February 15

Today's Reading

Exodus. The Tabernacle is completed. Notice how God blessed their obedience with His presence. The same theme is often seen throughout Scripture.

Mark. Today we begin the Gospel story over, this time as told by another writer. John Mark was not one of the disciples of Jesus during His earthly ministry, but he became a follower later. He was, however, a relative of Simon Peter, whom we believe was Mark's primary source of information of Jesus' life and ministry. Mark wasn't one to linger on scenes. He often described Jesus' actions with words like "immediately." Also, research indicates that Mark was chronologically the first Gospel written. No doubt the other three Gospels took advantage of Peter's observations as recorded here.

It's easy to forget the role Jesus' wilderness temptations played in His preparation for ministry. He needed to face the enemy with wisdom and humility. He had to be alert and ready for what would come. Mark says that the Spirit compelled (literally "drove") Jesus into the wilderness for that time of testing.

Psalms. I often relate to the poems of David. I confess, though, that ones like this puzzle me. Jesus commanded us to love our enemies and pray for those who use us in wrong ways. Here, David seems to want God to shower them with the fire of judgment. While I sometimes have feelings like this, I'm very cautious about praying them.

Proverbs. The wisdom of learning the right things to do, doing them and receiving correction when we fail ultimate benefits us the most.

I hope you're reading along. I have deeply appreciated your comments and questions. What's on your mind today?