Mark

Read Mark 1

Beloved, I was praying about where to go next in God’s Word, and the book of Mark impressed upon my heart.  I find myself longing for Jesus… Yes, yes, it is true, He can be found on every page of the Bible, prophetically, symbolically and the like, but I am longing for Him in the plain and simple way.  Perhaps you are too?

You will find the book of Mark in the New Testament, right after Matthew.  Mark wrote this second Gospel account and was deeply involved in the early church, although he was not one of Jesus’s twelve disciples/apostles.  Mark, whose full name was John Mark, was the son of Mary – a woman whose home was used for prayer by the early church (the New Testament records 6 different women with the name of Mary… that’s a whole different study, but suffice to mention that this Mary was not Jesus’s mother.  This Mary is found in Acts 12:12).  He was also the nephew of Barnabas (see Colossians 4:10), who is known as “son of encouragement”; both  men accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey.

It has been said of the four gospel accounts that Matthew presents Jesus as Messiah; Luke presents Him as Son of Man; John presents Him as Son of God; and Mark presents Jesus as Servant.  Mark focuses on what Jesus did, His actions on earth.  And what perfect refreshment for us all to walk alongside our Savior and Lord, through Mark’s account.

I woke up this morning to a glorious rainbow in the sky.  It seemed to be resting upon my city!  What a wonderful way to start this new beginning.  May today be a day of prayerful gratitude for us all.  

Read Mark 1 and let it speak to your heart.  Moving forward in our reading together, we will stay this course – today read, tomorrow reflect and read the next chapter.  In this way, you will be developing your ability to hear what the Holy Spirit has for you personally.  Jesus loves us all so completely and uniquely.