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Episode notes, devotionals, and Bible study writing — 288 posts and counting.
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Mark 4:10–12 — Why Parables?
Mark 4:10–12 — Why Parables?
How to Have a Bad Day Step 25: Have Double Standards
Netflix, Chill, and Cry Later
Mark 3:22–27 — How Can Satan Cast Out Satan?
And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.” So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.”— Mark 3:22–27 (NKJV)
How to Have a Bad Day Step 24: Follow Other's Convictions
Some people collect stamps, some collect teacups… apparently, I collect other people’s convictions. ‘Oh, you don’t think Christians should drink coffee? Sure, let me just add that to my shelf next to “don’t dye your hair” and “don’t laugh too loud in church.”
How to Have a Bad Day Step 23: Rescue People
Why let people learn from their mistakes when you can throw yourself headfirst into their chaos? Forget boundaries. Forget self-care. If they’re sinking, jump in after them—who needs a life jacket anyway? If you’re exhausted, bitter, and broke, at least you’ll know you tried.
How to Have a Bad Day Step 22: Spiral
You get corrected at work… and by 2 PM you're already scrolling through SaskJobs cause you just know you're gonna get fired.
Mark 3:20–21 — When Family Thinks You've Lost Your Mind
Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”— Mark 3:20–21 (NKJV)
How to Have a Bad Day Step 21: Pick a Side and Draw Your Sword
No need to have intelligent conversations anymore! Want to know who a person is? I'll tell you!
Mark 3:13–19 — The New Sinai
And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house. - The New King James Version (Mk 3:13–19).
Mark 3:1–6 — Stretch Out Your Hand
“And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. And He said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Step forward.’ Then He said to them, ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.” Mark 3:1–6 NKJV
Mark 2:18–22 — The Bridegroom, the Fast, and the Wineskins
The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, ‘Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?’
Mark 3:6–13 — The Nations at the Shore
Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.” But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. - The New King James Version (Mk 3:6–13).
How to Have a Bad Day Step 20: Live Like There's No Tomorrow
Ever noticed how people react differently when they think the world’s ending? Some stockpile beans, some max out credit cards, some start bucket lists, and others just binge Netflix “because what’s the point?”
Mark 2:13–17 — The Call No One Saw Coming
Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, ‘How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard it, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. Mark 2:13–17, NKJV)
How to Have a Bad Day Step 19: Resent Aging Pt. 2
They say marriage is about compromise. But if you’re in perimenopause or andropause, compromise looks like one person wrapped in three blankets while the other is standing in front of an open freezer yelling,
Mark 2:1–12 — Breaking Through the Roof
“And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
How to Have a Bad Day Step 18: Resent Aging Pt. 1
Birthdays Hit Different
Mark 1:40–45 — When Clean Hands Touch the Cursed
When I study the Gospels, I don’t want to skim the surface. I want to step into the world of the first hearers, to see what they saw, to feel what they felt. Only then can I understand what the text is really saying. So let me invite you to do the same with me. Let’s place ourselves in the world of the first century. Let’s imagine what it would have been like to live as a leper — cut off from family, banished from worship, forced to shout “Unclean!” with every breath. And then, in that world, let’s hear the story Mark tells us.
How to Have a Bad Day Step 17: Stay Bitter
Bitterness never knocks on the door and introduces itself. It just slides in quietly and makes itself at home. You think you’ve buried the issue, but then it pops out in a sarcastic tone, a cold shoulder, or that one snappy reply you didn’t mean but definitely meant. It usually grows from hurt that’s been stored instead of healed. Think you're not bitter? See if you can relate to any of these ways bitterness creeps in:
How to Have a Bad Day Step 16: Be Defensive
Ever walk away from a discussion thinking,
Mark 1:21–28 — When the Kingdom Broke the Silence
Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.
Mark 1:29–31 — Synagogue to Sickroom
Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.
Mark 1:32–39 — When the Sun Went Down
Where We Are in the Story