(1 John 1:1-4)

True belief in Jesus begins when your heart passionately loves what your head knows is true. Jesus wants you to enjoy life with Him. He wants you to experience Him fully everyday and know His love personally. The things we may receive this Christmas may bring temporary joy, but Jesus brings eternal joy that never fades.

In Mark 15, Jesus endured physical pain, emotional pain, and immense spiritual pain as He met the cross and took on the judgment of God's wrath against sin for each and every one of us. He could have called an an army of angels at any moment and been released from the cross. But He didn't. He stayed on that cross with you in mind. He stayed on that cross with me in mind. He did it all just hoping we would humbly repent and turn from sin and selfishness and choose to receive His loving forgiveness and redemption instead. That's passionate love. When you realize the radical love of Jesus and the depth of what He for us, it's impossible to not live every day in radical, "no matter what" faith. It's impossible to not be changed from the inside out. It's impossible to not fall more and more in love with Him every second through life. Once you catch a glimpse of the great love and glory of Jesus, it changes you forever from the inside out.

In Mark 14, we continue to share in the journey to the cross with Jesus. It was time for Passover and as they prepare for the Passover meal, Mary brings an alabaster jar filled with a year's worth of wages of perfume and pours it over Jesus in worship. In humble worship to the Lord, she serves Jesus by preparing His human body for its temporary burial. Jesus knew Judas would betray Him, but Jesus still served Judas. He still washed his feet and broke bread with him. He still hoped his heart would turn to the Lord. Jesus went to pray to the Father before His crucifixion. He was already feeling the weight of taking on the sins of the world and needed to pray. Jesus prayed. Jesus talked with God. We need to pray. We need to be desperate to talk with God all the time. We need to pray without stopping because our spirits are willing, but our flesh is weak. We need Jesus. We need His strength and His Spirit to carry us and help us resist sin and temptations. We desperately need to be praying all day, every day. We need to talk with our Father, our Creator and let Him lead, guide, and strengthen us for whatever may come. We need to stay alert, stay in the Word, keep watch, and never stop praying. Keep the Armor of God on and never take it off.

In Mark 13, Jesus prepares His disciples, and us, for the coming end of the end times. He encourages us to stay alert, stay aware and in prayer continually, stay in the Word so as not to be deceived by the false teachers and false prophets, and stay radically on fire for Jesus. Keep falling more and more in love with Jesus every day because He is returning sooner today than yesterday and He is returning for a Bride head over heels in love with Him. Don't be deceived by false prophets and teachers. The Son Himself doesn't know the hour of His return, only the Father does - so no human knows either. We are told to pay attention to the signs of the times we are living in and don't fret about it because we know how it ends and we know our eternity with Jesus will be utterly glorious. If you have repented of sin and humbly submitter your heart and life to Jesus as Lord of all, your eternal home with Jesus is a promise that lasts forever.

In Mark 12, Jesus teaches on stewarding His resources well for His glory out of passionate love for Him, not obligation. Jesus shares a parable about a vineyard leased out to some farmers to tend. The owner of the vineyard sends servants to check in on the vineyard and the tenants rejected, tortured, and even killed God's servants. The servants sent represent the prophets God sent to point people to Jesus, our Messiah and the Word of God was repeatedly rejected. The Messiah Himself was standing right in front of the religious leaders and He was still rejected by them. In and through it all, God had and still has a plan. His eternal redemption plan is still unfolding. Jesus is returning sooner today than yesterday and as we wait, we are to pray continually, remain in His Word and stay laser focused on Him while spreading the message of His offer of salvation to the world around us.

In Mark 11, Jesus sees a fig tree and is hungry. He went to the fig tree expecting to find edible buds that would typically appear prior to the fruiting season. There were no buds on this tree. It was fruitless and useless. He then goes to the Temple which is meant to be a place for people to gather and worship the Lord. Instead, He found market tables filled with merchants were were price gouging and stealing from people who came from a long way to worship the Lord together. The markets filled the courts where Gentiles would normally gather to join the Jewish nation in worship to the one and only true and living God. The marketers weren't just padding their pockets, they were pushing people away from being able to pray and worship the Lord. Jesus said, "Enough!" and flipped the tables out. Jesus came for everyone and He made that abundantly clear from the very beginning. His house is to be a house of prayer for ALL nations. We are to meditate on His Word, pray, and worship our Lord and Savior continually - every single day. When we gather together for church, we are not joining together for a show or to be entertained, we are joining to worship our Savior and praise His great Name. We should come so excited and on fire for Jesus because we get to join together in worship to our Lord in love and unity as a family of the Lord God Almighty.

In Mark 10, Jesus teaches a lesson on power and the struggle of desiring a place of honor. He pointed out that people in high positions often like to exercise power over others. However, a follower of Jesus is considered great by humbly serving rather than being served. Jesus came to serve and gave His life so we could have the option to live forever through Him. We are not called to be famous, rich, powerful, or have a prestigious title. We are called to serve and extend the glory, light, and love of Jesus. Every day is filled with choices and we need to wake up every day intentionally choosing to join Jesus in His eternal mission of saving lives for eternity. We wake up every day taking up our cross and following Jesus, heart and soul.

In Mark 9, Jesus again teaches us what it looks like to deny yourself, your will, take up your cross, and follow Him, heart and soul, with all your guts. Suffering may last a season, but the glory of eternity is forever. Jesus knows our hearts, motives, and intentions and He knows a sincere heart that pursues Him desperately. He calls us to walk in humility and serve others, pointing them to Jesus - not yourself. The whole point is to glorify Jesus and His power, His strength, and His glory through the vessels He has given us in this temporary world. Be available to Jesus and let His glory shine through you. We are to serve humbly, be prepared by spending time in the Word of God, praying, and walking the Word of God out in daily life, persevere through the strength of Jesus while waiting for His return, serve as God directs laying down our wills for the will of God, expect suffering, and never be ashamed of Jesus. When you have a humble mentality and availability to serving others for God's great glory, Jesus gets all the glory and He is able to move mightily through your life to reach others.

In Mark 8, Jesus continues to interact, teach, heal, feed and serve the people who continually gather around Him. Jesus always answers people who are desperate for Him. He takes His disciples aside and asks them a question, "Who do people say I AM?" They give Him the various answers from what they've heard people saying about Jesus. Jesus then asks them an even more important question that He asks each and every one of us as well, "Who do you say I AM?" Peter answers Jesus confessing that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. Jesus proceeds to let them know that He will die and be buried, but that He will also rise from death on the 3rd day. Peter doesn't want this to happen and makes that known but Jesus rebukes the thought. Anything that does not line up with God and His will in our thoughts, hearts, and lives needs to be rebuked and gone. Jesus calls us to pick up our cross and follow Him, heart and soul and that means sacrificing our wills for the will of our Father. The temporary things of this world are nice blessings that God gives us, but they are meant to be stewarded to save the lives around us for Jesus. Eternity matters. Saving lives matters. Nothing matters more. Eternity is forever and there's no time like now to pick up your cross and follow Jesus. His Kingdom is coming and nothing else can compare to what is to come if you are abiding in Jesus with all your guts and every last exhale.

In Mark 7, we see the active compassion of Jesus. Compassion always leads to action. A simple touch from Jesus can radically change a person's life. A mere glimpse of His great glory changes our hearts for eternity. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow - always and forever. We need to be in His Word continually, listening to each Word He's speaking with open hearts in surrender to Him, and be in tune with His Spirit by continually praying and communing with Him. When the compassionate love of Jesus is put into action, the grace of God moves and is mightily sufficient. We need to be desperate for Jesus every day and pursue Him passionately with all our guts, and every last exhale - heart and soul.