Listening to the Word

Numbers 30-31; Mark 9   “’Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with each other.’” Mark 9:49, 50   Salt disinfects and flavours; it preserves food. Fire purifies and refines metals. To be salted with fire is to be purified. The essence of the Church’s witness in the world is salt and light. When we accommodate sin, we lose our witness and our salty influence. It is sin which causes quarrels and division among God’s people. Our witness and our unity are significantly influenced by our purity. Consider the relational conflict we are a part of or influenced by. What work of purification does the Lord want to do in our attitudes, motives, and behavior? What does saltiness look like in our community? Resisting sin in our lives can have a significant impact on others if we will let the Spirit of the Lord work in us and through us. “Lord Jesus, purify my heart so saltine...

Numbers 28-29; Mark 8   “’…Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?’...He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him… ‘Get behind me Satan!’ he said. ‘You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but the things of man.’” Mark 8:17, 31-33 This was a challenging day for Christ’s disciples. They were called blind and hard-hearted by Jesus. Peter was even called “Satan,” despite wanting to defend and follow Jesus.   How much do we see clearly in our circumstances today? How well are we ‘understanding the times’ in which we are living? The redemptive aspect of this story was Jesus’ continued effort to help his disciples understand. With humility, we, too, will gain understanding even when life and the gospel feel confusing. Jes...