Living a Life Worth Living – Writings by Robin McKinley
The Gospel of Mark is the second book in the New Testament part of the Bible. Mark was the first person to write a Gospel. A Gospel is a book that describes the life and death of Jesus. The Gospels also explain how Jesus came back to life again.
People think that Mark got his information from Peter. Peter was a friend of Jesus.
Mark’s Gospel is the shortest life story of Jesus. It is an exciting book. Jesus did many wonderful things. He cured ill people. He spoke wise words about God. And he warned about future events. The people were excited about Jesus. They followed Jesus. They listened to him. But they did not realize why God sent Jesus. They thought that Jesus would become their king. But Jesus knew the real reason why God sent him.
The rulers hated Jesus. They thought that Jesus would destroy their country. These rulers did not care whether God had sent Jesus. They decided to kill Jesus. Jesus knew about this. But Jesus allowed these things to happen, because this was God’s plan.
When Jesus was dying, the people were very afraid. Even Jesus’ friend, Peter, denied that he knew Jesus. Even the priests insulted Jesus. Jesus’ death was a terrible death (Mark chapters 14-15).
But some important people believed Jesus, even when he died. An important soldier said, ‘This man (Jesus) was God’s son.’ And Joseph from Arimathea was bold, and he buried Jesus’ body in his own grave. But, two days later, an angel (servant of God from heaven) announced that Jesus was alive again. Later, Jesus himself met his friends. They saw that he was alive. And he told them to take God’s message to people from all nations.
We hear a lot about witches and ghosts around the highly celebrated day called Halloween. But there is nothing fun about evil spirits because Jesus spent a lot of time casting them out. Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?” … Read more
Many stories in the Bible cling to our minds because we learned them as children. One of the more popular ones is the story of when Jesus healed the paralyzed man. We remember this story because of the way his friends brought him to Jesus. But now as adults, we find this story is much … Read more
Resurrection Sunday, or Easter, is the climax of Holy Week. Jesus’ resurrection is the most important event of Christianity. The very foundation of ALL Christian doctrine hinges on the truth of this event. Several women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Salome, and Mary the mother of James) had prepared the burial spices the day before. Then went … Read more
Storms can attack us in different forms. They come as rain storms, wind storms, hale storms, snow storms, and yes, personal storms. Fortunately for us, Jesus still calms the storms of life that comes our way when we allow Him to. When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! … Read more
Many people went out of their way to listen when Jesus spoke. And rightly so! When he added a phrase like “he who has ears let him hear,” they needed to pay closer attention. “Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given … Read more
What’s happening in your life right now? The storms of life can show up at any time. Sometimes we can predict them while other times they just happen. Either way, Jesus calms any storm that surge in our lives. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The … Read more
We have all had those moments, haven’t we? Something had happened right before your very eyes. Your mouth dropped open and you wanted to say something. Even though you were speechless you said something anyhow. That’s what happened on the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus took Peter along with James and John to a mountain top. … Read more
In this devotion, we’ll take a quick look at each of the disciples and where they came from. These men were unexpected choices made by Jesus to be His disciples. These are the twelve he chose: Simon (whom he named Peter), James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them “Sons of Thunder”), … Read more
In Mark 13, Jesus speaks about the end times. He mentions some of the things that need to happen before He will return again. They include many things that have been happening all along. That is why we must be ready for no one knows when Jesus will return. No one knows the day or … Read more
The Bible doesn’t say what the Lord did on the Wednesday of Holy Week. Scholars speculate that after two exhausting days in Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples spent this day resting in Bethany. The religious leaders are even more determined to do something about Jesus. In Mark 14:1 it says; It was now two days … Read more