Mark – God is On Our Side!
When pushed to the emotional edge of adversity that breeds fear and doubt, our best and most honest prayer is, “Jesus, help my unbelief.” We come to Jesus in troubles, hanging on to a small thread, because we have faith to some degree, but when pushed to the wall, we cry out for help in desperation. This desperation comes after trying everything and everyone else. Maybe we think He isn’t listening.We are sometimes very much like the exasperated father who longs for his boy to be safe and well, rid of all his demons. We want an end to what is beyond our control and “fix” so we cry out to the Father and pray the same pray. “If it is your will…” “If you can…” Jesus doesn’t like “IF”.
Jesus refines this anxious father’s prayer with these words, “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
The father of the boy immediately understands what Jesus is saying. ““I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
We all pray this from time to time when we feel God is not answering our prayer when we want and how we want it to be answered. Help me to overcome my unbelief, Lord. I know you are on my side!
Mark 9, NLT
Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy
14 When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. 15 When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him.16 “What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked.
17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. 18 And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”
19 Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.
21 “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father.
He replied, “Since he was a little boy. 22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”
23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!”
26 Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?”
29 Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.”
GOING DEEPER….
The Christian life is “a land of hills and valleys” (Deut. 11:11). In one day, a disciple can move from the glory of heaven to the attacks of hell. When our Lord and His three friends returned to the other nine disciples, they found them involved in a dual problem: they were unable to deliver a boy from demonic control, and the scribes were debating with them and perhaps even taunting them because of their failure. As always, it was Jesus who stepped in to solve the problem. The boy was both deaf and dumb (Mark 9:17, 25), and the demon was doing his best to destroy him. Imagine what it would be like for that father to try to care for the boy and protect him! Jesus had given His disciples authority to cast out demons (Mark 6:7, 13), and yet their ministry to the boy was ineffective. No wonder the Lord was grieved with them! How often He must be grieved with us when we fail to use the spiritual resources He has graciously given to His people!
Since the disciples had failed, the desperate father was not even sure that Jesus could succeed; hence his statement, “If you can do anything” (Mark 9:22 nasb). However, the father was honest enough to admit his own unbelief and to ask the Lord to help him and his son. Jesus did cast out the demon and restore the boy to his father.
The main lesson of this miracle is the power of faith to overcome the enemy (Mark 9:19, 23–24; and see Matt. 17:20). Why had the nine disciples failed? Because they had been careless in their personal spiritual walk and had neglected prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29). The authority that Jesus had given them was effective only if exercised by faith, but faith must be cultivated through spiritual discipline and devotion. It may be that the absence of their Lord, or His taking the three disciples with Him and leaving them behind, had dampened their spiritual fervor and diminished their faith. Not only did their failure embarrass them, but it also robbed the Lord of glory and gave the enemy opportunity to criticize. It is our faith in Him that glorifies God (Rom. 4:20).
Dear Lord,You have helped me through times of unbelief, asking “if, instead of when” many times in my life. In the valley’s our faith is tested and I have seen you work in powerful ways beyond my wildest dreams. You always do more than I can ask or imagine. When evil comes to plant thoughts in my mind not of you, you deliver me when I call on your power for help in Your Name. I know you and know you want the best for us. I believe in You because you loved me before I was born. I believe because you died for me so that I could be free. There is no reason to stop believing now. Thank you for helping me overcome my unbelief.
In Jesus Name, Amen
Years ago there was a commercial that ran consistently about a trusted brokerage firm. It became so popular that comics used it in skits. Everyone knew the tag line. EF Hutton was an American stock brokerage firm founded in 1904 by Edward Francis Hutton and his brother, Franklyn Laws Hutton. Later, it was led by well known Wall Street trader Gerald M. Loeb. Under their leadership, EF Hutton became one of the most respected financial firms in the United States and for several decades was the second largest brokerage firm in the country. 
The Transfiguration
Moses represented the law and Elijah the prophets, both of which find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ (Luke 24:25–27; Heb. 1:1–2). Moses had died and his body was buried, but Elijah had been raptured to heaven (2 Kings 2:11). When Jesus returns, He will raise the bodies of the saints who died and will rapture the living saints (1 Thess. 4:13–18). Jesus will one day establish His glorious kingdom and fulfill the many promises made through the prophets. Christ’s sufferings and death would not prevent God from establishing His kingdom; rather, by solving the sin problem in God’s world, the cross would help to make the kingdom possible. 
The Father interrupted Peter’s speech and focused their attention, not on the vision, but on the Word of God: “Hear him!” The memory of visions will fade, but the unchanging Word abides forever. The glorious vision was not an end in itself; it was God’s way of confirming the Word (see 2 Peter 1:12–21). 
27 Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
After the survey, Jesus then gets very personal with His devoted followers…“Who do YOU say I am?” PAUSE. Camp on this question and imagine Jesus standing in front of you asking you this same question.
It is remarkable the number of different opinions the people held about Jesus, though the same situation probably exists today. That some thought He was John the Baptist is especially perplexing, since John and Jesus had been seen publicly together. They were quite different in personality and ministry(Matt. 11:16–19), so it seems strange that the people would confuse them. 
True to character, it was Peter who expressed their concern. One minute Peter was led by God to confess his faith in Jesus Christ (Matt. 16:17), and the next minute he was thinking like an unbelieving man and expressing the thoughts of Satan! This is a warning to us that when we argue with God’s Word, we open the door for Satan’s lies. Peter began rebuking his Master, and Mark used the same word that describes our Lord’s rebuking of the demons (Mark 1:25; 3:12). 
Daily, we were glued to our television sets to see the progress of this incredible journey. We literally stopped life to watch Neil Armstrong leave the protective conditions of his space craft. It was extremely blurry but we were excited to make out the form of a man descending the ladder. “Oh, wow, can you see him?” “Is that him?” “Wow, can you believe it?” “He’s really walking on the moon!” “Ooh, what does the moon really look like?” So much to see and take in. Our vision was blurry but we were excited to see what we could!
22 When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him. 23 Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?”
The unique thing about this miracle of healing is that it occurred gradually and not instantly. The Gospels record the healing of at least seven blind men, and they show that our Lord used a variety of approaches. Perhaps it was the atmosphere of unbelief in Bethsaida that hindered Him (see Mark 6:5–6), or it may have been the spiritual condition of the man himself. For some reason not given, the man was not ready for instant sight, so Jesus restored him gradually. The fact that the man recognized men and trees suggests that he had not been born blind but had been blinded by accident or disease. 
Nothing deflates your spirit more than when we give multiple explanations in different ways to our kids, showing and telling them why they should do what we have asked them to do, and their response is “Huh?” After a deep sigh, we naturally raise our voice as we tell them again…for emphasis. Their response? “What are you mad?” They still don’t get it.
11 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.
14 But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. 15 As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”
Jesus and the disciples crossed to the western side of the Sea of Galilee, where they were met by the Pharisees who were still angry at Him because of His earlier indictment of their hypocrisy (Mark 7:1–23). This time they tempted Him to prove His divine authority by giving them a sign from heaven. They did not want an earthly miracle, such as the healing of a sick person. They wanted Him to do something spectacular, like bring fire from heaven or bread from heaven (John 6:30–31). This would prove He was indeed sent from God. 
It must have grieved Jesus that His hand-picked helpers were so spiritually obtuse. The fact that He had multiplied bread on two occasions and fed over ten thousand people had apparently made little impression on them! Why worry and argue over one loaf of bread when you have Jesus in the boat with you? Their minds were dull, their hearts were hard (see Mark 6:52), their eyes were blind, and their ears were deaf (see Mark 4:11–12). 
We can never be too careful about detecting and avoiding false doctrine. Only a small deviation from the Word may get into an individual or a church, but before long it will grow and infect everything. Our Lord did not often say “Beware!” but when He did, it was important! 
Growing up like this I was amazed as a young parent when one relative of Randy’s hosted a meal for our family of five with a different train of thought altogether. She would fix small, cereal size bowls of one vegetable, one piece of meat for all of us, and maybe one dessert for all to share. Mm, I thought as we ate, this is different. Maybe she doesn’t like leftovers. She had plenty to share and was not poor. When the meal was consumed and all the plates and bowls were emptied, she would reply, “Ah, just right. I fixed just enough for all.” 
About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them, 2 “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a long distance.”
6 So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd. 7 A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to distribute them.
“When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”
31 Jesus left Tyre and went up to Sidon before going back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns. 32 A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him.
Jesus took the man away from the crowd so that the healing would be private and the man would not become a public attraction. Since the man was deaf, he could not hear our Lord’s words, but he could feel Jesus’ fingers in his ear and the touch on his tongue, and this would encourage the man’s faith. The “sigh” was an inward groan, our Lord’s compassionate response to the pain and sorrow sin has brought into the world. It was also a prayer to the Father on behalf of the handicapped man. (The same word is used in connection with prayer in Rom. 8:23, and the noun in Rom. 8:26.) 
Yes! God is for everyone. God is on our side. God created us to love Him back. Anyone who does not cannot have peace. He is God and we are not.
Jesus, who knows all hearts, speaks to a Gentile woman who has fallen at his feet with what seems to us a harsh rebuke, but He is actually helping her understand his mission. It occurs to me, that Jesus is trying to keep His whereabouts a secret as Mark relates, but someone let this woman inside the home where Jesus is staying. How did she know He was there? Word of mouth? Was she following Him? 
24 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know which house he was staying in, but he couldn’t keep it a secret. 25 Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit, 26 and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter.
28 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.”
Her reply revealed that faith had triumphed. She did not deny the special place of the “children” (Jews) in God’s plan, nor did she want to usurp it. All she wanted were a few crumbs of blessing from the table, for, after all, “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). It must have rejoiced His heart when she took His very words and used them as a basis for her plea! She accepted her place, she believed His Word, and she persisted in her plea, and Jesus not only met her need, but commended her for her faith. 
6 Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
17 Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the parable he had just used. 18 “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? 19 Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.)
Do we, as church people, have agendas and unwritten laws of doing things that do not pertain to helping others find and follow Jesus? Is it time to evaluate and cast aside what is unnecessary and might even hinder those from seeking, finding and following God?
What can we do to get clean from the inside out? 
Get a “power wash” from Jesus today by asking Him to cleanse you from the inside out and make you whole once more. He is standing nearby, waiting for you to ask Him in. Truly IN. Don’t miss the point of real life in Him! Get a power wash now! It feels good to be clean and shiny again for Christ!
After time alone with the Father, until the early hours of the next day, Jesus walks on water! Did God tell Him to do this? Did God remind Jesus who God is, the Creator of the winds and the waves? Did God give the command in their talk in the mountains to go across the lake in this way…to walk across? Did God chuckle a bit when He told Jesus, “You know what would be fun…walk across the lake.” “Don’t worry, we can do this!”
47 Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. 48 He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. 50 They were all terrified when they saw him.
Dear Heavenly Father, 
