Cross My Heart Ministry

A farmer went out to sow his seed.
As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path … some fell on rocky places …
Other seed fell among thorns …Still other seed fell on good soil.
Mark 4:3-8

There is probably no parable more familiar than the parable of the sower.  Much has been written, taught, and preached on from this passage of scripture – and its parallel passages in Matthew 13 and Luke 8.

Often the focus is on the types of soils that point to the types of human hearts– the hardened heart, the shallow heart, the crowded heart, and the fruitful heart.

In addition to studying the soils, there is also truth to be gleaned by studying the sower himself. If asked to describe his character, words like faithful, hard-working, and diligent might come to mind.

Perhaps one more should be added to the list:  non-judgmental.

The scripture indicates he is non-discriminatory as he scatters the seed.  He doesn’t try to judge and analyze the soil.  He just does his job– scatters the seed and trusts God with the results.  No bending over to examine each plot of soil to discern its worthiness to receive the seed.  He just scatters.

There are four types of soil mentioned – three are not so great.  The three poor soils show little to no growth and no harvest.  Only one in four results in success.  Not really great odds by our standards.

We don’t think much of 1 in 4 odds:

• You and I wouldn’t get on a plane if we knew there was only a 1 in 4 likelihood it would arrive at its intended destination.
• We wouldn’t buy a can of beans if we were told only 1 in 4 was safe.
• And we wouldn’t have much confidence in a swim coach for our children who shared that 1 in 4 of her students could swim after taking her classes.

This farmer has some pretty dismal, miserable land to work with.  It’s hard, shallow, rocky, thorny – not great for growing plants.  But that’s not an excuse to not sow.  As followers of Christ, we are to sow the seed – the Word of God.  We are to share Jesus, the Living Word of God.

The people in our lives include some who are hard…others who are thorny …some who are shallow…but our job is to sow the seed.

We need not worry about judging or labeling the soil or being choosey about who is or is not worthy of receiving the seed.  Because, the reality is …none of us are worthy.

Like the farmer in Mark 4, our job is to scatter the seed – generously, liberally, non-discriminatingly.  We are to be faithful, hard-working, diligent…and non-judgmental.

We are sowers of the Word.  We have been entrusted with precious seed to sow.  This is our privilege.  Our assignment is to scatter the seed–without judgment–and trust God with the results.

Are you ready to do some scattering today?

{ If you are studying through Mark with us, please read Mark 4:3-9, 13-20 this week.  Here is the recorded teaching lecture on this passage: http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/2013/10/17/ladies-bible-study-mark-lesson-8-laura-macfarlan-10-17-13/ }

Then Jesus said,
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Mark 4:9

In Mark 4, Jesus began to teach using parables.  Our word, parable, comes from the combination of two Greek words:

Para – alongside
Ballo – to throw or cast

Our definition of parable:  A story placed alongside to help us understand the teaching.

A teachable, listening heart is required to glean the deeper truth the parable reveals.  Those with “ears to hear” will ponder and pray over the parable (and, indeed, all Scripture) to seek out the deeper truth it reveals.

Does your heart want to hear?  Are we allowing the world, our own shallow thinking, or the evil one himself to drown out the powerful truth of Scripture?  Jesus Christ, the living word of God, wants to teach us.  Are we willing to listen?

I heard a story about a woman – let’s call her Linda – who had a five-year-old daughter.  Her daughter had disobeyed and had been sent to her room. After a few minutes, Linda went in to talk with her about what she had done. Teary-eyed, her five-year-old asked, “Why do we do wrong things, Mommy?”

“Sometimes the devil tells us to do something wrong,” Linda replied to her daughter, “and we listen to him. We need to listen to God instead.”

To which the five-year-old little girl sobbed, “But God doesn’t talk loud enough!“

Sometimes that’s what we want…God to talk louder over the noise we allow into our lives.  But I believe Jesus is a gentleman.  He wants us to come to Him, to want Him …and if we prefer someone or something else, He will politely keep knocking at the door of our hearts…keep whispering in our ear…calling out our name…but He will seldom push and shove His way in. He gave us free will to CHOOSE Him.  He is persistent in His pursuit of us…because He loves us.

He gave us ears to Hear…but the question is …do we want to hear?  Do we want to behave as if we have heard?

{ If you are studying through Mark with us, please read Mark 4 this week.  Here is the recorded teaching lecture on this passage: http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/2013/10/13/ladies-bible-study-mark-lesson-7-laura-macfarlan-10-10-13/ }

When they heard all he was doing,
many people came to him …
those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.
Mark 3:8a, 10b

As word of His ministry spread, Jesus was forced more and more to retreat and pull back from the crowds.  They pressed in and followed – not because they wanted to hear His teaching, but because they wanted to experience and see the miracles He could perform.  They wanted the blessings…but they didn’t necessarily want HIM.

It sounds a bit like the prosperity gospel teachers of today who try to “market” Jesus with promises of health and wealth.  We might ask those then and those today, “Do you really want Jesus…or do you just want what He can do for you?”

And then…as we ask that question…conviction comes….we look in the mirror and we ask ourselves, “Do I really want Jesus…or do I just want what He can do for me?”

What are you and I expecting from Jesus?

Do we want a Jesus who delivers when we call….wraps everything thing up with the bow on top just like WE want it?

We are so short-sighted…praying for the end…the bottom line…the happy ending…when so very often He is the God of the process. Teaching us, drawing us, molding us, and refining us through it all.

We want the problem to be solved.  He wants us to focus on His promises and provision in the midst of the problem.

Can I really…truly….trust Him…?

Can you?

If I’m trusting Jesus with my salvation…my hope for my eternal destiny…then surely I can trust Him with my now.

Hard things come to all of us. We pray…God seems to be silent or doesn’t answer the way we ask…or demand.  We question if He sees…knows….or cares.

Perhaps that’s because we are clinging to our expectations of how Jesus will respond…rather than clinging to Jesus Himself.  The presence of trouble does not mean God is absent.  But it does mean it’s time to hold on to Jesus.

{ If you are studying through Mark with us, please read Mark 3:7-35 this week.  Here is the recorded teaching lecture on this passage: http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/2013/10/03/ladies-bible-study-mark-37-35-laura-macfarlan-10-3-13/ }

“Follow me,”
Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
Mark 2:13-14

Jesus gave a word of instruction and Levi followed in obedience.

Every mother would love that kind of obedience from her child.  Imagine:

• Take out the trash….and Sam got up and took out the trash!
• Load the dishwasher…..and Summer got up and loaded the dishwasher!
• Pick up your toys….and Kenzie picked up her toys!

We have experienced those moments as mothers…and certainly we rejoice in them.

But what about when we are on the receiving end of the instruction?  What about when God is giving us a command?  Do we obey immediately?  Do we recognize our Father’s voice?

Take note that it is the voice of Jesus Levi is responding to.  It is not the voice of Peter, Andrew, James, or John.  It is not the voice of a priest in the temple.  It is Jesus.

We are barely into chapter two of the gospel of Mark and already we see Jesus had different assignments for different people.  So far in our study, He has called four (and now five when we add Levi) to be disciples.  But He gave a different assignment to those he healed.  He told the leper to go to the priest. He told the paralytic to go home.

The call from Jesus to your friend will not be the same call He has for your life.  My call is different from your call.  Each of us must hear the voice of Jesus– to know what assignment He has for each of us individually.  If you don’t know, then ask!

We also need to let go of either:

1. Trying to entice someone else to join in our call.  Don’t try to drown out the voice of Jesus in your friend’s ear by raising your voice! It’s great that you are excited about your call…just don’t always expect everyone else to be excited about the same call.
2. Stop being jealous of someone else’s call.  Have you ever whined, “Jesus, why didn’t you give ME that pretty singing voice and make music ministry my call?”

We must walk in thankfulness for our own assignment…and be sure we are listening to Jesus for what that that assignment is.  When we hear Him, we need to follow in immediate obedience – just like Levi.

Even Jesus Himself acknowledged in John 4:34, “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me…”

If Jesus Himself only did the will of the Father…then certainly that should be the primary focus for our lives, as well.

When an idea pops into my head, I’m trying to train myself to ask Jesus:

1. Is this something you want done?
2. It is something you want me to do?

Then, if I’m certain, get up and GO!

All too often, I believe I have done things I WANT to do (or maybe things I feel guilty if I don’t do)– albeit good, kingdom things – but not things that were on His assignment list for me.

What is the will of Jesus for your life?  What assignment is He giving to you?  Are you listening to HIS voice above all others?

On-the-Go Truth:  The Woman of God follows immediately when she hears Jesus!

Are you listening?  What do you need to turn off so you can hear Jesus?  What mute button needs to be pressed so you can listen to the voice of your Savior?

We know the joy it brings to our mothers’ hearts when our children hear our instruction and obey immediately…so can you imagine the great joy it must bring our heavenly father when we listen…and follow in immediate obedience to HIS voice?

{ If you are studying through Mark with us, please read Mark 2:13 — 3:6 this week.  Here is the recorded teaching lecture on this passage:  http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/2013/09/26/ladies-bible-study-mark-213-36-laura-macfarlan-9-26-13/ }

“See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest…”
Mark 1:44a

In Mark 1, a man with leprosy comes to Jesus and is healed.  Jesus gave the healed man two assignments:  one do not  and one do.

First he said, “Sssshhhhh….don’t tell!”  Jesus asked the man to tell no one about the miraculous healing.

Jesus wanted the focus to be on His teaching.  He came to share the good news – to demonstrate He was the living Word, the Son of God.  Note how Jesus responded just a few verses earlier when Peter and the others interrupted Him,

 “Let us go somewhere else–to the nearby villages–so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”

Instead, Jesus instructed the man to go to the priest to comply with the Old Testament commands.  Leviticus laid out the rules about being declared clean after being healed from leprosy.  Jesus affirmed the Old Testament with this command.

A second reason he offered was to be a testimony to the priests.  He wanted the Jewish priests to know He was the Son of God.  This man was blessed with the assignment to be a testimony to the religious leaders.

But he disobeyed.  Mark 1:45a says, “Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news…”

It’s hard for us to criticize this man.  He had some good news and he wanted to share it! Isn’t it interesting to compare and contrast the assignment Jesus gave to this man and the assignment Jesus left this with us in the great commission:

• The healed leper was told to tell no one and he told everyone.
• We are told to tell everyone and often we choose to tell no one!

Is it just our human nature to walk in disobedience? Should we not be as joyful as the man healed from leprosy physically…to know we walk in spiritual healing for all of eternity?

Obedience can be difficult.  But I believe God blesses us when we obey Him.

What area of obedience is hard for you? Where is God telling you to do something and you are holding back…procrastinating…or worse yet…doing the exact opposite?

With whom has God told you to share the good news?  Are you praying for a specific person who needs to know Jesus – looking for and praying for an opportunity?

We need to also note that disobedience has consequences not only to ourselves, but also to others:

• In this situation, the priest missed out on hearing the testimony.
• The healed man missed out on being the one to share the testimony with the priest.
• And also – Jesus redirected his ministry to lonely places so as not to draw so much attention from those who wanted to see the “carnival” (for want of a better word!)

Being quiet was a hard thing for this man.

What area of obedience is hard for you?

Let’s ask God to enable us to do a hard thing this week.

{ If you are studying through Mark with us, please read Mark 1:40-2:12 this week.  Here is the recorded teaching lecture on this passage:  http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/2013/09/19/ladies-bible-study-mark-140-212-laura-macfarlan-9-19-13/ }

So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up.
The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
Mark 1:31

Jesus had a full morning at the temple.  After all that preaching and teaching and speaking and healing…we would expect Him to be ready for a sabbath day nap.  But instead, the five of them (Jesus, Peter, Andrew, James, and John), all go to Peter’s house after church.  I don’t think Peter phoned home to make sure it was ok.  🙂

The scripture says Peter’s mother in law was in bed with a fever – certainly not in a condition to make lunch! When Jesus hears about her illness, he goes to her, he takes her hand, and he helps her up.  The fever is gone, as our Lord demonstrates His authority over sickness.

And then let’s not miss the great truth to be gleaned from her response.  What did she do after she was healed?

She began to wait on them.

Why do we pray for those we love to be healed?  Every one of us knows someone who is suffering physically in a big or small way.  Every church has a prayer list…and most likely 99% of the prayer requests on that list relate to physical illness.  But….why do we pray for someone to be healed?  So …they can get back to work or to the golf course…get back on the ball field….get back to the couch and not miss their favorite episode of whatever…?

The response of Peter’s mother in law provides a purpose for healing:

Heal us Lord, so we can serve you.

The healing of Peter’s mother in law provides a perfect analogy for salvation.

Just as Jesus heard of the plight of Peter’s mother in law and chose to go to her….He didn’t expect her to come to HIM for healing….He comes to us, he extends His hand to us and lifts us up from our bed of sickness.  Our sickness is called sin.

We know our choices bring consequences.
Jesus releases us from those consequences.  He helps us up when we cannot do anything to help ourselves.

Peter’s mother in law could do nothing to make her fever go away.  We can do nothing to make our sin go away.

Jesus did it all for her physical healing….and Jesus does it all for our spiritual healing.

Her response to the physical healing should be the same response we have to our spiritual healing — gratefulness should leave us with a desire to serve our Lord.

We are saved…so we can serve!

{If you are studying through Mark with us, please read Mark 1:16-39 this week.  Here is the recorded teaching lecture on this passage:  http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/2013/09/12/ladies-bible-study-mark-116-39-laura-macfarlan-9-12-13/ }

“At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert…”
Mark 1:12

In the verses preceding this one, we see the Trinity clearly portrayed:  Jesus the Son is baptized, the Spirit descends as a dove, and God the Father speaks words of blessing from heaven.  Surely, a majestic moment! A moment for Jesus, in His humanity and His deity, to savor.  But like many of our spiritual “highs,” it was followed by an immediate challenge:  His testing in the desert.

Note that verse 12 clearly says he was SENT to the desert.  The time of testing and temptation by Satan didn’t just happen to Jesus.  It was orchestrated.  Planned.  Allowed.  Is it possible, then, that temptations are also allowed in our lives for a specific purpose?  We often wail, “God, why did you allow this to happen?”  Right question. Wrong attitude.  Instead, perhaps our response should be, “God, why did you allow this to happen?  What can I learn from it?  How you can be glorified in it?” 

The gospel of Mark doesn’t give much detail on what those 40 days looked like for Jesus, but we can flip over to Matthew for some insight.  And we see there that Satan comes to Jesus the same way he comes to us.  He tries to play on our vulnerabilities.  Jesus was hungry. He had fasted for 40 days. He had the power to turn stones into bread to satisfy His hunger, but to do so would have given in to the temptation of Satan.  Jesus resisted.

The gospel of Matthew records Satan’s words to Jesus:  “If you are the Son of God…” He uses this ploy twice:

If you are the Son of God…turn these stones into bread.
If you are the Son of God…throw yourself down.

Satan tries to get Jesus to doubt His very identity.  And – he does the same to us! He only has so many tricks in his play book…and he just keeps recycling and re-using them.

He wants you and me to doubt our identity in Christ.  He wants to come at us…tell us we aren’t good enough…aren’t worthy enough…that we aren’t really God’s child…we really don’t have a relationship with Jesus…he tries to whisper that God has forgotten us…doesn’t love us…

Our response needs to be the same as that of Jesus:  “It is written…” Jesus responded to temptation by quoting Scripture.  The Word of God is our defense in the desert!

The temptations we face are spiritual battles.  They cannot be fought in the flesh.  We need the Word of God. Like Jesus, we claim the truth of Scripture as we proclaim:  IT IS WRITTEN!

For whatever your challenge today, ask Jesus to provide a passage to address it, to refute the lie, and help resist the temptation.

The woman of God proclaims IT IS WRITTEN when battling temptation!

{If you are reading through Mark with us, please read Mark 1:9-15 this week.  Here is the recorded teaching lecture on this passage:  http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/2013/09/05/ladies-bible-study-mark-lesson-two-mark-19-15-laura-macfarlan-9-5-13/ }

“…a voice of one calling in the desert,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
Mark 1:3 (quoting Isaiah 40:3)

Mark opens his gospel by introducing an interesting character, John the Baptist.  Clothing made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist coupled with a diet of locusts and wild honey make John look something like this in my mind’s eye:

If you’re a Duck Dynasty fan like me and my family, you also appreciate the way Phil Robertson wraps up each episode with a family prayer time that also points to Jesus.

The challenge for me (and I hope for you, as well) is to ask, Does my life do the same?  Does my vocabulary, my calendar, my TV viewing …point to Jesus?  How about my checkbook, my attitude, my response to conflict, and even my response to praise?  I’m not talking about a have-to/legalistic set of rules ….but a heart set on pointing others to the one who saved me, a deep-seeded desire to live intentionally and passionately for the One who died so I could live.

When I read “make straight paths,” it brings to mind a bulldozer clearing a path for a new road to be constructed.  Anything blocking the path is removed.

Lord, is there anything in my life that could block or hinder others from seeing You?

If I truly want my life to be a road sign pointing others to my Savior, I can even use road signs to prompt thoughtful prayer:

  Father, give me opportunities today to give way to others.  Forgive me for demanding my own way.  I want to defer to others – give up my right to be right to bring You glory.

Jesus, I want to follow hard after you.  Help me to walk in your ways.  I pray my walk will match my talk.  Reveal any areas of hypocrisy and then give me Your strength to change.

Holy Spirit, I know there are some non-negotiables that just simply need to stop.  Convict me of those things that need to stop in my life. 

 Lord, I pray my life will always and in all ways point others to You!

Bottom line:

The woman of God devotes her life to pointing the way to Jesus!

+++++++

 This week in our study of Mark: The On-The-Go Gospel, we studied Mark 1:1-9.  If you would like to listen to the teaching lecture, you can find it here:

http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/2013/08/29/ladies-bible-study-mark-11-8-laura-macfarlan-8-29-13/

Photo attributions:
http://online.wsj.com
http://www.etfmarketpro.com
http://www.mybabyrj.com
http://toworkandback.com
http://www.marketingpilgrim.com

  This year I’m teaching through the Gospel of Mark at my local church here in Siloam Springs, Arkansas (details below on how you can join us from a distance).

Like all the gospels (the good news), Jesus is, of course, the central figure.  John Mark makes this clear when he opens his book with the words, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  (Mark 1:1)

Before plunging ahead into our text, I thought it would be helpful to get to know Mark, the author of what I’m calling the On-the-Go-Gospel.  We can pick up snippets and scraps of information from his life here:

Acts 12:12       A prayer meeting is taking place at his mother’s home.  Mark was raised, then, by a godly woman who believed in prayer and made her home available to the church.

Acts 12:25       Mark traveled with Paul and Barnabas.

Acts 13:5         Mark was a helper to Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journey.

Acts 13:13       Mark bails out and goes home. (No details provided on why).

Acts 15:36-39  When Paul and Barnabas prepare for their next trip, Barnabas (whose name means, “Son of Encouragement”) suggests taking Mark along. Because of Mark’s early departure from the previous trip, Paul objects.  The disagreement between Paul and Barnabas is so great they part ways.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is our great God transformed division into multiplication:  instead of one team of two heading to the mission field, two teams with a total of four went out.  Paul took Silas in one direction and merciful Barnabas gave Mark a second chance and took him along in another.

We could stop the story there and be grateful for the kindness of Barnabas and the grace extended to Mark.  But digging further, we see restoration in the relationship between Paul and Mark:

Colossians 4:10           Paul is in prison writing his letter to the church at Colosse. As he wraps it up, he mentions that John Mark is with him in Rome.

II Timothy 4:11            Paul specifically requests for John Mark to be sent to him, adding: “…because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”

Even before jumping into the book he authored, there are several take aways for us to glean from Mark’s life:

• Our past need not define us. Mark may have been a quitter at one point, but he moved on.  He became an asset to Paul and to the Kingdom.

Lord, I know you have forgiven my past failings.  Help me to forgive myself.  Help me to let go of the past, so I can live fully and completely today.

•  God will use even our failures and work them for good .

I praise you, God, because You alone can take the gory …and use it for Your glory!

• Never give up on a relationship!

Lord, forgive me for the he/she-will-never-change-attitude.  Restore hope in my heart.

• Live grateful for grace.

Jesus….thank you.

If you would like to consider studying the gospel of Mark with us, you can order the book directly from Joy of Living here:  http://www.joyofliving.org/html/mark.html
(Of if you are local, just email me about getting a book.)

After completing the daily lessons each week, you can listen to each week’s teaching lecture on line.  I’ll post it here and also on my ministry Facebook page.  Here’s the introductory lecture:

http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/2013/08/23/ladies-bible-study-mark-introduction-laura-macfarlan-8-22-13/

Would love for you to study along with us this year!