“Anyone who does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”  

Mark 3:35

It’s day three of the “Mark, a chapter a day for Easter” reading plan! If you missed the details, you can find them here, catch up, and join us!

Reading together as a family is proving to be a beautiful time. It is so inspiring to see God’s faithfulness as He reveals himself to our children through His Word.

Yesterday, one of mine asked, “Where does Jesus get his power from?” 

This is so special to me, because I want my own family to  really know Him, more than anyone else.

I’m sure Jesus felt the same. He wanted his mother, and brothers to know him as their Savior.

In this chapter, we read that they come to see him, and he stays inside the crowded home he is in, teaching. And says this:

Jesus stayed focused on the kingdom work he was doing, but we see something interesting later in scripture…

“They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.”

‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭1:14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Do you catch that?!?!

Jesus’ mother and brothers were there, praying and believing, waiting to receive the Holy Spirit.

Let’s stay focused on kingdom work (Matthew 6:33) as we keep praying for and loving our unbelieving family members. I know this revelation encouraged me to follow Jesus’ example and trust salvation of our loved ones to the Father as we continue following Him.

What was your verse of the day? I’d love to hear how He’s speaking to you!

When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor- sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

Mark 2:17

We are in day 2 of “Mark, a chapter a day for Easter here at Refocused Bible Study” here at Refocused Bible Study. You can find out about  the plan here. We’d love for you to join us! Today we are reading and discussing Mark chapter 2.

Oh, how I wish I would have been at Levi’s dinner party with Jesus. The guests were not the ones who looked as if they had it all together religiously. They were “notorious sinners,” known for their impurities and looked down upon by the Pharisees.

When Jesus is confronted about his decision to eat with “such scum,” he responds with a phrase that should shake us believers again today, making us double check and make sure our righteousness is in our faith in Christ alone.

Do we know we are sinners?

Although as believers, we may not have the lifestyle or be known for our sins like those eating with Jesus that night, it is important to remember that we will fall short every single day of the perfect love God lavishes on us. Everyday we need to ask him to search our hearts to see what sin may be taking root in there, underneath the surface, so he can pull the weeds up and keep the soil in our hearts soft and keenly aware of our need for him.

Are we clinging to Jesus and what he did on the cross? 

Even Jesus said himself that there is nothing good in him but God himself. Our righteous deeds are like filthy rags. The only thing good in us is God. If we think for a moment that what we “do” for the Lord makes us worthy, then we are lying to ourselves.

Do we see all people as God’s children, worthy of our Savior? 

Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees here is recorded for us to remember. Absolutely everyone is welcome to be introduced to Jesus. Whether they choose to follow him, is up to them. God makes it clear in scripture that he is being patient and desires to see everyone come to salvation. Make sure you are not writing anybody off. Start by praying for those around you who don’t know him. Love them and tell them about the Savior who doesn’t want them to “clean up” before calling out to him. Just as we are, he invites us. Thank you, Jesus.

Share your verse of the day below in the comments! Tomorrow we discuss chapter 3!

Before Daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.

Mark 1:35 NLT

It’s day one of the series “Mark, a chapter a day for Easter” here at Refocused Bible Study.  If you missed the details, you can find them here. Whatever way you came across this post, I’m glad you are here and I pray you’ll join us!

There is so much good stuff in every chapter, it is hard to pick one verse to focus in on! However, this one about  Jesus going off to pray by himself made me fall in love with him all over again.

Jesus was fully God and fully man, yet still went off by himself to intentionally cultivate a connection with the Father through prayer.

Did he do this to model spiritual discipline for us?

Maybe.

Did he do this because HE LOVED THE FATHER AND WANTED TIME ALONE WITH HIM?

I think so.

The day before, Jesus had been healing people and casting out evil spirits. Ministry was busy. He knew another busy day of serving and healing was ahead of him. So he got up while it was still dark to go spend this time one on one with his heavenly father.

If Jesus did this, how much more do we need to do this? He was one with The Father, and yet he still carved out time from the rest of the day to go and talk to him one on one.

Do you know what I’ve been telling myself instead of waking up early to spend time with The Father?

YOU NEED SLEEP, AND THE LORD KNOWS IT. YOU CAN PRAY LATER DURING THE DAY.

But, ladies, how I’ve been missing this time with Him! Time alone with God in the morning just cannot be replaced. There is nothing like it. Plus, it’s easy to see that Jesus sacrificed sleep to go and be alone with God, even in the thick of a very busy few days of ministry.

During the days leading up to Easter, let’s follow Jesus’ example and set our alarms just 30 minutes earlier. Let’s go and pray to Him and see how it changes our hearts and our days.

Following the pattern for prayer that Jesus shows us is a good place to start:

“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:9-15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I look forward to hearing what your verse for chapter 1 is! Let me know in the comments below. ❤

I gave up coordinating family outfits for Easter a few years back. I realized that for many years I thought about what we would wear more than  I thought about the fact that Jesus was alive.

Do you really think he cares about what we wear that morning to church?

“People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

He sees straight through our best dressed faces and outfits, straight to the core of our souls. Jesus cares far more about the condition of your heart than the clothes hanging on your body.

So who’s up for our THIRD annual Easter bible reading challenge?!?!

Last year we read the book of Mark. This year, we will be reading it again. It was so powerful to read the events of Jesus’ life, miracles, obedience and resurrection leading up to Easter.

This year, we will start reading Mark tomorrow, Saturday March 28th reading one chapter a day, reading the last chapter, the RESURRECTION, ON EASTER!   

Let’s flip the script and make the most of this opportunity to go deeper into the story of Jesus. If you’re at home with kids, I have a special plan for you tomorrow to experience the story of Jesus with your kids leading up to Easter!

Here’s a FREE GIFT TO YOU: Mark Journal

Download it today and spread the word! Let’s see how many sisters we can get in His Word for Easter!!!

Are you in? Comment below & let me know you’re joining us!

But wait, there’s more! Are you a girl mom?

I want you to join me in using this as an opportunity to DISCIPLE OUR DAUGHTERS!

Tomorrow I’ll be posting three discussion prompts to start conversations with our daughters about what we are reading in the book of Mark.

My plan is to read the book of Mark to them on the same schedule and to have three special sit down “coffee talks” where I invite them to “big girl” bible study to talk about the the memory verses of week.

Topics for ” Discipling our Daughters” 

Week 1: Discussion on Prayer

Week 2: Introducing Quiet Time

Week 3: Childlike Faith

Download the Mark Journal, grab some friends, and spread the word. Let’s fall in love with Jesus all over again, this time with our daughters!

If you aren’t a girl mom, please, still join us! My son will be reading with us too 🙂

❤ Amy

And they sang in a mighty chorus: