THE WORD AND THE POWER
Suggested Reading: Mark 12
(click scripture link to read online)
Through a passage off the north side of the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) is a collection of Jewish holy books. This man is reading an ancient scroll protected by glass. Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah or Pentateuch, the holiest book within Judaism. It must meet extremely strict standards of reproduction. Written entirely in Hebrew, a sefer Torah contains 304,805 letters, all of which must be duplicated precisely by a trained sofer or scribe. This is an effort which may take as long as one-and-a-half years.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where Reynold took the photo, click HERE.
Key Verse: Mark 12:24
Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?…”
Jesus taught that we learn about God by knowing both the Scriptures and the power of God. There are those who concern themselves with one or the other, and who fail to have both the Word of God and the working of the Holy Spirit in a balanced Christian life. Failure to give attention to both will produce a lopsided and ineffective believer. Therefore, we should take quality time reading God’s Word in a systematic way (this blog will help), and after we’ve heard from God, take time to pray fervently for the infilling of the Holy Spirit for the new day of service. This chapter begins with the parable of those who were unwilling to recognize the servants that the owner of the vineyard had sent to them. With a diligent effort to balance the head and the heart with Scripture and the experience of God’s Spirit, we will not fall into error or fanaticism.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Father God, Your Son and our Saviour showed us how a Christian should live in balance. May He live fully in me so that Your Word and Your Spirit will produce daily the fruit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in a balanced way (Gal. 5:22-25 and 1 Cor. 12:4-11). I pray this through the Person of Jesus Christ in whom I live. Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
Before I write this blog, I know that in order to communicate as I should, I must spend an equal time reading God’s Word, meditating on that Word and in prayer. I try to spend the same amount of time on my personal devotions as I do writing these words. This discipline goes back to my earliest days in witnessing for Jesus. I really messed up a great opportunity to win a man for Christ by a lack of wisdom (“He that wins souls is wise” Proverbs 11:30), and a failure to keep filled with the Holy Spirit. I watched this man turn away from God. I cried out to God in my private time and was taught the reason for my failure…the lesson of today’s blog. One other lesson from today’s reading: When God counts the amount of our giving of offerings to Him, He counts the size of our gift by how much we have left over after we’ve given, not the actual cash value of our gift. Think about it the next time you give.
Yours for both the Scriptures and the Power of God,
David
P.S. Yesterday’s blog did not show up until 6:20 a.m. For the early readers, my apology. It goes to show that I’m human.
REMINDER: If you are reading the email version and wish to post a comment on my blog, go to www.100words.ca and “Leave a Reply.”
You’ve hit the nail on the head David! There is a relationship in having a knowledge of God’s word and having a heart that is sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. I heard Charles Price speak on this the other day, he mentioned how we must have an equal measure of the knowledge of the word of God along with the power of the ‘sword of the Spirit’ (prayer life) to live an effective Christian life. The quality of our relationship with God will be found to the extent that we desire to study (or know) the word of God, and have an active prayer life. In essence, we will only get as close to God as we want. How close do we want to be with Jesus? With the tools that God has given to us through His word and the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, there is no boundary or limitation to our relationship with Christ! We can have the heart and mind of God available to us today if we only seek and ask! As we come to this daily blog of 100words Lord, fill us with an even greater measure of the desire to know you through the study of your word and through the infilling of your Holy Spirit anew each day; this I pray in Jesus name. Amen.
In Mark 12, Christ’s parables reflect a balance of priorities and wisdom, which silenced the authorities who challenged Him. Is it any wonder why court rooms contain a bible and scripture is used in today’s law studies. When our lives shift out of balance, that still small voice inside never seems to fail to guide us which way to turn. It can be a challenge! The important thing is we do not give up, but instead strive to maintain a healthy balance spiritually, emotionally and physically.
Thank you for your love and for your wisdom in preparing this daily blog. I love reading this daily devotional but I have a problem in that it fails to come to my inbox. I have resubscribed but it still does not come so I have to go to the website. The 100 Huntley Street program has long been an inspiration to me and has been so helpful in strengthening my faith. I am an eighty one year old widow trying to love and bless my family but life is often lonely. My family took me to Israel for my 80th birthday so I love Reynold’s pictures. We saw many of these places. Please take care of your health.
Hi Joyce,
Thanks for the comment about my pictures. I was not getting the email therefore I checked my automatic junk email folder and they were in there. I just had to set emails coming from 100words as safe.
reynold
God’s Word teaches us to rejoice at all times knowing God knows the outcome and His purposes prevail and are always good. Praise God in midst of trial, “looking above and looking beyond” circumstances to see God’s face for He is our comfort and health. He is all sufficient to us and we may rejoice in this. “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You. Let them ever shout for joy because YOU defend them. Psalm 5:11, 12 declares ” Let those also who love YOUR NAME be joyful in YOU. for YOU, O LORD will bless the righteous with favor YOU will surround them as with a shield.”
Thanks for your blog David . It was kinda neat your picture of a Jewish fellow reading the Torah . While the Jewish people may leave Jesus out of the equation . They have not strayed from the 10 Commandments given by God and written by his own finger on stone . Significant , His law is universal and everlasting . Consider how the Christian world has replaced the 4th Commandment , the 7th day Sabbath , with the 1st day of the week , Sunday . I realize there are a lot of seemingly good reasons for this , but are not supported by scripture . I will leave the judging up to God , but rest assured that He will lead His people to all truth .
God bless . And yea , every time I read the 10 Commandments , it still says the same thing . God Bless .
l
Dear Mr Mainse,
I am wondering something, ? I am not working as of yet, but I believe The Lord told me I would be working this year, so with that I am on Government Assistance right now and I give to my local church which I attend . I give what I believe the Lord has put on my heart to give, should I be giving more? I am not sure so any help would be very much appreciated?. I would tell how much I get,but this is a blog, so that is why I am keeping the amount I receive secret.
Sincerely
In His Service
Shannon
Shannon, thank you for your question. The minimum for giving is the Bible standard of a tithe, or $1.00 0ut of every $10.00 we receive, to your local church. That is an amount that so many spend on those things that are not absolutely essential. You might try writing down what you spent your money on in the past week and see if you could reduce your spending by 10%. That 10% is like the rent we pay God for living on His planet, to say nothing of the price Jesus paid for us on the cross. This minimum is not to be regarded as a heavy weight of the law coming down on us, but rather a joy for the believer in Jesus. You will find, as others have, that the remaining 90% will go at least 10% farther! -David
Happy Birthday David…blessings to you. Enjoy your day!
Happy 76th birthday David. We pray for you each day and sure appreciate your blog.
God bless you for your faithfulness in serving Him.
Elizabeth & Norman
HAPPY BITHDAY DAVID!!!!!!!
Happy Birthday David.
May the Lord bless u mightily in the coming year.
Blessings
Mellany
Thankyou !