“Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.”‭‭

Mark‬ ‭8:34‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s day eight of “Mark, one chapter ad day for Easter.” here at Refocused Bible Study. If you missed the details of the study, you can find them here. We’d love for you to join us!

Today verses 34-38 stuck out the most to me, especially verse 34:

This command from Jesus comes after he tells his apostles he must suffer and die. He rebuks Peter when he he says, “never!”

Jesus was willing to do whatever it took to fufill his calling and assignment.

Isaiah prophesied this about him:

“Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭50:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Then Jesus himself declared:

“As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭9:51‬ ‭NLT‬‬

His face set like stone.

Resolute.

Determined to do God’s will.

This is the way Jesus was ready to endure suffering to fufill his mission because he loved us.

Because he loves us.

Let’s just sit right there for today, meditating and marveling at his determination to bring us salvation.

May it spark an organic desire in us to follow him with the unselfish determination he calls us to have.

What was your verse of the day?

What’s next at Refocused Bible Study for the month of April?!

Spring has sprung, and not only are there bunnies hopping around in the green grass, there are dust bunnies on my furniture. The animals are popping their heads back up from their underground burrows and living life again, but the piles of stuff under the beds in my house haven’t seen the light of day since long before winter started. My heart sinks when I think about all that needs to get done in my house. It’s time for a

~~Spring Cleaning!~~

But why spend so many hours mindlessly going through our houses when we can pray scripture that will bring a powerful cleansing of our Spirit and our family’s spirits as we bag up, scrub, and shine our way to a clean house and clean hearts!

Here at Refocused Bible Study, starting April 9th, I will be blogging through this journey to a clean heart and home!  I wrote a 4 week bible study available HERE, titled, “Spring Cleaning for your heart and home: Praying your way to a clean house.” Get it here and let’s get ready for a heart & home cleansing!