MARK

What a great day we had yesterday in the LORD..  He is so good to us here at Grand View.  Every Sunday is a blessing.  I'm so honored to be a pastor of such wonderful people.  Today, I'm reading in Mark, and here are a few thoughts: 1) ASTONISHMENT GROWS!  When you are around Jesus, you are astonished, but the amazing thing is that the astonishment does not wain, but it grows and grows until you are literally beside yourself with astonishment.  Case in point:  Mark 1:22- "And they were astonished at his doctrine:"  Then Mark 5:42- "And they were astonished with a great astonishment."  Then Mark 7:37 says:  "And were beyond measure astonished,"  Now, don't you know that it will be that way in Heaven?  We will be astonished, and then more astonished, and then beyond measure astonished and on and on it will go throughout all eternity.  God is infinite and thus there is no end to His wonder and glory!  Praise the LORD!! 2) A SOLITARY PLACE- In Mark 1:35, Jesus woke up early, went outside, and sought a solitary place and there prayed.  Where is your "solitary place"?  Mine is the rocking chair in my living room about an hour before anyone else wakes up.  This is my time with the LORD.  Do you have such a place, such a time?  If Jesus wanted one..... perhaps we need one too.  3) A WORD FOR YOUR IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION- Jesus said to Jairus after hearing the news that his precious daughter was dead:  Mark 5:36 "Be not afraid, only believe."   Now, that is the Word of God today for your impossible situation..... be not afraid, only believe.  This is not psyco babble, this is the King of kings, and Lord of lords, telling us what to do when we are confronted with dead ends in our lives.  This is the God of all power and all resources, telling us where and upon whom to put our trust.  This is our Savior, talking to His lowly creatures (us) and comforting us when these wonderful words in the midst of our inability to control any situation.... Be not afraid, only believe!  LORD, please help me and others to take this truth to heart today!  My resources are gone.... yours are only beginning.  Thank you Jesus.  4) NOT A VACATION- Mark 6:31 says:  "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while."  When Jesus said this, He was not talking about a vacation.  We use that verse to apply to one, and certainly vacations are wonderful diversions that are important in life, but here Jesus is talking about going in the desert and spending time recharging our spiritual batteries.  There were no hotels in the desert in His day... not flat screen TV's... no theme parks.... no beach front condos... no, this is the desert.  Perhaps a shack at best and time under the stars at night and solitude throughout the day to soak up God!  How I wish I had a place like this to spend a few days ever so often.  A little room in the middle of no where to be alone with God for a few days.  To open up our spirit to His, to meditate on Him with no distractions, to come back re-focused, re-energized, re-committed, and with the power of God on our lives.  Wow!  I'd love to have such a place for a few days.  To fast and pray and read and pray, and walk and talk with God each day.... alone.... just He and me.  (let me know if you know such a place).  We all need to go somewhere like this ever so often.  Well, my day is moving on.... You can see, I read all of Mark, but only got to share from the first six chapters.  There is another dozen or so things I wrote down I did not have time to write about.  In Heaven we will have the time.  Till then, let us catch our glimpses of God's greatness each day in His Word and in our prayer lives.  Love you LORD!!   May God bless you dear friend.  Pastor Mike Mutchler