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April 23, Sunday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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“Who Is This?” — That is a good question Jesus’ disciples asked, and there are several answers provided in this paragraph. First, Jesus was in charge; He was the leader. He merely expressed His desire and they obeyed: “Let us go over to the other side” (v. 35). He had called them (“Follow Me”), and they were doing that. I hope you are following Jesus that way, so that, when you read a command in Scripture, you immediately find a way to apply it to your experience that very day. Secondly, He was very human. He had taught all day and He was exhausted, so He was sleeping while His disciples were adjusting sails, rowing, bailing water, and fretting. Jesus had peace while His disciples had panic. Okay, so His disciples were only human! Jesus didn’t rebuke them because of their natural tendencies, but He charged them with weak faith. We are a lot like them, too: bailing but not believing, and doing our best but not relying on God. They had Jesus in the boat with them, but “Who is this?” They already knew that He was a miracle worker, a supreme teacher, One sent from God, but did they know that He was God in the flesh? That is the third answer to the who-question: Jesus is God. They had seen His power over diseases and over demons, but now they saw that He also had power over nature—even the wind and waves obeyed Him. That took them to a new level of understanding about who Jesus was, and it was shocking.
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April 24, Monday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Relative Power — Jesus took an all-night trip across the Sea of Galilee to minister to one man and then returned, showing how much He cares for those who are trapped and bound in satanic power. The power of the evil one is graphic in this story. The demoniac was stripped of dignity, without home and without clothes, yet he exhibited great power in breaking chains that had bound him. This shows not only Satan’s power, but also that his object is to destroy. This purpose was also demonstrated by the whole herd of pigs being destroyed. We see this kind of demonic power today with many homeless people roaming our streets and screaming obscenities. Satan is powerful, but God’s power is far greater. The demons recognized that superior power. Although they resisted Jesus’ first command (v. 29a), they pleaded with Him not to cast them into their final abyss of punishment, but to allow them to enter the swine. Jesus had full control over the demons, and they knew it. The demoniac was transformed. Jesus had not only freed him from the power of the demons, but He had also changed his heart and gave him a positive purpose for living, i.e., to proclaim what God had done for him. That is our purpose as well. Many people around us are caught in Satan’s trap of sin and unbelief, and we need to tell them about what Jesus has done for us. Because He has freed and changed us, He has also sent us to others.
The Power of Your Love – YouTube
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April 25, Tuesday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Faith Over Fear — There is a gap in the passage we read for today that describes an interruption in the trip to the official’s house, which we will read about tomorrow. Partly because of that delay, the official’s daughter had died, and people were sent to inform him. They said, “why trouble the Teacher anymore?” (v. 35). It is too late! But Jesus’ response to Jairus counteracted that news: “Do not be afraid, only believe” (v. 36). Faith over fear. He had believed when he came to Jesus, pleading for Him to come “so that she will be saved and live” (v. 23). The doubt of “why trouble” was challenged by the hope of “only believe.” We face the same kinds of challenges in our lives today. Why trouble God about what seems to be a hopeless situation? Why bother? Jesus’ message to us is the same, however—only believe! When they arrived at the house, they walked by another barrier to faith: the mourners. Since the time was so short between her death and Jesus’ arrival, these may not have been professional mourners, but family and friends. Their tears turned to jeers, however, when Jesus informed them that the girl was not dead. At that point, Jesus separated the believers from the unbelievers, and only six people entered the room to see the miracle. Faith had conquered fear.
O for a Faith That Will Not Shrink – YouTube
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April 26, Wednesday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Touching Faith — The woman in this story was poor in two ways: her physical condition was poor, having been bleeding for 12 years (v. 25), and she was financially poor, having “spent all that she had” (v. 26) on doctors. She was also ceremonially unclean because of the flow of blood (Lev. 15:25). Her wealth, however, was in her faith. It was a faith that not only believed that Jesus could heal her, but also that it could happen simply by touching His garment. In four different verses, the text mentioned the crowd that was following Jesus to Jairus’ house. It was dense, “pressing in on Him” (v. 24b). Being unclean like a leper, if the woman went out in public, she was required to announce her uncleanness so people could avoid her. She was now silent, however, and touched many people as she worked her way through the crowd to get to Jesus, making them ceremonially unclean, too. When she touched Jesus’ garment, however, she didn’t make the Son of God unclean; rather, He made her clean. She was immediately healed, and she felt the change (v. 29). Jesus knew it, too, as He felt power leaving His body (v. 30). As the disciples pointed out, Jesus was being touched by many people, but only hers was a touch of faith. When Jesus questioned the crowd, she came forward “fearing and trembling … and told Him the whole truth” (v. 33), probably including the fact that she had not publicly announced that she was unclean, and that she had touched many people. That was repentance that accompanied her faith. Then, Jesus called her “Daughter” (v. 34), a member of the family of God, and added that “your faith has saved you.” She would not receive the Holy Spirit until after Jesus’ resurrection, but she was saved, both physically and spiritually.
I Touched His Garment – YouTube
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April 27, Thursday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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According to Your Faith — The two blind men in this story had faith, and Jesus recognized it. They showed their faith when they “followed Him, crying out, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’” (v. 27). It was difficult for two blind men to follow Jesus in a crowd and to go right into the house after Him. They were persistent, however, because faith takes action and is determined. Calling Jesus “Son of David” was also an expression of their belief that He was the promised Messiah. Their cry for mercy showed faith that He could help them. So, Jesus asked them to state their faith: “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (v. 28). His next statement impacted me: “It shall be done to you according to your faith” (v. 29). Their healing depended on their faith. How about our prayer life, when we ask God for His mercy regarding our needs? We would all reply positively to His question, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” However, our response may be more because of our understanding of His ability than because of our faith in His willingness to do it. Do we hope that He will do it, or do we believe that He will? These two men had great faith, but notice that when they broadcast the news about their healing, the focus was not on their faith, but on Jesus. They “spread the news about Him” (v. 31).
I could not find a video for this song or anything about the author,
except his name, but the words fit well with our passage for today.
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April 28, Friday———————————ACCOUNTABLITY TIME!
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Unbelief Goes Without — We are following the chronological sequence suggested by www.backtothebible.org, but most commentaries believe that our story for today happened at the same time that we read about over a month ago when the people in Nazareth tried to throw Jesus over a cliff after He spoke in their synagogue (Luke 4:29). There are two contrasted expressions of amazement in today’s passage. First, “many listeners were astonished” (Mark 6:2) at Jesus’ wisdom and miracles. They acknowledged His supernatural qualities, but they refused to accept Him as the divine Messiah because of His obvious human commonality with them: He was a carpenter, a son of Mary, and a sibling with four named brothers and at least two sisters. “How could one of our own be the Messiah?!” So, they rejected Him in unbelief (“they were taking offense at Him“—v. 3). In unbelief, they rejected the evidence. Unbelief discards truth. The second statement of amazement was from Jesus: “He was marveling at their unbelief” (v. 6). How could they see and hear, and yet not believe?! The consequence of their unbelief only hurt themselves: “He could do no miracle there…” (v. 5). It was not that He would not do any miracle there, but that He could not. Faith was required, as we read yesterday: “It shall be done to you according to your faith” (Matt. 9:29). Many sick people in Nazareth remained sick because of their unbelief. How about us? What are we missing because of our lack of faith? Unbelief goes without.
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April 29, Saturday———————–ACCOUNTABILITY REMINDER
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Shepherd-less Crowds — This is the third time that Jesus’ compassion is mentioned in the Gospels. The first time was His feeling toward the leper who said, “If You are willing, You can make me clean” (Mark 1:40). The second time was when Jesus saw the crying widow in the funeral procession for her only son (Luke 7:13). Both were suffering individuals, but in today’s passage we see Jesus feeling compassion on crowds of people. The Jewish religious leaders were not leading the people to pasture, but to spiritual starvation, and as a result, they were “distressed and downcast” (Matt. 9:36). They needed to be directed to the nourishment of truth, and Jesus was giving that to them as He was “teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom” (v. 35). But He was only one, and He needed, and still needs, fellow workers. Changing the metaphor from shepherds to farmers, He said that the crowds were ripe to respond: “The harvest is plentiful” (v. 37). They were frustrated with what they had, but they were open to what they needed. So, Jesus’ instruction to His disciples applies equally to us today: “… pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (v. 38). As you pray today, ask God to raise up someone from your family to be His shepherd or farmer. Pray earnestly that the hearts of young people in your church will be stirred toward ministry. Then, pray for courage, wisdom, and love for yourself to reach out to unbelievers that you know. They are frustrated, hungry sheep.
Rescue the Perishing – YouTube
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