Entry, Clearance, Withers, Questions...

Mark chapter 11 verses 1-33

• ·         All that made up their identity (Sanhedrin;chief priest) was being stripped and torn down
• ·         The things they did that were wrong validated them
• ·         People bondage ( fear of people and what they are going to say)
• ·         They had a man-made authority not a God willed authority
• ·         They were powerless and they recognized that
• ·         Jesus expressed his anger toward their wrong action but loved them enough to teach them through their wrongs and from a place of authority and dominion and power
• ·         Jesus didn’t teach from His self (flesh) but from God
• ·         Jesus cannot do anything with I don’t know v.33 (reminds me of your either hot or cold, but lukewarm then he will spit you out and also anything other than a Yes is a No to God!)

This text is quite powerful. We see Jesus operating in his dominion, power and authority and the people responding to it. The chief priests are fearful and doubtful of Jesus which is symbolic for their very belief in God. Of all people, it should have been the chief priest who recognized Jesus as the messiah. Yet it shows that they were in people bondage (fear of what others will say about them). The held themselves up to this superior level and wanted the validation that came from it. I think we must be careful to keep God in the midst of everything we do, because no matter how far God elevates us, we must remember that it’s not us that did But God! And we cannot live out our God given purposes without Jesus! We can attempt and obtain temporary things and facades but deep inside their will be no sustenance. Jesus is such an awesome teacher. He had a way with the people that was amazing. He commanded their attention in a non-abusive manner. He talks with God as He was God. He understood who He was and the God he is connected to which allowed Him the favor, grace, compassion, love and authority that he taught with. The symbolism within the text is quite beautiful. The fig tree withering as a symbol of the Sanhedrin courts in Bethpage about to wither and be replaced with a heavenly kingdom is amazing. The fact that Adam and Eve ate from a fig tree as they ushered in sin and Jesus cursing the fig tree as symbolism of an End to come of sin is awesome.

The disciples were obedient to God. They trusted what he told them and when they did as He told them; it worked out in their favor. If they didn’t follow His instructions then they wouldn’t have obtained the colt and something disastrous could have happened in the midst of them obtaining the colt.  Obedience is better than sacrifice. Jesus speaks on the prophetic and speaking and operating in the prophetic. In verses 22-26 He tells the disciples to have faith and that which they speak in prayer shall be given unto them only if they believe. Sounds like Jesus is setting them up for something bigger to come. A test, trial, challenge, tribulations…perhaps. Jesus is so good that He instructs us as we go along. He corrects us firmly in love and then teaches us the why, how, what, when, where…and he is a gentle and loving God. He doesn’t impose, force his self on any of us but gives us the choice to choose Him. Jesus is so awesome. His love is everything!

I really need to study Jesus more so I can become a great teacher as He was and is today. His ability to command the attention of the audience and meet a ton of people where there at while giving one message is wonderful.

I know Jesus cleared the temple out so good! I could only imagine how angry he was but how justified he was at clearing the temple and knocking over tables and such. I wonder how this clearing of Gods temple is symbolic to clearing out of our own bodily temples that God gave us. When we ask God to clean us out and purify us, is this how He desires to do it? Maybe Jesus desires to come to our temples and do check up and see what is righteous in us and what is working against God in us and then when He spots it, he knocks over our pride, greed, lust, lying, etc., and not allows anyone to carry merchandise (pride, anger , bitterness, idols, etc.) through our temples. Then he teaches us and if we allow Him to teach us after the purifying process then we can be restored. So He cleans us out and then He pours into us his teachings straight from the thrones of heaven. God is so good.

So it is not enough to ask God to purify us and clean us out…we have to be willing to be still after that process and allow Him to teach us the ways of his heavenly Father, our Heavenly Father.

Read Mark 11.

Questions to Consider:

Who are you?

What is your identity embedded in?

What are you operating in?

 Why is it better to be obedient than to sacrifice?

What other symbolism can you draw out this text?

Prayer:

Dear heavenly Father,

We thank you Lord for who you are. We love you and honor you. We thank you for being the beginning and the end. We thank you for being our God, our Savior, our Healer, our Deliverer, our Restoration, our Reconciliation, the Lover of our Soul...we thank you Lord. We come asking for you forgiveness Lord for those things we have done that were not pleasing to you. The things we have done intentional and unintentional Lord, we ask your forgiveness for. We ask Lord that you waste nothing! We pray you use all our good and our bad for your Glory Lord! We thank you for your Forgiveness. For your Grace and your Mercy! Thank you for your unfailing love. We thank you Lord! We pray that you clean out our temples. that you remove, tear down, turn over, extract ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that is not like you in the NAME OF JESUS!!! We thank you Lord! And pour into us your teachings, your word and fill our temples with your anointing. We thank you Lord. We thank you Jesus! We love you Jesus! We seal this prayer in the Blood of Jesus! In Jesus Mighty Name We Pray, AMEN! AMEN!AMEN! 

#MARK11#JESUS#BOOKOFMARK#FAITH#BELIEVE#NOFEAR#NEWLEVEL#JESUSFREAK#JESUSLOVER#BIBLESTUDY

Soul Cries

It makes me sad the amount of injustices that have been done to us Black people. When we revolt and fight for what we believe in then we are the ones left looking as if we are acting like savages. When will a time come where our voices will be heard, our murdered children, black men and women will be given justice for the brutal acts committed against us. We live in a society that fears us. We cannot walk into a store without being targeted as a possible shoplifter. Just based on our appearances  we are deemed  ghetto, loose, poor, gang member, criminal, prostitute and the list goes on. Our sexuality has been ravished and murdered and given back to us as something disgusting. I am tired of feeling like we are fighting a fight that can never be won. When will our voices be heard. When will our people rise up and become CONSCIOUS of our heritage. When will JUSTICE prevail for beautiful black life. We live in a society not built to protect us or honor our heritage, so when will we stop conforming to a world that works to desensitize us to who we really are. Black Life does Matter. All life matters so lets do our best to become conscious and realize the possibilities that lies within us to create change. 

Being an ethnic studies student has really shown me how much colonialism has damaged many cultures. As we go into Thanksgiving and the reasons it is celebrated in America, really saddens me. Native people experienced tremendous amounts of cruelty and to celebrate Columbus discovering the "New World" is to celebrate GENOCIDE.  I wrote a poem in response to some of the history I have learned about Native American culture. Lets become conscious. Educate ourselves and our children. We must unify and rise up as the tribal people that we innately are. 

Poem 11/2014

Genocide. the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.

The extinction of a people

Based on trees, cut down and formed into paper

Dyed green so it became more valuable than the life of a human being

If you cut I bleed

If you cut we bleed

So what makes your white skin better than my brown and black sisters and brothers

Who died because of your curiousity

You sailed on ships to explore and discover a world that existed before

Columbus even thought to sail the sea

First contact meant the end to civility and the start of

savages conquering what did not belong to them

Contact.  A condition in which two or more individuals or groups are placed in communication with each other.

If that’s the case

First contact lacked its tact

a keen sense of what to say or do to avoid giving offense; skill in dealing with difficult or delicate situations.

Con

Because my European counterparts

They identified more with the con in contact

Thanks for the gifts you brought over to thee

Your diseases wrapped in pretty boxes of bubonic plague

Helped to devastate the lives indigenous people

Not immune to such terrible things

The land on which we live today

Was obtained based on the blood and tears

Of aboriginees

say yes

Life has been so amazing. I have had many obstacles, pitfalls, stumbling blocks, negative thoughts and I have just been battling it seems. But God is so amazing. I just have to spend time thanking God for all He has done for me, despite me! Despite my lack of response to His beckoning. Despite my ignoring Him or doing my will. I thank God that He loves me. I thank God that He blesses my Obediance and corrects my disobediance! I thank God that He loves me for me! It is so easy to get caught up in the struggles of life, without taking a step back and seeing the many victories that the Lord has blessed you with. I am so glad that I know Jesus and that He died for me. Wow! Jesus died for my mess. I just think sometimes how unworthy I am. But God loves me so much that He sent His Son to die for me and You! That act of love is unfathomable and I thank God that He acts upon my life daily. He wakes me up, opens doors, Closes doors, protects me, provides for, blesses me, fills me, releases me from things not of Him, stores up my wealthy place, heals me, delivers me...Yes! Thank you God! Im sitting here in my living room finishing up homework and i looked at my bank account because today is payday. As I checked my account I was sadly surprised at the lack of numbers and that some money had already been taking out and I was left with very little. I instantly thought of the devour and how he comes to steal, kill, rob and destroy. It made me sad because this area of my life has not been giving completely over to God and im affected by it, but that person I was supposed to bless is now affected and it saddens my heart. Then God put in my heart, Say Yes...so I began to listen to say Yes by Shekinah Glory and it started to minister  me. I begin to allow the song to stir my spirit and God is telling me that there are areas in my life that must be turned loose unto Him that I can no longer render my will over these areas because there dry. God wants so much more FOR me and FROM me, but th elonger I hold on the longer I will be dry in these places. God is desiring for you to say yes. Every part of your being, soul, emotions, your body...He wants it all!! We are a Work in progress. Remember that God is a God of Action. He is acting in your life, but every time you try and be the director you are saying CUT! And God is not a forceful God. He wants you to choose Him. He wants your love wholeheartedly just like He gave us when He sent His son. God wants my Yes! He loves me so much! The Amazing thing about God is that He is always there waiting. He stores up the blessings you lost out on, so when you return and allow Him to direct your life, at the end of the episode, the scene or the movie he will be there ready and willing to bless you with all those things. Everything you thought you lost will be replaced and given unto you better than you could have conceived yourself. Yes my bank account may look low but God!! Yes you may be struggling in school, but God!! Yes you are hurting, but God! Someone wise said, 

When you determine sin [you fill in blank] no longer benefits you it will cease ( Pastor LaQuetta Simmons)." 

So is it SIN, UNFORGIVENESS,PAIN, BITTERNESS, LUST, SEX, LYING, SLOTHFULNESS,ARROGANCE, PRIDE, HATE, ANGER, INSECURITY, LONLINESS, ISOLATION, FEAR, POVERTY....

What is your blank? Jesus loves us so much. Be encouarged on today! Just say Yes to God! I declare and decree that on today we will Say Yes to our Father, Our Daddy, Our God, Our Savior!!! 

If you have to get on your knees and cry out to our God, write a forgiveness letter, apologize to someone, call someone right now and tell them you love them, give to that person God told you to bless, help that person you dont like, Pray for the one you hate until your hurt turns to love for them, declare who He is to you....Say Yes to God. Then be STILL so that you can hear His sweet voice and feel His Spirit overcome you....Do what He requires of you! Let Him direct your life! Yes Jesus! If all you can say is Jesus! Then say Jesus!Jesus!Jesus! Yes let that be your prayer.

Listen and Meditate on this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czbWefFnmqE 

Yes Father we submit to you. We surrender all unto you Lord. You are good. You are mighty and strong.You are excellent. You are wonderful. You are loving. You are the alpha and omega. We thank you Lord. We love you Jesus!

God's Servant,

Jasmine Nicole