A journey through the Gospel of Mark is a revelation of who Jesus is as evidenced by what he did. From the very first chapter, it emphasizes the life of Jesus in action. He is the Messiah that wants to walk with us. He is the son of God who came to Earth to show us how to live life and give us access to heaven.

As he walked alongside his disciples, his ministry showed him as very much man, while never betraying his divine nature. The gospel is strong, steadfast, and foundational; the ministry and teachings of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark are still applicable in every aspect of our lives today. ‍

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Changes‍

To accept Jesus is to be made new. At the point of salvation, he extends us an invitation to change. Salvation is free, but the journey of becoming like Jesus comes at a price. The cost is pushing past temptation and into who God wants us to be.

There's a place of change, a place to become who he created us to be. And while we may be thinking of a physical place, it’s actually an internal one, a place of constant surrender before our heavenly Father. As we live in surrender, we understand that Jesus is the companion we need for the change to occur.

So what’s the point of change? What’s the point of walking with the one who created us? The point is to love him. To love God and love people. That is our calling. In doing so, we can walk with confidence that we are living out our greatest purpose, to know him and make him known.

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Small Faith‍

Mountains move. Dead things rise. Situations are made new. Unprecedented circumstances happen when we choose to have small faith.

Beginning as tiny as a mustard seed, small faith is the divine catalyst for turning our mess into God’s miracle. When we have the unconditional viewpoint that God can take the little we have, we experience the substances of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.‍

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Fixing Our Eyes‍

To achieve greatness in the eyes of the father, we must be humble. Selfish ambition makes us blind to the heart of Jesus. But when we seek Jesus with sincere hearts, he restores all that we’ve lost, elevation through restoration. And when we come seeking him boldly, he honors our faith with his faithfulness.

In order to fix our eyes on Jesus, we must recognize and accept our innate lack and acknowledge that we need him. The gains of this world are empty without eternal direction. Nothing on this earth is worth sacrificing eternity. We have to shift our paradigm from earthly sights to heavenly vision.

Sometimes a shift of our gaze allows us to recognize God’s hand even during times of rebuke. His discipline, a display of his love. The pruning and weeding of our lives can be painful, but cutting out the thorns and dead weight is necessary to make us grow and produce fruit. God is looking for the fruit of a pure heart.‍

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On the Money

When we love God with all our heart, acts of uncommon generosity, unrelenting surrender, and unashamed devotion will surely overflow. The outpouring of the heart need not make sense to others when it is done for an audience of one. Our hearts are exactly what God wants.

As Jesus seeks to captivate our hearts, we must be careful to remember that there is an ever-present enemy in pursuit of our souls. Just as Judas betrayed Jesus for money, we too squander and sell our soul for the things of this world. But this exchange doesn’t happen overnight, selling your soul happens in moments. Rather than running away, we need to repent and keep close to God, the one who has already redeemed us.

If we barter our soul for bills, as in dollar bills, we're behaving like the Pharisees and Herodians, allowing the temporary to hold sway over our mind. We can either choose to give in and believe the lies of the enemy, or use our minds to learn and remember that we bear the image of Christ.

Loving God with all of our strength doesn’t come from a place of quantity, but by an intention and posture of honesty in our hearts. While a poor widow’s offering appeared small, she actually sacrificed all she had. This act of strength not only debunks what the world values: control, status, and power, but also exposes that God sees and signifies those acts which may seem insignificant to us.

Loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, will result in a life far richer than we could have ever imagined.

We are blessed to serve a Heavenly Father who still speaks to us and continues to act on our behalf. In him, we have an invitation to turn from the old and accept a new life. If we fix our eyes towards heaven with just a little bit of faith, he will respond. Falling in love with Jesus comes naturally as we understand and accept who he is and what he’s done. Spend some time reading the Gospel of Mark and getting to know him

Choose one area discussed above to dive in deeper. Spend time reading the related scriptures in Mark and ask God for revelation. Check out the collections on YouTube and download a Mark Journal to guide you along the way!

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