For decades daily Bible reading, combined with prayer, meditation and journaling have been a central part of the daily disciplines in my ongoing spiritual formation with Jesus.
I am so thankful that early in my relationship with Jesus, key people encouraged me to spend time daily in the Word and prayer.
These days I generally read one-half of the Old Testament one year and the other one-half the next year. The third year I work my way through the New Testament.
2012 is my year in the New Testament. Currently, I am in the book of Mark. I highlight as I am reading and then go back to one thought in the passage to hone in on with prayer, meditation and, when nudged by the Holy Spirit, move to praise, thanksgiving, confession and repentance
On April 24th I read Mark chapter eight and verses 16-21 caught my attention:
“And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?’ They said to him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?’ And they said to him, ‘Seven.’ And he said to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’”
This year, I am reading through The Message rendering of the New Testament by Eugene Peterson, and the same passage reads as follows:
“Meanwhile, the disciples were finding fault with each other because they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus overheard and said, ‘Why are you fussing because you forgot bread? Don’t you see the point of all this? Don’t you get it at all? Remember the five loaves I broke for the five thousand? How many baskets of leftovers did you pick up?’ They said, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And the seven loaves for the four thousand—how many bags full of leftovers did you get?’ ‘Seven.’ He said, ‘Do you still not get it?’” (Underlining is mine).
What point did they not see?
What was it that they didn’t get?
I would speculate that they didn’t get the fact that:
- Jesus was God
- Nothing was impossible for Jesus to do
- Jesus could meet their every need
What do you think they didn’t get?
Here are my journal notes from this thought-provoking passage:
Jesus, this is a very probing question for me to reflect on. After 52 years of walking with you, there are things I most assuredly still don’t get…don’t fully appreciate or don’t regularly apply to my life.
I don’t yet get…
- How powerful you really are
- How compassionate you truly are
- How you can still work miracles
- That you have your own timetable which is vastly different from mine
- That you’re never in a hurry (Jesus’ deliberate delay re Lazarus)
- That you have everything under your sovereign and blessed control
- That you forgive people and I don’t, or won’t
- That you are kind and I’m not
What is it that you still don’t get?
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