Mark - Lesson 4...Continued from page 45

Scripture Memory:  Can you write out this week’s passage by memory here below?  Give it a try, and keep reviewing the passage several times throughout the day.

Mark 3:34, 35:

DAY SIX: Following Christ

1.  We too are in great need like the man Jesus healed on that particular Sabbath.  The religious leaders refused to see their need, but rather plotted to kill Him who not only saved a life, but came to bring us true life![xxiii] You may not have a withered hand, but sin had withered your heart and life until Jesus came and freed you from it, and hopefully from religious hypocrisy.  What are some of the things God has forgiven and restored in your life by following Jesus?  Are there still some things that you struggle with that might be damaging your walk with Him?  Turn to Him today for help and healing.  Record some of these things here so you can share with your group how God has done great things for you, or seek their prayer support for the things that you struggle with.

2.  “It was a strange group of men our Lord chose to be His disciples...There was not a preacher or an expert in scripture in the lot.  Yet it was with these men that Jesus established his church and disseminated his Good News to the end of the earth.”[xxiv] We too as the body of Christ are a pretty strange lot.  The rich and the poor sing together the same praise to Jesus for all He’s done for them.  The high school dropout helps a Ph.D. gain great understanding into God’s Word.  A societal reject, a drug addict, the vilest of sinners hold hands and pray along with the successful, those who never have touched drugs or alcohol, the most righteous appearing.  God is indeed gracious to take us from what we are and what the world thinks of us to bring us to the point of what we are going to be one day in Him.  He sees our potential, not the present or past aspects others find distasteful about us.  As you read the following passage, take some time to consider both what you were prior to Christ, and how He can use you as you commit to follow and serve Him.