Living the Christ Life

Posted by Pastor Pat on June 24, 2009

But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?” (Mark 6:37)

Mark appears to emphasize the fragile and frazzled existence of Christ and His disciples.  No matter where they turned, the masses waited with their needs.  This thought has two immediate applications.  First, in vocational ministry “life” can be very consuming.  People have needs and if anyone attempts to meet those needs in their own strength, they will fail physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  The pace alone when engaging in vocational ministry will consume the individual.  It has been said, “Ministry makes a terrible mistress” and “the ministry will take all you have, never set boundaries and never thank you for what you’ve given.”  Second, simply living is consuming.  No matter who you are or what your station is in life, it is demanding and draining.  The question is, “How do we exist with physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being without disengaging?”  “How do we rest in Him no matter what the storm offers?  Let us consider the thought as it is found in Mark 6:37.

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Moved With Compassion, Jesus Stretched Out His Hand and Touched Him

Posted by Pastor Pat on March 27, 2009

Read Mark 1:40-45

As I work through Mark’s Gospel and the life of Jesus Christ, I have been challenged to become more aggressive in emphasizing the role of the local church in mercy ministries.  It appears unfortunate but we fail to hold in tension evangelism of soul and ministries of “healing.”  We must become the cup of cold water to the thirsty, we must become fathers to the fatherless, and we must become a shelter to the homeless.  How do we come alongside those who are buckling under the weight of life?  To have the mind of Christ without His hands or feet is restrictive and one dimensional.  We must maintain the gospel, we must engage our culture, and we must build His church.  None of these three items are capable of being neglected.

Our involvement in our community should be a real ministry expression of this local community.  Our community is already trying to address these issues, but all attempts on their part are one dimensional.  We must not deceive ourselves.  It is only Christ and His church that can address the souls of these individuals.  The church fails when it focuses on only one area and not both.  It is never either or.  It is always both the soul and the body.  William Barclay notes how there are three pairs of things which Jesus never separated and we would do well to consider his observations.

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