Today's Word

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  Matthew 6:10 
 
“after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the good news.' " Mark 1:14-15

What is the Good News?

Mark 1:15 records Jesus saying that with his arrival the Kingdom of God is here. Heaven has come to earth. Mark calls this “good news”. The rest of Mark records miracle after miracle. “Miracles write for us in small letters what God has already written or will write in letters almost too large to notice”. They are small pictures of God’s renewal of fallen creation. They are moments of God’s righting the world.

Dave, Ce and Hope Rooney, Donna Elmore and Judi Gawlikowski have returned from 9 days doing medical and children’s ministry mission in an extremely primitive indigenous Indian culture in a remote mountain region of Panama. There they joined God in bringing signs of the presence of the Kingdom of God to them. They just signed up and went. They gave out of their wealth to those who had no wealth. The wealth of western medical expertise brought health to children who were vomiting up worms. The wealth of the American church’s biblical knowledge brought the salvation message to those who had not received it. One dying woman discovered and received eternal life beyond the grave.

The team said that serving there was brutally difficult in the oppressive heat and humidity with no electricity, bathroom facilities or anything else we take for granted. But “to a man or woman” they will all return. Why?

Mark does not record how to accept Jesus as Savior so that you obtain your ticket to heaven. He only records Jesus saying, “if you lose your life for my sake you will find it. You must take up your cross and follow me”. Therein is salvation. Take up your cross and follow Jesus. Ironically it is in suffering for Jesus that the highest form of joy is found.

Prayer
 
“Lord, please give me a discomforting internal discord about living a comfortable that is so often all about me. Lord, today please nudge me with your discernable whispers and promptings toward the mission you have through my life so that I expend my time, my efforts, my wealth, my resources, whatever I know or have learned, for the sake of other people whom you want to bless. In Christ’s name.  Amen”