GRINDIT podcast

Jesus was accused by the religious leaders of being possessed by Satan. Jesus was hot and he was hurt by their accusations and he let them know it by telling them that all sin and blasphemy will be forgiven but there is one sin that will NOT be forgiven…blaspheming the Holy Spirit. If blaspheming the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, then we better know what it is so we don’t do it! We discuss it in today’s podcast.

Jesus returns the synagogue in Capernaum where the last time he was there, he cast a demon out and his fame spread like a wildfire. This time, there is a man with a withered hand there and the Pharisees are waiting and watching to see what Jesus is going to do about it. Of course he heals the man and the Pharisees begin to plot on how they can kill Jesus. They follow him around accusing him of being possessed by Satan. We expect the hatred coming from the religious leaders but did you know Jesus’ own family were haters too?!?!? He had four brothers and at least two sisters and Mark tells us they did not believe him and thought he was insane! What do you say? Are you a hater or a believer?

Have you ever gotten in trouble for wearing a hat to the dinner table? Did someone smack it off your head and say something like this, “We don’t wear hats at the dinner table!” Why not? Who said? What’s the big deal about wearing a hat at the dinner table? The Pharisees were constantly challenging Jesus and his disciples with their beliefs…their traditions. They had their own interpretation of the law and they made them binding on the people which made it very difficult for the common person to serve God. There was very little grace and mercy. Jesus comes on the scene and says, “There’s an old way and a new way to serve God. It’s time y’all get with the new way and that only comes through me.” The Pharisees weren’t having it but if they wanted to be a part of the kingdom of God, they’d have to come around or be left out!

Jesus has traveled back to Capernaum and is staying at someone’s home. People hear that he is back in town and the crowd begins to gather in so much that they are lined up outside wanting to see him. A man is brought by his friends to the house hoping they could get him to Jesus so he would be healed. He has been laying on this mat, unable to move for many years. He would not leave that house the same way he came! Jesus heals the man and it blew the people’s minds, including the religious teachers of the law. Jesus takes us right where we are in life and changes our situation immediately. We need to get people to Jesus, doing whatever it takes, so the crowd can be stunned!

After leaving the synagogue, Jesus and his new disciples go to Peter and Andrew’s house to hang out. While there, people get wind of what has taken place at the synagogue and they bring people who are sick and demon possessed to Peter’s house so they can be healed by Jesus. As the crowd gathers around the house, watching through the windows and the doors, a leper walks in and wants to be healed. What will Jesus do? This leper is not supposed to be around people at all; he should be in quarantine! But he walks up to Jesus and asks to be healed…Mark says Jesus was moved by compassion and he did the unthinkable…he reached out and touched the leper! Are we moved by compassion? There are so many people the need Jesus. Are we willing to reach out and touch them with the gospel of Christ?

Jesus and his disciples go to church, or their version of it anyway and a man shows up while Jesus is teaching and he is demon possessed. The demon acknowledges Jesus and calls him the Holy One of God. Jesus immediately shuts the demon up and casts him out of the man right there in front of the crowd. They are amazed, not only at Jesus’ teaching because he is teaching with authority and not as the teachers of the law, but they are amazed at his authority over the demons! Ig Jesus didn’t have their attention before, he has it now! Does he have yours?

Jesus gives an invitation to some brothers to leave everything behind and follow him. Peter and Andrew, James and John, have no idea if Jesus is the Messiah or not at this point. They have heard John the Baptist talking about him, they have heard about Jesus’ teachings and how it was different than the other rabbis, but there hasn’t been any miracles done at this point to prove Jesus is from God or not but this did not deter these brothers from following Jesus. They literally left everything they. Knew, their job, their way of life, their family behind to follow a man who was basically homeless! What keeps us from following Jesus completely? Why do we not have a desire to be intimate with Jesus when that is his desire for us?

Why do people feel as if nothing bad should come there way? It is said that we are either about to go through a storm, we are going through a storm, or the storm has passed. It's a nonending cycle that we cannot control and these storms come because of various reasons. We have to be careful of not blaming God or geting mad at Him when they come. We must accept the fact that storms will come and when they do, we have to draw closer to God...not run away. In today's podcast, we look deeper into Jesus beiung led into the wilderness to be tempted right after the mountain top experience of his baptism.

Jesus is not your homie, your pal, your best bud. True, he is near to us, in fact, he lives inside of us and the bible says he is a friend that sticks closer than a brother, but we need to realize he is holy and we should have reverence for him. The early church had an “awe” of him and for God. He is a part of the Godhead, He is the Holy One of God, and we should respect him as such. Being the Son of God, Jesus received affirmation from his Father when he was baptized. The Father says, “This is my son that I love in whom I am well pleased.” Fathers, our children need our affirmation. If they don’t get it from us, they’ll get it from someone else and it won’t come from a godly source more than likely. Tell your children what they mean to you and how much you love them as much as you possibly can. They need that affirmation from YOU!

We start the book of Mark and right off the bat we are introduced to a guy named John the Baptist. A guy who is dressed freaky, he never shaves, he is baptizing in the dirty waters of the Jordan River, and he is eating locusts and wild honey. You know that guy had to look and smell gross! But God used John in a mighty way. We need to quit making excuses as to why God will not use us and just let Him! What talents do you have? What is your passion? Why not use it for the kingdom of God and for His glory?