A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

In the first verses quoted above, I got a glimpse of a man who was probably a social outcast.

One can imagine a man desperate for change, and longing for a life where he might be accepted for who he was. Maybe he just wanted to share a meal with friends. Or perhaps he hoped that when people looked at him, they didn’t see a person whose skin was decaying and warped with disease.

Here was a man that had probably spent most of his life covering up his scarred appearance. More than likely, he had perfected the art of blending into the background. But now he wanted to be seen.

When he saw Jesus, he knelt before him in the middle of a crowd believing that all he had to do was ask to be healed–and all Jesus had to do was be willing to help.

It is to this man’s simple request to be “made clean” that Jesus responds.Jesus saw past the diseased skin that so many others had backed away from, and reached out to him. Jesus touched him with with the love of God. The man was healed.

Recently when I read this passage, I only really saw the compassionate nature of Jesus. I wanted to think, and dwell, on how Jesus was “filled with compassion.” I thought about how I wanted to live my life “filled with compassion” and what that might look like for me.

But today, I saw the man with leprosy. What I found myself focusing on with him, was the deep faith and the unquestioning belief that he could be healed, and begin his life again. All he needed to do was approach Jesus and ask for help…ask for his life to be different.

His belief coupled with Jesus’ touch, yielded immediate results. I can only imagine how everything was different for him from that point forward.

35Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

38Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. –Mark 1:35-39

Have you ever gotten up before the alarm went off in the morning, or before smelling the coffee brewing, just because you went to sleep knowing that you had to get up early?

I imagine Jesus just woke up in the quiet of early morning darkness. The morning was still in the moments before the dawn.

And that’s why He woke up then; he knew it would be quiet and serene. The perfect time to talk with His Father where he would be free from the distractions of the dawning day.

He wanted to find the perfect place away from everything–to sit down and have time with his Father. So he went out for a short walk in search of that place, all the while thinking about God the Father.

I imagine that Jesus might have found a rock to sit on or kneel at, maybe in an open area or next to a tree.I pictured Jesus talking to His Father. Telling Him how much he loved Him.

And then I imagine Jesus listening. I visualize Jesus just sitting there listening quietly to God.

I picture Jesus hearing God in the stillness of the still, dark morning…I can only imagine that God was all he heard.

Time passed, but time was irrelevant.  Being in the presence of God was all that mattered, all that existed in that time.

The sun had risen, and the sky was brightening.

Suddenly, Jesus became aware of the fast-approaching footsteps. It was okay, though. He had time with his Dad and was at peace.

Simon saw Jesus by the rock, and hurried over to tell him that everyone had been looking for him.

And what I find pretty remarkable was that Jesus did not say anything to Simon’s exclamation. Jesus simply told Simon what they were going to do with the day they’d been given. Jesus was clear with the direction of the day, and why he was there.

To me, it seemed like that the time spent with God in the darkness before the dawn, was time that provided clarity, direction, confidence and calm determination. Jesus knew exactly who and where he was…and what he was supposed to do.

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. –Mark 1:16-18

The Greek New Testament translates, “Come, follow me” as “Come after me“.  What has had my attention is that it seems to me that Jesus is not calling the fishermen to just passively follow him. Jesus actively engages the fishermen, in their context, to “come after me” with the promise that he will make them “fishers of men.”

With this one sentence, I see Jesus giving a pretty clear picture of his intent to invest in, and then empower, those that he has called to be first-hand witnesses, tell others about Jesus and what they have seen, and then as future leaders go out in the world and share Jesus’ message.Jesus’ invitation to these fishermen is an invitation to leadership. By saying ‘come after me’ it implies that they are to learn from Jesus and prepare to be the next generation of leaders.

Jesus, at the very beginning of his ministry, knew that his task was lead his disciples, and to develop them so that they are equipped to lead ‘after’ him.With Jesus’ call is also an invitation to transformation. Jesus tells the fishermen that he will teach them to fish for people. At a deeper level, Jesus is telling them that the life the fishermen knew up to this point was going to be radically changed. Everything they thought they knew would be turned upsidedown.

If these people by the Sea of Galilee stepped out of their boats to follow Jesus, they were going to surely step into the unknown as his disciples.I often contemplate Jesus as Messiah. This passage has given me the opportunity to contemplate Jesus as Leader.

In Jesus, I see a leader that connects with people, where they are on their journey of life. I see a loving leader investing in people’s lives with teachings, parables, and real life situations. In Jesus, I see an amazingly visionary leader that began his ministry calling leaders to come after him with the vision of preparing them to go, and make an impact on the world.(c) 2006 ginny rogers

Once a month, I get together with a few friends where we talk about, and spend time with each other as well as spend time with God. Each month, we rotate who will decide what we will do together. Sometimes it’s sharing a meal, sometimes it’s prayer, sometimes it’s just talking about our lives. I have to say that I really appreciate our time together; sometimes, however, I admit that it can be hard for me to get to that time. And last week was one of those times.

It was my turn to take the lead, and while I knew that it was my turn for over a month, when it came to the two weeks prior to our time together, I still didn’t have a clear idea of what to focus on. My time was spent prepping for Easter and when Easter Sunday had passed, I was swamped with work. I had multiple presentations that required my attention that week. Once I got my work done, I spent a whole day in prayer asking God for direction for our upcoming gathering. Even after the day in prayer, I didn’t feel like I knew what I was going to do. With that, I became stressed and felt pressured to ‘come up with something’ because time was running out.

I allowed myself to get so stressed, that before too long, I was seriously considering backing out of the monthly gathering all together. I mean, I didn’t have time for this. I had too much on my plate. I just needed time, I didn’t need the stress. It was in the midst of that panic moment, that I realized what I should’ve known all along…I needed to talk about the sabbath.

Sometimes, I don’t get why I’m so thick-headed. I mean, I’d been contemplating these verses in Exodus for weeks. Why did I allow my daily routine to cloud my thoughts and overwhelm my time?

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. When I went back to this verse in Exodus, it brought me back to a quiet spot with God. The Sabbath day is not just a day to not do anything, it’s a day set aside with God. While I had spent a day praying for God’s direction, admittedly, the prayer was focused on my needs…God helping me. It wasn’t focused on contemplating and celebrating the awesome nature of our God. I needed to remember that I just needed to be still and quiet so that I could just be with God.

9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. These verses reminded me that our sabbath with God should be a whole day; not just an hour or two, a whole day. It’s not a day to get tasks done. It’s a day for God…a break from the tasks that have a tendency of cluttering up our weeks. Having said that, though, in the New Testament, Jesus warns us about taking this commandment to the extreme.

In Mark 2:27-28, “Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. “So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.‘” In fact, in Mark, (vs 2:23-3:6) Jesus was challenged by the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees, on what could or couldn’t be done on the Sabbath. The religious leaders didn’t like that the disciples gathered grain to eat on the Sabbath and the Bible goes so far to say that they began conspiring against Jesus when Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. What they failed to realize, though, was that God gave the Israelites the gift of the sabbath and it’s an opportunity for us to give it back to God, not simply as a strict observance of the law. It seems like the Pharisees lost sight of the intent of the law. And as the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus knew this. To do good on the Sabbath was, and is, good especially when the intent is to reflect the character of God. My understanding is that the Sabbath is about being God focused, rather than task focused.

11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. For me, this verse resonates with such profound beauty. The Sabbath is a gift from God that goes back to the beginning…back to creation. In the book, Interpretation: Exodus, Terence Fretheim writes that the sabbath is

a religious act with cosmic implications…The divine rest in creation is not a picturesque way of speaking of the end of God’s creating; rather, the divine rest “finished” creation. God’s resting is a divine act that builds into the very created order of things a working/resting rhythm. Only when that rhythm is honored by all is the creation what God intended it to be. The sabbath is thus a divinely given means for all creatures to be in tune with the created order of things. Even more, sabbath-keeping is an act of creation-keeping. To keep the sabbath is to participate in God’s intention for the rhythm of creation. Not keeping the sabbath is a violation of the created order…

I love Fretheim’s observation of this verse. It reminded me of the why behind the sabbath. I was also reminded that the gift in the sabbath is that God has given it to us as part of creation and our own life cycle…God set aside this time for our well being because the best thing for us is resting with God.

There was a lot of text allotted  to ensure that the context of the sabbath was understood.  It begins and ends with the sabbath as holy. Keeping a sabbath day–all 24 hours of it–set aside to rest with God is an essential part of living out our faith. God blessed the sabbath, it’s our gift back to God to keep it holy.

When I got caught up with work and all of the tasks that were before me, I found relief only when I remembered the sabbath. Just like physiologically, we can not live without the recuperation that comes with sleep…we can not live a spiritual life that is without the sabbath. We need the sabbath to live in the spirit; it’s the time spent with God that restores our spirit.

21 The people kept their distance while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.

22 GOD said to Moses, “Give this Message to the People of Israel: “You’ve experienced firsthand how I spoke with you from Heaven. (Exodus 20: 20-22, The Message)

This chapter of Exodus focuses on God giving Moses the Law for the Israelites to live by.

• No other gods, only me.
• No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever…
• No using the name of GOD your God, in curses or silly banter; GOD won’t put up with the irreverant use of his name.
• Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
• Honor your father and mother so that you’ll live a long time in the land that GOD your God, is giving you.
• No murder.
• No adultery.
• No stealing.
• No lies about your neighbor.
• No lusting after your neighbor’s house…Don’t set your heart on anything that is your neighbor’s.

I remember when I first heard the Ten Commandments as a child, I remember thinking about it as a “do” and “don’t do” list. Do this…don’t do that. I didn’t understand the first two, knew that I wasn’t supposed to curse in the third, and I didn’t really understand the fourth. I interpreted the fifth as listening to my parents, and then read the rest as kind of rules that would keep me out of trouble.

To be honest, I didn’t really think much about the commandments for many years, and when I did, I still just saw them as the ‘do’ and ‘don’t’ list…that is, until I read…

28One of the religion scholars came up. Hearing the lively exchanges of question and answer and seeing how sharp Jesus was in his answers, he put in his question: “Which is most important of all the commandments?”

29Jesus said, “The first in importance is, “Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; 30so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ 31And here is the second: “Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.” Mark 12: 28-31, The Message

The Commandments that God handed to the people of Israel weren’t so much about ‘do’s’ and ‘dont’s’ as they were about a relationship between God and God’s people. The first three were about loving God with everything we’ve got. The fourth was about setting a day aside so that we could make sure we spend time with God. I now read the fifth as for both, my parents here on earth as well as the Parent of All, God, in heaven. And then, six through ten I see as ways we can demonstrate our love for others as well as our love for ourselves.

Jesus gave life to what many had understood as only laws. Jesus helped me to understand that I had taken what was was meant to be about relationships and turned into something that it was never intended to be. What had been in my head as a ‘do and don’t do list’, made the move to my heart as a way way to show my love for God and for the people in my life.

With this move from my head to my heart Exodus 20:20, “Don’t be afraid. God has come to test you and instill a deep and reverent awe within you so that you won’t sin” has a much deeper meaning. I understand it to mean…

Don’t worry. God has come to show you how to love God deeply and show you how to love one another.

Most people would agree that our days just fly by. One day leads to the next and before you know it, there’s a seemingly endless string of days; sometimes it’s hard to remember one day from another. We can go on and on, and never take a moment…to…just…stop.

In the verses leading up to Exodus chapter 16, verse 23, God had heard the Israelites’ cry and provided them with food they needed to sustain them in the wilderness–manna from heaven for the morning meal and quails for the evening meal. Each day, the Israelites gathered up the fine flakes that would be used to make the bread for the day. All that was gathered, was what was needed for that day–anything left over would not be usable.

But the sixth day was different. On the sixth day, the Israelites were instructed to gather up enough of the manna for two days. The extra day’s provisions were to be prepared and cooked for the next day–the seventh day–because on that day there would be nothing to gather, it would be their day of rest. (Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. ~~Genesis 2:3)

What is the point for a ‘sabbath observance?’ Why is it so important that God provided the manna two days in advance? The Jewish Study Bible states that

Both Hebrew terms [for sabbath] literally refer to “cessation” of activity. The seventh day is a day of cessation from normal labor, such as gathering and cooking food, because it is a holy day of cessation to God: he does not provide manna on it because He ceased creative activity on it, blessed it and delared it holy.

The activity stops for a reason, “because it is a holy day of cessation to God.” Inactivity with purpose. My thought is that it’s not just to stop what we’re doing, but to stop and remember the reason why we’re doing what we do. We’re to keep the day holy…sacred.

Fast forward to the New Testament and Mark where Jesus is walking in the fields with the disciples:

And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry;how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?” Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. “So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” ~~Mark 2:23-28

What about Jesus? The Pharisees, the ‘experts’ of Jewish law, weren’t happy with the fact that Jesus and the disciples were gathering grain on the sabbath–they shouldn’t have been gathering anything on the sabbath. The Pharisees and their strict interpretation of Jewish law didn’t permit it. Their interpretation of the law meant that no work was to be done.

What about what’s happened in the Gulf region in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina? How would Jesus respond to the great need in the Gulf? Just a little further on in Mark, Jesus responds to the needs of another man.

He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ~~Mark 3:1-5

With that said, I have to go back to the “holy day of cessation to God.” Yes, it is a sacred day and our attention should be focused on God. “So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Jesus is God incarnate. The day is for God, for the Son of Man. When we are focused on God, we’re focused on the things of God. We need to make sure that we set apart time with God…spend the day with God.

©2005 ginny rogers

Be real. Prayer isn’t about eloquent words or lengthy speeches; it’s about sharing your life…regardless of where you happen to be at the time…with The One who cares about you the most. If you’re going through a rough time, talk about it. If you’re angry or frustrated about the circumstances you find yourself in, cry about it. If you’re happy about what’s going on in you’re life or if you’re amazed at how God has pulled you through something, tell God thanks. If you need God’s help in your life, ask him for it. Be real with where you are in your life, and if you need to, ask for God’s help with your motives. God already knows what’s on your mind—God already knows what’s on your heart. With that, you might as well spill your guts and be real.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:6-7

Believe. When you pray, believe and have the faith that God will answer your prayer. God won’t let you down. Now having said that, God doesn’t always give you what you want. Instead, God will provide you with what you need. When I ask for God’s help through situations, I pray for the strength to get through whatever I’m going through. In other words, I pray for perseverance, not the outcome; because quite frankly, I don’t always know what’s best for me and I totally believe that God really does know what’s best for me. Often, I have set in my mind what I think is best, and the truth of it is, that if God had answered my prayer in the way I thought I wanted, I would’ve been setting the bar so low–so, I leave the outcome to God with the belief that God’s got my best interests at heart and God’s view sees the bigger picture.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us– whatever we ask– we know that we have what we asked of him. ~~1 John 5:14-15

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ~~Mark 11: 24

Be passionate. Pray passionately not only about what’s going on with ourselves, but also what’s going on in the lives of those around us. Pray often. Often I pray when I’m walking down the hall, or driving in the car. When someone comes to mind, what began as a thought transcends into a prayer for that person. I strive to be passionate about incorporating God’s presence in every aspect of my life because I want God with me no matter what I’m doing. In truth, God’s there anyway, it’s just up to me to recognize and be aware of God’s presence. When we’re passionate in our prayers (whether for others or ourselves), we’re passionate with The One who’s most passionate about us.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge– that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. ~~Ephesians 3:17-19

© 2005 Ginny Rogers

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

In going back to this devotional, I remembered the early days of my spiritual journey when I didn’t quite understand how I was supposed to love God. It may sound odd, but I had a hard time trying to figure how to love God–it was just more than I could grasp. I mean, how does a person like me express love to God, The One, The Almighty?

Back then, I couldn’t make sense of it, so I just stopped thinking about it–in fact, a few years went by without me understanding how I could honestly say, “I love You, God.” And then, something happened out of the blue that took my breath away.

I was working for a campus ministry at the time. I have to be honest, though I was working for this ministry and really loved the college students’ passion,  I wasn’t as sold out as they were. I kept my distance because while they were awesome, they were just a little to radical in their passion for ministry and pursuit of Jesus–it was all a bit too much for me.

And then one day while talking on the phone with someone involved with mission work, I was asked if I would like to go to China to help with a mission trip. What? Me? Was he serious? Shortly after that, the walls that I’d been so good at building to keep others at a safe distance came crashing down. It was at that moment, I realized that there was so much more to life then I could possibly imagine. You see, the person that asked me had no idea that I had studied Asian culture and the art of China in college–well before ever even thinking about God. I had always been drawn to the Chinese culture and appreciated their history, language, writing, art and traditions so much–but the person on the phone didn’t know any of that. Before hanging up the phone, I told him that I would think about this and thanked him for asking me to consider this opportunity.

And it was at that moment that I realized that God knew everything about me–and it was God alone that new all of my hopes and dreams–every single one.

After I hung up the phone, I not only realized that God was real and knew my hopes and dreams, but I also felt that God’s been with me every step of my life journey. Through every challenge, God was right there helping me. When I was a teen and really pretty angry with the death of my friend, God was there and heard me yell about how unfair it was. When I lived alone and was either too proud, or too embarassed, to ask for help because all of my paycheck was going into keeping my house, God prompted my mom to leave groceries on the front porch. When I mailed a letter off to a friend living overseas, it was God that gave me the feeling that this would change my life–and it did, that friend became my husband.

It was crazy how this flood of memories taken from scenes of my life raced through my head telling me one thing–God has always been there for me–even when I didn’t let myself see Him there. And then I realized that God wasn’t just there–God had been pursuing me all my life. God never gave up on me…even though I thought God had. When I thought about this, I was overwhelmed with a deep sense of gratitude and a feeling of love–love for God; I realized then that I was capable of loving my God with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.

footnote: The person that asked me to travel to China with a team of students is the Founder of Follow One (at www.followone.org), an interdenominational nonprofit mission based in Winter Springs, FL, that is running with Jesus throughout China.