MARK

Chapter 1

And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. Mark 1:31 – One of the best ways we can demonstrate our gratitude to Jesus for what He has done for us is to serve Him. For this lady, after Jesus had healed her from her sickness, she immediately began the process of serving Jesus and His disciples. So what has Jesus done for you? Then ask yourself what have you been doing to demonstrate your gratitude for that. Whether it’s serving in some capacity at church or having a strong witness at work, begin showing God your thankful by serving Him. Let Him know your time, energy, and heart are His to use for His purposes. Let Him know your thankful for all He’s done for you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 456

Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Mark 1:16 – As we study this gospel we are going to see this kind of phrasing come up often. They “were” something. They were fisherman, he was a leper, he was a tax collector. While of course its past tense because these stories happened long ago, it’s important to remember this was also Jesus’ mission. You were something, but now because of Jesus you are something else. For us yes, we were sinners, we were the “lepers” and “tax collectors.” We were those things, but because of Jesus we are something different now. Don’t let Satan, someone in your life, or even yourself force you to carry your old label in your new life. That’s who you were but not who you are. You are a new creation, valued and loved by God. Carry that label. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1610

Chapter 2

And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. Mark 2:4 – Strive to surround yourself with friends like this. Strive to be a friend like this. We see here a man paralyzed and unable to reach Jesus because of his condition and the crowds around Jesus. So the men with him were willing to push through the crowd, get on the roof, tear the roof open, and lower their friend down so that he could find his healing from Jesus. That’s the type of friends we all need, those willing to go the extra mile for us even if it means no gain for themselves. Seek out depth in your relationships like this, but also don’t let it be one sided. Be sure you too are willing to go that extra mile for your friends that are in need. While we can’t be everything for everybody, we need to grow a willingness in our lives to do the extraordinary for others. Jesus sure did that for those He loved, why can’t we begin the process of imitating that same sort of care for those we love? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 457

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins. Mark 2:22 – As a commentary I found said, the Gospel cannot coexist with any alternative religious system. For the hearers and readers in the time of Jesus this was focused on the Jewish law and the laws the religious leaders of the day had made. What Jesus was teaching and inviting people into couldn’t mesh and exist in this old way of living. Today we must understand our “old wineskins” can’t exist either with the new wine of the gospel. Like the wineskins that allow hatred of others to be ok or the wineskins that say certain sins in my life are ok to entertain. These ways of living and thinking and ways of relating with God cannot coexist with the true gospel. Either we hold fast to the old and disregard the new or set aside the old to embrace the new. As we walk more with Jesus our old ways will be challenged. Will you set them fully aside so you can make room for the new wine? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1611

Chapter 3

And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. Mark 3:26 – Even our enemy has clued into the fact that if their is division amongst his forces he won’t be able to stand and accomplish his goal. So why do we think it alright to have division amongst the brothers and sisters of Christ? Division can come from worship style preferences, race, which church you go to, to even carpet colors. It’s great for individuals to have their own opinions and identity in the church, yet we must clue into how easily those things can also bring disunity within a group. We must strive and sacrifice for togetherness as a church family. There are too many people hurting in this world without Jesus for us to be divided amongst each other. We need each other for the mission we’re given. Be a peace maker within your local church family. Seek unity rather than division. That may mean your preferences aren’t met, but it will mean we are closer to our goal of reaching the world with Jesus. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 458

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. Mark 3:1-2 – Rather than seeing the need in front of them they only saw their need to be right. Let this not be said of us please. Where instead of opening our eyes to the hurting and broken around us all we look for is the wrong others are doing so we can lift ourselves up and prove our self-righteousness. We can either choose to see in someone the wrongs they are doing or the wrong in them that is tearing them apart. One we look at so we can lift ourselves up, the other we see to lift them up. Today challenge yourself to see past the wrongs and see what is breaking people apart that you can help with. You can either offer them words of life and healing today or shove a wedge in their brokenness to add to the separation. Look, see, speak, act, and love in a way that begins to heal the withered hands around you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1612

Chapter 4

The sower sows the word. Mark 4:14 – In this parable, a variety of things happen to the seed that is thrown out. Some grows, some gets eaten, even some bear fruit like it’s supposed to. While the end product is different for the different seeds, something that is common between all of them was there was a sower spreading the seed. For us, we can’t predict how the Word is taken when we share it. Sometimes people will dismiss it clearly. Other times it will grab a hold of their heart deeply and they’ll follow Jesus from then on. What we must keep doing is spreading the Word regardless. Pray that when you share God’s Word with people that it will sink deep into their lives and take root. Just don’t let the fact that some seed sowing won’t grow a huge fruit stop you from sowing at all. Trust that in even the situations that seem like it was a dismissal of God’s Word that God can still use that witness in their lives. Just keep sharing the Word with people. You never know when your sharing will begin the growth in someone’s life of something absolutely beautiful. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 459

Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. Mark 4:3 – A sower went out to sow. Someone who knew what their role was actually went out and did their role to the fullest. Is that you? Do you have the gift of encouragement? Did you use that today to it’s fullest? Are you a small group leader? Did you carry that role out to the fullest you could today? Are you a prayer warrior? Did you actually pray like a warrior today? It’s one thing to know your role, it’s another to carry it out. You may be a pastor, a teacher, a listener, a caretaker, a friend, a brother, a mother, a sower…but if you didn’t sow today then truly what are you doing? God has gifted you in amazing ways and blessed you with unique traits that allow you to pour into your church and community in the very ways they deeply need. Yet if you, the one who God gifted and placed in your spot for a reason, doesn’t do what they were created to do, then what are you doing? Know your role and do you role. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1613

Chapter 5

He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Mark 5:3-4 – On our own we may be able to overcome the bonds man puts on us, but without the help of Jesus we can never break free from the bonds of our enemy the devil. We see that lesson shown here in this passage. Every time man placed ropes around him to bind him he always broke free, but through it all he never could break free from the hold the devil had on him…that is till Jesus came into the picture. Today I want you to recognize the need of Jesus’ strength in your life. There will be things you can handle, but there will also be things you can’t on your own. Know that Jesus is able to handle what you can’t. If the bonds of death couldn’t hold Him down, whatever is binding you isn’t too much for Him either. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 460

And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. Mark 5:2 – The moment Jesus stepped out of the boat on the other side He was met with another storm. Do you remember what just happened on on the boat trip across the lake? The massive storm that Jesus had to calm. Then with no breather given, another storm hits immediately when Jesus steps off the boat. We too can’t guarantee a breather between storms. God may have just calmed one storm in our story but there is no promise given that when we step out of the boat we too won’t be faced with another storm. What we must keep in mind is while we may have no breather between storms, God can handle every storm. He can calm what needs calmed and free what needs freed. So have faith in the storm and continue to have faith when you see the demoniac running at you as you step out of you boat. If our God is able to calm the waves and legions of demons have to seek his permission to move, have faith He is able to move us through anything. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1614

Chapter 6

And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching. Mark 6:6 – Don’t be discouraged when even after you have shared all you can someone still chooses to not follow Jesus. Here in our passage we have Jesus in his hometown where people knew Him best, he was teaching, and even healing their sick. Yet, it says they took offense at Him and Jesus marveled at their unbelief. We see here that there will be times that people will just reject the hope and love of Jesus even when the whole message is shared with them. Realize it’s not because the message isn’t good enough, it’s just they are choosing something lesser than Jesus. For you though, don’t let that discourage you from sharing. We see Jesus, even with that negative experience, continuing to go to villages and share His love. Make sure a bad experience of sharing the Gospel doesn’t stop you from future sharing. While some won’t accept it, it still stands as the message the world needs to hear and that message needs people sharing it. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 461

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. Mark 6:30-31 – Jesus approves of rest. Yes the mission is ours to take on and the harvest is abundant and the work is needing to be done, but Jesus never said we can’t find time to rest and be refilled. If we never take time to be poured into how can we keep pouring out into others when we run out? What then is a fill for you? Time outside, a nap, coffee with a friend, playing piano, dinner out with your spouse – all these things and more are things Jesus would encourage you to do if they fill you so you can pour out better later on. Keep this in mind too, the busier you are the more time you should invest in these sort of things. If our purpose in life is to tell people about Jesus, know we do it better when we are rested and full. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1615

Chapter 7

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men. Mark 7:8 – While in my context as a pastor I see this as a challenge to be sure to follow God’s ways for leading a church rather than the traditional methods man says we must use, for you if you’re not in that role I still see this as a challenge for the way we live.    The “commandments of men” when it comes to how we live our life with God are many. “Church isn’t needed,” “waiting till marriage for sex is outdated,” “I don’t need to share the Gospel because that’s what we pay the Pastor for.” See, if what turns you off about God are the commands, the world has just as many if not more. You have to decide which commands will benefit your life the most. Thankfully Jesus here enlightens us to which we shouldn’t follow. Be willing to check the values you hold fast to against the commands of scripture. Hopefully they match up, yet if they don’t you must make a choice. Will you change your values to be in line with scripture or will you refuse to change and live contradictory to scripture all because “that’s the way you’ve always done it?” I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 462

There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him. Mark 7:15 – I feel like for me I’ve used this idea far too many times to allow me to not show love to someone. I was worried me being there with them would mess something up about my walk with God. Here though Jesus crashes that way of thinking. No, breathing in the smoke of someone smoking while you are sharing Jesus with them isn’t going to make God mad. No, being in a bar because you want to share Jesus with people trying to find hope in a bottle isn’t going to mess up your walk with God. No, sitting with sinners and tax collectors isn’t going to mess up what you have with God. Actually having a heart that refuses to sit with sinners and tax collectors is what will mess things up. Jesus set the example for us on how we should relate with those far off…we should relate with them. Yes be wise about your own struggles and don’t place yourself in a tempting situation without support, but don’t allow yourself to never find yourself surrounded by those deeply in sin. We are here to preach the Gospel to the sick, not the well. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1616

Chapter 8

When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” Mark 8:19-21 – Strive to remember what God has done for you in the past. Strive to learn more about the identity of God from what He does for you. Those things were what the disciples were forgetting about. Not only are they worrying about having food after seeing the miracle of the feeding of 5000 and 4000, but they also didn’t open their eyes to the fact Jesus was able to provide for their needs. Have you fallen into the same category as the disciples? Has God provided for you financially in the past yet now you’re still worrying about money? Hasn’t God healed your broken heart before and isn’t He still able to hold you together? With the current struggles in your story, remember what God has done for you in the past. Begin to see God for who He’s shown you He is; as the God who is able to meet your need. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 463

And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Mark 8:23-25 – Why did the healing come gradually here instead of immediate like the other healings? Great question and many have ideas on it but it’s not for certain. Some believe it’s because of the faith of the blind man and as his faith increased so did the completion of his healing. Others believe it was for the disciples so they could have their faith in Jesus increased. Whatever the reason the result is the same, Jesus gave the man what he needed. Yes, being spat in the eye and it not coming immediately was most likely not how the blind man thought it was going to go, but nevertheless he was able to see once it was all done. Your blessing and healings may come like this. It may come in stages and come in ways you don’t understand. If though the end result is your complete healing and blessing then God has proven once again to us He is faithful, even if the journey to that healing came differently than we expected. So don’t judge God’s faithfulness to you by the strange turns He takes you on in the journey to your healing but by the end result of what He brings. There we will always see how great is His faithfulness. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1617

Chapter 9

For the one who is not against us is for us. Mark 9:40 – Maybe it’s because of my role in church life, but this message seems to be one that I have to remind myself of often. That other churches aren’t our competition. That those who invest in ministries other than your’s are still faithful followers. Those who leave your church to serve elsewhere are not my enemy. The lesson Jesus teaches I feel is one the church today needs to grab onto tightly. If someone isn’t against you, they are for you. Meaning that those you’ve maybe been considering your “enemy” up until now we should be praying for as an ally. That church down the street is a body of believers that is your family too. That Christian you like to avoid at all cost at church, yeah they too are your ally. Let’s keep the title of enemy for the real enemy of all of ours and stop labeling those we’re called to lean on as “against us.” I love you, but Jesus love you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 464

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” Mark 9:30-31 – Jesus didn’t want anyone to know He was passing through, but why? Because He was taking time to teach His disciples. What we can learn here is that sometimes we to need to step aside from serving and teaching others for a time so we can be taught and poured into. No, this doesn’t mean we never step back into the service of others or never teach again. It’s us realizing we don’t have all the answers so we need to be taught sometimes so we can better teach. It’s us realizing we don’t have unlimited fuel so we need to take time to be refueled to keep going. So serve like crazy and teach others about Jesus like crazy, but be thoughtful enough about those you serve and teach to take time for yourself to be served and taught. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1618

Chapter 10

And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” Mark 10:23 – Why is that so? The answer really looks at how deceptive comfort can be. See God isn’t against us having peace and enjoying life, in fact I believe God encourages and leads us to that. Yet what can happen is if we have wealth, security, and comfort, we can begin relying on all that to get us through life rather than God. Now having the wealth and comfort isn’t the problem, the problem is trusting in it more than we are trusting in God. When we have all the luxuries in life it’s harder for us to be aware of our need for anything else, especially a Savior. My encouragement to you is to see your wealth (whatever amount that is) as a blessing from God rather than what you are relying on to get you through life. When we have the wrong view point on our wealth, we can be tempted to let our trust be shifted away from God and onto something else. Make sure your trusting in the one who has control over it all rather than something temporal like wealth. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 465

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Mark 10:17 – “As he was setting out,” and “And they were on the road,” and “As he was leaving.” All these were ways parts of today’s chapter began. That it was in the transition between places that great miracles happened and lessons were taught. My hope is that you today don’t discard the transition seasons in your life as pointless. In the times between cities or leaving a city the blind were healed and the truth of His resurrection was told. We would never label those as pointless, neither should we the things that God does in our story as we faithfully follow Him between seasons. So you today may be in a time of questioning direction, not feeling settled anywhere yet. Know this time is usable by God if you let Him use you in it. Keep moving forward to whatever God is calling you to but know He doesn’t want to wait to work through you only till you get to where you’re going. He works during the journey. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1619

Chapter 11

And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.” Mark 11:22 – God is able to make your prayers a reality. Are you praying for direction? God is able to give it. Are you praying for healing? God is able to bring it. Are you praying for provision? God is able to make it. What we see in our passage is the authority and power Jesus has. What we also see is Jesus challenging us to have faith in that authority and power. Allow your prayers to be filled with more confidence in the ability God has in being able to bring about what you’re asking for. If God can calm the stormy seas, heal the blind, and cast out legions of demons, I believe He has the power to do all you ask of Him and more. Have faith in your God and trust how He chooses to answer your prayers is the way that is best. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 466

On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. Mark 11:12-13 – It’s important to note that when it says it wasn’t the season for figs it’s meaning the season for harvesting figs. Meaning no one should have come out yet and plucked all the fruit yet because they weren’t fully ready, but there should have been an abundance of fruit still on the tree growing. This was to represent the Jewish church of the day, Jesus came and found them not ready to serve Him. Today Jesus is asking of us will we be bearing fruit for Him? Are we going to be a tree that’s been given blessing and provision yet never giving anything back to God to serve Him? Let it not be said of us that when Jesus comes our way He finds us to be fruitless. Let’s us bear the fruit of joy, peace, and love constantly and consistently for Jesus is always walking with us. Maybe the command to be fruitful and multiply means something more here for us today. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1620

Chapter 12

Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? Mark 12:24 – Right here we see Jesus giving us the means to being right in our thoughts and beliefs on things. For these people Jesus was speaking with, He was calling them out on how wrong they were on what they believed. Why were they wrong? Because they neither knew what scripture actually said or knew who God really was. So Jesus is showing us here if we want to have our beliefs back by truth, dig deep into scripture and learn as much as you can about the true character of God. In short, let’s begin to spend more time in the Bible and more time in places where we can learn more about who God is (with church family, in prayer, serving). God wants us to know Him and know His truths, thankfully He’s also pointed out to us how to learn about all that. We now have no excuse as to why we have misguided beliefs about God. Follow His means of finding truth rather than how the world directs us to find truth. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 467

And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions. Mark 12:32-34 – You are not far from, but not there yet. The scribe seemed to know all the answers and know the heartbeat of our mission. Why would Jesus say close, but not there yet? My thoughts are because like many of the other religious leaders in our passage he knew everything he needed to know about scripture yet that knowledge never translated into transformation or actions. My hope for you is you know the message this scribe said. God is one, we are to love Him with all we have, and we are to love our neighbors deeply. Please though don’t let this be a banner we cheer but never fight and live under. Don’t let this be words we say but never words we actually live by. That will be our difference between not far from and we made it. If loving God and loving people is a mission you agree with then somehow live deeply it out today. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1621

Chapter 13

And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake. Mark 13:37 – If I told you there was a deadly snake loose in your house, I can pretty much guarantee you wouldn’t relax till the snake was found or till you got out of the house. Why would you relax, you never know when it could come out and you want to be ready for it at all times. See that’s what Jesus is sharing with us when He says stay awake. Not that we can never go to sleep again, but to always be ready and watching. Always be doing what we can to prepare for His return. That looks like sharing the Gospel whenever possible or making sure we aren’t stepping into areas of sin. Jesus wants us to not waste the time we have. We don’t know when He’ll return, but we do know He will return. So in whatever time we have, make the most of it rather than wasting it by “sleeping.” How can you take advantage of this day God has given us to prepare yourself and those around you for His return? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 468

And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. Mark 13:10 – Okay then, let’s go! What can we do today to begin having the gospel proclaimed to all nations? Yup, you can grab a plane ticket to Uganda to go share. I looked it up and there’s a plane leaving close to where I am at 2pm. It’s that’s easy! You also could go to Walmart today and share with the person in the cereal aisle. You also could pray for the missionaries in Uzbekistan today. You don’t know where Uzbekistan is and you don’t know any missionaries over there by name? Doesn’t matter, I promise you there is someone in Uzbekistan sharing Jesus somehow today that could use your prayers. My point is let’s not complicate this. People simply need to hear about God’s love and plan, we simply need to tell them. However you do it, do it. Have coffee with them and tell them, serve them at a shelter and tell them, maybe write a daily devotion and post it on social media. Let’s get after it and start helping people meet Jesus. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1622

Chapter 14

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Mark14:38 – Two things I see Jesus sharing with us here. One, easily we can fall into temptation when our eyes are not on Jesus and when we aren’t consistent with our prayer life. Two, in Jesus we can find all the strength we need to overcome our weakness when it comes to temptations. The last thing Jesus is saying here is that temptations are something we shouldn’t be concerned with. He’s reminding us the power our enemy has and the weakness we on our own have. Thankfully Jesus spotlights though His strength and our ability to tap into it. My encouragement to you today is be aware temptations can be strong but know the strength that Jesus wants to give you is stronger than any temptation the enemy has. Keep your focus on Jesus and keep steady in your prayer life. This is how Jesus directs us on our path to overcoming temptation. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 469

It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him. Mark 14:1 – During the times these leaders should have been leaning deeply into God to prepare for Passover instead their hearts where leaning deeply toward their anger, envy, and hatred of Jesus. Their hearts weren’t where they should have been. How about us today? As I write this I’m sitting in my office at church listing the the choir practice their piece for our church gathering soon. I have to ask myself is my heart here, leaning deeply after God, or is it elsewhere? Leaning toward my plans for the day or my sins or something else? As I today am going to seek to lean away from other things so I can lean deeper after Christ, I invite you to do the same. Know He is with you today, see what could happen if today you lean into Him. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1623

Chapter 15

So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.” Mark 15:31 – Why did Jesus refuse to climb down off the cross when He had all the power to do so? Because He saw the people there needed His sacrifice in order to be right with God. Because He knew the religious practices of the chief priest and scribes weren’t enough to save them. Because He saw you would need Him eventually too. Know as we progress towards Easter and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, He could have easily climbed down off the cross. Yet He didn’t because He knew we needed Him there. Let’s together step into this Easter season with a heart of thankfulness for a Savior that is all powerful yet laid that power aside for us. I love you, but boy does Jesus love you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 470

There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. Mark 15:40-41- These ladies weren’t a part of the twelve apostles. They don’t have gospels written by them. Some here don’t even have their names recorded in scripture. Yet they followed Jesus, tended to the needs of Jesus, and helped Him accomplish His mission here on earth. It’s so tempting to serve Jesus for the  recognition we get from it, but we must not let that be our reason for serving or our scale on how pleased God is with our service. There are many people serving Jesus behind the scenes in small churches you couldn’t even find on a map if you tried that God is so pleased with. There are people who have the spotlight and are handling it wrong that God isn’t so pleased with. Serve Jesus because you want to please Him and want others to know him. You may never get the spotlight, you may get all the spotlight, either way serve with the right heart. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1624

Chapter 16

And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. Mark 16:6 – Easter is a time we love to focus on the beautiful fact that Jesus is no longer dead in the tomb anymore. He has risen from the dead! Yet we must remember why Jesus did all this. It was to give us the opportunity to no longer be dead in our sin anymore. If you have Christ in your life realize that you are no longer held to sin like someone who is dead is held to death. Just like Jesus broke the bonds of death, He broke your bonds to sins. So when our common enemy comes around trying to depress you with sin again, what was said of Jesus can be said of you to our enemy because of Jesus’ sacrifice. See, you look for(your name), but they aren’t here. They have risen from the death of sin into life with Christ! This is why we celebrate Easter! Because of Jesus you are free! Amen! I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 471

But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. Mark 16:11-14 – We always love to throw hate at Thomas for not believing, but clearly he wasn’t the only one to not believe when told by others of what they had seen. All the others fell into that category. Today we too are asked to believe the testimony of others. Maybe it’s the testimony of scripture and we must believe stories we never saw firsthand. Maybe its the testimony of people in our lives saying Jesus changed them and we must choose whether to believe that. Whatever the case may be, it’s others experiencing something that we didn’t see. While of course not everything is true, let’s open our hearts more to the idea that God can still do great things. Maybe, just maybe, God did do something mighty in their story, how devastating could it be to them if we refused to even think about believing them? Be wise, but be open to God still working in great ways. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1625