TRANSFORMED
Today’s Reading: Mark 9
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion on the right-hand side).
This photo of Mount Hermon was taken from about 45 kilometres south of the mountain and nine kilometres north of the Sea of Galilee. I (Reynold Mainse) was standing at an elevated point in Meshushim Stream Nature Reserve. A peak in this area rises to 2,236 m (7,336 ft) and is the highest elevation in Israeli-controlled territory. The Hermon range covers an area of about 1,000 square km, of which about 70 are under Israeli control. This mountain range is shared by Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. The Jordan River’s main source of water comes from the melted snow off of Mount Hermon. Mt. Hermon may have been the “High Mountain” referred to in today’s reading.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where Reynold took the photo, click HERE.
Key Verse: Mark 9:7
And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”
Why Peter, James and John? Did Jesus show favouritism? God always responds according to our level of commitment. Do we want to see Jesus in new ways? Then ask God for a greater desire for Him. Why Moses and Elijah? Jesus had tried again and again to share His coming death with His disciples, but they didn’t get it. Moses and Elijah were two servants of the Lord who, at one point in their lives, had become so discouraged that they asked God that they would die (Numbers 11:15 and 1 Kings 19:4). Perhaps they were the only human beings who could begin to understand Jesus’ feelings as He faced death. Yes, Jesus was 100% Human, and this record establishes that Jesus is also 100% God. The voice of God the Father burned its way into the memories of the three disciples. Later in the chapter we learn that “fasting and prayer” is another evidence of our level of fervency. Why be fervent? One reason is because of the reality of “hell fire” (9:43,47). There’s a lost world that needs Jesus before it’s too late.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord Jesus, like Peter, James and John, I’m sticking close to You. May I, too, hear the voice of the Father, and may I fast and pray so that I may see Your mighty works. Amen and Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
It was at the altar during August I952 at a Camp Meeting. I had just turned 16 when God made it crystal clear to me that I was called by Him into the full-time ministry of His Church. I had been praying for some time that God would do me the great honour of giving me such a call. I wanted with all my heart to spend my life working as an ordained minister of Christ. That summer I had spent weekends helping Bob Johnson plant a new congregation in the village of Madoc, Ontario. Bob’s picture was on our High School wall as having qualified for several scholarships, yet here he was, sleeping on the floor of a little apartment, because he did not have the money to buy a bed. That example of sacrifice increased my desire to make the same commitment as Bob. If I had been offered a comfortable salary, a nice house and an established pulpit for some future time, I don’t think that I would’ve been interested.
Yours for a high level of fervency in hearing from God and in serving Him,
David