PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN ( Mark 10:21-22 ): Although not exactly like the rich young ruler, I do find myself often behaving in this way. I find myself placing my worldly possessions above You at times instead of keeping You above all. This rich young ruler heard what You said and walked away “stunned” and grieving, because he had so many possessions. Instead of bowing down to You and following Your command to him, he chose his worldly possessions over You. Please forgive me for the times I have also done this, Father. Although I am not a “rich young ruler” I have made very similar mistakes in my own life. Remind me in those moments when I am not in divine order in my life, Father. Help me to know how to get back in order when those times arise.
PROMISE ( Mark 10:14-15 ): Jesus tells His disciples to let the kids come to Him because the kingdom of God belongs to people like them. He goes on to say that whoever doesn’t welcome the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it. Wow! That’s a very bold and direct promise in front of likely many adults. I know I struggle in my faith in general at times, but have I ever really, truly held a childlike faith? I’m not really sure, but if I have, then please remind me of how that felt and what that means, Father, so that I may try and get back to that.
ATTITUDE ( Mark 10:45 ): A mindset of servitude is clearly important to You. As Jesus stated here, with all the power You have He still says that He did not come to be served by others but to serve others. Even the Almighty and all-powerful Son is here to serve others, so what’s my excuse? I do serve others, I know, but likely not even close to as many as You’d prefer me to, Father. Help me with adjusting this mindset of mine, Father, so that I seek opportunities to serve instead of waiting for them to find me.
COMMAND ( Mark 10:27 ): Although this isn’t necessarily a command in a direct way, I still see it as a command. This matches my life verse of Matthew 19:26. The disciples are struggling a bit after what Jesus told the rich young ruler what it’d take to inherit eternal life. They couldn’t believe what Jesus said to this young ruler, so they asked Him about it. I envision His response to be almost a chuckle in frustration, because after all this time with Him, they are still questioning their own salvation and struggling in their faith. Jesus tells them they are absolutely correct, that none of this is possible with men, but that all things are possible with God. The command here is that we must let go of our own understanding and rely fully on God in our lives; only then will ALL things be possible in our lives because we will be fully aligned with God’s will for our life. Wow!
EXAMPLE ( Mark 10:52 ): I find Jesus’ response to the many healings He had performed to be an interesting one. He didn’t take credit for healing this blind man; rather He told him that it was his faith that healed him. His faith alone was the healer and Jesus was just there to speak truth to him. This serves as a great reminder that I must stay strong in my faith, because alone I am broken and lost but if I am in Him then I am a new creation who can overcome anything this crazy world may throw at me. Thank You, Father, for granting such great power through faith.
*DAILY NOTE: Once again, Mark tells the story of Jesus very different from Matthew. Matthew seems to be my “go-to” usually when I want to read a Gospel. I don’t know why, it just is. Mark, however, definitely speaks Your truth about His story to me in a very different way and I love it. I need to get better at cross-referencing the different books of the Gospel, so that I can see all of their perspectives of the telling of Your story. Thank You for revealing this to me today and thank You for such an amazing quiet time, Father.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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