July 9
Mark 9:30-32
This is a great follow up lesson from yesterday. We know it’s okay to have questions, but how do those questions get answered? The way to gain understanding is to spend quality time with Jesus. I’m going to be honest with you and tell you that I have never been very good about keeping a consistent daily quiet time. When I started going to BSF it became easier, because they give us questions that are broken up into days. But, still I often found myself doing all the questions on the day before class. That was the main reason I started this study. I wanted to have something to keep me accountable to be in God’s word every day. I feel closer to God now than I ever have, and I can’t believe that I wasted so many years not having this kind of relationship! It’s kind of like a Facebook profile. You can read someone’s interests and favorite songs. You can look at their pictures, and you can learn a lot about them. But the only way to really know someone, to know their heart, is to spend time with them. Jesus is no different. It’s not okay to just know about Him. We need to have the kind of relationship that stems from daily quality time. And when we have that kind of relationship, we will not only know Jesus personally, but we will be able to learn more about ourselves and what God wants from us, and our questions will be answered!
Principle: To gain understanding from Jesus it is necessary to be alone with Him, asking Him questions and listening to but not fearing His response.
Application:
1. What priority time do I spend with Jesus apart from the crowd?
2. What truths do I find difficult to understand but am afraid to ask about?
3. How much time do I give to teach the truths of God to the people God has given me to disciple?
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Good lesson Sarah. It is too true that you can't know anyone without spending time with them. I know a gazillion people but have very few close friends because I don't spend time with them. I want to be close to Jesus, to have a better relationship with him so I need to spend more time with him. Some of that is scheduled time set aside like a quiet time in the morning. But it also means including him in my daily activities, decisions, thoughts, etc. It means praying to him and listening to him through the Bible and the Holy Spirit. And as I write this I am reminded how important listening is to relationships and the same would be true of our relationship with Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about this subject recently, I always love how God seems to show me several things on the same subject at once. He puts something on my mind, and then I see how it correlates in other areas.
ReplyDeleteRelationships between individuals take effort, time and work from both parties; the same is true about our relationship with our creator. God puts in the time and effort, and I need to do likewise! Thanks for the reminder.
This passage reminds me that God calls us to follow even when we don't understand. I like to have everything figured out. I want the answered. But the disciples followed even when part of Jesus' teaching remained a mystery. Lord, help me to follow even when I don't fully understand.
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