PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN ( Conviction ): Father, I have been having impure thoughts lately. My wife and I have not been having sex except maybe once a month if I’m lucky and I’ve been using that as an excuse for my impure thoughts and occasional actions. Please forgive me for this, Father. I know my wife is going through some things that she has to process and as a result I’m struggling quite a bit as well with the infrequency of sex between us. Please help me to be better at leaning on You for strength through this, but also leaning on You for removing this urges and thoughts from my, Father.
PROMISE ( Mark 9:31 ): Once again Jesus reveals the promise about the Son of Man’s future. The Son of Man will be betrayed, killed, and resurrected! He has made this promise to His disciples multiple times, but now we are getting very close to it actually coming to fruition.
ATTITUDE ( Mark 9:33-37 ): The disciples seemed to often debate amongst themselves with who was the better disciple. Not only do they seem to have this issue, but so do I every so often. Why do we tend to think that this is a gradable competition amongst followers? We each have our purpose in God’s plan and not all are the same, so why do we always feel like we need to compare our faith journey to others and “grade” ourselves as better than others? Help me to be better in this, Father, so that I may not get into arguments nor thoughts like the disciples did here.
COMMAND ( Mark 9:39-40 ): The disciples tried to stop someone from performing a miracle in Jesus’ name, but Jesus commanded them to not stop him. Jesus said that if someone performs a miracle in Jesus’ name, then nobody can speak evil of Him. Additionally, if someone is not against Jesus then they are for Him, so this benefits the kingdom overall! If You give someone the ability to perform a miracle according to their faith and to glorify You, then we should all celebrate it, not try to stop it!
EXAMPLE ( Mark 9:22-23 ): Jesus provides such a powerful example of our faith and Your capabilities. A father asked Him to heal his child, but the way he asked was “if You can do anything” instead of something like “please heal my child.” The man’s faith was not portrayed as strong in his words, so Jesus immediately pointed that out by saying “if You can?! Everything is possible to the one who believes!” Our words must represent our faith. When we speak to You and others, we must speak with the authority and the truth that You have spoken to us. Help me to do better with this, Father.
*DAILY NOTE: Thank You for this morning’s quiet time, Father. This is truly a blessing to me reading through Jesus’ storyline again from Mark’s perspective this time. The testimony that Mark has been giving has definitely been speaking to me. Continue to help and encourage me through my journey, Father, but also to provide wisdom from my spiritual brothers to me for anything that is troubling me.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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