March 5, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Instead of showing himself to the priest and offering the appropriate sacrifices, the man cured of leprosy by Jesus went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to Him from everywhere.”

(Mark 1.45)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Regardless of where Jesus was, people still came to Him. We are not merely talking about local people in the immediate vicinity of Jesus’ location at the time. We are talking about people coming from everywhere. Of course, they were people who had heard about Jesus. They heard about the preaching and teaching of forgiveness, healing, righteousness, reconciliation and the restoration of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven. As Paul wrote, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the preaching of the Word.” (Romans 10.17) This meant that faith comes from an external source. That means faith is not a “man-made” phenomenon, event or reality. Faith comes from God alone. Even the kind of faith people say they have in themselves has limits. It can move pebbles and hills, but it cannot move mountains. Faith in one’s self can move you from here to there, point A to point B, but it cannot say to the valley “be lifted up” nor to the mountain “be laid low.”

[It is here that I have to take an aside to speak of the current situation in the world, most prominently in the Middle East discussion. The bombing of Iran by the United States and Israel (and perhaps soon other nations will take part) is built on a faith “not in God” but in themselves and their agenda. Yes, to diminish the ability of an enemy of the free world to rain terror with the hope of one day being the dominant ruler is a real objective. However, putting faith in the bombing of military and civilian targets with the hope that the people of Iran will be enabled and empowered to take control of their nation with the hope of peace and democracy would be limited in its scope and duration. As I have said before, and I will say it again, is the present course of action “human-oriented” or “God-derived.” In other words, has God directed this action against Iran and its co-conspirators for the purpose of judgment? I would venture the answer is “no.” We are called to “love our enemies” because of faith in Christ Jesus and His teachings. Such love should not be misinterpreted as that which the world promotes as affection, toleration, entitlement and “neighborliness.” The call to “love our enemies” is one of preaching the gospel of Christ for the sake of repentance, redemption and reconciliation. Herein I will repeat the words of Paul sent out to the Church within the Roman Empire (and enemy of Christ and the Church) “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the preaching of the Word.” Dare we look at the power of the gospel in Iran and see the growing number of believers there? The same would be true for most of the nations found in the Middle East. I believe the call for authentic freedom and true democracy rise up out of the gospel itself. The roots of the gospel are found in the Law and the Prophets which foretold of the coming of the Messiah. Dare nations today, in the “fight for right,” assume a posture and posturing of “messiah”? In so doing, they make of themselves a false messiah and subject themselves to a harsher penalty on Judgment Day. They also take with them in these days, lambs led to slaughter. We must be discerning in our support and promotion of the activities put forward by any of our world leaders both foreign and domestic. In saying this, I beg we pray not only for forgiveness and wisdom but the hope of preaching the gospel of Christ over the rebellion of inciteful rhetoric and terroristic actions.]

Back to the text of Mark which speaks to the people who came from everywhere to find Jesus anywhere He was. It didn’t matter if He was at synagogue, at home, in a neighbor’s home, in the wilderness, in the lost places, in a secret place, on a dusty road or by Jacob’s Well in Samaria, people found Him. They risked their all to experience this external source of faith that would become internalized. What does that challenge us to be and to do, mighty ones of God? Are we simply living out a life with a gentle brushing against the gospel? Or are we living broad and strong brush strokes of God’s Word made flesh across the canvas of the world? Was, and is, Jesus’ challenge to “not tell” simply a challenge to do the opposite knowing human nature as He did and does? If so, let us heed the challenge and respond accordingly so that others will come to Jesus and find life and find it abundantly.

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.