Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Mark 14:36

It’s day fourteen of “Mark, one chapter a 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 we are reading in chapter fourteen and I was mostly drawn to verses 32-36. I’m sharing today following the quiet time pattern below. Try it in your own personal study and see if it helps you find focus and structure to help His Word come alive in your life! See the image here:

My verse: “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Mark 14:36

Application: Take time right now to worship Jesus for his deep obedience through suffering. As we come before him on Good Friday, let us just sit in awe of him for taking the pain and torture he went through that day in history. Don’t try and make yourself better. Don’t try and think of ways to apply this verse and want his will in your life instead of your own. Just sit. close your eyes, and think about what he really endured for you.

This is what I heard in my spirit today as I read: Forgive yourself and others.  Don’t just say you’re forgiven and that you forgive. LIVE IN FORGIVENESS.  Think all day about how he took the punishment for every sin I have ever committed or will commit. Further, to meditate on and search my heart for any feelings of contempt I may have for anyone else. The blows he took were for their forgiveness, too. I can’t hold anything against myself or anyone else, or Jesus took all of that in vain.

Spend some quiet moments right now worshipping Jesus for the  moment in history- where he fell face down in anguish in the garden.

Review: Though Jesus knew the Father had power to do anything, he accepted the Father’s plan and chose to follow it through to suffering and death.  Thank you, Jesus.

Kneel in prayer: Lord Jesus, we sit in awe of you. They blindfolded you, hit you in the face with their fists, and then continued to attack you, and you took it all for us. Please help us all to walk in the freedom of forgiveness for ourselves and all others, remembering Good Friday as a day that wasn’t good for you at all. Today, it is good. We can see your smile as we remember you today. We can see your smile as we walk in the freedom of forgiveness today. As we sing and dance and have new beginnings because you became our Passover Lamb.

Thank you, Jesus. Amen.

“The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return.”‭‭Mark‬ ‭13:34‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s day thirteen of “Mark, one chapter a 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 we are reading in chapter thirteen and I was mostly drawn to verses 32-37. I’m sharing today following the quiet time pattern below. Try it in your own personal study and see if it helps you find focus and structure to help His Word come alive in your life! See the image above.

My verse:  “It’s like a man who takes a trip, leaving home and putting his servants in charge, each assigned a task, and commanding the gatekeeper to stand watch.” Mark 13:34 MSG

Application: Sometimes life can get complicated and our “assigned tasks” can get blurry. When it’s hard to know what to focus on, we can always revert back to the greatest commandment, to love the Lord and love others. The Lord also reminded me of the great commission to “go and make disciples.” Take time to ask the Lord if you are doing the good work he prepared for you in advance in Ephesians 2:10.

Review: Jesus is coming back. He has left us with purpose and anticipation; this wonderful hope that cannot be taken from us – that he is returning! The sun swill be darkened, the moon will give no light, the starts will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then, JESUS will come, on the clouds with great POWER and glory.

Kneel in prayer: Lord, we praise you, our Creator, Savior, and Master. Here we are, looking for your return with sweet anticipation Please help us all to stay focused on the work you’ve given us to do through your power. Help us keep our eyes and heart set on that moment, when you return in all your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

What was your verse today? Easter is only a few days away! Let us continue to remember the reason we celebrate. ❤

“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.” 

Mark 12:30-31

It’s day twelve of “Mark, one chapter a 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 we are reading in chapter twelve, and I was mostly drawn to verses 30-31. I’m sharing today following the quiet time pattern below. Try it in your own personal study and see if it helps you find focus and structure to help His Word come alive in your life! See the image below.

My verse: It was easy for me to choose verses 30-31, because the greatest commandment simplifies scripture and the law Jesus came to fulfill. Falling more in love with Jesus and giving him more of our heart will start a progression of obedience, and we won’t have to tell ourselves to “do this” or “not do that” because we will be so focused on loving him and full of his love that it will overflow onto others.

How do I fall more in love with Jesus? 

Take time to study how much he loves you.

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:18-19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I wrote a bible study to help grow in the knowledge of how much he loves you, you can find it here. 

Application: This week, as Easter approaches, we can see how much he loves us. We see Jesus, enduring the suffering we deserved, feeling the pain, and staying in it so that we could be free and invited to live free of the curse of death and sin humanity was once held captive to . We don’t have to enter into his presence after killing an innocent animal or going through a ceremonial cleansing. This alone should make our hearts swell with a love for him that moves us to be willing to do whatever he wants, whatever he prompts us to do: to give generously to his kingdom, to love others sacrificially, to welcome in and protect the vulnerable orphans and widows. It is all an overflow of a heart full of Jesus’ love. His love compels us.

Review: In this chapter, Jesus was answering the Pharisees and Sadducees about different questions as they were trying to trap him and condemn him. But of course, Jesus had these amazing answers that none of them could come up with a rebuttal. (He was God of course, so who could outsmart him?!) He sees the reason and the entire picture and we see only a speck of the paint. Every answer and reasoning boils down to an all encompassing love for God and others. Jesus shows one of the religious teachers that when he was asked which commandment was the most important. Focusing on how much God loves you and loving him and others will always simplify life and give lasting purpose to all the work we do on this side of eternity. Without love, we are all bankrupt and our works mean nothing.

Kneel in prayer: Love Himself, we thank you for showing us true, selfless love by leaving heaven and walking on this sin filled earth. Help us to love you with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, and love others as ourselves. Amen.

I’d love to hear your verse today. Easter is only a few days away!

I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”‭‭

Mark‬ ‭10:15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s day ten 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, I’d like to set a challenge before you.

A challenge to have WILDLY CHILDLIKE FAITH. 

A faith that looks like the faith a child has in their parent at a young age, before their eyes are disillusioned and see that we human parents are sinners.

We see this kind of faith in chapter ten of Mark. Jesus calls the children close, and uses them as an example of the way we are to receive the Kingdom of God.

So today, I leave you with this challenge: talk to God like he is your good, good daddy, even if your earthly father left you or was far from the image you’d like to have of a good parent.

Father,

Help us embrace your design for childlike faith. May we never outgrow a faith in our Father to just take care of us. You never cut ties and turn us loose to try and do life by ourselves without you. You ask us to keep childlike faith. Help us to stay wildly childlike, to never grow up and think we’ve got it all figured out and can do it on our own. Help us keep a childlike trust in you that helps us to never worry, but to only trust you.

In Jesus name,

Amen.

What’s the Lord speaking to you today? Trust his word like it’s from the Father that will never let you down, because it is! ❤

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭9:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s day nine 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 while I was reading I was mostly drawn to verses 2-13,  honing in on verse seven. 

Once again, I’ll be sharing today using the quiet time format for this reading plan, an acronym for M.A.R.K. (see image below). Patterning your time in the Word with a structure similar to this one will help you interact with it and not merely read it and forget about it. The Word of God is so powerful, and the Lord wants nothing more than to see you ask him to be your teacher so he can guide you into his truth, I am just here to encourage you along the way!

My verse: “Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.”

Mark‬ ‭9:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Application: Listen to Jesus. A few nights ago at dinner, my husband was talking to my kids about listening more than they speak, and being slow to speak and quick to listen. He showed them how we have two ears, but one mouth.

It takes practice and commitment to listen to Jesus; to really hear his voice. We have to be in his word and in tune with him in prayer. Praying to him before and while you are reading your bible is a great place to start asking him to speak to you. Write down what you hear. Make sure it aligns with the rest of scripture. God stills speaks to his people. We just have to recognize his voice.

Review: Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the top of a mountain. Jesus’s appearance changed, and Elijah and Moses appeared there with him. Then, a cloud came over them and the voice spoke this verse.

Kneel in prayer: Lord, I pray we will seek your voice in your word and in prayer. We believe you still speak to us. Please help us hear you and follow you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I’d love to hear your verse of the day! Comment below!