Mt. Pleasant #1 Baptist Church

Daily Bible reading Friday February 19: Mark 7. The problem with the Pharisees, chief priests, and scribes wasn’t that they followed the Mosaic Law too closely. The problem was that they didn’t follow it at all. They had added so many of their own traditions that the Law that God had given them became empty and useless. They heaped restrictions on the Jewish people that were unnecessary and burdensome. They claimed a higher morality based upon their own additions to the Law. ...Anyone who didn’t follow them was labeled ‘unclean’ and they had power to cancel them from worship. Jesus resisted these traditions and called them out for what they were: an attack on the validity and effectiveness of the Law. He illustrated this by pointing out the wicked practice of tradition which allowed a son to declare Corban rather than spend his money providing for his aging parents. This declaration meant that he could pledge the money as a gift to the Temple instead of using it on his parents’ care. It made him look religious but it violated God’s Law and the priests allowed for it. The bonus for this wicked son was that he didn’t actually have to give the money to the Temple, it was only a pledge. Be careful not to fall into this religious trap. Don’t trust human tradition over God’s Word. See more

Daily Bible reading Thursday, February 18: Mark 6. In this chapter there are levels of commitment. Each level of commitment is based upon faith in Jesus. Just think of it as a sliding scale, from rank opposition to full commitment. Each group and each individual within the group makes a decision to commit to Jesus or not and to what level their commitment will reach. The first level of commitment is represented in verses 1-6. The people who knew Jesus, his parents, and his si...Continue reading

Daily Bible reading Tuesday February 16: Mark 5. In studying the Bible, it is always good to ask questions. I mean, you can read a chapter, shake your head, and close the book without learning a thing, right? But if you are studying to find answers or to learn who Jesus is, you should ask questions. This morning as I read this chapter in Mark, I asked myself, Why does Mark give such details to this story of the demon-possessed man? There is something compelling about this e...vent that caught Mark’s attention in writing his Gospel. He includes details which other Gospels omit, why? Mark runs pretty quickly through the ministry of Jesus but he stops here and there to give great details. One detail that I always appreciated about this particular event was that after the demons were exorcised and the people came to see what happened (mostly to their pigs), they found this man sitting, clothed, and in his right mind. That is the result of salvation in Jesus Christ: at peace (sitting), righteous (clothed), and spiritually alert (in his right mind). The next event(s) involved two women: a mature woman with a health issue and a young girl dying. Did you notice the number twelve in both stories? I am always struck by the intimate, personal nature of Jesus’ interaction with both the woman and the girl. In the case of the woman, there is a large crowd pressing Jesus on all sides. But He stops and draws the woman into a private moment and it’s as though there is nobody else there as He talks to her alone. In the case of the young girl, Jesus puts everyone out of the room and speaks life back into her with such power and personal tenderness. Is this the Jesus you know? Wouldn’t you like to know Him in this personal, intimate way? See more

Daily Bible reading Monday February 15: Mark 4. Jesus begins teaching the people with parables. He explained to the disciples that these parables were designed to open spiritual truths to those with ears to hear but to close them to those outside. The real question for you is twofold. First, Do you have ears to hear? When a sinner (we all began this way!) places his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, he is made a new creature with the ability to hear or understand spirit...ual truths, from the simple to the very complex. In other words, a Christian is given spiritual ears. He or she is also indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who becomes his/her Teacher. All spiritual insight is available to you as a child of God. If this is true (and it is), why is it that so many of us Christians understand so little of spiritual things? The second question answers that, Are you ‘hearing’ with your ears? When a person is born again, their ears are new and immature. Like a newborn baby, a new Christian must learn how to use these ears to understand spiritual truths. This process of learning to use our spiritual ears takes discipline in the same way that children learn mathematics, English, or music. First there is instruction, followed by obedience, followed by practice, and finally followed by application. Reading the Bible, prayer, Bible studies, and discipleship under a mature Christian are all steps to maturity in using spiritual ears. A church is supposed to be a place where this discipleship takes place but the home is an even better place. The model of a Christian mother and/or father is invaluable to the growing child and to the growing Christian. One last point I would like to make. Consider the parable in verses 26-29. The man scatters the seed, the seed grows, and later he reaps the harvest. The growth of the plant happens without him or his understanding. In discipleship as in witnessing to the lost, there is a process whereby the seed grows into a mature plant. Don’t spend your time trying to understand why one plant grows and another does not. Don’t spend your time worrying if the plant is growing or not. Spend your time scattering the seeds and watering them. The plants will grow or they will not, that is out of your control. Reap the harvest of those plants which do grow and do your best with the plants which do not. Let the Holy Spirit control growth as that is His domain. See more

Changed by Love 1 John 3:1 - Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Happy Valentine’s Day! Outside the temperature is frigid but inside this home, there is love and warmth. Thank You, Father God, for your love and for the life I now live with my sweet wife. I live a life changed by love. I want to share with you five times that love changed my life. It...Continue reading