- And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” Mark 9:7 – Jesus took three of His disciples aside and they were able to witness a true miracle, Jesus’ heavenly glory being revealed. They also were able to see two heroes of the faith, Moses and Elijah. Peter, one of the disciples Jesus took with Him, being amazed at what he was seeing, wanted to build three monuments, one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus. Yet God spoke and made it clear which of the three ought to be honored above all and followed…Jesus alone. This would have been a massive statement for the Jewish men to hear. Moses was a main character in their history, he represented the Law of God which was foundational to the Jewish faith. Elijah was the hardcore prophet of Jewish history that stood up to kings and was taken up in a whirlwind followed by chariots of fire. He represented the prophets of God. So now you have Jesus, the law, and the prophets, all on this hilltop, and who does the voice of God say to listen to? Jesus. Over the law, over the prophets, they were to now listen to the voice of Jesus. If Jesus then were to do the same for you, take you up to a hilltop, what things would appear up there that you’ve been following that God is calling you to no longer follow, but follow Jesus instead? Our desires, our selfish dreams, our temptations, unbelieving friends, Satan: all such things might be what would appear that God would call us to cease following. For His disciples, Jesus was better than the Law and Prophets for He fulfilled them and offered a better promise to them than these other things could. Jesus is better than anything else in this world we could follow and offers better promises. Make Jesus your sole focus of your walk today. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3100
- 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
Daily DEVO 