PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN ( Mark 12:30 ): Father, I must confess it has been over a week—almost two—since my last quiet time with You. We have been travelling a lot the last few weeks, but I know there are no excuses when it comes to my faith and the things You have commanded. Here, Jesus says that the most important command is to love You with all that I am. How can I truly say I am following this if I am not spending time in Your word to do my quiet times? Please forgive me for this, Father. Help me to get back on track so that I may be knowingly and willingly in Your presence daily.
PROMISE ( Mark 12:38-40 ): This is a powerful promise and warning to Your followers, not only about the scribes but just in general for what to look out for. Those who say they are followers of You and seek all the attention for it are actually deceivers and destroyers. You say here that the scribes who require greetings in the markets, front seats reserved in the synagogues, places of honor at banquets, and loudly say lengthy prayers just for show are the ones we need to beware of. Help me to abide in this, Father, not only to watch out for this in those around me, but also so that I do not become one of them as well.
ATTITUDE ( Mark 12:41-44 ): The attitude of the poor widow is one that I often struggle with. I do oftentimes not give everything I feel You want me to give in this life, Father. I often hold back for various reasons such as fear, doubt, hesitation, or even selfishness. This is not what You have called me to do. Just as the poor widow has done here, You do not ask me to give out of my surplus; rather You ask me to give everything. You ask me to give ALL that I have and all that I am so that I am no longer dependent on myself to live but on You. I do need to get better at this. Continue to send me reminders of where I can change, Father, so that I can continue to grow more in You and less in me.
COMMAND ( Mark 12:30-31 ): I wouldn’t feel right choosing any other scripture aside for these two verses here. As Jesus stated, these are the greatest commands from God. I am to Love God with ALL that I am, but also I am to love my neighbor as myself. I must confess, I’m not very great at either of these, but I have found myself getting far better than I used to be. I’ve slowly but surely improved on loving myself for who You say I am, which has allowed me to love others better as I love myself. I couldn’t have done any of that if following the first command—loving You—didn’t improve greatly over the last few years. Thank You, Father! Please continue Your great works in me so that in me You may increase and I may decrease.
EXAMPLE ( Mark 12:14-17 ): Jesus always knew exactly what to say to rebel any of the crazy and absurd question traps the religious leaders of that time would ask him. Their intentions were not pure as they were hoping to completely discredit Him every time, but Jesus stood His ground and always had the perfect response, naturally. Here, they tried to trap Him with paying taxes to the Romans, which was likely a trap to get Him to say they should not pay taxes so that the Romans would arrest Him immediately. He simply asked them to give what belongs to Caesar back to Caesar and what belongs to God back to God, which implied that they should be paying their taxes willingly as the money does not belong to them, but to Caesar, so why hoard and covet it? Such an amazing response to these very corrupt religious leaders. Thank You, Father, for giving such a great example of how to respond to some of these trap type questions.
*DAILY NOTE: It feels so very good to be back in Your word to spend some quality quiet time with You this morning, Father. Thank You for always being there for me without shaming me. Thank You for always being available even when I sometimes choose not to join You. Thank You for the great wisdom given to me today through Mark 12 and my prayers, Father. Continue to work in me to recreate these great habits so that I may better for You, myself, and my family, Father.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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