Mark 5:21-43 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Join Hands with God’s - November 22, 2021

Justice happens to the degree that we align ourselves with God’s hand of fairness. When you teach a disabled child to walk or read, when you care for the elderly, when you rally to support the oppressed, you accomplish something that will continue into the world to come. It’s a wonderful thing to restore art or dilapidated houses, but it is a holy thing to restore human dignity. When we join hands with God’s, justice finds oxygen, and oppression hides in the corner.

To be clear, the day is coming when God will forever balance the scales of justice. The glory of the new kingdom will be hallmarked by prosperity and justice. Until then, let’s partner with him in the pursuit of what is right. When you stand up for the downtrodden, justice has a chance, and Satan has a fit.

Mark 5:21-43

A Risk of Faith

21-24 After Jesus crossed over by boat, a large crowd met him at the seaside. One of the meeting-place leaders named Jairus came. When he saw Jesus, he fell to his knees, beside himself as he begged, “My dear daughter is at death’s door. Come and lay hands on her so she will get well and live.” Jesus went with him, the whole crowd tagging along, pushing and jostling him.

25-29 A woman who had suffered a condition of hemorrhaging for twelve years—a long succession of physicians had treated her, and treated her badly, taking all her money and leaving her worse off than before—had heard about Jesus. She slipped in from behind and touched his robe. She was thinking to herself, “If I can put a finger on his robe, I can get well.” The moment she did it, the flow of blood dried up. She could feel the change and knew her plague was over and done with.

30 At the same moment, Jesus felt energy discharging from him. He turned around to the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”

31 His disciples said, “What are you talking about? With this crowd pushing and jostling you, you’re asking, ‘Who touched me?’ Dozens have touched you!”

32-33 But he went on asking, looking around to see who had done it. The woman, knowing what had happened, knowing she was the one, stepped up in fear and trembling, knelt before him, and gave him the whole story.

34 Jesus said to her, “Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you’re healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague.”

* * *

35 While he was still talking, some people came from the leader’s house and told him, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any more?”

36 Jesus overheard what they were talking about and said to the leader, “Don’t listen to them; just trust me.”

37-40 He permitted no one to go in with him except Peter, James, and John. They entered the leader’s house and pushed their way through the gossips looking for a story and neighbors bringing in casseroles. Jesus was abrupt: “Why all this busybody grief and gossip? This child isn’t dead; she’s sleeping.” Provoked to sarcasm, they told him he didn’t know what he was talking about.

40-43 But when he had sent them all out, he took the child’s father and mother, along with his companions, and entered the child’s room. He clasped the girl’s hand and said, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, get up.” At that, she was up and walking around! This girl was twelve years of age. They, of course, were all beside themselves with joy. He gave them strict orders that no one was to know what had taken place in that room. Then he said, “Give her something to eat.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Monday, November 22, 2021

Today's Scripture
John 4:19–26
(NIV)

“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.m 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain,n but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”o

21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is comingp when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.q 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know;r we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.s 23 Yet a time is coming and has now comet when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spiritu and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit,v and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ)w “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

Insight

The events in John 4:19–26 take place in the context of Jesus asking a Samaritan woman to draw water for Him from a well (v. 7). This is significant because “Jews [didn’t] associate with Samaritans” (v. 9), and the handling of a container that had been held by a Samaritan would make Jesus ceremonially unclean. However, this doesn’t deter Him, and instead He tells the woman about her life and many husbands (vv. 16–18). That’s why she calls Him a prophet in verse 19. After Jesus explains that the location of our worship isn’t significant, the woman mentions the Messiah (v. 25). Jesus’ response in verse 26 that He’s the Messiah is a reference to God as the “I am” in the Old Testament (Exodus 3:14). In the Greek translation, the word he at the end of John 4:26 is absent and literally reads: “I am—the one who speaks to you.” By: Julie Schwab

True Worshipers

True worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth.
John 4:23

She finally had the chance to visit the church. Inside, in the deepest part of the basement, she reached the small cave or grotto. Candles filled the narrow space and hanging lamps illuminated a corner of the floor. There it was—a fourteen-pointed silver star, covering a raised bit of the marble floor. She was in Bethlehem’s Grotto of the Nativity—the place marking the spot where according to tradition Christ was born. Yet the writer, Annie Dillard, felt less than impressed, realizing God was much bigger than that spot.

Still, such places have always held great significance in our faith stories. Another such place is mentioned in the conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well—the mountain where her “ancestors worshiped” (John 4:20), referring to Mount Gerizim (see Deuteronomy 11:29). It was sacred to the Samaritans, who contrasted it to the Jewish insistence that Jerusalem was where true worship occurred (v. 20). However, Jesus declared the time had arrived when worship was no longer specific to a place, but a Person: “the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth” (v. 23). The woman declared her faith in the Messiah, but she didn’t realize she was talking to Him. “Then Jesus declared, ‘I, the one speaking to you—I am he’ ” (v. 26).

God isn’t limited to any mountain or physical space. He’s present with us everywhere. The true pilgrimage we make each day is to approach His throne as we boldly say, “Our Father,” and He is there. By:  John Blase

Reflect & Pray

What difference does it make to you knowing that God is spirit, always and ever present? What will you praise Him for in this moment?

Father, thank You for Your constant presence no matter where I am.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 22, 2021
Shallow and Profound

Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. —1 Corinthians 10:31

Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow aspects of life are not ordained by God; they are ordained by Him equally as much as the profound. We sometimes refuse to be shallow, not out of our deep devotion to God but because we wish to impress other people with the fact that we are not shallow. This is a sure sign of spiritual pride. We must be careful, for this is how contempt for others is produced in our lives. And it causes us to be a walking rebuke to other people because they are more shallow than we are. Beware of posing as a profound person— God became a baby.

To be shallow is not a sign of being sinful, nor is shallowness an indication that there is no depth to your life at all— the ocean has a shore. Even the shallow things of life, such as eating and drinking, walking and talking, are ordained by God. These are all things our Lord did. He did them as the Son of God, and He said, “A disciple is not above his teacher…” (Matthew 10:24).

We are safeguarded by the shallow things of life. We have to live the surface, commonsense life in a commonsense way. Then when God gives us the deeper things, they are obviously separated from the shallow concerns. Never show the depth of your life to anyone but God. We are so nauseatingly serious, so desperately interested in our own character and reputation, we refuse to behave like Christians in the shallow concerns of life.

Make a determination to take no one seriously except God. You may find that the first person you must be the most critical with, as being the greatest fraud you have ever known, is yourself.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

I have no right to say I believe in God unless I order my life as under His all-seeing Eye. Disciples Indeed, 385 L

Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 18-19; James 4

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, November 22, 2021

Where the Spotlight Belongs - #9096

When you speak in public settings as much as I do, you learn there are two people in that auditorium you really want on your side. One is the man in charge of the sound. Without him, no one can hear you. The other is the man in charge of the spotlight, because without him, no one can see you.

After all, I'm not that big you know, and I disappear pretty easily in a crowd or a large event. The spotlight man is really one of the unsung heroes. I mean, you don't think about him; he's invisible for the most part, but he sure makes a difference in the program...unless he forgets where the spotlight goes. Imagine the announcer says, "And now here's our host, Guy Smiley." And as the M.C. appears on stage, the spotlight man suddenly swings that light around until it's shining right on him! You can't see the man you're supposed to be looking at because the guy with the spotlight has you looking at him!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Where the Spotlight Belongs."

The problem of the misplaced spotlight has happened over and over again, with the spotlight that's supposed to be shining on God and God alone. Now you may not have a union card, but if you're a Jesus-follower, you're a spotlight operator. The question is, who's the spotlight on?

King David must have struggled with that sometimes. He says in our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 115:1, "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name be the glory." Isn't it interesting He says "not to us" twice? Almost as if he needs to hear himself say it again. "The glory is not supposed to go to us - not to us." See, God should always get all the credit, all the credit.

Jeremiah asks this probing question - one which I need to listen to and maybe you do, too. He says in Jeremiah 45:5, "Should you then seek great things for yourself?" Then this sober warning, "Seek them not." God Himself soberly warns us, "I am the Lord. That is My name. And My glory I will not give to another." But listen, it's tempting to grab a little of the glory, isn't it? After you've made a good impression or done a good job, just to think, "Hey, aren't I something?" Then God weighs in with His reality check. 1 Corinthians 4:7 - "What do you have that you did not receive?" Or as 2 Corinthians 4:7 says in the Living Bible, "Our only power and success comes from God."

Could it be you've been turning the light that's supposed to be illuminating Jesus on yourself? Pride has subtly started to creep in, you're making sure that folks hear about what you did, you're pushing, you're promoting yourself a little more, you're getting slightly addicted to the attention, to the applause. Without realizing it, you have reversed John's equation, "He must increase; I must decrease." Now it's like, "You must increase."

Throughout Scripture, throughout history, pride has been the subtle destroyer of people God wanted to use. As soon as He started to use them, they forgot it was Him, not them, that any success is a gift from God, not an achievement by us. It's all about Jesus; it's nothing about you. And even though men can't usually see the pride in your heart like they can see more outward sins, God can see it and He will not tolerate it.

All the good things God has given you, all the good things God has done for you and see. through you, you are to use all that as a spotlight to shine on the only star there really is in this show - the Lord God himself.

If you've been turning that spotlight on yourself lately, it's time to put it back where it belongs. "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your Name be the glory."