“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!

“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?

Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭7:6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s day seven 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 1-23, honing in on verse six.

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: “Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭7:6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I love how Jesus cuts straight to the heart when the Pharisees try and convict the disciples of not performing the ceremonial hand washing  ritual before eating. How dry and surface level the religious people had become back then! Jesus used this opportunity to explain to them how they had been side-stepping God’s law and substituting their own man-made traditions.

Application: Let God do a heart checkup on you every morning to get rid of anything that will hinder you from fulfilling the greatest commandment:

29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these.” Mark 2:29-31 NLT

There are some beautiful scriptures that the forerunners of our faith recorded long ago which are perfect to pray during these heart checkups. Here is my favorite:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

Psalm139:23-24 NLT

Then, ask the Lord to help you to love him and others more than you did yesterday. Because of what Jesus did, we don’t have to clean ourselves up before we come to him. We come as we are and trust that his blood covers the sin that easily entangles and threatens to harden our hearts and keep them blocked off from his love. We come everyday, and everyday, he melts away the hardness and makes our hearts soft and loving.

Review:  The ceremony the Pharisees loved was supposed to be an outward symbol of an inward process that wasn’t taking place in their hearts, and Jesus saw right through it. When the religious people tried to condemn Jesus and his followers for not following the age-old hand washing ceremony, Jesus used it as an opportunity to rebuke them for their hard hearts that cared more about man made ideas than God’s commands.

Kneel in prayer: Lord, we praise you for being more concerned about our hearts being close to you than our religious traditions. As we approach your throne this Easter, please help us all spend time with you, letting you search the deepest places in our hearts that only you can see. Bring out and excavate all things that are taking your place there. Replace it with the love your Holy Spirit produces for you and all people, so we can fulfill the greatest commandment in your strength. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

We are almost halfway through the book of Mark! I’d love to hear which verse spoke to you today!