Isn't it weird how such monumental life events happen in the quiet moments of life? I always thought that when one accomplished major life events the whole world should (and would) stop to celebrate it with you. The reality is that almost all of the world doesn't even know that I exist, much less that a major life event happened tonight in our house! I mean who knew the world doesn't revolve around ME or David?! ;)
Anyway, tonight, David took his LAST undergraduate final EVER! He is DONE with his Bachelor's Degree and in a mere 6 months he will be done with his Master's Degree! How unbelievable is that?!
My hubby is an official college graduate. I am so proud. Tonight, we celebrate quietly. Just know there is a serious party coming 6 months! I love my husband so much, and I simply do not have the words to express my gratitude for his selflessness to change his family tree. This season has been anything but easy, but all in all, worth it. I can't believe he (we) did it.
While many of you are going through your regular Monday night routine, don't be afraid to stop and give a little shout for us! Know that we would love to have you quietly celebrate with us. :)
Hope each of you are having an amazing week! If you aren't - then change it by claiming it!
I leave you with this.... Proverbs 13:19 "A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul....." Enjoy!
-Anna
Monday, February 25, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
February
This past month as been nuts. The winter quarter is always the hardest because it has such a weird schedule. I think the slowest months of the year are January and February. All other months seem to fly by, but not January or February! We have been patiently marking each day off the calendar as though we are in slow motion. David finishes his quarter in two weeks and we can't wait. After all, this quarter is his LAST as an undergraduate! Yes, that's right - he will have a Bachelor's degree in a mere 2 weeks!!!! YA!!!!
I am naturally doing what any good wife would do while their hubby is taking finals - leave. :) On Monday, my boss and I leave for Los Angeles! We will be gone for a week. I can't wait. I hate that David wont be able to go with me, but I am very much looking forward to the sunshine and palm trees. I absolutely love the sunshine! I come back just in time for him to finish up his finals. Then..... it's on to celebrating time. ;) Since his Master's degree will be the BIG celebration, we are just keeping this one to us. He walks on March 2 with his Bachelor's of Accounting. I am so proud. I am so proud. Did I mention, I AM SO PROUD!!! The very goal we moved over here for, David will accomplish in two weeks. It just seems so surreal.
While the past couple of weeks have been nuts, we have definitely found time to enjoy life. On Thursday nights we go to our Life Group (Bible Study) from church. It has been such a great time of fellowship and edifying each other in the Word. I love that there are 'normal' people in this world that love the Lord, but aren't like 'weird'.... haha. Do you know what I mean? Anyway, we have kept our weekends full with miscellaneous activities too. Like, last Saturday night we went to this event called "Tied Up in Knots". We actually got to meet Karen Knots, Don Knots daughter. She was nice, and funny. The best part of the event - it was free. :)
Last Saturday also marked my first ever of attempt of making a King Cake with Aunt Char. Naturally, she did most of the cooking, and I did most of the dish washing, but it was a fun time nonetheless. We had dinner before the event with Aunt Char too. She got boiled shrimp for us! It was delicious. Seriously, one of the best things about living in Louisiana is the FOOD!!! King Cake and Cajun - you just can't go wrong! :)
Sunday night we went to our friends the Stevenson's for dinner. Sherri made us homemade gumbo and you guessed it, KING CAKE! Yum! LOL. We get together with them at least once a month. We absolutely love this family and we are so thankful for them. Plus, they love our pups as much as we do!
This week was jammed packed. You had Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, and Love (Valentine's Day) Thursday. I mean that is just crazy! :)
David and I stuck with our tradition of spending no more than $10 total for Valentine's day. He got dinner and picked his own home grown flowers for me. We had $3 left over, and it was the best Valentine's day yet. I am so thankful for a my husband. He really does mean the world to me.
This weekend we are just as busy! Tonight we have a great date planned: GROCERY SHOPPING. Tomorrow night we are going to a youth fundraiser at our church, and Sunday we will take our adopted grandparents to church and lunch.
And, just to leave you with some random, but very funny humor. My coworker has introduced me to most of these, but I have found a couple on Pinterest. Anyway, enjoy. Hope your February has been great!
Part Two
Continuation on the book of Exodus. The book of Exodus, in my opinion, should be split into 2 parts. Part one should be chapters 1-15 and then part two should be chapters 16-40. Because I feel so strongly about this, that is how I will breakdown this book.
*please note, this is my interpretation - not to offend - but to simply help me digest the material, and possibly help others glean. All scriptures are based out of the NLT version.
PART TWO:
When Israel crossed the Red Sea, they rejoiced and gave offerings to the Lord. THREE days later the complaining began! Isn't it amazing how quickly we forget how bad something was when we are forced to walk forward in faith? One word: ungrateful.
This part of Exodus is very detailed and lengthy - did I mention detailed? Basically, Moses and Aaron are leading over 600,000 people and their possessions to the Promised Land (on foot). Can you imagine? Talk about herding cats! No wonder it took them so long to finally get there (among other reasons)!
Instead of giving a play by play of what happened, I am just going to point out the highlights for part two. These are things I considered important.
*please note, this is my interpretation - not to offend - but to simply help me digest the material, and possibly help others glean. All scriptures are based out of the NLT version.
PART TWO:
When Israel crossed the Red Sea, they rejoiced and gave offerings to the Lord. THREE days later the complaining began! Isn't it amazing how quickly we forget how bad something was when we are forced to walk forward in faith? One word: ungrateful.
This part of Exodus is very detailed and lengthy - did I mention detailed? Basically, Moses and Aaron are leading over 600,000 people and their possessions to the Promised Land (on foot). Can you imagine? Talk about herding cats! No wonder it took them so long to finally get there (among other reasons)!
Instead of giving a play by play of what happened, I am just going to point out the highlights for part two. These are things I considered important.
- God gave Israel manna and quail every day to eat, except on the Sabbath. However, He gave them double on Saturday so they could rest on Sunday and not have to gather food.
- The people cried out that they were thirsty. The Lord told Moses, "Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink." (Exodus 17:6) The people drank water out of a rock!
- The people were attacked. As long as Moses kept his arms and staff raised, Israel was defeating the attackers. His arms would begin to fall, and the enemy would gain grounds on Israel. To help keep his arms and staff raised, Aaron and Hur found a place for Moses to sit down, and there the two of them held his arms up. Israel defeated their enemy. (Exodus 17:8-16)
- Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came and paid him a visit. Jethro speaks wisdom over Moses. He tells him he needs to start delegating job tasks to other trusted men in the group. This is first hierarchy of the church set up. You had people over 50, 100, 1000, 10,000 people so Moses could focus on his most important tasks and not get bogged down with frivolous stuff.
- Mount Siani is one of the most scared locations in Israel's history.
- The Lord teaches Israel how to worship Him. He gives them law to follow. We know these as the 10 Commandments. (Plus, LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of other laws to follow).
- The Lord gives Moses instructions for the Tabernacle.
- They receive the Ark of the Covenant. No one knows where this is today.
- I find it so interesting that EVERYTHING down to tables, and drapes are given with extreme detail and vivid instructions. Why is everything so specific and detailed? I believe it is because God cares about the details. He cares about you, and your likes and dislikes. After all, he made you that way! Just remember, God is a VERY specific!!
- Israel learns what Day of Atonement is and how to worship once a year to celebrate it.
- Israel messes up, and gets inpatient waiting on the Lord and Moses, so they begin to worship a gold calf. Moses comes down and sees what is going on and is pissed. He just spent 40 days getting all this description on what/when/where/how from God and His people are worshipping a cow. Ya, I think I would have flipped a lid too! He was so mad, he actually broke the first set of 10 commandments. What!
- After everyone calms down, Moses goes back and gets a second set of the 10 commandments from the Lord.
- Israel gets to work on the plans to build the Tabernacle. (This super detailed structure, is nothing more than a fancy tent!) Isn't that crazy? So much time, effort, detail, expense and GOLD went into this structure!
- Moses was not a micromanager. He let his trusted advisors oversee their responsibilities.
Bottom line from Part Two of Exodus:
Because of Jesus we no longer have to have a building to worship the Lord in, but our bodies now are the temple of the Holy Spirit! Pretty cool, huh? Also, don't forget - GOD IS SPECIFIC. He definitely cares about the small (what we might even consider insignificant) stuff in our lives!
Part One
Next book: Exodus. The book of Exodus, in my opinion, should be split into 2 parts. Part one should be chapters 1-15 and then part two should be chapters 16-40. Because I feel so strongly about this, that is how I will breakdown this book.
*please note, this is my interpretation - not to offend - but to simply help me digest the material, and possibly help others glean. All scriptures are based out of the NLT version.
Part One:
PHARAOH! PHARAOH! LET MY PEOPLE GO!!! Did any one else sing that song at Vacation Bible School almost every summer like me? I feel like that pretty much sums up part one of Exodus!
I am getting ahead of myself.
At the time Moses was born, Egypt's Pharaoh had placed a death sentence on Hebrew newborn boys. "Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live."(Exodus 1:22).
When Moses was born, his mom knew instantly he was special. After hiding him for 3 months, she but him in a papyrus reed basket and placed him in the reeds of the Nile River. Moses' older sister kept watch from a distance to see what would happen. Right on cue, Pharaoh's daughter came with her servants down to the river. She knew the baby boy must have been a Hebrew baby, but he was crying and she felt sorry for him. Older sister walks right up to Pharaoh's daughter and says, "Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?" (Exodus 2:7). Pretty clever! Of course, the princess says yes and big sister runs to get her mama! The princess even ended up paying Moses mama to nurse him. Once Moses was weened, his mama took him back to the princess and she adopted him as his own.
I feel like I could just stop the story right there! I mean HOW COOL IS THAT? You think God doesn't have a plan for your life?!? Ha! Yes He does, and it is so impressive. We just have to trust in Him and live it out. Too often we over think our plans (mainly me) when we just have to remind ourselves that He has it allllllllllll under control. What's the word? Oh, TRUST! Anyway, back to the story.....
When Moses was older he ended up being exiled from Egypt. He killed an Egyptian after watching him beat a Hebrew slave. Apparently, that is a 'no-no'. He moves to Midian for a new life. (Exodus 2:11)
After marrying and starting a family, Moses tended the flock of sheep for his FIL (father-in-law). "One day the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn't burn up." (Exodus 3:2) During this conversation with the Lord, Moses learns that he is not only going to go back to Egypt, but he is also going to set the Israelites free! **I don't know why, but I think of Simba in the Lion King right here, when Simba has to go back and face his past....I digress.
Moses had a million questions. He was asking, "Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?" (Exodus 3:11) and "What if they don't believe me or listen to me? What if they say, 'The Lord never appeared to you'?" (Exodus 4:1). I would have asked the same questions too! God gave him clear instructions on what to do when he met with Pharaoh. He was to show him the Lord's power.
First, Moses turned his shepherd's staff into a snack. Pharaoh's magicians did the same thing. Pharaoh wasn't impressed. Next, Moses turned his hands from healthy to diseased, and back to healthy hands again. Again, Pharaoh wasn't impressed his magicians could do the same thing.
Since Pharaoh wasn't going to give up the Israelites that easily, God gave Moses a plan: 10 Plagues.
But before Moses would follow through with performing the plagues, he demanded that God give him someone who would speak on his behalf. God was NOT happy about it, but He did give Moses a PR person; his brother, Aaron. Apparently, Moses had a stutter.
Now, the plagues begin.
1. Blood. Moses turns every ounce of water into blood through all of Egypt. Even the water in clay pots were turned to blood. (Exodus 7:14-24) Pharaoh's magicians duplicate the plague, so it doesn't impress Pharaoh.
2. Frogs. Frogs come up from the Nile River and cover all the land. (Exodus 8:1-15) Pharaoh's magicians duplicate the plague. Pharaoh pleads to get rid of the frogs and says he will set the Israelites go! But he turns his back on his word to let the Israelites go.
3. Gnats. All of the dust become gnats. (Exodus 8:16-19) The Hebrew neighborhood is untouched by the gnats. Pharaoh's magicians couldn't duplicate the gnats. God gets Pharaoh's attention. Pharaoh pleads to get rid of the gnats and says he will set the Israelites go! But he turns his back on his word to let the Israelites go.
4. Flies. A thick swarm of flies came over the land of Egypt. (Exodus 8:20-32) The Hebrew neighborhood is untouched by the flies. Moses told Pharaoh the flies wouldn't touch God's people, but put the Egyptians into a state of chaos. Pharaoh's magicians couldn't duplicate the flies. Pharaoh pleads to get rid of the flies and says he will set the Israelites go! But he turns his back on his word to let the Israelites go.
5. Livestock. The hand of the Lord struck down all the Egyptians livestock - horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and goats - with a deadly plague. Not one of Israel's livestock is touched. (Exodus 9:1-7) After killing all of the Egyptians livestock, Pharaoh still will not let the Israelites go!
6. Boils. "Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'Take handfuls of soot from a brick kiln, and have Moses toss it into the air while Pharaoh watches. The ashes will spread like fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, causing festering boils to break out on people and animals throughout the land'." (Exodus 9:8-12) No Hebrew man, woman or child was infected by the boils. God protected His people. Boils broke out on all of the Egyptians and their animals. The magicians couldn't even stand before Moses because they too had boils all over them. Pharaoh wouldn't let the Israelites go.
7. Hail. Moses told Pharaoh if he didn't let the Israelites go he would "send a hailstorm more devastating than any in all the history of Egypt. Quick! Oder your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail fails." (Exodus 9:13-35) Pharaoh FINALLY admits he has sinned and asks Moses to take the Hebrews to another land! Alas!! "But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he and his officials sinned again, and Pharaoh again became stubborn. Because his heart was hard, Pharaoh refused to let the people leave!!"
8. Locusts. Locusts cover all of Egypt and eat everything left after the hail. (Exodus 10:1-20) Everyone in Egypt is begging Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go, but Pharaoh refuses.
9. Darkness. Total darkness covers Egypt for 3 days so no one can even move! Naturally, the Hebrews continue life as usual, why? Because they have light!! (Exodus 10:21-29) Pharaoh again promises to let Israel go, but again changes his mind.
10. Death of the first born. This is final blow. The firstborn of all the people and cattle of Egypt die, but Israel is spared! (Exodus 11:1-12:33) Pharaoh and the Egyptians URGE Israel to leave and QUICKLY!
Moses jumps on the opportunity, and tells all of Israel to pack their bags, they are moving!! Finally, they will be free and go to the land of milk and honey.
On the journey out of town, the Lord leads them a less direct route to get out of Egypt. In the mean time, Pharaoh again changes his mind, and calls all of his army together to go and get the Israelites. Moses gets word from the Lord, and Moses lifts his arms and staff to part the Red Sea. The Israelites pass through the Red Sea unharmed and completely dry. Once the last Hebrew got onto safe ground, Moses raised his arms again and the Red Sea collapses back together - killing Pharaoh and all of his army!
INTERMISSION.
*please note, this is my interpretation - not to offend - but to simply help me digest the material, and possibly help others glean. All scriptures are based out of the NLT version.
Part One:
PHARAOH! PHARAOH! LET MY PEOPLE GO!!! Did any one else sing that song at Vacation Bible School almost every summer like me? I feel like that pretty much sums up part one of Exodus!
I am getting ahead of myself.
At the time Moses was born, Egypt's Pharaoh had placed a death sentence on Hebrew newborn boys. "Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live."(Exodus 1:22).
When Moses was born, his mom knew instantly he was special. After hiding him for 3 months, she but him in a papyrus reed basket and placed him in the reeds of the Nile River. Moses' older sister kept watch from a distance to see what would happen. Right on cue, Pharaoh's daughter came with her servants down to the river. She knew the baby boy must have been a Hebrew baby, but he was crying and she felt sorry for him. Older sister walks right up to Pharaoh's daughter and says, "Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?" (Exodus 2:7). Pretty clever! Of course, the princess says yes and big sister runs to get her mama! The princess even ended up paying Moses mama to nurse him. Once Moses was weened, his mama took him back to the princess and she adopted him as his own.
I feel like I could just stop the story right there! I mean HOW COOL IS THAT? You think God doesn't have a plan for your life?!? Ha! Yes He does, and it is so impressive. We just have to trust in Him and live it out. Too often we over think our plans (mainly me) when we just have to remind ourselves that He has it allllllllllll under control. What's the word? Oh, TRUST! Anyway, back to the story.....
When Moses was older he ended up being exiled from Egypt. He killed an Egyptian after watching him beat a Hebrew slave. Apparently, that is a 'no-no'. He moves to Midian for a new life. (Exodus 2:11)
After marrying and starting a family, Moses tended the flock of sheep for his FIL (father-in-law). "One day the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn't burn up." (Exodus 3:2) During this conversation with the Lord, Moses learns that he is not only going to go back to Egypt, but he is also going to set the Israelites free! **I don't know why, but I think of Simba in the Lion King right here, when Simba has to go back and face his past....I digress.
Moses had a million questions. He was asking, "Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?" (Exodus 3:11) and "What if they don't believe me or listen to me? What if they say, 'The Lord never appeared to you'?" (Exodus 4:1). I would have asked the same questions too! God gave him clear instructions on what to do when he met with Pharaoh. He was to show him the Lord's power.
First, Moses turned his shepherd's staff into a snack. Pharaoh's magicians did the same thing. Pharaoh wasn't impressed. Next, Moses turned his hands from healthy to diseased, and back to healthy hands again. Again, Pharaoh wasn't impressed his magicians could do the same thing.
Since Pharaoh wasn't going to give up the Israelites that easily, God gave Moses a plan: 10 Plagues.
But before Moses would follow through with performing the plagues, he demanded that God give him someone who would speak on his behalf. God was NOT happy about it, but He did give Moses a PR person; his brother, Aaron. Apparently, Moses had a stutter.
Now, the plagues begin.
1. Blood. Moses turns every ounce of water into blood through all of Egypt. Even the water in clay pots were turned to blood. (Exodus 7:14-24) Pharaoh's magicians duplicate the plague, so it doesn't impress Pharaoh.
2. Frogs. Frogs come up from the Nile River and cover all the land. (Exodus 8:1-15) Pharaoh's magicians duplicate the plague. Pharaoh pleads to get rid of the frogs and says he will set the Israelites go! But he turns his back on his word to let the Israelites go.
3. Gnats. All of the dust become gnats. (Exodus 8:16-19) The Hebrew neighborhood is untouched by the gnats. Pharaoh's magicians couldn't duplicate the gnats. God gets Pharaoh's attention. Pharaoh pleads to get rid of the gnats and says he will set the Israelites go! But he turns his back on his word to let the Israelites go.
4. Flies. A thick swarm of flies came over the land of Egypt. (Exodus 8:20-32) The Hebrew neighborhood is untouched by the flies. Moses told Pharaoh the flies wouldn't touch God's people, but put the Egyptians into a state of chaos. Pharaoh's magicians couldn't duplicate the flies. Pharaoh pleads to get rid of the flies and says he will set the Israelites go! But he turns his back on his word to let the Israelites go.
5. Livestock. The hand of the Lord struck down all the Egyptians livestock - horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and goats - with a deadly plague. Not one of Israel's livestock is touched. (Exodus 9:1-7) After killing all of the Egyptians livestock, Pharaoh still will not let the Israelites go!
6. Boils. "Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'Take handfuls of soot from a brick kiln, and have Moses toss it into the air while Pharaoh watches. The ashes will spread like fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, causing festering boils to break out on people and animals throughout the land'." (Exodus 9:8-12) No Hebrew man, woman or child was infected by the boils. God protected His people. Boils broke out on all of the Egyptians and their animals. The magicians couldn't even stand before Moses because they too had boils all over them. Pharaoh wouldn't let the Israelites go.
7. Hail. Moses told Pharaoh if he didn't let the Israelites go he would "send a hailstorm more devastating than any in all the history of Egypt. Quick! Oder your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail fails." (Exodus 9:13-35) Pharaoh FINALLY admits he has sinned and asks Moses to take the Hebrews to another land! Alas!! "But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he and his officials sinned again, and Pharaoh again became stubborn. Because his heart was hard, Pharaoh refused to let the people leave!!"
8. Locusts. Locusts cover all of Egypt and eat everything left after the hail. (Exodus 10:1-20) Everyone in Egypt is begging Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go, but Pharaoh refuses.
9. Darkness. Total darkness covers Egypt for 3 days so no one can even move! Naturally, the Hebrews continue life as usual, why? Because they have light!! (Exodus 10:21-29) Pharaoh again promises to let Israel go, but again changes his mind.
10. Death of the first born. This is final blow. The firstborn of all the people and cattle of Egypt die, but Israel is spared! (Exodus 11:1-12:33) Pharaoh and the Egyptians URGE Israel to leave and QUICKLY!
Moses jumps on the opportunity, and tells all of Israel to pack their bags, they are moving!! Finally, they will be free and go to the land of milk and honey.
On the journey out of town, the Lord leads them a less direct route to get out of Egypt. In the mean time, Pharaoh again changes his mind, and calls all of his army together to go and get the Israelites. Moses gets word from the Lord, and Moses lifts his arms and staff to part the Red Sea. The Israelites pass through the Red Sea unharmed and completely dry. Once the last Hebrew got onto safe ground, Moses raised his arms again and the Red Sea collapses back together - killing Pharaoh and all of his army!
INTERMISSION.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Shortest Gospel
If you have never ever read an entire book in the Bible, I would highly recommend the book of Mark. It is the shortest of the gospels, but jam packed full of the absolute best teachings and understanding of what it is to be a Christian, and why! You get Jesus's entire ministry on Earth in a mere 16 chapters, start to finish!
Background: Mark is not one of the 12 disciples. Who knew? He actually was BFF with Paul. Mark wrote this book to try and prove to the Roman Christians that Jesus was in fact the Messiah. I completely appreciate the fact that Mark was descriptive, but straightforward and to the point. (Kinda like me). :)
Here is my (non-abbreviated) cliff notes of the book of Mark:
*please note, this is my interpretation - not to offend - but simply help me digest the material, and possibly help others glean. All scriptures are based out of the NLT version.
So, the book begins with John the Baptist proclaiming: "Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am - so much greater that I'm not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit! " (Mark 1:7)
The book of Mark gives testimony after testimony of Jesus healing, casting out demons, speaking authority over evil or demonic spirits, and performing miracle after miracle.
Here are some of the main accounts:
-the blind man can see
-paralyzed man can walk
-extremely diseased is no longer with fever
-sends demons out of a little girl (7:24-30)
-a bleeding women stops bleeding (she had female issues he cured!) (Mark 5:30-34)
-crazy man has demons cast out of him, and Jesus sent the spirits into a herd of 2,000 pigs that ran down a hill side and straight into a lake of water and drowned. (Mark 5: 1-16)
-speaking peace over a storm
-heals all who touch Him (Mark 6:53-55)
-feeds 5,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish (Mark 6:30-44)
-brings a dead girl back to life. (Mark 5:35-43)
-walks on water to his disciples (Mark 6:45)
-feeds 4,000 people with 7 loaves (Mark 8:5)
Read it! It's in there!
You really see the frustration Jesus has with the religious leaders. Majority of them absolutely did not believe that Jesus was anything that he said he was and mocked his teachings. They accused him of getting his powers from Satan. (Mark 3:20-30). Several times they tried to trick him with weird questions or back hand compliments. Mark gives us several examples of this when they ask him about fasting, divorce, and taxes. All of which he answered with extreme eloquence and pose. (If I do say so myself). One of my favorite encounters is when the Pharisees were asking Jesus about taxes.
"Teacher," they said, "we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don't play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us - is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them, or shouldn't we?" Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, "Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin, and I'll tell you." When they handed it to him, he asked, "Whose picture and title are stamped on it?" "Caesar's," they replied. "Well, then," Jesus said,"give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God." His reply completely amazed them. (Mark 12:14-17). BAM! Seriously, eloquent and pose right?! That is the kind of quick (but wise) natured words I desire.
Jesus quickly created a following and large masses of people would turn out to hear him preach. Can you imagine? No microphones, sound equipment, or high tech projectors and yet he still ministered to the thousands! When he taught, he often told parables (or stories) to help the people understand. After his sermons, he would further explain himself to his disciples, just to make sure they understood what he was really trying to say.
I think the most incredible part of reading Mark is the fact that miracle, after miracle he told the people to not tell anyone. Only one time he told the crazy man that had the demons go into the pigs, to go and tell his community of influence what He had done for him. When I was first reading through Mark, I really didn't understand this. Naturally, if I was doing all these miracles and setting people free, I would want them to go and tell anyone and everyone right?! I mean hello! But here is the deal: Jesus wasn't coming to Earth to show off. The devil was (and still is) doing just fine at that. However, Jesus came to be a personal one on one God. He wants YOU. One at a time, one heart at a time, one personal relationship at a time. He didn't (and still doesn't) want people speaking they follow Him with their lips but has no relationship with Him in their heart. Hope that isn't too deep, but do you get what I am saying? He cared single handily about each one of those people he healed or performed miracles on just like he cares about you and me specifically. Pretty neat huh?
Anyway, back to the book. Several times the disciples are just in aw and confused by Jesus. They say things like "who is this man?" I can only imagine; you have been the cool kids for 4 years and rule the high school and then comes this new guy. You accept him as "one of the boys" but then he starts doing things that are "weird" or "not normal" right? The disciples seem to constantly be questioning who Jesus is and half the time, not getting what He is trying to teach them! I think I would have been SO MUCH more frustrated with the disciples than He was. Talk about herding cats! Golly!!
Jesus speaks about the greatest commandment. Jesus replied, "The most important commandment is this: 'Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord you God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these." (Mark 12:29-31).
Jesus warns the disciples three different times in the book of Mark about His death. He walks them through what will happen. The book ends with the traditional Easter story. You have palm Sunday where Jesus comes in on a donkey and the crowds are flooded with people waving palm branches and laying them before His path. Four days later, what is now called, Maundy-Thursday, is the last supper. Jesus explains that one of you will turn me in and tells Peter he will deny Jesus 3 times before the rooster crows. Friday morning, Jesus is crucified. My study notes said it was predicted to be about 9am when he was nailed to the cross and 3pm when he took his last breath. He rose from the grave 3 days later. We now celebrate this series of events through the Week of Easter and on Easter Sunday.
The amazing part about Jesus raising from the dead is that he went down to hell put an absolute butt whooping on the devil and then went to Heaven. Good news for us - HE paid the price, so we don't have to! All we have to do is accept Christ and then walk in who He has called us to be. Seems so easy right? That is because it is!!
Seriously, I really enjoyed reading Mark. Again, I strongly encourage you to do the same. It is an easy read and filled with some awesome information about Christ's ministry while he was walking this Earth.
Background: Mark is not one of the 12 disciples. Who knew? He actually was BFF with Paul. Mark wrote this book to try and prove to the Roman Christians that Jesus was in fact the Messiah. I completely appreciate the fact that Mark was descriptive, but straightforward and to the point. (Kinda like me). :)
Here is my (non-abbreviated) cliff notes of the book of Mark:
*please note, this is my interpretation - not to offend - but simply help me digest the material, and possibly help others glean. All scriptures are based out of the NLT version.
So, the book begins with John the Baptist proclaiming: "Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am - so much greater that I'm not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit! " (Mark 1:7)
The book of Mark gives testimony after testimony of Jesus healing, casting out demons, speaking authority over evil or demonic spirits, and performing miracle after miracle.
Here are some of the main accounts:
-the blind man can see
-paralyzed man can walk
-extremely diseased is no longer with fever
-sends demons out of a little girl (7:24-30)
-a bleeding women stops bleeding (she had female issues he cured!) (Mark 5:30-34)
-crazy man has demons cast out of him, and Jesus sent the spirits into a herd of 2,000 pigs that ran down a hill side and straight into a lake of water and drowned. (Mark 5: 1-16)
-speaking peace over a storm
-heals all who touch Him (Mark 6:53-55)
-feeds 5,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish (Mark 6:30-44)
-brings a dead girl back to life. (Mark 5:35-43)
-walks on water to his disciples (Mark 6:45)
-feeds 4,000 people with 7 loaves (Mark 8:5)
Read it! It's in there!
You really see the frustration Jesus has with the religious leaders. Majority of them absolutely did not believe that Jesus was anything that he said he was and mocked his teachings. They accused him of getting his powers from Satan. (Mark 3:20-30). Several times they tried to trick him with weird questions or back hand compliments. Mark gives us several examples of this when they ask him about fasting, divorce, and taxes. All of which he answered with extreme eloquence and pose. (If I do say so myself). One of my favorite encounters is when the Pharisees were asking Jesus about taxes.
"Teacher," they said, "we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don't play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us - is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them, or shouldn't we?" Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, "Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin, and I'll tell you." When they handed it to him, he asked, "Whose picture and title are stamped on it?" "Caesar's," they replied. "Well, then," Jesus said,"give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God." His reply completely amazed them. (Mark 12:14-17). BAM! Seriously, eloquent and pose right?! That is the kind of quick (but wise) natured words I desire.
Jesus quickly created a following and large masses of people would turn out to hear him preach. Can you imagine? No microphones, sound equipment, or high tech projectors and yet he still ministered to the thousands! When he taught, he often told parables (or stories) to help the people understand. After his sermons, he would further explain himself to his disciples, just to make sure they understood what he was really trying to say.
I think the most incredible part of reading Mark is the fact that miracle, after miracle he told the people to not tell anyone. Only one time he told the crazy man that had the demons go into the pigs, to go and tell his community of influence what He had done for him. When I was first reading through Mark, I really didn't understand this. Naturally, if I was doing all these miracles and setting people free, I would want them to go and tell anyone and everyone right?! I mean hello! But here is the deal: Jesus wasn't coming to Earth to show off. The devil was (and still is) doing just fine at that. However, Jesus came to be a personal one on one God. He wants YOU. One at a time, one heart at a time, one personal relationship at a time. He didn't (and still doesn't) want people speaking they follow Him with their lips but has no relationship with Him in their heart. Hope that isn't too deep, but do you get what I am saying? He cared single handily about each one of those people he healed or performed miracles on just like he cares about you and me specifically. Pretty neat huh?
Anyway, back to the book. Several times the disciples are just in aw and confused by Jesus. They say things like "who is this man?" I can only imagine; you have been the cool kids for 4 years and rule the high school and then comes this new guy. You accept him as "one of the boys" but then he starts doing things that are "weird" or "not normal" right? The disciples seem to constantly be questioning who Jesus is and half the time, not getting what He is trying to teach them! I think I would have been SO MUCH more frustrated with the disciples than He was. Talk about herding cats! Golly!!
Jesus speaks about the greatest commandment. Jesus replied, "The most important commandment is this: 'Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord you God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these." (Mark 12:29-31).
Jesus warns the disciples three different times in the book of Mark about His death. He walks them through what will happen. The book ends with the traditional Easter story. You have palm Sunday where Jesus comes in on a donkey and the crowds are flooded with people waving palm branches and laying them before His path. Four days later, what is now called, Maundy-Thursday, is the last supper. Jesus explains that one of you will turn me in and tells Peter he will deny Jesus 3 times before the rooster crows. Friday morning, Jesus is crucified. My study notes said it was predicted to be about 9am when he was nailed to the cross and 3pm when he took his last breath. He rose from the grave 3 days later. We now celebrate this series of events through the Week of Easter and on Easter Sunday.
The amazing part about Jesus raising from the dead is that he went down to hell put an absolute butt whooping on the devil and then went to Heaven. Good news for us - HE paid the price, so we don't have to! All we have to do is accept Christ and then walk in who He has called us to be. Seems so easy right? That is because it is!!
Seriously, I really enjoyed reading Mark. Again, I strongly encourage you to do the same. It is an easy read and filled with some awesome information about Christ's ministry while he was walking this Earth.
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