Mark 4:21-41, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Fill in the Blank

How would you fill in the blank: a person is made right with God through. . . what?
A person is made right with God through. . .being good. Pay your taxes. Give sandwiches to the poor. Don't drink too much or drink at all. Christian conduct- that's the secret.
Suffering. There's the answer. No, it's doctrine. That's how to be made right with God.
No, no, no. All of the above are tried.  All are taught.  But none are from God. In fact, that's the problem.  None are from God. Who does the saving, you or Him?
Romans 3:28 says, "A person is made right with God through faith." Not through good works, suffering, or doctrine. Those may be the result of salvation, but they're not the cause of it.
Salvation comes through faith in God's sacrifice. In the gift of His Son. It's not what you do…it's what He did.
from Lucado Inspirational Reader

Mark 4:21-41

Giving, Not Getting

21-22 Jesus went on: “Does anyone bring a lamp home and put it under a bucket or beneath the bed? Don’t you put it up on a table or on the mantel? We’re not keeping secrets, we’re telling them; we’re not hiding things, we’re bringing them out into the open.

23 “Are you listening to this? Really listening?

24-25 “Listen carefully to what I am saying—and be wary of the shrewd advice that tells you how to get ahead in the world on your own. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes.”
Never Without a Story

26-29 Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps—harvest time!

30-32 “How can we picture God’s kingdom? What kind of story can we use? It’s like an acorn. When it lands on the ground it is quite small as seeds go, yet once it is planted it grows into a huge oak tree with thick branches. Eagles nest in it.”

33-34 With many stories like these, he presented his message to them, fitting the stories to their experience and maturity. He was never without a story when he spoke. When he was alone with his disciples, he went over everything, sorting out the tangles, untying the knots.
The Wind Ran Out of Breath

35-38 Late that day he said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?”

39-40 Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith at all?”

41 They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?” they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Saturday, November 13, 2021

Today's Scripture
Romans 8:31–39
(NIV)

More Than Conquerors

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things?u If God is for us,v who can be against us?w 32 He who did not spare his own Son,x but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any chargey against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns?z No one. Christ Jesus who dieda—more than that, who was raised to lifeb—is at the right hand of Godc and is also interceding for us.d 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?e Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?f 36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”j g

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerorsh through him who loved us.i 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,k neither the present nor the future,j nor any powers,k 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of Godl that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Insight

In Romans 5–8, Paul shared with the Roman believers in Jesus what Christ had done to save them and enumerated the spiritual blessings they had in Him. In Romans 8:31–35, he affirmed the eternal security of the believer. Quoting from Psalm 44:22 (v. 36), Paul made the point that believers aren’t exempt from afflictions and sufferings, even physical death (v. 35). Yet he also affirmed that God protects us (v. 31), saves us (v. 32), no longer condemns us (vv. 33–34), and covers us with His love (vv. 35–39). Three times Paul assured us that we’re safe, secure, and victorious in Jesus’ great love (vv. 35, 37, 39). No wonder the apostle triumphantly declared, “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. . . . [Nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vv. 37, 39). By: K. T. Sim

Nothing Can Separate

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Romans 8:35

When Pris’ father, a pastor, answered God’s call to pioneer a mission on a small island in Indonesia, Pris’ family found themselves living in a rundown shack once used to house animals. Pris remembers the family celebrating Christmas sitting on the floor and singing praises while rainwater dripped through the thatched roof. But her father reminded her, “Pris, just because we are poor doesn’t mean God doesn’t love us.”

Some may see a life blessed by God as one that’s filled with riches, health, and longevity. So in times of hardship, they may wonder if they’re still loved by Him. But in Romans 8:31–39, Paul reminds us that nothing can separate us from Jesus’ love—including trouble, hardship, persecution, and famine (v. 35). This is the foundation for a truly blessed life: God showed His love for us by sending His Son Jesus to die for our sins (v. 32). Christ rose from death and is now sitting “at the right hand” of the Father, interceding for us (v. 34).

In times of suffering, we can hold fast to the comforting truth that our life is rooted in what Christ has done for us. Nothing—“neither death nor life . . . nor anything else in all creation” (vv. 38–39)—can separate us from His love. Whatever our circumstance, whatever our hardship, may we be reminded that God is with us and that nothing can separate us from Him. By:  Yohana Ang

Reflect & Pray

How can you remind yourself that nothing can separate you from Jesus’ love? How can knowing this truth change the way you respond to life’s challenges?

Heavenly Father, open my eyes and heart to understand more of Your love, and help me realize that Your love is enough for my life.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, November 13, 2021
Faith or Experience?
…the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. —Galatians 2:20

We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption…” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!

We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.

It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Am I getting nobler, better, more helpful, more humble, as I get older? Am I exhibiting the life that men take knowledge of as having been with Jesus, or am I getting more self-assertive, more deliberately determined to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth.
The Place of Help

Bible in a Year: Lamentations 1-2; Hebrews 10:1-18