After they figure out where to look for You, after they find You, after they say, “Everyone is looking for You” - You say, “Let's go somewhere else,” (Mark 1:35-39). 

At first it sounds like You're saying, “Let's get out…

They woke up in the morning, and You weren't there (Mark 1:35-37).  Your place, where You had lain the night before, was empty.  I imagine at first Simon Peter thought You were right outside, that You'd just gotten up a…

I wrote “I Know Where to Find You” while reading Mark 1:35-39.  I hope one day I'll record a “studio” version, but for now I'm posting this version that my friend Tanya and I recorded on my phone.  (Tanya is…

I like this picture of You leaving the house early in the morning, walking until You find some tree or bush or field or rock beside a stream or the lake or something - some PLACE - to be alone…

I've been sick a lot lately, and often the circumstances were such that I had to plod along in spite of low energy (low iron) and sometimes fever and dizziness.  So when I read this (Mark 1:29-34), I thought:  You…

I'm still thinking about Simon's mother-in-law, and I was wondering:  Did the others take it for granted that she immediately started serving them as soon as her fever left her? (Mark 1:29-34)

Why am I wondering this?  Well…(do…

She was unwell.  Her son-in-law (Simon Peter) and his brother (Andrew) brought guests, but she could not get out of her bed.  She could not receive You and the others in whatever was the customary way.  

When You healed her…

“What do you want with us,  Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” (Mark 1:21-28)

It was the evil spirit crying out - so “us” meant “them” - evil spirits.  But the words came from a man's mouth…

I leave nets and boats - my plans - to follow You (Mark 1:16-20), and almost immediately find myself face to face with this evidence of Your authority…(Mark 1:21-28).  

It was visible, tangible.  The people in the synagogue saw it…

You said, “Come, follow me.” 

I want to know what You are calling me to.  Where will I go?  What is my “calling”?  What will I do? 

What did Peter, Andrew, James and John know when You called? (Mark 1:16-20)…

What do I have to “leave” today to follow You? 

My ideas about how things should be. 

Peter and Andrew, James and John walked away from boats and nets to follow You (Mark 1:16-20).  

If they stayed, they knew they…

Sometimes the ordinary seems so…unspiritual.  I feel if I hope to see You I should spend hours in prayer, make some grand gesture of self-sacrifice, or somehow do or be something…else.  I must prepare myself in some way…

The time has come.  The kingdom of God is near because kingdom's King is here walking among them, proclaiming the good news of God (Mark 1:14-15). 

But they just don't know how to recognize You.  They've never been close enough…

John - who stood on the banks of the Jordan proclaiming the impending arrival of THE ONE, who introduced Jesus when He came - who baptized Him...

is now in prison, in a desert of his own (Mark 1:14).

While…

Forty days.  Desert.  Wild animals.  Tempted by Satan. (Mark 1:12-13).  By day Five I would have been wondering where I had gone wrong.  Did I misunderstand?  Did I blunder into this desert by accident, or  - worse - did I…

Why is this recorded here? Why do I need to be teased - haunted - with the painful reminder of Your pleasure and love for Him, Your Son (I love Him, too) in light of my knowledge of who I…

Heaven: closed to us for ages.  The gates slammed shut in ancient days and we were left on the outside of all we had known, locked out.  I was locked out.  And now…here You are, coming up out of…

While John is telling people about the coming king, the king actually comes. (Mark 1:9) Jesus came, and was baptized by John.  

You had no sins to confess and repent of.  You don't need forgiveness.  You are the…

Water.  I need water.  Water quenches my thirst.  Washes me - my skin and hair feel clean after water. Water sustains me.  Without it there would be no food, neither vegetables or dairy products or grains or meats.  Without water…

I love the messengers in my life.  I love the people and the music and the books and pastors and podcasts and nature and my cup of coffee in the morning and all these things that remind me that Your…

John's call to prepare the way for Jesus, to make straight paths for You, does not stop being relevant in my life once I meet You (Mark 1:1-8).  I need You to come in new ways, to places in my…

As far as getting involved and introducing people to Jesus, there are 2 extremes I can go to. 

I don't care enough to get involved or

I want to be too involved. 

John was pointing people to Jesus, not…

I can introduce myself to someone I don't know, but being introduced by someone else has its usefulness.  They can tell me a little something about the one I am meeting, help me get acquainted, dispel any doubt or question…

Did all these people going to John to be baptized realize their need for forgiveness? 

Did they all realize that the system of keeping the law wasn't working for them? 

Did they know that they were doomed if God didn't…

It's not just any story.  It's the story of a king - THE King.  My king. 

“Christ” in Greek and “Messiah” in Hebrew both mean “anointed one,” which usually referred to the king.  

So, saying, “Jesus Christ” (Mark 1:1) is…