Mark 15:31 (KJV) Christ’s Love on the Cross

Mark 15:31 (KJV)

Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. 

 

The Bible says the chief priests and scribes mocked Jesus among themselves with two contrasting statements:

He saved others.

They could not deny the miracles He had performed—healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, restoring hearing to the deaf, casting out evil spirits, and even raising the dead. They had witnessed these things with their own eyes. Many of them were still alive when the Gospels were written and could have disavowed these accounts if they were untrue. Their objection, as with the man let down through the roof, was not that Jesus healed but that He claimed to forgive sins, making Himself equal with God.

 

It is impossible to deny the impact the Christian faith has had on the world. What is objected to is the claim that this impact has eternal significance. Christianity implies God, heaven, and hell—truths the lost world rejects, and for which they mock.

 

Himself, He cannot save.

This was true in far more ways than they understood. 

•  Had He saved Himself, the souls of their own heroes of faith—Abraham, Moses, and David—would have been condemned. 

• Had He saved Himself, those He had called into ministry would have been lost. 

•  Had He saved Himself, even the very mockers and murderers before Him would have had no hope of salvation. 

•  Had He saved Himself, all of humanity would be eternally cast into the fires of hell.

 

Jesus said He had the power to save Himself, but love constrained Him to restrain Himself. His mission, His passion, and His very character forbade Him from saving Himself.

 

Thank God for it.

 

#JesusSaves #TheCrossWasThePlan #MockedButMighty #LoveHeldHimThere #SalvationThroughChrist

Christ’s Love on the Cross: He Saved Others, But Chose Not to Save Himself

Have you ever considered what it truly meant for Jesus to stay on the cross instead of saving Himself?Drop your thoughts in the comments! Share this truth with someone who may not understand the depth of His sacrifice. A simple conversation could change a life.

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To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

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Mark 15:31 (KJV) Christ’s Love on the Cross

Mark 14:25 (KJV) A Memorial, Not a Miracle

Mark 14:25 (KJV)

Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God. 

 

When the leaders of the Protestant Reformation left (or rather, were forced out of) the Catholic Church, one of the issues they knew must be addressed was communion. Surely, as is often the case today, many participants knew they weren’t actually eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ, but they were either afraid to question it or had been conditioned by the power of the religion.

 

Luther and Calvin did not agree on how to handle this clear error in Catholic doctrine, but both knew that the Mass did not miraculously transform bread and wine into Christ’s body and blood.

 

They could have—and should have—aligned with the Baptists, who had never been part of Catholicism. These believers had always held that the Lord’s Supper was a memorial.

•    The bread reminds us of the body of Christ, broken on Calvary.

•     The fruit of the vine reminds us of the blood of Christ, shed for our sins.

 

The communion we share in the Lord’s Supper brings comfort. It reminds us that we are not alone, but rather, we share our faith together.

 

And then we have this promise: one day, we will share in this communion with our Savior.

The disciples departed from that Supper and stepped into an incredibly stressful world—facing Christ’s capture, trial, persecution, and execution.

 

Likewise, fellowship with the people of God strengthens us to stand firm in a world that does not know Him.

 

#LordSupper #BiblicalTruth #ChristOurHope #FaithfulRemnant #RememberCalvary

The Lord’s Supper: A Memorial, Not a Miracle

What do you believe is the most important truth about the Lord’s Supper? Share your thoughts in the comments. Take a moment to read 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 and consider how the Bible describes communion as a memorial. Then, share what stands out to you with a friend or neighbor.

🌎 Visit marvinmckenzie.org for more biblical insights and resources.

👉 Join our community in studying God’s Word and strengthening your faith.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Mark 14:25 (KJV) A Memorial, Not a Miracle

Mark 13:11 When Words Fail

Mark 13:11

But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

 

There are some exceptional things to consider about this passage. Chief among them is that it speaks specifically of those under the duress of persecution. It would not be appropriate to apply this—at least in any specific sense—to preaching.

 

There are recorded occasions that seem to clearly fulfill this text:

•       The trial of Polycarp

•       The trial of John Bunyan

•       The flogging of Obadiah Holmes

 come swiftly to mind.

 

Preaching, however, is an entirely different matter. Luke 1:1-4 (KJV) seems to apply better:

Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,

Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;

It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

 

Having said all this, I wonder if God fulfills this passage in our lives more than we realize—but we don’t trust Him in it.

 

Most Christians, when we attempt to witness at all, find ourselves in situations where we have time to think through our responses. Yet, so often I’ve been there, and whatever I said, I sure wish I had said something different.

•       The response was not a profession of faith.

•       The other party became very upset.

•   The other party thought my answer was foolish.

 

During the Scopes Monkey Trial, Clarence Darrow mocked the faith of William Jennings Bryan so forcefully that some observers felt Bryan was unprepared. While Bryan won the court case, history records that public secular opinion shifted, and people began to view the Christian perspective as unscientific and ill-equipped to answer life’s real questions. Some even believe the stress of the trial contributed to Bryan’s death just days later.

 

•     What if this entire event was orchestrated by the Holy Ghost?

•  What if the Holy Spirit never intended Christianity to play on the field of academics?

•   What if the results of the trial were exactly what God wanted—to make the secular world more secular and the Christian world more dependent on faith?

•    What if we trusted that, in those moments of intense pressure, our "performance"—whether we felt we did well or not—was exactly what the Holy Ghost intended?

Perhaps if we are not permitted to premeditate what we speak in those moments, we should also spend less time brooding over what we said once it’s done.

 

#TrustTheHolySpirit #FaithUnderFire #PersecutionAndProvidence #GodsPlanPrevails #BoldInChrist

When Words Fail: Speaking Under Pressure

 

What if the Holy Spirit is working through you more than you realize? Share a time in the comments when you felt unprepared but God used your words anyway.

This week, witness to someone without overthinking your response—just trust God to guide your words.

🌎 Visit marvinmckenzie.org for more biblical insights and resources.

👉 Join our community in studying God’s Word and strengthening your faith.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Mark 13:11 When Words Fail

Mark 12:4 (KJV) The Unstoppable Message

Mark 12:4 (KJV)

And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. 

 

This parable speaks of:

•       A servant

•       Another servant

•       Again… another servant

•       And many others (I take it, servants)

 

I’m reminded of Hebrews 11:32-38 (KJV):

And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of…Who through faith …Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.… and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

 

And my next thought is: Let’s be another servant.

 

It is true that the people of this world are often unfriendly and unreceptive to our heavenly Father’s message. Still, He is our Father, and we are called to be His servants. We never know when one of us might get the message across to someone who will receive it.

 

Be another servant.

 

#BeAnotherServant #FaithfulUntoDeath #ServeTheKing #OfWhomTheWorldWasNotWorthy #SendMeLord

Be Another Servant: The Unstoppable Messenger

 

 What’s one way you can serve God today, even in the face of difficulty?

Take a moment to pray and ask God to show you where He’s calling you to serve. Then, act on that calling.

🌎 Visit marvinmckenzie.org for more biblical insights and resources!

👉 Join our community in studying God’s Word and strengthening your faith.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Mark 12:4 (KJV) The Unstoppable Message

Mark 11:6 (KJV) Faith Without Questions

Mark 11:6 (KJV)

And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go. 

 

I can imagine all sorts of problems in Jesus’ instructions concerning the acquiring of the colt.

The account doesn’t specify which city. There was Bethphage and Bethany—perhaps others. How were they to be certain in which village they would find the colt?

Surely, there would have been more than one colt in each village. As I understand it, it was common for people to own them. 

Which colt? Which village?

The Lord left it uncertain whether anyone would question their actions. Loosing the colt would appear to be theft. “If any man?” It might be the owner, it might be an officer—in the end, it turned out to be some concerned bystanders. 

Which man? Which colt? Which village?

Then they were instructed to respond, “The Lord hath need of him.” But how would they know who the Lord was? The lord could have been the owner of the colt. The lord could have been the magistrate of the city. Our text capitalizes Lord, but would the man—whichever one it was—know they meant Christ? Would he know who Christ is? 

Which Lord? Which man? Which colt? Which village?

Even the need is vague. Need of him for what? Carrying a load of hay? Pulling a cart full of bricks and lumber? 

Which need? Which Lord? Which man? Which colt? Which village?

What stands out to me is that the disciples didn’t question any of it. They went their way, found and loosed the colt, answered the question as the Lord had commanded—“and they let them go.”

At some point in our Christian walk, we must come to the place where we quit asking what if and which one and simply begin to obey the Bible.

#FaithOverFear #ObedienceMatters #TrustGodsPlan #WalkByFaith #BiblicalTruth

Faith Without Questions: A Lesson in Trust

 

What is one area in your life where you need to obey God without hesitation? Share in the comments!

This week, take one specific action where you trust God's Word without overanalyzing—whether it's witnessing to someone, stepping into a ministry, or following a conviction that's true to God's Word.

🌎 Visit marvinmckenzie.org for more biblical insights and resources!

👉 Join our community in studying God’s Word and strengthening your faith.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 6600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Mark 11:6 (KJV) Faith Without Questions