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DAY FOUR
B Words
Mark 7-8
Since you are still pretty new to following Jesus, if I tell you I am going to introduce a bunch of “b” words immediately your mind goes to a specific “b” word which probably shouldn’t make it into a devotional snippet. However, I won’t let your still degenerate mind stop me from being clever with a list of “b” words that will help guide you on your path to knowing Jesus. Instead, I will just wag my finger and blush as I say, “shame on you!” and get on with it.
Here are the “b” words I have in mind: behold, belong, believe, behave.
All of these are part of becoming like Jesus. They don’t necessarily happen in the order I have listed them here, but most of the time they do. On Day 3, we started at the back of the list with “behave” to try to correct a common mistake and to save you from becoming a religious son of a “b”. Today, we will hit rewind and start at the beginning of the list with “behold”.
The world “behold” basically means “look”. The call to “behold”, or “look”, happens over and over in the Bible. This is because before you follow Jesus you have to “see” something new. This doesn’t always mean you need to see something wildly supernatural like an angel or the sun standing still – although occasionally those more magnificent displays are seen. Usually what it means is to choose to focus your vision on what you might not see unless you focus on it.
You see, your attention is never held without you giving consent.
Yes, someone can demand your attention, make a bunch of noise, and even grab your face and force eye contact if you are a child. But none of that means you have to think about (see) what they want you to. You can tune out what is right in front of you and tune in to something a million miles away. To follow Jesus is going to require you to focus your attention on him – to see him. This is what these devotions are about’ this is the rationale behind the admiration journal exercises.
The consistent call to “behold” in the bible shows how confident God is you will choose to follow Jesus if you can see what is really going on.
Unbelief is associated with blindness. Belief is associated with seeing.
This is why “behold” comes before “believe”. You need to choose to see God at work in your life and in the world around you.
Once you choose to do that, it’s amazing what you begin to see.
Journal:
1. Admiration.
2. Prayer for family and friends.
3.Ask Jesus to show you a situation in your life where he was present, but you didn’t see him. Write it down.
Calibrating prayer:
Jesus, I choose to see you at work in my life. Where I once saw coincidence I now choose to see you. Where I once imagined good luck, I now assume you are at work. Where I once saw natural beauty, I now see your divine creativity on display. I am training myself to see you everywhere.