Mark Chapter 9 - ACC NT Study

(Verses 17-18)
17 A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech.
18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."

(Verses 25-29)
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again."
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead."
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"
29 He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."

I have to admit I have never felt I have the gift to do anything miraculous. However I do believe in the power of prayer. I believe anyone who prays from their heart on the behalf of others, in the name of Jesus Christ, performs a humble deed.

In a few words:
God does much with our humble prayers for others.

Mark Chapter 8 - ACC NT Study

(Verses 22-26)
22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"
24 He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around."
25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
26 Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don't go into the village."


In the passage above the blind man could see after Jesus touched his eyes, but his vision was limited. He could see clearly after Jesus touched his eyes a second time.

In a few words:
Repeatedly return to Jesus for clearer vision.

Mark Chapter 7 - ACC NT Study

(Verses 34-37)
34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means, "Be opened!" ).
35 At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.
37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

In a few words:
When it comes to the Gospel, may our ears be opened and tongues be loosened!

Mark Chapter 6 - ACC NT Study

(Verses 7-13)
7 Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.
8 These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.
9 Wear sandals but not an extra tunic.
10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.
11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them."
12 They went out and preached that people should repent.
13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

This passage is true and real, however it is also a good metaphor of Jesus sending us out to share the Gospel. He instructed the disciples to take along the basics. (The clothes they wore, staff and sandals.) I believe they were to trust in God for their needs to be provided otherwise.

It is the same for us. To share the Gospel we only need to take the basics. (Our story, our Bible and the Gospel message.) Otherwise we need only to trust in God, for the opportunity to share our faith, and the words to do so.

In a few words:
The Holy Spirit speaks through believers.

Mark Chapter 5 - ACC NT Study

(Verse 15)
When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind;

This passage reminds me of people I have known, who became followers of Christ. Please don't misunderstand, they were not "possessed by demons" or anything like the description in Mark Chapter 5.
They were however, individuals I thought would never even consider coming to church, let alone accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. And yet they have became great Christian examples for me to follow.

In a few words:
The power of the Gospel changes hearts.

Mark Chapter 4 - ACC NT Study

This passage speaks to me today:
(Verses 35-40)
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side."
36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.
37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

Right now I have storms going on in my life. In reality they may be relatively small, however in my mind they seem quite large. And they seem to constantly remind me of potentially negative situations or negative results. Until I take them to Jesus, and ask Him calm my storms.

In a few words:
The worries of this life are quieted by the Savior.

Mark Chapter 3 - ACC NT Study

(Verses 4-5)
4Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent.
5He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.

In a few words:
May our hearts never be so stubborn that our Lord is angry and deeply distressed.

Mark Chapter 2 - ACC NT Study

True friendship is clearly demonstrated:
(Verses 3-5)
3Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

Jesus' power and compassion is also clearly demonstrated:
(Verses 10-12)
10But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11"I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

Jesus not only knew the heart of the paralytic, but the hearts of the others that carried him.

In a few words:
Have a heart to help others.
Have a heart that allows others to help.

Mark Chapter 1 - ACC NT Study

Can you imagine the pressure?

(Verses 32-33)
32That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33The whole town gathered at the door

The whole town gathering at the door, waiting to be healed and helped. Jesus was God in the flesh, therefore he realized human limitations. He must have faced pressure and fatigue of healing and counseling others. He knew where to go afterward...

(Verse 35)
35Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

In a few words:
Share your burdens with the one who can lift them.

Matthew Chapter 28 - ACC NT Study

(Verse 10)
Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

In a few words:
Be willing to go where He sends, in order to truly see Him.

Matthew Chapter 27 - ACC NT Study

Pilate ended up on center stage with the opportunity to take responsibility and make the right choice.

(Verse 24)
24When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"

However making the right choice and saving an innocent man would have cost him personally and politically. The easy way out was to "Wash his hands of the situation"

In a few words:
Our actions speak volumes about our character.

Matthew Chapter 26 - ACC NT Study

(Verse 50)
Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for." Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him.

Jesus knew His Father's will and yet He chose to be obedient.


In a few words:
God's will requires our sacrifice for the sake of others.

Matthew Chapter 25 - ACC NT Study

The Parable of the Ten Virgins is a reminder to be ready for Christ's return. To have peace in our hearts that we are right with God, and have a relationship with His Son.

The Parable of the Talents has always sounded harsh to me, but I do understand it. It speaks to me saying that I should not be afraid to "risk" using my gifts to serve and win others to Christ. If I have but one gift, I should use it all the more.

The passage in versus 31-46 is "hits home"
(Verses 31-46)
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

I must ask myself:
Am I a sheep or a goat?

In a few words:
An honest relationship with Christ inspires us to use our gifts to serve others.

Matthew Chapter 24 - ACC NT Study

Reading Versus 9-14 of this Chapter makes me ask myself:
Where will I stand?

(Verses 9-14)
9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

I think all of us would like to think we will stand firm.

In a few words:
Saved are those who stand firm in the faith of their salvation.

Matthew Chapter 23 - ACC NT Study

To me, Matthew Chapter 23 is a warning. While the 7 woes apply to the Pharisees and teachers of the law in the chapter, they also apply to me if I allow myself to be like them.
Versus 25 & 26 stand out to me today.
(Verses 25-26)
25"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

When we are doing well in our walk with Christ, we should give thanks for not falling into sin and remember to be humble. It is God who makes it possible to walk according to His will.

If we forget to (or choose not to) give thanks and be humble, we become full of ourselves. We start to believe we can live well morally and spiritually without God's help. Soon we become so pompous that we start changing our view of what is right and wrong in God's eyes. If we are not careful we fall into, and justify sin to fit our purpose.

I believe that is the case with Pharisees. They kept their prominent religious positions and became men with empty hearts, rather than God in the hearts of spiritual men. They did what looked good externally, but became greedy self-indulgent leaders internally.

In a few words:
Internal cleansing comes from our Heavenly Father.

Matthew Chapter 22 - ACC NT Study

What stands out in Matthew 22 to me is the greatest commandment:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
As well as the second greatest commandment:
"Love your neighbor as yourself."

In a few words:
Love God, Love People.

Matthew Chapter 21 - ACC NT Study

The Triumphal Entry is a very well know passage with crowds enthusiastic about the arrival of Jesus. They were shouting: "Hosanna to the Son of David!" - "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" - "Hosanna in the highest!" In fact when questioned who this was, they answered: "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."
The crowds were overjoyed to be present at this event.

(However crowds would shout "Crucify Him" just a short time later.)

Jesus "upsets the apple cart" (by overturning the tables of merchants) and makes it clear that the Temple is His Father's house for worship, and not a flea market. Perhaps the chief priests and the teachers of the law were indignant not only because Jesus was healing the blind and the lame, but because shooing the merchants out of the Temple got into their pocket.

The parable of the two sons, and the parable of the tenants expose what is in hearts of the chief priests and the Pharisees.

In a few words:
Insure the Lord's House is truly a place of worship.

Matthew Chapter 20 - ACC NT Study

The parable of the workers in the vineyard is an analogy of God's grace. Everyone can repent, accept Jesus as Lord and receive forgiveness at any stage of their life. That is how God's grace works. Christians should rejoice when someone comes to Jesus, in lieu of grumbling because a new believer has received the same gift of grace.


Jesus tells a mother "You don't know what you are asking" when she requests her sons sit at His left and His right in the Kingdom. He also heals two blind men who were bold enough to make themselves known to Him.

In a few words:
Boldly rejoice for a new believer!

Matthew Chapter 19 - ACC NT Study

Timing is everything. It seems whenever something good is taking place, negativity always shows up to ruin the moment. The Pharisees showing up to test Jesus while He is healing and helping others is one such example. I wonder if they always waited for the most opportune moment (when the crowds were large) to question Jesus in a public setting. Of course they come to question Him again in Matthew Chapter 19:


(Verse 3)
Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"

It seems almost every question from the Pharisees to Jesus is a "setup" for an additional "trapping" question. Jesus knows this already, however He "plays along" and answers them:
(Verses 4-6)
"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

At this time the Pharisees are happy about how Jesus answered and now they are ready to "spring the trap" with their additional question:
(Verse 7)
"Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"

The Pharisees are pleased with themselves at this point. They most likely are thinking; "Aha! what about that!" Jesus gently corrects them as follows:
(Versus 8)
Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.

Jesus' reply could be characterized in layman's terms. An old country preacher might say it like this:
"You boys might want to check your scripture there. I believe you've got it wrong. Moses didn't command anyone to divorce his wife, he just let 'em do it because of all the hard heartedness among the people back then."

The trap had been sprung (or so they thought) and when they thought they had Jesus cornered, He reveals the flaw of their plan. It seems the Pharisees did not remember correctly what was said in the scriptures. (Perhaps they remembered scriptures the way they wanted to, rather than what it actually said.) They most likely did not care for Jesus correcting them, especially in front of a crowd of people. They folllow up with an additional question for Jesus which He answers that as well.

This Chapter also incudes Jesus blessing children and addressing the question of a rich young man.

In a few words:
Know what scripture actually says and apply to my life correctly.

Matthew Chapter 18 - ACC NT Study

Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? That is the question to Jesus from His disciples. He answers them by first addressing the issue of entering the Kingdom of Heaven at all, let alone who is the greatest.
(Verse 3)
And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become
like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Basically Jesus tells them unless they trust God (as a child trusts a loving parent) they have missed the whole point. I guess the disciples assumed they were a "shoe-in" as far as Heaven was concerned.

Perhaps they were having a discussion about which one of them would be the greatest there. Jesus addresses this as well.
(Verse 4)
Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus makes it clear, Heaven is such a wonderful place we won't worry about who is the greatest. (Perhaps that is the humble part.)

This chapter helps us understand to rid ourselves of what causes us to sin. The metaphor of a removing a body part is quite effective. Obviously having a body part removed would be a painful experience. Likewise there are things that cause us to sin, and it is painful to rid ourselves of them. But it is well worth doing so.

Matthew 18 also gives guidance of how to handle a situation when someone sins against us. However the "Parable of the Unmerciful Servant" clearly stresses the importance of forgiveness.
(Forgiveness is usually the key to resolve painful situations that may have occurred.)

In a few words:
Trust God to help us recognize and remove the things in our lives that cause us to fall short.

Note to Blog Readers - 2/1/09

Greetings!
Just wanted to let readers know I am brand new at blogging. I just figured out that I needed to change the "comment" settings to allow comments to be posted without having to register. If you would like to leave a comment, feel free to do so. Thanks to those who choose to read as you are helping me be accountable to read and journal the New Testament in 2009! (There are a total of 18 blog posts in January.)
Sincerely,
Elijah