Daily Dose of Hope

April 14, 2025

Day 1 of Week 3

Scripture - Mark 6:1-13

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, We give you glory for the beginning of Holy Week.  Prepare our hearts as we move toward Easter Sunday.  Lord, right now, help us put aside the distractions of our lives and focus on you.  In these next few moments of silence, help us gather our scattered thoughts and remember to be still and know that you are God...Come Holy Spirit, and speak to us today.  We love you, Amen.

Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts.  Today, we start Mark 6 where we will discuss Jesus’ lack of miracles in Nazareth and the sending out of the disciples.

Let’s start with what happened in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth.  It starts out well enough.  He teaches in the synagogue and the people were amazed.  It makes me think of Mark 1 when the people were surprised at how Jesus taught with authority, unlike the teachers of the law.  But then these hometown residents begin to ask questions: Isn’t this Jesus who lives around the corner?  Isn’t he a carpenter?  Isn’t this Mary’s son, whose sisters are here with us?  Basically, who does he think he is?  We know his background.  We know he isn’t anything special.

Jesus makes the statement that a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown.  Notice the double negative; I’m not sure why it is worded this way but I am sure Jesus has a reason; he is making a point.  A prophet is honored except where he is known well.  All over the region people were hearing and believing Jesus’ message.  He was doing all kinds of miracles.  But when he begins to do the same in Nazareth, he is met with contempt.  This means that Jesus’ extended family, his family friends, and those who knew him best refused to believe in him.  I would imagine how this must have been heart-breaking for Jesus. 

Because of their lack of faith, the Scripture states he was only able to do a few miracles.  Let’s touch briefly on the connection between miracles and faith.  As we read through the Gospels, we see that Jesus’ healing authority is strongly connected to the faith of the individual being healed.  Last week, we read about the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years and Jesus said her faith had made her well.  In Mark 10, we will read about blind man in Jericho who asked Jesus to heal his sight, and Jesus specifically said to the man that his faith had healed him. 

At the same time, we know that faith is not a prerequisite for miracles.  If Jesus wants to do a miracle, he is God so he can do a miracle.  He doesn’t need the faith of others to do it. Think of the feeding of the 5,000 – the disciples doubted and Jesus still performed a miracle of abundance.  Jesus later walks on water without the faith of those around him. 

Matthew’s Gospel uses different language (Matthew 13), saying that Jesus did not do many miracles in Nazareth because of their lack of faith.  This leads me to surmise that Jesus chose not to do miracles in his hometown.  He could have forced the issue but he decided not to.  He didn’t have anything to prove to these people. 

While the Nazareth hometown folks are unbelieving, the next portion of the narrative shows that many other people were believing.  The mission would continue regardless of the Nazareth naysayers.  Jesus sends out his disciples, armed with his power and authority.  They go from village to village preaching and doing miracles.  They were to live simply and accept hospitality where it was offered.  Where it wasn’t offered, they were not to get upset but keep moving.  The end result was repentance and all kinds of healing. 

I can’t help but thinking that just as Jesus sent out the twelve to preach the Gospel and perform miracles, he sends us out as well.  If we know Jesus, he has empowered us to continue his mission.  So often, we shy away from this.  Maybe we worry about rejection; we aren’t really that great at shaking the dust off our feet.  Maybe we worry about our own needs.  We don’t live simply, nor do we often make the time to do this kind of work. 

Are you continuing the mission of Jesus?  Take a moment and pray about this.  How might Jesus be calling you to do more?  How is Jesus sending you out?  So often, we cling to the comfort of the Gospel but neglect the challenge of it. 

Let’s close today with Matthew 16:24-26, Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

April 11, 2025

Day 5 of Week 2

Scripture – Mark 5:21-43

Prayer – Holy and Merciful God, We are so thankful that your mercies are new every morning.  No matter what yesterday held, help us start afresh and anew with you.  Lord, help us set aside our distractions and gather our scattered thoughts so we can fully focus on you and your Word.  Help us sit in these next few moments of silence, remembering that you are God and we are not...In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts. Today, we are finishing up Mark 5.  Remember, yesterday we spoke about Jesus’ healing of the man possessed by evil spirits over in Gentile territory.  Now, he is back to the Jewish side of the lake and more healing awaits him.

It starts with Jesus being encountered by Jairus, a synagogue leader, whose daughter is very ill and dying.  He wants Jesus to come to his home and heal her.  I want you to think about this situation.  Jairus had high status in this community.  He was a Jewish leader.  We can surmise that he didn’t want to have to go see Jesus, this odd teacher and healer.  Jairus was desperate – he had probably tried all kinds of healers by this point and nothing had worked.  As a parent, he was willing to do anything to save the life of his daughter, even lower himself to ask Jesus for help.

But while they are walking to his home, Jesus has an encounter with someone else, a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years.  It was a massive crowd, with everyone pressing up against him, but she touched the edge of his robe but he felt the power go out of him. 

Let’s talk briefly about this woman.  Bleeding made this woman unclean according to Jewish law.  Bleeding for twelve years probably had ruined her life.  If she had been married, the husband would have left her by now, meaning she would not have had a way to support herself.  She would have depleted all her resources trying to get better.  Physically, she would have been extremely fatigued and weak.  And finally, this would have alienated her from community.  Being unclean, she could not go to the synagogue and she really wasn’t allowed to be in that crowd.  But she is also desperate, so she breaks the rules, desperate to touch Jesus. 

Jesus knows who has touched him but he asks out loud anyway, “Who touched me?” She couldn’t stay hidden anymore so she comes forward.  I can imagine how terrified she would have been.  And then Jesus says the most amazing thing, “Daughter, your faith has made you well.”  With just a phrase, Jesus healed not only her bleeding but also her soul.  She isn’t alienated.  She is worthy.  She is a daughter of the one true king. 

I find this such an extraordinary narrative.  Some people have to encounter Jesus and others need to be empowered.  But desperate people come to Jesus and are healed.  Even when something seems too far gone – the daughter who is almost dead or the woman whose life has been practically destroyed by twelve years of bleeding – Jesus can take care of it.  Jesus is a miracle-worker for all of us.  His power and healing are offered to all people in every strata of society. 

Is there anything in your life for which you have stopped praying?  Nothing, nobody is too sick, too addicted, too depressed, too angry, too bitter, too lazy, too ___________ (you fill in the blank) to bring to Jesus.  Jesus, the ultimate physician, caregiver, and healer, isn’t done with any of us yet. 

By the way, he does make it to Jairus’ house.  The girl has already died and the people are crying and wailing.  But Jesus goes in anyway.  The girl wakes up.  Even death can’t stop Jesus. 

Let’s close with Psalm 30...

I will exalt you, Lord,     for you lifted me out of the depths     and did not let my enemies gloat over me. 2 Lord my God, I called to you for help,    and you healed me. 3 You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;    you spared me from going down to the pit.

4 Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;     praise his holy name. 5 For his anger lasts only a moment,    but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night,    but rejoicing comes in the morning.

6 When I felt secure, I said,     “I will never be shaken.” 7 Lord, when you favored me,    you made my royal mountain[c] stand firm; but when you hid your face,    I was dismayed.

8 To you, Lord, I called;     to the Lord I cried for mercy: 9 “What is gained if I am silenced,    if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you?    Will it proclaim your faithfulness? 10 Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;    Lord, be my help.”

11 You turned my wailing into dancing;     you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.    Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

April 10, 2025

Day 4 of Week 2

Scripture – Mark 5:1-20

Prayer:  Almighty God, you are so good.  Thank you for your love, your mercy, and your forgiveness.  How amazing it is that you care so much for me.  You are my everything.  Help me take my scattered thoughts this morning and focus on you and you alone.  In these next few moments of silence, help me center myself on you...Holy Spirit, come and speak to me through your Word.  In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts.  Today, we begin Mark 5. 

Jesus starts out this chapter going to the other side of the lake.  Just a reminder, the other side of the lake means he is leaving the Jewish towns and heading to the Gentile side.  As we have and will continue to see, Jesus has a pattern of going to the other side, responding to the need of the “other.” While Jesus cares for the insiders, he is constantly reaching out to the other–the Samaritan woman at the well, the bleeding woman, the lepers, the tax collectors, the woman caught in adultery–he is always reaching out and offering care and healing to those on the outside, the outcast, to those who don’t belong, who have been pushed to the fringe. I do think this is a lesson for the church, that we also have been called to go to those who are “others” in our community.  Who is that for us?  How hard would it be for us to go to them in the name of Jesus? 

Jesus gets out of the boat and sees the deranged man.  The man was so disturbed, he was living in the burial caves. Most likely he was a burden to the townspeople, an outcast, and their way of dealing with him was to force him to live far away.  The burial caves were most likely nasty, smelly, dirty. This is where the dead, decaying bodies were kept. And what I am struck by is how they had tried to subdue him, to chain him up, like an animal...and then day and night he howled and cut himself with sharp stones. I can’t help but feeling overwhelming sadness for this man.  Cutting (self-harm) is usually the result of trauma. This was someone’s son, someone’s brother, maybe someone’s father. He was a human being made in the image of God. And yet, his life had little value to the people of the town. He was an “other.” But Jesus saw him.

When Jesus was still a way off, the evil spirits inside the man recognize Jesus. Isn’t it interesting that the evil spirits that were possessing the man knew Jesus immediately? In fact, they call him Son of the Most High God; there is instant recognition that this is the Son of God. The evil spirits know him but often the people that Jesus is ministering to fail to recognize him.

When Jesus asks the man his name, he replies, “Legion.” The word legion in that world would have referred to a group of 3000-6000 Roman soldiers. Here we have a legion of evil spirits. Maybe we think this is interesting but doesn’t really apply to us. But aren’t we also infected with many, many demons? As a land/nation–the demon of racism, of pandemic, of materialism and the love of money, of division, the demon of hate or distrust of the “other,” selfishness, envy, I could certainly go on. We are legion. As a church–we deal with the demon of apathy, of complacency, of self-reliance, of protecting our own, of division, we are legion. As individuals–think of all our demons–anger, rage, unforgiveness, pride, arrogance, bitterness, fear, disobedience, not loving our neighbor; His name was legion because there were many inside the man.

What does Jesus do? Well, he heals the man. He totally and completely heals him–physically, emotionally, spiritually.  It’s amazing.  However, what’s interesting here is that when the townspeople see the man healed, what do they do? Do they rush over to him and say, “How wonderful to see you healed and whole so you can have a nice life.” No, they’re scared and they beg Jesus to leave. Why was that? Clearly, the loss of 2000 pigs would have been a terrible economic loss. But I think that would have made them mad not afraid.

I can’t help thinking they want Jesus to leave because they didn’t want to face their own demons. Rene Girard, a 20th century philosopher said, “Clearly the drowning of the pigs bothers them less than the drowning of their demons.” Is it that they didn’t want to be healed? My guess is they wanted to be healed but they didn’t want to do the work that leads to healing. And what work is that? Well, first it means admitting you have some issues. It means admitting they we don’t have it all together. It means admitting that we are wounded and we may have wounded others. It means admitting that we can’t handle it on our own, that we can’t fix it, that we have been wrong, that we are hurting, that we need help, that we need healing deep within us. We don’t need surface level healing because that’s what got us here in the first place. We need deep soul healing.

TRUE healing always starts with Jesus. In fact, there is no true healing without Jesus. And healing ourselves, our churches, and our land, begins with healing the wounds of our own heart. Before we can heal the legion of demons that our nation is facing, we must address the evil within ourselves. Friends, have you faced the evil within yourself? We have to admit where we have fallen short. And don’t think just the other side needs healing.

There is so much about this narrative that is incredible.  But I love, love, love what happens next. God gives this man a physical and spiritual healing. Then as a result, he goes and shares the Good News with all who would listen and “everyone was amazed at what he told them.” He receives new life and he can’t keep it to himself.  He becomes an extraordinary missionary, sharing with whoever will listen what Jesus had done for him.  This is the thing: God heals us, God gives us stories of transformation, and then our response is to share them. God works through broken, flawed people like this man, like you, and like me.  Do you believe this?  When is the last time you shared your story of transformation?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

April 9, 2025

Day 3 of Week 2

Scripture – Mark 4:35-41

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, we give you today.  We start off by just acknowledging that you are God – all-powerful, mighty, all-knowing, and full of mercy and grace.  We are insignificant and yet you love us.  You want to hear from us.  Sometimes, it’s hard for me to wrap my head around that.  But thank you, Lord.  I pray that we can focus on you right now.  Help us gather our very scattered and distracted thoughts and focus on you...Speak to us, Lord, and meet us right here, right now.  We love you.  Amen.

Welcome back, friends, to the Daily Dose of Hope, a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts.  We are finishing up Mark 4 today and this is some of my favorite Scripture.  We see that Jesus’ authority even extends over nature and this amazes his disciples.  They have to face the big question that we also have to face – who is this man?

In today’s Scripture, we find ourselves on the lake with Jesus. Typically, we refer to it as the Sea of Galilee.  When it’s calm, it’s absolutely beautiful. But this body of water, also called Lake Kinneret, is a large, shallow body of water. As such, it is prone to sudden violent storms when wind hits it−storms that die down equally quickly when the wind stops.

This is still early in Jesus’ ministry but he has started healing. In fact, he is known for his healings.  Because of that, large crowds have become to follow him. There are those who are desperate and there are those who are curious, but the sheer number of people following Jesus and crowding up against him has become cumbersome.  Thus, Jesus begins to teach from a boat, with the people standing on the shore. And what has Jesus been teaching them? He’s using parables to teach them about the Kingdom of God (we talked about this yesterday).

Then, our Scripture says that when evening came, he says to his disciples, “Let’s go to the other side of the lake.” Why doesn’t Jesus wait until morning? Why a night-time crossing? Obviously, there is something important, something pressing that needs to happen. 

I want us to notice something here – this is no small thing to cross to the other side of the lake. Crossing the Sea of Galilee means crossing into Gentile territory, where he will be encountered by a demon-possessed man in a graveyard. Jesus is crossing boundaries here. I think this often gets lost in 21st century Bible reading, but Jesus is all about crossing boundaries. He crosses social and spiritual boundaries. He eats with unacceptable people, he touches people who are considered unclean, he breaks the Sabbath law, he communicates with evil, unclean spirits. Getting in the boat with Jesus, crossing to the other side of the lake, can be a risky, unpredictable experience.

The Scripture says that Jesus and the disciples leave the crowds behind to go on this nighttime boat ride across the lake. Interestingly, it says that other boats were with them. Jesus just could not get away from the crowds; they are following him on the lake too. But that means they get to be a part of what he is about to do. So, Mark writes that a powerful squall, a huge storm, comes upon them suddenly. Waves were breaking over the sides of the boat and they were taking on a lot of water. The disciples are panicked, which is saying a lot because many of these guys are professional fishermen and they know the sea.  While they panic, what’s Jesus doing? He’s asleep on a pillow. Thus, they frantically wake Jesus up and say, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

How often have you asked this question – Jesus, don’t you care? This is our ultimate cry to God, isn’t it? It’s a cry of fear, doubt, abandonment, rejection---we hear this cry repeated in the stories of God’s people over and over again. As a pastor, I hear it repeated in this community, in this church, in your own lives. Where is God? Where is Jesus as I deal with cancer? Where is God as I deal with grief or depression or loneliness? Where is God as our world seems to be imploding?  Jesus, don’t you care? Where are you as I struggle?

And Jesus wakes up, he doesn’t get upset with them or apologize for sleeping, no small talk – he rebukes the wind and says “Quiet, be still!” He uses the same words here in ancient Greek that are used for rebuking evil spirits. It seems that Jesus has the power to rebuke all kinds of things. What is amazing to me here is that Jesus speaks and there is immediate calm. We see this throughout the book of Mark - Jesus speaks or touches and the things that bring destruction, the things that cause suffering, immediately cease. They immediately cease so that they no longer have the power to cause suffering. Evil spirits, bleeding, illnesses, even death---all with a word or a touch, Jesus stops them. He brings immediate calm. 

Then Jesus asks them “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”  Another translation says, “Guys, why are you such cowards?”  I mean, these guys have seen what he can do; they have seen his power.  I can’t help but think he asks that of us as well: “You have seen what I can do, as I’ve shown up over and over again in your life. Yet, you still have no faith? I mean, I’m right here in the boat with you. I’m not somewhere far off. I’m here, in the boat.”

Let’s read verse 41 again.  They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

And that is the big question, isn’t it?  Who is Jesus? 

Who is Jesus to you?  To me, he is God.  He is Savior.  He is Lord of all.  But that means nothing in your life.  Who is Jesus to you???  Answer out loud.  Wrestle with this if you need to, but don’t just let this question with no response.  There is no more important question. 

Let’s close today with Colossians 1:15-20, The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

April 8, 2025

Day 2 of Week 2

Scripture - Mark 4:1-34

Prayer:  Father God, hear our prayer this morning.  We are awed by your power and strength.  We are amazed by your love.  Thank you, Lord, for the many ways you show in our lives to teach us and care for us.  Help us gather our scattered thoughts right now and focus on you.  In these next few moments of silence, help us (help me) be still and know that you are God...Come Holy Spirit, and help us walk through this Scripture in a way that honors you.  Show up and help us discover whatever it is you want us to learn.  This is your Word and we want to hear from you.  In Your powerful name, Amen.

Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts. Today, we will be starting Mark 4 and unpacking some pretty powerful parables and three of four are about seeds.  Why seeds?  I’m guessing it’s because seeds are something an agrarian society would understand.  But we also soon learn that the Kingdom is similar to a simple seed, seemingly small and fragile but growing into a lush plant that is massive and strong, itself producing more and more seeds.

Most of Jesus’ big teachings were given in parables. If you think about a parable, Jesus is taking something pretty ordinary, like a seed, and using it to make a statement about divine activity.  All of these parables were used to give a glimpse of God’s Kingdom.  In each parable, Jesus describes a different aspect of the Kingdom.  No one parable can capture what it looks like to live under the reign of God, but together, we get a pretty good picture. 

The first parable we read today was the parable of the Sower.  Jesus says that a farmer goes out to sow seeds.  But the farmer doesn’t worry so much about where he is throwing the seeds. He actually seems to be pretty indiscriminate with his seed-throwing.  He is literally just throwing seed everywhere.  Some of the seed falls right on the path, where all the people walked and the soil was hard and had been packed down.  The birds ate most of that seed.  Some of the seed fell in rocky places (there are lots of rocky places in that part of the world) and while it would sprout, the soil was shallow, and there wasn’t enough root for the plant to survive.  Some fell among thorns, and the thorns were invasive and took over. The plants had no real chance of survival there.  But then some seeds fell on good soil, which produced an amazing crop – many, many times what was sown (30, 60, or even 100 times). 

Jesus seems kind of annoyed that the disciples did not understand.  He seems to know that the crowds would struggle, but the disciples?  They were supposed to get it.  I kind of feel sorry for the disciples.  While some of the parables seem straightforward, others are truly hard.  I wouldn’t have gotten a lot of it.  Luckily, we have the advantage of two thousand years of discussion and writings about these parables.  This was turning the disciples’ worldview upside down.

Back to the Sower – here we get one glimpse of the Kingdom.  What is Jesus trying to teach us?  First, I think it’s important for us to not dwell on the different kinds of soils too much.  I think one of our first temptations is to go, I know someone who is like that soil, and then that group of people are like this soil, and so forth.  Let’s not go there.  I want us to focus on the star of the story.  Who is the star?  Well, the farmer is or the one who is sowing the seed.  He throws that seed everywhere–he is generous with the seed, throwing it everywhere there is any chance it might take root.  Friends, we are the Sowers.  We are the ones called to throw seed. What’s the seed we are supposed to be throwing around?   Well, the Good News of Jesus Christ of course. 

Jesus is calling us to sow extravagantly.  We aren’t supposed to decide who to share our faith with.  No, we are truly to share our faith, in word and deed, with everyone. This is so important.  We aren’t just supposed to share Jesus with those in our congregation, with our friends who are “safe.”  We are supposed to be kind of reckless, sharing the love of Jesus Christ, sharing our faith story, telling people the source of our hope, with all kinds of people: people who don’t look like us, people who we don’t know and people we do know.  If God has brought us to a certain place, a certain store, a certain vacation spot, a certain meeting---we trust that there is a greater purpose.

Another thing we learn is that God gives up on no one and neither should we.  We just keep sowing.  As the sower, we truly have the desire for all the soil to bear fruit.  That’s why we keep throwing those seeds, having those conversations, offering to pray for someone, telling people how much Jesus loves them.  God loves all people, we are called to love all people.  Remember that love of God and love of others cannot be separated. They are intricately linked.

But we have to recognize that some soil has had people trample on it. It has not been nourished, it might be filled with rocks.  It may take years to get to the point in which the soil can bear fruit. I read that to gets soil just right, really nourished, it can take years.  And it usually means continuing to add nourishment to it, continuing to add things to it to develop it and enrich it so that it can be fruitful.  People are no different. We love on people, we pray for them, we tell them Jesus loves them.  We listen to their stories. We ask questions. And this could go on for years.  But we don’t give up on anyone because God doesn’t give up on anyone.  We trust that God is at work in ways we can’t see or understand. We trust that God is working behind the scenes to nourish the fields, to strengthen the roots.

Is there someone you have given up on?  Remember, God isn’t done with any of us yet!

Then, there is the lamp on the stand.  It is meant to be out in the open where it can give light not hidden under a bowl or bed.  What is hidden is meant to be disclosed and brought out in the open.  Truth is not meant to be hidden.  The Gospel is meant to be brought out in the open and shared.  Another glimpse of the Kingdom.

Then, we have the parable of the growing seed.  A farmer scatters seed and it takes root and grows.  It grows whether he is awake or asleep, without him even knowing.  Nature just takes care of things.  Eventually, it is fully grown and the harvest is ready so he takes a sickle to it.  The Kingdom of God grows and spreads kind of mysteriously without human effort. 

And then we come to the mustard seed parable and we get another glimpse of the Kingdom.  The mustard seed was the smallest of the garden seeds but it produced a huge bush.  You see, in God’s Kingdom, small things can yield really big results.  A mustard seed has power far, far larger than its size.  God’s economy is different.  We see this with the feeding of the 5,000 and the widow’s mite.  God takes small things, including our small investments or contributions, and he multiplies them for his Kingdom.

Let’s close with Paul’s prayer to the Ephesians, chapter 3, verses 16-21,

 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

April 7, 2025

Day 1 of Week 2

Scripture - Mark 3:20-35

Prayer:  Holy God, we come to you as we start a new week and we give you glory and praise.  You are such a good God; your mercies are new every morning.  It does not matter what happened last week, yesterday, or even earlier today, we can start afresh and anew with you.  Thank you for that, Lord.  In these next few moments of silence, Lord, help us gather our scattered thoughts and focus on you...Thank you, Jesus, for your care.  Help us pay attention to your promptings and teachings throughout today, beginning right now.  Speak to us through this reading and devotional.  We love you, Lord.  Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts. Today, we are finishing up Mark 3.  Up until this point, Jesus has been healing, teaching, and generally turning the status quo upside down.  While this has generated quite a crowd around him almost all the time, it also has a lot of tongues wagging, including those of the Pharisees and his own family. 

Today’s text is a narrative within another narrative.  We have the narrative of Jesus responding to the accusations of the teachers of the law saying that he is possessed by an impure spirit tucked within another story about Jesus’ response to and redefinition of family.  Let’s try to tackle this.

Let’s start with the family.  They are worried that Jesus has lost his mind.  We can’t be too hard of them.  Afterall, Jesus is doing some really bold things and saying things that are pushing up against everything they know as sacred.  My guess is they are worried about Jesus (people are already wanting to kill him) but they also be worrying about their reputation.  These are small towns with small town rumor mills.  They still have to live their lives.  We will get back to them in a moment.

But then the story moves on to the teachers of the law, who say that Jesus’ power comes from the devil.  I’m not sure how they deduced this, but they probably were thinking they had a monopoly on the God stuff and Jesus wasn’t saying or doing things they thought or imagined a man of God should.  He is hanging with the riff-raff and breaking sacred rules.  I mean, he must not be of God. 

Jesus’ answer is kind of cryptic.  It says he spoke to them in parables.  He says, “How can Satan drive out Satan?” and “...if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand.”  Divided houses don’t last long.  I think the same goes for divided churches but that’s beside the point.  Then, Jesus makes this statement about how no one can plunder the strong man’s house without tying him up first.  We can assume that Satan is the strong man.  Who is stronger than Satan, that he can restrain him so that the work of God’s Kingdom can be done?  Jesus, in a somewhat mysterious way, is making a strong statement here.  He is stronger than Satan.  He is not possessed by him, he actually has the power to bind him and overpower him.  Jesus is announcing the reign of God, even though most people might not recognize this.  Additionally, this probably wasn’t the respond the Jewish teachers were expecting.

But that leads to a good question for us – do we believe that Jesus has the power to overpower evil?  We live in a world that is filled with evil.  It’s not hard to allow all the horrors around us to pull us down.  Do you believe that Jesus has the ability to bind these horrors and make things right?  I’m not going to actually answer this question but I do think it’s a good one for us to wrestle with.

Now, back to the family.  They send someone in the home where he was teaching to get him to come out.  I’m not sure what they wanted to say.  Maybe they wanted to get him to cool it with the teachings that were making people so upset.  Maybe they were worried about his well-being.  We don’t really know.  But they got a shock with his response.  “Who are my mother and brothers?”  He goes on to say anyone who does the will of God is his family. 

Hmmm...I’m thinking if one of my kids said something like that, I might be a little caught off guard; I may have to hold back tears.  If Mary were there, she might have done the same, although she did know from the very beginning that this child was different.  But now she was discovering just what that meant. 

In that culture, everything was bound up in family lines.  Some people would probably have been shocked at what Jesus was saying.  On the other hand, there were others who would have found this hopeful.  People without family connections, those who were estranged from family or who had lost all their loved ones.  They would see that they weren’t all alone after all.  I think maybe Jesus is starting to show the strong bonds within the family of God.  Yes, our biological families are important – they are gifts to us.  But Jesus has provided us another family as believers that is also important.  The ties that bind us together as brothers and sisters in the family of faith can be just as strong if not stronger. 

What are your thoughts on this?  What kind of bonds do you have with your brothers and sisters in Christ at church?  If you don’t yet have family bonds, what do you need to do to begin to build strong connections? 

I’m going to close with some powerful Scripture from 1 John 3:16-18, This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.  I think this is what Jesus might be pointing to.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

Day 5 of Week 1

April 4, 2025

Scripture - Mark 3:1-19

Prayer: Abba Father, We come to you today, grateful for your love and care in our lives.  Thank you for your presence and your peace.  Help us to gather our scattered thoughts and set aside distractions so we can focus on what you have for us today.  In the next few moments of silence, Lord, help me be still and know that you are God...We give you all the glory, Lord Almighty.  Amen. 

Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts.  Today, we begin the third chapter of Mark.  Again, Jesus is challenging the status quo.

Jesus begins this chapter by healing a man’s shriveled hand on the Sabbath.  Yesterday, we talked about how the Sabbath was sacred to the Jews.  One might justify saving someone’s life on the Sabbath, but this is just a shriveled hand.  Could it not have waited for the next day?  Is Jesus willfully disregarding God’s instruction?

But once again, the Pharisees seem to have missed the point.  Truly, what better day to do a healing?  The Sabbath is about restoration of well-being, that includes physical rest but also physical healing of mind, body, and Spirit.  By healing this man’s hand, he probably would be able to work again in his village and take care of his family.  His dignity will be restored.  The Sabbath is about making things whole.  And Jesus didn’t want to wait a day because there is an urgency to demonstrating the Kingdom of God, to showing people how life can be different. 

But this does not endear Jesus to the teachers of the law.  In this passage, we begin to see them go from suspicious to murderous.  In their minds, Jesus threatens their way of life and thinking. 

Of course, we live 2000 years later, but how do we feel when someone threatens our thinking?  If someone vehemently disagrees with us politically, what kinds of feelings arise in us?  If someone vehemently disagrees with us religiously, what kinds of feelings arise in us?  It is easy to throw blame on the Pharisees and teachers of the law, but Jesus was turning things that they held precious upside down.  How do we handle the same thing today?

Our next portion of today’s Scripture involves Jesus and the crowds.  He went off with his disciples, hoping to get a little peace and quiet, but that is no longer possible.  He has become like a celebrity in the area.  In a place of such poverty and desperation, it isn’t surprising.  The sick needed healing and they knew Jesus was a healer.  So the masses followed him.  Did they recognize he was the Messiah or the Son of God?  No, not yet.  This is still quite early in his ministry; they knew he was of God in some way but the specifics are probably quite fuzzy.  They simply knew that they were sick and this man would offer healing. 

But what’s fascinating to me is that the demons knew exactly who he was.  I think this should be an eye-opener for us.  Satan believes in Jesus.  Satan and his demons know Jesus’ power.  But do we?  As his followers, are we convinced of his power?

Finally, there is the calling of the twelve.  Jesus goes up a mountainside.  In that time, mountains were thought of as holy places, with the presence of God there, so there is definitely symbolism here.  And it is here that he calls his inner circle.  Jesus calls and they respond.  The inner circle consists of twelve men, a motley crew.  The list is, not surprisingly, headed by Simon Peter, one of his dearest friends and the leader of the new church movement that is to come.  Most of the names are simply listed with no details. Until we get to Judas, who Mark clearly states betrayed Jesus. 

Jesus called the twelve and he calls all of us.  He calls and we have the opportunity to respond.  He doesn’t force anything on us.  It’s our choice.  Will we say yes to following Jesus?  But one other piece that this Scripture reminds me of is that there are still those who betray him, as well.  Oh, how many times I’ve betrayed him!  Where do you stand with Jesus?

I want to close with a powerful scene from Matthew 20:25-28.  Jesus is with his disciples and he tells them how it will be different among them - Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Things are to be different among Jesus’ followers.  Do you believe this?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

April 3, 2025

Day 4 of Week 1

Scripture – Mark 2:13-28

Prayer – Holy God, We come before you today distracted and with scattered thoughts.  Help us focus, Lord, on you and your Word.  Help us, in the next few moments, to be silent, still, and remember that you are God...Thank you, Lord, for your care and concern for our lives.  Thank you for how you show up in amazing and unexpected ways!  We give you glory, Lord Jesus.  In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts.  Today, we are finishing up the second chapter of Mark.  As we will see in today’s narratives, Jesus is turning everything “normal” upside down.  He is upsetting the status quo and pushing up against some pretty sacred rules. 

Let’s start with his meal dining with Levi.  Jesus has been teaching and we should note this is a very public scene.  Jesus always had a lot of people around him.  He sees Levi, sitting in his tax-collector booth, and Jesus asks Levi to follow him.  Surprisingly, he does.

Most of you probably know that tax collectors at the time were not well-liked.  Levi would have been a local guy, a Jew, who was working for the Roman government, collecting taxes from the people of his community.  Not only would he have been seen as a sell-out, working for the Roman occupiers, but he would have been seen as a crook.  Tax collectors were known to charge more than they needed to so they could keep a good chunk for themselves. 

And here Jesus is calling Levi to follow him.  Then, Jesus goes and eats at Levi’s home.  Remember, table fellowship with someone at that time would have indicated that you accepted that person and were sharing a connection.  It was more than getting a bite to eat and chatting; it was truly making a statement about being in the same social and religious circle.  You didn’t eat with people who were below you in social stature or who were from a different religious or ethical background.  But Jesus did.  And he made no apologies for it.  He is making a statement about what it means to be part of God’s Kingdom.  All are welcome here; all are invited to Jesus’ table.  Afterall, who needs a doctor – the healthy or the sick? 

Think about your own table.  I think we can have some pretty powerful conversation over a meal.  Guards are let down, people laugh, they tell stories, healing occurs.  This is the perfect place to begin to begin to build relationships with people who aren’t like you – people who think differently, look differently, and act differently.  Just like in Jesus’ time, the table is one place where we can begin to get out of our comfort zones and allow the Holy Spirit to guide conversations and open doors.  Who might God be calling you to invite to sit around your table?

I also want to talk a bit about the end of the chapter, the discussion regarding the Sabbath.  The Pharisees are upset with Jesus and his disciples for walking through the grainfield on the Sabbath, and picking off the heads of grain.  Why would this have been such a big deal?

Let’s talk about the Sabbath.  It was sacred among the Jews.  Over thousands of years, God’s people were taught to keep this day set-apart and holy.  Having a day of rest was one thing that noticeably made the Jews different from the pagan cultures.  Their God ensured that they did not work and toil endlessly.  They were to have a break and have a physical, emotional, and spiritual rest.  Most likely, the Pharisees weren’t upset with them for eating (everyone needed to do that), but that they trekked through the field and then broke off the heads of the grain.  In their mind, they should have avoided a hike on the Sabbath and already had their snacks prepared the day before.  Part of Sabbath is preparation for rest and renewal. 

But Jesus is making a bigger point here (which he will continue to make in chapter 3 when he heals a man with a shriveled hand on the Sabbath.)  The Sabbath was created to provide rest for humans.  The man-made rules that the Jews created around the Sabbath had become so very overwhelming.  Would a poor laborer really be able to follow these?  Would a struggling young mom with four kids be able to follow the Sabbath as the Pharisees required?  Of course, the answer is no.  Thus, all these rules were creating a structure of haves and have nots, the clean and the unclean.  Jesus is saying to them – you are missing the point.  You are making things harder and God intended this to make things better.  Finally, what he really is stating, which the Pharisees are really struggling with, is that he is Lord of the Sabbath – he has the power to determine which rules really lead to God.  He is making a statement here about who he is, his identity as the Son of God.

Psalm 145:9-13,

The Lord is good to all;     he has compassion on all he has made. 10 All your works praise you, Lord;     your faithful people extol you. 11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom     and speak of your might, 12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts     and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,     and your dominion endures through all generations.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

April 2, 2025

Day 3 of Week 1

Scripture – Mark 2:1-12

Prayer – Heavenly Father, you are almighty and all-powerful.  You are God of all and yet you care for us.  Thank you, Lord.  Help us settle our scattered thoughts and be silent before you...Thank you, Jesus.  Please guide us as we reflect on your Word today.  Meet us in the midst of our reading and this devotional.  In Your Name, Amen. 

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts.  We start Mark 2 today, specifically the first twelve verses.  This is a narrative that is familiar to many of us, but I want us to be open to what God may have for us today.  That is the miracle of Scripture.  We can read the same verses at one point in our life and receive one thing from God and read them again several years later and hear something new.  God’s Word is truly alive and active. 

Jesus is teaching in Capernaum, in someone’s home.  Now this house was packed with people listening to Jesus and we can picture them flowing out the front door.  No one is willing to give up their spot.  Have you ever been someplace like that?  A place where people are just packed in like sardines and no one is going to give up their space because if they do, they know someone else will take it quickly.  I’ve been to concerts where the place was super-packed and there was no way I could leave, even to go to the bathroom, because I would lose my good spot.  You get it. 

Well, there were four men who are determined to get their paralyzed friend before Jesus.  But they quickly note that the front door just wasn’t going to be a possibility.  No one was leaving the house.  No one would budge to let them by.  So, they get him to the roof, which was probably no small feat.

The house would have been made of basalt stone because timber was scarce in that area.  The ceiling/roof was made with plaster. Rollers were used to compact the plaster to make it waterproof.  To make a hole in the roof, the plaster had to be scraped off and they would even need to remove some of the thinner slabs of stone used to support the ceiling.  They would keep doing this until a space was made large enough through which to lower the paralytic man.  This was lots and lots of work.  I don’t want this to be lost on us 2000 years later.

But their persistence pays off.  The four men lower their friend on his mat right in front of Jesus.  What a surprise to everyone in that room!  Jesus isn’t upset about the interruption, at least that we can tell.  Instead, he uses it as a profound, life-changing teaching moment.  Scripture says that when Jesus saw the faith of the men, he said to the paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven.” 

This causes all kinds of ruckus.  The Pharisees or teachers of the law who were there were thinking, “This is blasphemy.  Only God can forgive sins.”  But it’s Jesus and he is God so he knows exactly what they are thinking and he calls them out.  What the teachers of the law cannot see is that Jesus is authorized to speak and act on God’s behalf. He is God’s anointed, the Messiah, God’s beloved Son. As a demonstration of his authority to forgive sins, Jesus tells the paralyzed man to stand up, take his mat and return home, which the man promptly does. Jesus boldly demonstrates his power to bring both spiritual and physical healing, and the crowds respond by being amazed and glorifying God.

This is such a powerful piece of Scripture.  Could it be possible that God is suggesting that we create a stir, in a good way, in our social circles and do some interrupting?  Could it be that God is suggesting that we are not passive bystanders?  These friends put themselves out there.  They took risks and they went to great lengths to bring their friend to Jesus.  What kinds of efforts do we make to bring our friends to Jesus?  Are we spending time building relationships and praying for our friends?  Are we doing all we can, putting true effort, into bringing them before Jesus?   

The other question that this passage prompts is what does it means to stand in the gap for others?   In this text, we are told nothing of the faith of the paralyzed man.  It was the faith of his friends that Jesus was wowed by.  They are the ones who were so very determined that their friend be brought before Jesus.  This really got me thinking about our role as believers.  Oftentimes, people aren’t aware of their need for Jesus, maybe they are struggling with faith or doubt, maybe they have a bad history with the church, or maybe they think God is irrelevant to their lives.  But Jesus healed the man because of the faith of the friends.  Are we regularly, consistently standing in the gap for others?  Jesus healed the man because of the faith of the friends.  Let that sink in. 

Let’s close with some beautiful truth from John 15:12-17,  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

April 1, 2025

Day 2 of Week 1

Scripture – Mark 1:14-45

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, we start by pausing before you.  You are God and we are not but we forget that sometimes.  Help us be still before you in these next few moments of silence...Lord, we rejoice that you are with us right now.  You are a good God who wants to be part of our lives.  You put the stars in the sky and yet you care about the most minute details of our days.  Thank you, Jesus.  Join us as we read your Word.  We pray that you do a new thing in each of us.  In Your Name, Amen.

Hello, and welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts.  I do hope you are able to set aside the distractions of the morning and focus on God and his Word right now.  Even in this very first chapter of Mark, there is so much to learn.  Yesterday, in the first thirteen verses, we met John the Baptist, saw Jesus get baptized, and discussed how he was then led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.

Today, prepared by his baptism and wilderness experience, Jesus is ready to begin his public ministry.  But first, we get this little blip about John being put in prison.  Mark barely mentions it but it will come up again.  In short, John speaks truth and gets in trouble with the guy in charge.  This offers us a bit of a foreshadowing of what will happen to Jesus too.  Speaking truth to authority, specifically authority that is easily threatened, doesn’t always end well.  Things aren’t that different today.  Can you think of a time in which you had to speak truth to authority?  How did that go?

Let’s get back to Jesus.  What are his very first recorded words?  “The Kingdom of God has come near, repent, and believe the Good News!”  Now, there were probably a lot of others words said, but this is the way Mark sums it up – repent, believe, and know the Kingdom is here.  What’s interesting to me about this is that the end of the Old Testament, Malachi, has the prophet calling the people to repent.  Now, Jesus’ first public words in the New Testament are for people to repent.  There is something to this. 

Repentance means a sincere turning away from sin and selfishness and turning toward God.  This is more than just being sorry.  It is a real change of heart and mind with a desire to be obedient and not sin again.  We often have a negative view of repentance, but it is actually amazing.  Repentance frees us of guilt, restores relationships, and makes us right before a holy God.  If we feel like something has come between our relationship and God, it probably has and it’s time to come clean.  I think of Psalm 51:10-12, which is beautiful truth, Create in me a pure heart, O God,  and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Is there anything for which you need to repent?  Is there a tugging on your heart, something that you know it’s time to give to God? 

There is still a lot more in this first chapter.  Jesus calls his first disciples.  We don’t get all the details in Mark, but we do get a feel for the significance of this.  I mean, the brothers James and John simply left their fishing boat and went to follow Jesus.  I should mention that there was probably a relationship there already.  While we don’t know for sure, it’s most likely that Jesus wasn’t walking up to complete strangers and asking them to give up their livelihoods to follow him.  These were people who knew Jesus, who had heard his teaching, had interactions with him, and who were seeking something more.  They trusted him and so they followed him.

It made me think about how we introduce Jesus to others.  It is ALWAYS best done in relationship.  There may be times in which we can share the Gospel with someone we meet for the first time and they are open to it.  But I think most often, there need to be many moments, building relationships, getting to know people, listening to them, and gradually offering them glimpses of the Gospel.  I think the listening piece is probably the most important!  People need to know that we actually care about them before they trust what we have to say.  Who is it that needs to see the love and care of Jesus in you? 

Finally, I want to mention the healings in this first chapter.  Jesus is getting a name for himself.  There is no way in an impoverished, desperate community, such as Galilee, that someone could do that many healings and not become quickly famous.  But Jesus is not doing this for attention.  He is beginning to show the people a glimpse of God’s Kingdom.  In God’s Kingdom, people are not sick so Jesus heals.  They are not hungry, so soon he will feed.  They are victorious over the demonic, so he casts out impure spirits.  Every single thing that Jesus is doing right now has a very specific purpose of showing the people a different way of doing life. 

We’ll chat more about this tomorrow.    But we will close today with Psalm 146,

Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

2 I will praise the Lord all my life;     I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 3 Do not put your trust in princes,    in human beings, who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;    on that very day their plans come to nothing. 5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,    whose hope is in the Lord their God.

6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,     the sea, and everything in them—     he remains faithful forever. 7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed    and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, 8     the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,    the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the foreigner    and sustains the fatherless and the widow,     but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 The Lord reigns forever,     your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki