Day 33 - Shifting Patterns
May God give us the grace to handle today’s challenges with wisdom in a way that pleases Him.
Read: Acts 13:13
THEME: For much of his life John Mark appeared to be living on the edge of the action. For many this is an uncomfortable area to be in, but it can be an ideal place for God to shape us and mature us.
Yesterday we looked at John Mark’s move to Cyprus with Barnabas and Saul. In Acts 13:13 we see him quitting the team and returning to the security of his Jerusalem home.
Once again circumstances had changed beyond Mark’s influence. Saul, who was now calling himself Paul, seemed to be taking over the lead from Barnabas and recruiting others in a move to expand the team.
Problems seem to have begun with a dramatic encounter at the Proconsul’s house. Barnabas and Saul had been invited, but not John Mark. As Barnabas was speaking to the Proconsul, Saul had intervened and an obstructive magician who had been acting as the Proconsul’s advisor had been struck blind. Saul seemed to think this was fine, possibly an echo of his own conversion experience, and certainly an opportunity for the man to have his inner blindness highlighted by his outer condition. It seemed to be such a turning point for Saul that he had changed his name to Paul, had taken charge, and had gathered others around him in readiness to extend the mission to the mainland.
For John Mark the choice was onward or out and he was opting for out. Being on the edge of the action gives plenty of opportunities for taking offence but taking offence always stunts personal progress.
May God give us the grace to handle today’s challenges with wisdom in a way that pleases Him.
Day 25 - A Nobleman from Cana
It is a privilege to live our lives relating to Jesus, but we must never lose sight of the transforming power of a moment.
Read: John 4:46-54
THEME: The Gospel record gives us so many examples of how people engaged with Jesus that it would be hard to find a human challenge that did not in some way meet Him face-to face.
Some encounters with Jesus were very brief. The one we look at today took no more than a moment as Jesus continued on His way, and yet it contained a request, a challenge, a plea and an assurance that proved life transforming.
The man who came with the request was a nobleman from Cana who had a sick son and wanted Jesus to come to his home to heal him. Jesus appeared dismissive, almost accusing the man of being an unbelieving miracle-hunter. But the man stood his ground and urged Jesus to come.
Jesus, though, is not limited by time and place. The son’s healing was effected without Jesus having to move and the man was sent on his way with Jesus telling him ‘your son lives’. The apparent dismissiveness of Jesus provoked faith. The nobleman was looking for a miracle and he received one that he would never forget, but the impact Jesus made in that one moment would have gone far deeper.
John chose this encounter as the second of the seven signs around which he built his gospel. It shows that Jesus was not constrained by distance and did not need a public performance in order to meet a need.
It is a privilege to live our lives relating to Jesus, but we must never lose sight of the transforming power of a moment.