We already knew that God is a God of power yet compassion, purity yet forgiveness, high above all but utterly faithful as a friend. But Jesus revealed something new, something shocking, something almost unbelievable, at the very core of the supreme being.
What does it mean to bless someone? Does it actually do anything? How can a human bless God? We need a firm Biblical foundation for answering these questions.
The truth behind baptism is deeply empowering and encouraging, and can explain some of the tensions we experience as we try to live the Christian life.
Through stories of how God relates to humans we learn of a different kind of love that is at the core of who God is. Chesed is utterly faithful, loyal to the very end, a love that will never let you go. When you understand it, there is no word that is more beautiful.
The resurrection of Jesus was not simply coming back to life, but the start of a new kind of humanity. It gives us access to a new kind of life within us—empowered for victory.
All the Bible is God’s Word, and is beneficial, but different parts have different purposes. Some parts are more suitable for study than devotional reading and we can get discouraged if we make this mistake. Here is a way of deciding where to read.
Let us read the last three chapters, and feel what it was like for Jesus, the one who paid our ransom, and be filled with love and adoration for him.
Most of Mark’s Gospel is very easy to understand, but here are a couple of passages that give people problems: Jesus’ instructions about praying in faith seem confusing, and his predictions about the end of the age are hard to make sense of.
The center of Mark holds the core of Jesus’ teachings, but it is not what anyone was expecting. Even today there are many who think they are followers of Jesus but don’t understand this idea. First and foremost the challenge is to us, to follow Jesus in this surprising way.
Does God deliberately harden people’s hearts to stop them repenting? Why did Jesus frequently accuse the disciples of unbelief? These are some of the questions that come up as we read through Mark, and lead to some powerful opportunities of hearing Jesus speak to us.
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