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Mark 11 - Does God Really Answer Every Prayer?

Mark 11 - NIV   Enduring Word Commentary Verses of the Day “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Commentary The disciples were amazed that the fig tree Jesus had cursed while going to the temple, had withered by the time they got back to it the next day. Jesus uses this example to teach the disciples of more about prayer. There are some challenging aspects to Jesus' teaching here.  First, he says that anyone does not doubt what they are asking for, it will be done for them. He uses an interesting example, "Go throw yourself into the sea,...
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Mark 10 - What Does It Mean To Be Great?

Mark 10 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Verses for Today 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Commentary This is a critical point in the road of Jesus' journey to the cross with his disciples. While he is teaching publicly proclaiming the kingdom of God and doing signs and wonders, he is also teaching his disciples what it means to follow him.  The disciples, as James and John just said, thought that if they followed Jesus they would be the ones to sit at his right and left hand when he came to glory in His kingdom. But Jesus used this moment as an opportunity to teach what " true great...
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Mark 9 - Using Your Spiritual Weapons to Fight Spiritual Battles!

Mark 9 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Verses of the Day When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”  26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.  28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”  29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.[a]” (a) some manuscripts read "prayer and fasting", but the oldest manuscripts use prayer. Most assume it was added in later because it was a practice in the early church. Commentary As I have mentioned, Mark has a lot of instances where Jesus cast out and delivered people from demons. In this instance, a father brought his son to the disciples to cast out the evil spirit in him, a...
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Mark 8 - What Does It Mean to Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus?

Mark 4 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Verses of the Day The Way of the Cross 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Commentary Jesus had done many signs and wonders including: raising someone from the dead, healing every disease and sickness, casting out demons, and even taking a few loaves of bread and a few fish and feeding thousands of people. But today he has some sobering words to say to them. We might say this is a,  " Come to Jesus talk" .  Jesus' words distill what it means to be his follower. Jesus had just told them that he would be handed over to the religious leaders and be killed. Jesus' simple invitation was, " Whoever wants to ...
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Mark 7 - The Danger of Traditions!

Mark 7 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”  6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:  “‘These people honor me with their lips,  but their hearts are far from me.  7 They worship me in vain;  their teachings are merely human rules.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” Commentary The next battle Jesus had with the Pharisees was regarding the ritual cleansing of one's hands before meals. There were passages in the Old Testament which commanded a priest to wash before he entered the temple, but nowhere were the Israelites commanded to wash their hands before they ate. Of course they could as a matter of hygience, but it was not a moral issue or commanded in the Jewish law.  But the Pharisees often a...
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Mark 6 - "Doing the Stuff Jesus Did!"

Mark 6 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Verses for the Day Jesus Sends Out the Twelve "Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. ... 12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them." Mark 6:6-7, 12-13 Commentary Jesus continues to go from village to village preaching the Good News of the kingdom, healing the sick, and casting out demons. Since he had a limited time before he would be handed over, condemned, and crucified, he wanted to reach as many people as possible. He also knew that when his three year public ministry was over, the disciples needed to be trained and ready.  There comes a time in a training program when you have enough information. and the only way you are going to learn is by doing it. Just like as human beings we mature through different sta...
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Mark 5 - A Healthy View of The Devil's Power!

 Mark 5 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Verses of the Day A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside.   12  The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.”   13  He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. Commentary Jesus continued to do many more signs and wonders, showing that the kingdom of God had drawn near through him. The crowds continued to follow him, wherever he went. He healed a woman who had a bleeding condition, which could often be deadly in his day. The woman had this condition for 12 years, and the doctors could not do anything about it, which left her broke. But after hearing about Jesus, perhaps she thought, " I have one last hope ." So while Jesus was surrounded by the mob of people, she managed to grab his cloak, and instantly she was healed. Now that's some power....
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