Day 11 of the Questions for Mark study.

“As Jesus sends you out today, reread vv. 7-13 and ask him for his instructions for you and the humble courage you’ll need to obey.”

Mark 6:10 And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.

Luke 10:5 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.

I believe in the whole counsels of God. If the disciples knew to put forth peace as they went about doing the works of the ministry, it was not seen here. Jesus’ instructions differed in this one respect between the 12 in Mark and the 70 in Luke.

Romans 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Only in Ephesians do we hear of the gospel of salvation but then only after trust was established and the truth revealed. Many a witness has been turned away because they lead off with a display of power and authority and forget that peace opens the door to a troubled heart.

Both teams were told to stay in the houses where they were welcomed. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a peaceful countenance in ministering to a broken heart. It is broken already and does not need to be pounded into wholeness.

Jeremiah 8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

Jeremiah 51:8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

It is the balm of peace that heals.

Day 10 of Questions for Mark. Here we go.

“What obstacles do Jairus and the woman face as they come to Jesus, and what motivates them to press forward?”

Since I have heard the woman with the issue of blood covered so many times more than Jairus, let me focus on him for this study.

Mark 5:22 And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,

Imagine if you would that you have been with a church for a long time. You are well known, well respected, gained a position and have been used by God to serve there with earnest faith.

Now imagine being asked to leave.

If that doesn’t sound right or fair to you then you just might understand the risk Jairus was taking in this telling. It is not like Jesus was calling Jairus out of the synagogue to worship Him aside from the Jewish faith. Jesus wanted him to worship Him in that faith.

I was talking to my accountability partner just yesterday about some of these issues of worship and what it might look like from both points of view. There is the outsider and then the insider. I’ve been to churches were I was not allowed communion because I wasn’t one of them. An examination of faith is sometimes made to determine acceptability.

Ever been to a church with two doors? One for them and the other door for visitors. Sounds silly but can you imagine a two door church, one for whites and one for “others”? That is offensive to me and according to the scriptures offensive to God.

John 4:23-24 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.