One difference of the Gospel of Mark is that it emphasizes Jesus’ actions more than His teaching. Matthew started quickly with the genealogy of Jesus, which you won’t find here as it would be of no interest to the Gentiles. Mark’s account is written as a narrative that reveals Jesus as the Messiah, a savior for all the people, Jews and Gentiles alike. Matthew writes to his fellow Jews while it appears that Mark targets the Roman believers, particularly the Gentiles.  Mark’s concern was that these people had only recently heard the good news and Mark wanted to give them a story of Jesus Christ as a servant of the Lord and Savior of all, so that they might remain strong in their new found faith in the face of severe persecution and to teach them what it meant to be His disciples. His journeys took him through Galilee, surrounding areas and to Judea. Mark presents Jesus as the suffering Servant of God…

(Mark 10:45  NLT For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.) We should be inspired to do no less, to serve others with humility and devotion. We must be the servant of all… (Mark 10:44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.)  Once again we must be willing to follow the example of Jesus. I would suggest that you read the book of Mark, it is 16 chapters and and it is rich in Red Letter Verses. Consider these all from the NLT version.

Mark 1:17Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

Mark 10: 14-15 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 16:15-18 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. 17 These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages.[e] 18 They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

-Some things about Mark that you will notice as you read through it:

-It was Mark’s goal to present Jesus as he was.

-Mark always looked to the divine side of Jesus. 

-Mark’s Gospel begins with…‘The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.’ 

-Mark has one other point not present in the other Gospels. There are little details in the narrative, that most scholars recognize as the hallmark of an eyewitness.

-Mark’s narrative at times is written almost the way a child would tell a story. (DBS)

–Lastly, as this is written, it is still vivid and real. It was if it were happening all over again.

TO close out this week, I encourage you to read through Mark…But in a different way. If you don’t have a Red Letter Bible, get one and read Mark…the The Red Letter verses only. It will give you a whole new perspective of the ministry of Jesus.

Come back to “The Pew” next week.

Life is Good

jk

Rain here most of the day and unlike the majority of folks I am a rainy day person. Snow is gone, what a crazy weather pattern we are having lately. For well over a week here on the plateau temperature wise we never got past 18 degrees…according to my Coca-Cola temp gauge hanging on the porch. Today it was 61 degrees! That is something to ponder. But there is something else that I need to ponder…clear my mind of…growing old, the problem is I got here awhile back but now at 80 my body is wanting to acknowledge that and talk about it. So what age is elderly? There is no standard definition for the term elderly. According to the United States Social Security Administration, anyone age 65 or older is elderly. Who are you going to trust more than them. Both Google and Facebook agree, it has to correct. Here is a recent number to ponder…The age distribution in the United States is shifting. According to 2022 data, nearly 58 million adults ages 65 and older live in the U.S., accounting for about 17.3% of the nation’s population. By 2040, that proportion is projected to grow to 22%. Let’s face it folks it is a Ben Gay world out there, no pun intended but to some folks that tends to rub them the wrong way. So…I am having to adjust to a different way of life. I no longer walk with a confident stride, it has become more of a tentative shuffle. People tend to open or hold doors for me, they call me Sir, even though with the door open it takes me a couple of deliberate steps to get through. Forgetting things is just a normal part of getting old. What, so I have been told is more concerning, is when you forget how you got someplace and have to take a long ponder about which way back and then in some extreme cases where back is. Then there is the escalating fact that things aren’t like they were in my day. Part of what moved me to this line of thought is I did remember that it was 59 years ago that I went to work for Dupont. I was there for 38 years…people don’t do that any more…they change jobs like, as the folks used to say, like socks. Now I could keep going but that would not do honor to the art of pondering. Remember, facts don’t matter and the goal is not to solve anything…just gather it together and throw it way…get it off your mind. For all my years I can say…been there and done that to a lot of things in this life. I leave you with this thought. After all I have experienced…One thing I am sure of is my Gender…Some things in God’s world never change.

jk  

I believe that most of us are familiar with the Red letter edition bibles. They are those in which the words considered as being spoken by Jesus Christ are printed in red ink. What books of the Bible have red letters? Most of the red Bible verses are in the 4 Gospels. The Gospels consist of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical wording. They stand in contrast to John, whose content stands on its own.  “The Pew” for the next few weeks will spend some time in the Red… We will take a closer look at the words that are believed to be spoken by Jesus as  he taught and and went about his ministry. Some facts as taken from the synopticgospel.com . The texts from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John…from the New American Standard Bible, count a total of 83,680 words. Of these, counting only the words Jesus spoke a total of 31,426 words, an astounding 48% of the entire gospel. I must stress that this is an unverified count. I found all of this interesting enough to warrant a closer look. I will be using the New Living Translation for these scriptures.

This week we will begin our journey looking closely at the words of Jesus as indicated by the Red type. Today we will start in Matthew Chapter 3 verse 15… It has always been an issue among people of the faith and those of the theological community as to why Jesus felt he had to be baptized. At first John the Baptist objected… thus the reply of Jesus…the very first words of Jesus we encounter in this the closer look. 

15 But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him.

From a layman’s point of view we can accept the fact that a mission, in this case one that was ordained by the Father, would require the right time and place. Jesus had waited for years carrying out the simple tasks of home, work and waiting for that moment to come. When John emerged Jesus knew his time had come. Consider this… the Jews did not hold with being baptized except for those converts who came into Judaism from some other faith. Jews believed that being of Abraham assured them of salvation, they had no need of baptism for themselves. Let your mind travel a bit and try to consider the possibility that John The Baptist’s Ministry could be liken to a national movement of penitence and part of the people’s search For God. So why did Jesus decide to be baptized? The people had been awakened to their sin and in this hour they searched for God…This was the moment Jesus had come for…to save the sinners and complete the restoration of God’s people to his loving grace and care. Jesus also now realized two certainties… that he was indeed the Son of God and his calling would certainly lead to the cross. 

There are other verses here in Matthew. In chapter four, verse four, where Jesus who had retreated the wilderness and was tempted by the devil, is challenged to turned the stones to bread, answered…

Matthew 4:4

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

This was a time of testing for our Lord but it was also a time of revelation. Here Matthew has moved to the the temptation of Jesus but let’s back up just a moment. Matthew tells this story step by step.   There is an order and purpose as to what is written here. He starts by telling us how Jesus was born. He shares the common belief that Jesus was faithful to the duties of his home and work. He had proven to his father that he was faithful to the smallest task and duty that came his way. We read how the coming of John the Baptist was a sign to Jesus that his time had come. Now comes the pivotal decision to be made. How would he…Jesus, turn the dream into a reality? How would he chose to lead the people back to God? As we now know Jesus chose to adopt the method of patient, sacrificial love? I am excited to continue this look at reading in the red…Join us here in the “Pew” next week as we continue this Journey.

Life is Good…jk

We finally got some snow… an often heard phrase in the South. I do know that here on the plateau like most places in the south you will find most every thing shuts down at about an inch and a-half of snow. It may be a law, I don’t know. Now rain is a different thing. Usually southern rain creates mud and in some places a lot of it. One of my favorite comedians James Gregory says it best about the south and mud. Mud… “we just put some big tires on something and go out and play in it.” You gotta admit that is the truth. While I was pondering all this it came to my mind there is such a thing as the casualties of snow in the south. First and foremost would be bread and milk, seems these always go first. Next would be the academics which snowballs into (no pun intended), staff shortages because some parents have no one to care for the kids when the schools close. I should also mention that for the most part the only yellow that you will see if you do have to travel, will on the traffic lights…The school buses are in the barn. There are lots of things that come to mind. That package you were waiting for will be a casualty of the weather effect, the snow… late due to the snow and conditions of the roads. What about those doctor, dentist and for you ladies, the nail and hair appointments you so carefully scheduled? What about the agony of return? The days you were off and the backlog of what will be needed to catch up when you get back. I could go on and on but you get the idea. One last thought…how is the bread and milk holding up…and oh my! I just thought, did I have enough peanut butter?   

jk

In past years I have written blogs on the Parables. Sometime after that I found a book by one of my favorite authors, William Barclay, “The Parables of Jesus” The book is still available and I recommend it for an a quick read and better understanding of this particular method used by Jesus to teach by using a story that uses things that we see in everyday life to help us understand the message Jesus is sharing. I am going to attempt to share with you some of the things about Parables that Barclay shared in his book… for your consideration…some of which you may not agree with. Parables in the time of Jesus’ ministry were quite popular in a time when few men knew less about the Bible and to be honest could care less. Even with this being the prevalent attitude of that time, it  cannot be denied that these stories Jesus told remain the best stories in the world. What is a “Parable”? 

noun

a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels. (Oxford Language Dictionary)

Again, why a parable? The Jews were very familiar with teaching through the use of parables. After all a parable is nothing more than a good story and who doesn’t like a good story? 

Many of us overlook the fact that there are parables in the Old Testament. As Barclay shares with us, 2 Samuel 12:1-7 and Isaiah 5:1-7 are a couple of the better known ones. We can also add that others also taught in such a way. Prophets, Rabbis and the great scholars and teachers of the day to name a few. The point here being that the parables were and still are a powerful means of teaching and getting a message across. Today we will examine one parable that is found in three books of the New Testament, the one about the farmer scattering seed. In my years of reading and studying the Bible from a layman’s point of view there is a thought here which is shared by many of the different commentaries I have read over the years. The Greeks loved to argue just for the sake of the argument. It was not necessary to reach a conclusion, it didn’t matter. Not so with the Jews… they preferred and most always insisted on a conclusion, not just any conclusion but one that led to action. Another way of saying it makes those who listen to the story say”what must I do?” Now I do not want to lose you in a sea of detail so as we move on consider these points. There is the mater of how we interpret the parable. Like what were the circumstances surrounding this story. Do the people, places or things in the story have a meaning that stands for something else. So we end this section by asking ourselves if we understand the circumstance in which it was spoken? Does the parable meet a need of that moment and will it cause some to act upon its message? Let’s move to the Parable of the Farmer Sowing Seed. 

Matthew writes that this is the first parable Jesus ever spoke. As Jesus was walking along the shore, he was of course followed by the twelve and also by a small but growing crowd. It was a custom of the day that people would often follow a Rabbi, which is often also referred to as Teacher, hoping to catch some pearl of wisdom which might come from his mouth as he spoke as they walked. The crowd had grown to such a size that Jesus had stepped into a boat and sat down speak. In his day it was the custom to sit to teach and stand to preach. It is the thought of many that at that time he saw a sower, sowing in the fields a ways up from the seashore. We will note today that the story contains four different kinds of ground.

There was the Wayside ground– common ground was divided into narrow strips and a man could use these to plant what he wished. Between them were narrow strips which were considered rights of way and anyone could walk on them. They were often beaten down by the foot traffic, you might say hard ground that was not fit for planting and any seed that fell here had little chance of growing.

Next was the rocky ground.- To make this plainer, the ground in Palestine was was simply a small skin of earth over a shelf of limestone rock. There was no depth in such soil and whatever seed fell on this ground could sprout quickly but the heat, sun and lack of retained moisture would not support the nourishment it needed and the plant would wither and die. 

Now the Thorny Ground- Sometimes things are not as they appear. You can turn the ground over and make the area appear clear and ready to go. The problem that happens is that if you have waited to long and those weeds have been allowed to seed… the problem is still there. You see the weeds will always grow stronger and quicker that the good seed. The result will be that the good seed will have the life choked out of it by the weeds that grow much quicker.

Then there is the Good Ground- Good ground accepts the seed because it has the depth and resources to give that seed time to take root and provides it a chance to grow. Here is a great example of the power of a Parable. In any field in Palestine a man will find these different kinds of soil…Jesus uses words to paint a picture that everyone would recognize. Some points to ponder here. Perhaps it means that the word of God is always good. But our mortal behavior within our hearts and minds are sometimes like that hard ground and won’t let those words take seed. Then there is the possibility that we are just plain lazy… with all the resources we have in the digital world we have gotten to lazy to think for ourselves. Here is one that drives the nail home. Is it possible that we believe we know everything? God has provided many ways to come to him and those that shut their mind to any and everything that is not of their own thinking is doomed.

This next point could best be related as mental fear. Many people refuse to believe there is a God, they shut their mind to such a possibility…the best term for this action is denial. This next one is not hard to understand. This is about people of little or no faith at all, to me it is an understandable condition in this world of so many distractions. One stone in the foundation of Christianity is we must be able to think things through. If we can’t do that, then in times of stress we will not be able to stand firm in our faith. Thorny Ground exists when our life is so crowded with other things… there is no room for Christ. There is much more to share about this Parable but for now I believe I will wrap it up with this thought. Back to Matthew again…

Matthew 13:8-9

Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

Glad that you stopped by The Pew today…Come back anytime

Life is Good

jk

A good ole ponder is not a formal event so to speak. You don’t have to come prepared, and you don’t have to have all the answers. Being correct is not that important but in reality it is a courtesy that elevates the mind from wishful thinking to a pleasant possibility. Seems as if at this time of the year there are a lot of people who are sick. Covid is still with us, a new kind of virus that attacks the respiratory system is causing distress in all groups at all ages, war in the Middle East and of course the Ukraine. I have noticed that the prayer lists in Sunday School and Church have gotten larger and the need for prayer for people and nations is at its peak… So I got to Pondering… seeing how important prayer is to christians and even to those who don’t think much about it…the truth is in times of stress and uncertainty people of all persuasions ask for prayer. Let’s take a moment to ponder that. How many times have you heard someone say…Oh God! With that in mind what is the best way to get an answer? Whenever the Son of God sought to be assured or was troubled he always prayed. So, if its good enough for Jesus, it’s surely good enough for me. I have no answer about the importance of prayer in a general sense, it does make sense to me that we consider praying more and after pondering that do it more often. How can God give us peace about certain things or heal a broken heart or body if he does not know our needs. Try it some time, not that hard to do. Just have a conversation with God, like you would a good friend. Here is a great thought to ponder about. It does not…prayer that is, have to be a formal occasion or in any particular place. It is your time and you can share it with God anytime anywhere. Tell God your needs…have a conversation with God.

jk

I have always favored the Psalms for for the window they provide into the history of the Jewish people and their addressing so many diverse situations but I believe that a better summery of Psalms can be found in one of my favorite sites for bible study…gotquestions.org . 

“The Book of Psalms has far more “chapters” than any other book in the Bible, with 150 individual psalms. It is also one of the most diverse, since the psalms deal with such subjects as God and His creation, war, worship, wisdom, sin and evil, judgment, justice, and the coming of the Messiah.” 

This Sunday is Epiphany Sunday, the celebration and recognizing the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. As we move on into the new year it occurred to me that there is a great uncertainty about things to come. We have the war in the Middle East, the continuing war in the Ukraine, as well as the anxiety and the widening of the differences between our people here in the USA. Just these few things, not to mention what each of us face in our own lives, creates an uncertainty that can weaken our faith and our resolve to live a Godly life. How do we deal with these things? We turn to our God…there we will find our hope and strength. In uncertain times we can forget what God has done for us. The noise of those uncertain winds blowing in or ears often keeps us from hearing that comforting whisper of the Holy Spirit when we need it most. It never occurs to us that the same God who has made all the good things in our lives is and always will be with us in uncertain and difficult times. Ours is a  God of yesterday, today, tomorrow and all the days to come, the Alfa and Omega… He will always hear our prayers… We are never alone. Today we will look at some of the verses from various Psalms that give us hope and remind us of how great is our God. It is important we acknowledge that words alone need to be driven by faith. With this in mind we turn to the words of the Psalms.

Psalm 121

7

The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life;

8 

the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

God will take care of your life, and take care of your soul. This Psalm shows us that God alone is the refuge of the distressed.

55:22

22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

God will carry your load. When you trust and depend on God, he will never allow you to be shaken.

46:1

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

God is our refuge and strength blunt and to the point…We may believe whoever or whatever we please but GOD (ELOHIM) is our refuge and strength. Many have found this to be true, God is there for those who seek him in times of need.

29:11

11 

The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.

The blessings of peace is  essential to prosperity in our secular affairs; success in our personal and working lives and for the fellowship God wants for all his people. The peace of God can give us victory over our enemies and bring peace to all nations. It is God’s wish for us to prosper and it is possible with God’s blessings and abundant mercies.

We will never be worry free in this world and as the good ole boys say…you can take that to the bank. The psalms are a powerful tool to keep us grounded in the faith but there are other books and verses that remind us of who we are. I will list a few here…read when you can.

James 12:4

1 Peter 5:7

Isaiah 41:10

Matthew 6:31-34

Philippines 46:7

I hope for all of you a New Year filled with good health and that you prosper in all you do. Remember…God is with you and he does hear your prayers and knows your needs…God is in Control.

Life is Good

jk 

Happy New Year … I try to leave as much behind as I possibly can but that type of thinking can get you in trouble, fast. The fact is that what was yesterday will influence our tomorrow’s and I believe that as a nation, a people and just us ourselves aren’t doing well at learning from the past. There have been some pretty stupid things done over the years… Collectivity speaking 2000 years ago we nailed a man on a cross because his message was disruptive to some in power. Kings and kingdoms fought for power and influence, land and wealth. When you read about Paul and the other Apostles, disciples and just the curious, there is a tendency to obstruct God’s word from being heard because this New Way was disruptive to the status-quo, is a big part of our past history. So where am I going with this… The Good Way is God’s way and the simple truth is there are fewer and fewer of us who try to go that way. Why do you suppose that is? I believe it is because the few no longer have a place at the table…Our opinion doesn’t matter. As I ponder this new year I hope and pray for peace, prosperity and good health for all people. But I feel that won’t happen… Mankind has a long history of never learning from its past. Do I have a New Year’s Resolution? Yes I do… to clear my mind of as much negative stuff as possible…Philippians 4:8

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

The last part of this is some advice from me gained by practicing the art of learning from the past. In this coming new year get close to those things that matter… God, Family, Fellowship in the Community of Faith…Church and Country… jk