁰He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
- Mk 4:41 Shock and Awe
  - ⁴¹They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

For other references and thoughts – Meditating in Matthew 8, and MMM13

A place to see the four gospels compared is from Synoptic Gospel Parallels.

Mindful Meditating

choose a verse,
set a timer for 5 minutes, or whatever works for you.
example: Mark 4:39
repeat to yourself, and at each word, enunciate the next word in the sentence starting with the first word…

example:

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
PEACE! Be still! and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Peace! BE still! and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Peace! Be STILL! and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Peace! Be Still! AND the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

and so on. This will cause you to look at the verse more intently, and may have you memorize it before your five minutes are done.

Songs for Meditation

Peace Be Still – Hope Durst

This is the Kingdom – Elevation Worship

We Declare that the Kingdom of God is Here – Ron Kenoly

Coloring – I use coloring to help me focus on the fullness of a verse.

Mark Coloring page – Ministry to Children – simple enough to finish in an hour or less

Several Jesus Calms the Storms coloring pages – Connect us

Quick Questions – if you have time, or to think about over the course of the day, and jot down thoughts later. Some thoughts to dig deeper.

How do you think that Mark 4: 26-29 applies to us if we are not farmers?
1. GotQuestions discusses the growing seed well.
How do you react to the storms?
1. Cry out to Jesus? Forget that He’s there?
2. Deuteronomy 31 – He will never leave us nor forsake us.
3. Heb 13:⁵Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
4. Matthew 28²⁰Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

The Cavern

On March 8th, some things happened that really shook me, in the middle of my shook life. It was like a straw that threatened to break this camel’s back. But with the prayers of friends, and the voices from a mental health group I am part of, I got through it.

Psalm 23:⁴Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Here’s my poem, The Cavern

They say don’t move.
They say we’re going to turn out the lights
They say everything will be alright
Just don’t move.

Darkness hits.
Darkness that surrounds and envelopes your flesh
Darkness that can be felt
Just don’t move.

This is a cavern.
This is a cave.
This is a place so deep and down
Just don’t move.

No one is near,
or that is my fear.
Or am I afraid I might spin out and fall
Where was that edge after all?

Cold seeping in
It envelopes my skin
The screams I screamed in the night
Are pushed down within.

The lights will come back
The day will arise
But right now, I can’t trust my eyes
Just don’t move.

Where is that rail?
Where is that edge?
Did I place myself in the center of
This death defying ledge?

I hear someone
“Turn on the light’
We have seen what we came for,
Now just stop this fright.”

But the tour guide is gone
He’s left us alone
We realize that we are now on our own.

Where is that switch?
Where can it be?
And do I risk death to move, try to see?

Someone starts to cry
Someone else says “I’m cold”
We reach out to touch each other, to give us some hope.

Where is the light?
Where is the guide?
Why is this tour turning into a fright?

What did I do?
What did I say
That made the tour guide leave us that day?

“I have the rail” says someone in dark,
I think this is where we can get a spark.”
“I’m right behind you, I’ll hold you on land”
“We’ll do this together, and move hand by hand.”

Single file
We walked slowly along
Then someone broke into a song

But it’s dark!
It’s so damp and cold.
Being afraid to move is getting very old.

We know we are here
Together as one
The song lifted up, and
Marching on, one by one.

“I feel wires behind the rail”
The excitement caused a rustle,
“Maybe we will get out of this jail!
And some began to tussle

“The thing we need to remember,
Is we are in this all together.
Calm down, and steady on.”
While the one continued song.

It’s so dark
It’s so damp,
You can’t see your hand,
not even where you should stand.

The guide let us down.
In the cavern alone
Deep down in the ground
No idea if we’ll be found.

The tension is rising,
The hope to despair
With each adding moment
Doubts that we’ll be spared.

“Wait! I think I’ve got it,”
Says the one in the front,
And with that we hear a click,
And the light is on

The guide stood there
Looking proud as could be
“You took on the challenge
From your fears you are free.”

I stood in amazement
Full of anger, and dread
What was he saying,
Did he get in my head.

I didn’t ask for a challenge
I just paid for a tour
What is this freedom he speaks of
Terror du jour?

But wait, all those people.
Where are they, I said.
“You were the one walking
This valley of death.”

I was alone the whole time,
So who did I hear?
Did the dark point out parts of me t
That i didn’t know near?

What is this valley,
This cavern of death?
Where I could hear every heart beat
And taste every breath.

“Your heart that is wounded,
Your thoughts of the end.
You are stronger together
And over darkness you’ve won.”

“I’ll guide you and teach you,
But I’ll test you to see
If you have been listening
And following me.”

“I know where you are healed,
I know where you are strong.
You were never near the edge
You were in front of me all along.”

“I sent you those voices
To encourage your walk
And I timed the tests specifically,
So alone you won’t walk.”

“Now rest, my little one
Enjoy the sun
I’m always with you,
Even when I seem gone.”

“The cavern is your heart
With the wounds oh so deep,
But I have built a path
That will, with time, set you free.”

It was me that walked bravely
It was me that held strong
It was me that spoke encouragement
And from my mouth was the song.

I have written about suicide, but here’s my thoughts on what’s the big deal.

If you have come to this page because you are contemplating suicide, please dial 988 or 1-800-273-TALK or visit the National Suicide Prevention LifeLine. Some other Suicide Hotlines are on this page.

~~~~~~~

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

Marching into Mark Chapter Three

Marching into Mark Registry,
the collection of these studies
(First 100 days of 2023, day 65, March 6)

On Facebook, you can join us at Itty Bitty Bible Study Group.

Passage
Mark Chapter Three

It doesn’t matter which version you choose. It can be digital or paper. You can use one of those fancy coloring bibles and do a page or coloring along with the passage.

I will mostly do Holman Christian Standard Bible because of their copyright freedoms.

The Images that I use are from Knowing Jesus and are available as downloads in every format that I can imagine for screen savers and wallpapers.

Mark 3
- Mk 3:1-6 Healing on the Sabbath and the consequences
  - ⁴Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do what is good or to do what is evil, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.
  - Hand is Healed
  - ⁶Immediately the Pharisees went out and started plotting with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
    - Matthew 12
- Mk 3:7-12 Ministering from a boat
  - ¹⁰Since He had healed many, all who had diseases were pressing toward Him to touch Him.
  - ¹¹Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, those possessed fell down before Him and cried out, “You are the Son of God!”
- Mk 3:13- 19 the 12 apostles
  - ¹⁴He also appointed 12—He also named them apostles^[b]—to be with Him, to send them out to preach,
  - ¹⁵and to have authority to^[c] drive out demons.
  - names all twelve
    - Matthew 10
    - MMM10
- Mk 3:20-21 Family opinion
  - ²¹When His family heard this, they set out to restrain Him, because they said, “He’s out of His mind.”
- Mk 3:22 – 26 Casting out Demons
  - ²²The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul in Him!” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons!”
  - ²⁵If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
- Mk 3:27 – 30 Blaspheming the Holy Spirit
  - ²⁹But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”^[j]—
    - Matthew 12
- Mk 3:31-35 Finishes the topic about his family
  - ³¹Then His mother and His brothers came, and standing outside, they sent word to Him and called Him.
    - Remember – ²¹When His family heard this, they set out to restrain Him, because they said, “He’s out of His mind.”
  - True Family of God
    - ³³He replied to them, “Who are My mother and My brothers?”
    - ³⁴And looking about at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!
    - ³⁵Whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”

Mindful Meditating

choose a verse,
set a timer for 5 minutes, or whatever works for you.
example: Mark 3:35
repeat to yourself, and at each word, enunciate the next word in the sentence starting with the first word…

example:

³⁵Whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”
WHOEVER does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.
Whoever DOES the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.
Whoever does THE will of God is My brother and sister and mother.
Whoever does the WILL of God is My brother and sister and mother.

and so on. This will cause you to look at the verse more intently, and may have you memorize it before your five minutes are done.

Songs for Meditation

The Family God – Bill Gaither

This is the Kingdom – Elevation Worship

We Declare that the Kingdom of God is Here – Ron Kenoly

Coloring – I use coloring to help me focus on the fullness of a verse.

Mark Coloring page – Ministry to Children – simple enough to finish in an hour or less

no other coloring pages, I’m sorry

Quick Questions – if you have time, or to think about over the course of the day, and jot down thoughts later. Some thoughts to dig deeper.

What was so important about healing on the sabbath?
1. GotQuestions has an excellent discussion on this.
Why did Jesus tell demons to be silent?
1. No one really knows, but there are some great discussions on Biblical Heremuetics
2. I refer to Mark 1:45 as a reason.
What was Jesus saying about family when He pointed to everyone around Him?
1. There is a great, deeper dive into this at Understanding that will enlighten and challenge you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

Marching into Mark Chapter Two

Marching into Mark Registry,
the collection of these studies
(First 100 days of 2023, day 65, March 6)

Passage
Mark Chapter Two

It doesn’t matter which version you choose. It can be digital or paper. You can use one of those fancy coloring bibles and do a page or coloring along with the passage.

I will mostly do Holman Christian Standard Bible because of their copyright freedoms.

The Images that I use are from Knowing Jesus and are available as downloads in every format that I can imagine for screen savers and wallpapers.

Mark 2 (cross referenced with Matthew 9)
- Mk 2:1-12 – Paralytic Man comes through the roof
  - When He entered Capernaum again after some days, it was reported that He was at home.
    - ²So many people gathered together that there was no more room,
    - ³Then they came to Him bringing a paralytic, carried by four men.
    - THEY CLIMBED ON THE ROOF, TORE IT OPEN ENOUGH FOR A MAN AND A MAT AND LOWERED HIM DOWN!!!
    - ⁵Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
  - Scribes and Pharisees got upset
    - ⁷“Why does He speak like this? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
    - IT WENT AGAINST EVERYTHING THEY WERE TAUGHT
    - ¹⁰But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” He told the paralytic, ¹¹“I tell you: get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”
- Mk 2:13 Levi called – went immediately
- Mk 2:15-17 Dinner at Levi’s – snooping Sadducees and Pharisees
  - ¹⁶When the scribes of the Pharisees^[e] saw that He was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat^[f] with tax collectors and sinners?”
  - “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do need one. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
- Mk 2:18- 22 Why don’t they fast?
  - ¹⁸Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees^[g] were fasting. People came and asked Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”
  - “The wedding guests^[h] cannot fast while the groom is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast.
  - ²⁰But the time^[i] will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.
    - Then the wineskin analogy – hitting the OLD religious ways again.
- Mk 2:23-28 What’s the Sabbath about
  - disciples pick some grain on the sabbath –
    - ²⁴The Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
  - Jesus brought up the AMAZING KING DAVID – and reminded them he ate the bread for priests.
  - ²⁷Then He told them, “The Sabbath was made for^[k] man and not man for^[l] the Sabbath.
  - ²⁸Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

For more information go to Mindfully Meditating in Matthew chapter 9

Mindful Meditating

choose a verse,
set a timer for 5 minutes, or whatever works for you.
example: Mark 2:5
repeat to yourself, and at each word, enunciate the next word in the sentence starting with the first word…

example:

⁵Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
SEEING their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, Son your sins are forgiven.
Seeing THEIR faith, Jesus told the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven.
Seeing their FAITH, Jesus told the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven.
Seeing their faith, JESUS told the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven.

and so on. This will cause you to look at the verse more intently, and may have you memorize it before your five minutes are done.

Songs for Meditation

This is the Kingdom – Elevation Worship

We Declare that the Kingdom of God is Here – Ron Kenoly

Coloring – I use coloring to help me focus on the fullness of a verse.

Mark Coloring page – Ministry to Children – simple enough to finish in an hour or less

Jesus heals the paralytic man by Connect Us

Quick Questions – if you have time, or to think about over the course of the day, and jot down thoughts later.

1. Why did Jesus call the paralytic man Son?
  1. Biblical Hermeneutics has a very good explanation on this.
2. What did Jesus mean with “I didn’t call the righteous but sinners”?
  1. BibleRef gives a clear observation as well as tying it back into the paralytic’s forgiveness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

Marching into Mark Chapter One

Marching into Mark Registry,
the collection of these studies
(First 100 days of 2023, day 65, March 6)

Passage
Mark Chapter One

It doesn’t matter which version you choose. It can be digital or paper. You can use one of those fancy coloring bibles and do a page or coloring along with the passage.

I will mostly do Holman Christian Standard Bible because of their copyright freedoms.

The Images that I use are from Knowing Jesus and are available as downloads in every format that I can imagine for screen savers and wallpapers.

Mark 1 (Cross Referencing Matthew 3 – and 4)

Mk 1:1 What Mark is talking about
- The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Mk1:2- 3 John the Baptist – Fulfillment of Prophecy
- ²As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:^[a]
- Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of You,
  who will prepare Your way.^[b]
- A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
  Prepare the way for the Lord;
  make His paths straight!^[
Mk 1:4-8 What John Did
- ⁴John came baptizing^[d] in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance^[e] for the forgiveness of sins.
- ⁶John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist
- and ate locusts and wild honey.
- ⁷He was preaching: “Someone more powerful than I will come after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of His sandals.
- ⁸I have baptized you with^[f] water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mk 1:9- 11 John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan
- Heavens open, spirit like a dove
- A voice from heaven said:
- You are My beloved Son;
  I take delight in You!
Mk 1:12-13 Temptation in the Wilderness
- ¹²Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.
- ¹³He was in the wilderness 40 days, being tempted by Satan.
- He was with the wild animals, and the angels began to serve Him.
Mk 1:14 Jesus to Galilee and John to Prison
- ¹⁴After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news^[h]^[i] of God:
Mk 1:15 FULFILLED
- ¹⁵“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!”
Mk1:16-20 Calling the Disciples
- Simon and Andrew, James and John
- immediately left their ships
Mk 1:21-21 Taught in the Synagogue
- ²²They were astonished at His teaching because, unlike the scribes, He was teaching them as one having authority.
Mk 1:23-28 Dealing with an Unclean Spirit
- ²⁴“What do You have to do with us,^[m] Jesus—Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
- Jesus said “Be quiet,^[n] and come out of him!” and he did.
- ²⁷Then they were all amazed,
- ²⁸News about Him then spread throughout the entire vicinity of Galilee.
Mk 1:29-31 Healed Simon Peter’s Mother-in-law
Mk 1:32- 34 many delivered from unclean spirits, healed from diseases
- But He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him.
Mk 1:35-39 After praying, went to all of Galilee preaching
Mk 1:40-44 Jesus heals the man with skin disease (leprosy in other versions)
- ⁴²Immediately the disease left him, and he was healed.
- Tell no one, go, give the offering to the priests
Mk 1:45 He(the healed man) wasn’t silent
- ⁴⁵Yet he went out and began to proclaim it widely and to spread the news, with the result that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But He was out in deserted places, and they would come to Him from everywhere.
Mindfully Meditating in Matthew 3 or MMM3
MMM4

Mindful Meditating

choose a verse,
set a timer for 5 minutes, or whatever works for you.
example: Mark 1:15
repeat to yourself, and at each word, enunciate the next word in the sentence starting with the first word…

example:

¹⁵“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near.
THE time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near.
The TIME is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near.
The time IS fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near.
The time is FULFILLED, and the kingdom of God has come near.

and so on. This will cause you to look at the verse more intently, and may have you memorize it before your five minutes are done.

Songs for Meditation

This is the Kingdom – Elevation Worship

We Declare that the Kingdom of God is Here – Ron Kenoly

Coloring – I us coloring to help me focus on the fullness of a verse.

Mark Coloring page – Ministry to Children – simple enough to finish in an hour or less

Jesus in the Desert Coloring page by Drawn and Creative

Quick Questions – if you have time, or to think about over the course of the day, and jot down thoughts later.

Who is the voice of one crying in the Wilderness?
1. Got Questions discusses this from Isaiah and how it applies to our lives today.
Why did Jesus tell the unclean spirits to keep silent?
1. The Gospel Coalition goes into great depth about the whole concept of Jesus revealing AND concealing Himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

The Wildberry Patch

Be Engrafted into the VINE to produce Eternal Fruit