Mark Devotionals
[Please read and meditate on the passage before (or after) reading the devotion.]
These verses are not in all the ancient manuscripts from which we get the New Testament, which is why most translations have it in parentheses. Yet, the heart of the message is not very different from the ending of Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospels. The time is just before Jesus ascends into heaven. But before he goes, he does two things: First, was his commission to his disciples (them and us) to take his gospel and share it with a world that needs the Good News of Jesus Christ. Matthew defines this sharing as actually making more disciples (=not just converts but followers). Second, he promises His Presence to be with us as we fulfill this Commission. Actually, Mark states this part interestingly: Jesus’ Presence will be made evident to us and others as we fulfill His command. His Presence and Resurrection power will be seen in our everyday lives, but those everyday lives will be far from ordinary – they will be filled with miracles of Grace. Does your life exude Jesus’ Presence by what He is doing in you, and through you?
Prayer: Holy God, with your Spirit in me you want me to be holy too – different for the world, special, separate, uniquely yours. Yet you want me to show this by the way I have your interests in my heart, your thoughts on my mind. You want me to love a lost and broken world like you do, and take your Good News as a living Message to them. Give me the desire that makes me want to live out your love, live through your power, and live sharing your Message of Jesus and salvation so that you may touch lives and transform them…just as you have transformed mine. May your Kingdom come, may your will be done, beginning with me. Amen.
