PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN ( Mark 11:25-26 ): Father, this morning I am convicted by these verses and have been feeling conviction from the Holy Spirit for quite some time, but fighting it every step of the way, unfortunately. In this verse, Jesus says that anytime we are praying, if we have anything against anyone that we need to forgive them, else our Father in heaven will not forgive our own wrongdoing. I have been holding onto unforgiveness towards my earthly dad for quite some time for the devastation he brought to my family and me personally. I thought I had forgiven him, but the more I contemplate trying to restore the relationship with him, the less I want to so there’s obviously still things I need to work on with this. Please help me to navigate through this process in Your way, Father.
PROMISE ( Mark 11:22-24 ): Such a bold and powerful promise You’ve made to us. The promise is that if we have strong, pure, and total faith in You, then the things we ask and pray for in this life will be granted to us by the power of our faith if we have no doubts that You will do what we have petitioned You to do. That is such a powerful promise, Father. Jesus’ example was that if we petition You to throw a mountain into the sea, then it’ll be done! I cannot envision that happening before my eyes, but I know that if that’s something You want to happen that it WILL happen.
ATTITUDE ( Mark 11:7 ): The donkey that Jesus rode on is a true symbol of living in humility. He could have chosen a massive horse like a stallion or something like that. He could have chosen to be carried on a large, decorated platform of sorts by a dozen strong men like many of the rulers of that day chose. He didn’t choose any of that. He chose to continue to set examples for His followers of humility by riding into town for His “final” ride, in a sense, on a donkey. I am not living in humility to this level, Father, even though Jesus’ example to us is very clear. I do struggle at times with living in humility in all aspects of my life instead of picking and choosing which aspects I want to do so in. Please help me with this, Father.
COMMAND ( Mark 11:24-25 ): Your command today is quite clear from these two verses—forgive one another. I should NOT ever be harboring unforgiveness towards others, even though I have and am. I have done far better than I used to, but I still struggle so much with unforgiveness towards my earthly dad. Thank You for this reminder today, Father. I really need to process things better and fully to let go of ALL of my unforgiveness to truly show grace towards others and myself just as You have unconditionally shown to me.
EXAMPLE ( Mark 11:27-33 ): Jesus always gives such powerful examples to live by. The “religious” leaders of the time were upset with Jesus because He was essentially reducing their powerful stronghold over the people, but now also impacting their financials. Jesus shows us in this scripture that no matter what people say or do to us, we must remain in Your truth throughout it all. He rebutted their questions with Your truth every single time in a way that they really were dumbfounded with no response, typically. Even in this one, they tried their best to get Him to say the words publicly that all of His power and authority is directly from God, whom He is also, but He used a question to them about John’s baptism to halt them in their steps, which was successful because they responded with “we don’t know” to not only avoid a crowd uproar, but also to protect their own interests. Amazing!
*DAILY NOTE: Every single time I think about whose example to follow, the answer always seems to be Jesus. I guess the lessons I’ve learned from children’s ministry where the kids almost always give Jesus or God as the answer is true even for my own personal life as You always provide such great examples to live by. Thank You, Father, for the amazing quiet time this morning.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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