“John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they came and said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”  (Mark 2:18-19)

The world is constantly judging the actions of others.  We do this.  Why do we do that?  We have been fed lies to become meddlesome, paying attention to other’s actions.  With inner motivation, we want others to do what we think is right.  At the heart of this may be a seed of pride.  Pride brings on all kinds of wickedness.  We are fed on pride all day long.  Seek understanding, but do not judge unrighteously.

Lord, I am curious about things.  Sometimes I do something. and I wonder why another is doing what they are doing.  Help me to remain curious so that I may learn the glories of Your creation but also help me to not follow any path that may sneak in pride.  People do what they do.  I have my opinions, and I will do what I do.  Help me to look to You and be led by You so that I do what is pleasing to You.

Lord Jesus, I need to be saved from myself and my self-righteousness.  I think I know what I am doing, but as a sinner in need of saving, how can I truly know?  Lead me, Lord, so that I humbly submit to You and do as the Holy Spirit guides me.  Teach me to do what I do for You, Holy Trinity, not seeking the approval of either myself or others.  Guide me into wisdom.  Amen.

“And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17)

Who is sick among us?  Is not everyone infected with the disease of sin?  Jesus came for us sinners.  In our sick minds, we turn away from some and consider one better than the other, but it is not so.  We are all pretending what is good, and what is evil behavior.  Only in grace do we see not only our need, but the need of all whom we meet.  Do not be led by the world, but by the Savior of the world.

Lord, I am guilty of thinking myself better than others.  I am guided by the morals of this world.  Free me from such bondage so that I may see things as they are.  Guide me in Your goodness to live according to Your word and not the words of this world.  Lead me, Lord, so that I abide richly in You as You abide in me.  You have condescended to be with me.  Whom will I keep out because I think them less than me?

Lord Jesus, You have come for everyone.  Lead me ever deeper into this faith that You have given me.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to be willing to be with whomever You lead me to be with.  Keep me from judging others by their outward appearance or manner.  Instead, help me to see all other people through Your eyes.  Be the One who leads my every action.  Amen.

“When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?” (Mark 2:16-17)

In this world, you are known by whom you gather with.  It is as if their guilt becomes your guilt.  When we are in Christ, we understand that every gathering of humans – with the exception of Christ – are sinners who are meeting together.  What we should think is that they too may come to Christ and be forever changed by His amazing grace.

Lord, You know how there are certain places I ought not go, for I would become entangled in sin. There are others whose gatherings, to which I may go, will cause the world to judge me.  You do not judge in that way.  You have shown that You have come for all people to have the opportunity to come into salvation.  Lead me in the right direction and help me to listen to You and not the world.  Guide me into the depth of the faith You have given me.

Lord Jesus, I need Your help and guidance.  I do not know what is safe and what is dangerous.  Lead me so that I am always looking to You, being guided by what You know will happen.  Help me to be bold and be willing to speak truth amongst the wicked but remain faithful to You for the sake of all others who also need to hear of You grace and mercy.  Lead me, Lord, to go where You will send me.  Amen.

“And it happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him” (Mark 2:15).

Jesus dwells with us.  He is not far off and distant but seeks to abide in us and we in Him.  The idea of communion may, at times, be formal, but it also includes our daily lives.  It doesn’t matter who you are or what your circumstances are, for He has come to be in union with you and me.  Following Jesus is not some formal thing we do from time to time, but the essence of being with and in Him at all times.

Lord, I do “go” to church and forget that I am the church: that is, those of us who believe met together in You.  You abide in me and all others with faith who abide in You.  Lead me from the merely formal way of seeing things to realize that You have come so that we may have an eternal  relationship in which You are always with me.  Guide me into the life You intend.

Lord Jesus, remind me constantly that You are with me.  Help me to be in prayer with You without ceasing.  You have come to establish an eternal and every moment relationship with me and with those who gather in Your name.  Guide me so that I live the kind of life which You intend.  Keep me in this life and let it be evident to those around me.  Amen.

“As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him” (Mark 2:14).

A tax collector?  From amongst the most hated in the culture, Jesus calls this man who would write the Gospel of Matthew.  Yes, Jesus can redeem any who will follow Him, even the despised and hated.  The good gifts the one called had would be turned from gaining at the expense of others to bringing others the gain of eternal life.  We all have good gifts, and the Lord is more than able to put what is good to use for the kingdom.

Lord, I tend to think in terms of good and bad people.  But You see all of us as those who need to be redeemed.  Guide me in the upward call so that I see that all are gifted by You for good, but that sometimes they use the good for what is bad.  You alone know who they are, so grant me wisdom to understand that Your offer of grace should go out from me to all whom I meet.  Lead me in the direction of wisdom.

Lord Jesus, You call each one of us to follow You. Help me to understand that You do not see people from the outside but judge them by what they are inside.  You see the faithful as You created them to be.  Just as You have called me to follow You, so also, You call out to all.  Guide me to be an extension of Your call process so that I may reach out to others and share the Good News of the Gospel with all whom I meet.  Amen.

“And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them” (Mark 2:13).

If we are disciples, then we are willing to learn, and Jesus is our teacher.  A part of going to Scripture daily is that each time we go, our Lord teaches us more.  Like an onion with levels that peel away, so much more does Scripture unfold as we dive ever deeper into the mystery of the faith.  After all, how else can the eternal God and Father of us all share the mysteries to those who are bound by time?

Lord, one path of temptation onto which I often wander is the path that tells me that I already know something.  But wisdom calls for me to go deeper into Your word.  You have spoken the words of eternal life, but if I think about it, I, who often looks towards death in this life, knows precious little about what it means to be eternally alive.  I need You to teach me how to live here and now as You prepare me to live forever.

Lord Jesus, be my teacher.  Guide my understanding so that I take in what is truthful and learn how to reject what is false.  Help me to always come to You, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, grant that I would have a discerning wisdom to learn and grow in Your likeness.  Guide me now and always and keep me on the path of wisdom so that I learn what is true, right and salutary, and put these things into practice.  Amen.

“And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this” (Mark 2:12).

Healed, he got up and went as the Lord directed.  That is faith.  That is belief.  Faith and belief are two sides of the same coin.  We believe and have faith.  We trust the Lord and go.  People may marvel, but the Creator of all worlds creates in the faithful new and clean hearts.  Do you look for what surprises you in the moment, or for the greatest miracle of all?  The Lord God has put us in His creation, and He blesses and keeps us.

Creator of the universe, we need only look up in the night sky, or all around each day to see Your handiwork.  You have created all things.  You have placed before us life and death.  We live in the midst of death, but you have offered us new life.  Each day is full of surprises, but You give the assurance of faith that every day is an opportunity to see things we have never seen before.  Through You, by grace, we are given the greatest miracle of all, faith.

Lord Jesus, with a word, You heal.  You have given me the gift of faith.  You have commanded me to go out into the world.  As I go, learning and growing in this gift of faith, You increase in me Your likeness.  All who walk by faith are growing miracles.  Lead on, O King Eternal, and help me to be steadfast in the journey You have set before me.  May others see You through my life.  Amen.

“Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’?  But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home” (Mark 2:9-11).

So that You may know, Jesus has done things the way He has done them.  Who can cause another to be made new?  Jesus didn’t just patch up people, He made them new.  Our sin has brought about many of these ills.  The rebellion of this age has brought about disease and infirmity.  Jesus has come so that we may have new life which springs to eternal life.  He tells us to get up and go, so that on the journey we may learn what it means to follow Him.

Lord God, You have taught us that it is in the doing that we learn and grow.  We live in an age where we want things delivered to us.  We behave like consumers.  This world is being consumed.  You have come so that we may live and share what You give.  Help us to learn from You so that we may live life on Your terms and not on our own terms.  Guide us ever deeper into the mystery of the faith, growing as You will grow us, and learning how to be obedient to You in and through all things.

Lord Jesus, I need Your healing.  Sometimes I am paralyzed.  Sometimes I am the scribe.  Sometimes I am a Pharisee.  Help me to be what You will make of me.  Guide me so that I follow, walking each step of the way as You direct.  Help me to understand that I must be active in this life of faith which You have given me.  Guide me now and always to do our Father’s will.  Amen.

“Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, “Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts?” (Mark 2:8)

God knows.  He knows when we are heading down the path of rebellion.  We think we know, but we do not.  How many times do we say to one another, “I know this.”  Often, the truth is that we only think we know.  The Lord alone knows all things.  Learn from Him.  Come, reason with the Lord and have Him open your mind to the truth of all that He will show You.  In Him is life and truth.

Lord, I get wrapped up in my own way of thinking and doing, and act as if there is nothing more to learn.  I am a disciple, which means “one who learns.”  I should never stop learning and growing.  Guide all who seek You in the way of living that looks unto You in and for all things.  Help me to see that only in You is there hope and a future, for You alone give me the words of everlasting life.

Lord Jesus, thank You for forgiving my sin and healing me of the eternal damnation I deserve.  By Your grace, lead me today to look to You, the One who truly knows, so that I may live in truth.  Train me in the way You would have me go and then send me out so that I may fulfill the will of the Father.  Through all things, help me to reason by the power of Your holy Spirit.  Amen.

“And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”  But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:5-7)

If Jesus is not who He says He is, then the scribes are right, for who can forgive my sin against you unless it be God?  Jesus acts as if He is the One chiefly offended by sin.  This too tells us who Jesus is.  It is sin in the world which has caused all calamity and Jesus has come to take away our sin.  Therefore, when He says, “Your sins are forgiven,” He speaks the truth of the salvation He brings.

Lord, there are so many things in scripture that pass by me.  I see that time and again I have been told who You are, but have I noticed and understood?  Help me to understand all the things You would have me understand so that I respond with my heart, soul, body, mind, and strength to all that You have offered.  Guide all the faithful ever deeper in faith, understanding that You do forgive sins and that it is humanity who are the ones who blaspheme.

Lord Jesus, You have been patient amidst all the foolish doubts of every generation.  You are the truth who has come so that we who live in untruth may be guided into a life which is forever.  You speak words of truth, and You have offered to set me free.  Guide me into the way of life that brings peace and the forgiveness of sin.  Help me to live this life today and every day.  Amen.