Mark 7 ~ Jesus has done all things well

Joshua passing the River Jordon with the Cloud by Day. By Benjamin West

Cloud by day and a fire by night. Why, in the world, wouldn't the Father of All and the Creator use His tools at hand?

Mark 7

7 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.[c]) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”


14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?”[f] (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.


31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Yesterday we talked about the old Testament and how fierce God could be. Jesus says when we have seen The Son, we have seen The Father. He heals and tells them to hush about that miracle and even uses the word CHARGE and they run boldly to tell their astonishment. The passage also says Jesus told them a few times.

We approach our real thoughts of faith and God with respect. What comes out of our mouth can define and defile us. Mark 7. The questioning of finding out how to swim is work, finding our faith is real and we have to have our decisions from learning. Timothy is told how to deal with people. We deal with Father God as well like this -


1 Timothy 5

5 Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

We consider the God of the old as harmful, when He dealt with some pretty brutal actions of people?

When has Father God actually used FIRE.  Not very often. Looking up fire ~To be a pillar of Fire to His People in the Wilderness, light. To be the Light shining in all mankind. Fire consumed the offering. Nice to be appreciated when a gift is given. Father God puts coals in front of His Throne. I like that. And His Temple smells of toasting bread. His Seraphim are unique. And music is heard to soothe and give joy. Jesus says he would bring a fire to be kindled, this is zeal for Father God.

Even as Jesus did His ministry, all people were aware of this man - This is God. He is doing acts and Words setting Himself apart to be worshiped, loved, enjoyed, welcomed. Jesus shows He is Life.


What God brings the planet - we just have to look up. I hear people tell me God is irrelevant. Doesn't speak within them. And He does. We have to point out to people who do things like find.


Psalm 97

97 The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!
2
Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3
Fire goes before him
and burns up his adversaries all around.
4
His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.

6
The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.
7
All worshipers of images are put to shame,
who make their boast in worthless idols;
worship him, all you gods!

8
Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
because of your judgments, O Lord.
9
For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.

10
O you who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the lives of his saints;
he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11
Light dawns for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!

We all have seasons.
Today felt like fire burns up the day. And God says He will baptize us with fire.
However when God would use trouble, even Solomon said the day of blessing and of adversity is from His hand. 
Edward is not feeling so well these days, he had a 17 hour day and walked 8 miles on Sunday.

Usually Edward is doing very well nationally in his Disc Golf rankings. This weekend having a 17 hour day took a toll and he forgot to finish out on one of his shots, got so frazzled he walked away from his game in being that tired and pressed. A disc was seen to land and never found, a penalty. When you have a diagnosis of serious proportion, these things drag and pull.

And in his tired overcoming - today we put tires on the car, the monitoring system was not fully redone and I surely was not going to delve into the electronics of the car, but Edward sorted it out and we figured out the right PSI for the tires. A victory of needed proportion. The challenge is to see the day as fulfilled and not in need for years ahead.

There is privilege in finding your life has a time to honor and care for those who have cared for you. There is concern for the worry and strain. And without faith, this could be extremely overwhelming. In the stock market, in winning seasons, all seasons have concerns and times where pause is taken. Generally, it's good to know this is allowable. Some times are more dramatic than others.

How to find the balance, well we have been doing this for a few years, and realize now some days have difficulties. The season isn't straight down, and instead has one downward and then an upward bounces. God has given Edward the ability to find ways to please himself - liking being good at Disc Golf and stock contests. And Father God has given Edward a kind spirit when this illness causes anger and more of a Dr. Jekyll outlook - with brain trauma. Instead Father God has found ways for Edward's soul (which is lasting) to feed his mind. Usually we have calm and surprising recall of long ago memories.

Making me say with all sincerity, Praise God in His Goodness to us. This illness is the worst and Edward is mostly happy and good.

Father God is good on the voyage. We are allowed to go to Jesus and say, "Well, that is traumatic." And know He understands. And tomorrow is a new day, new possibilities, new ways to punt. 

Father God,
You are the God of All. We lift up those who struggle with ill health. There is not much we can do, however You are God and Your ways are Good. And we look to You with hope.

Jesus, let us put our Nation in Your care and rest. Let us give You the concerns of our Loved ones and be at peace. The People You have given us, comfort and upbuild.  Our communities, Churches, work places, state and All the People You would save.

We look to You, Father God. On with the Path of Life You would give us.
In Jesus. Amen.   

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †