“And He entered the synagogue again,
and a man was there
who had a withered hand.
So they watched Him closely,
whether He would heal him
on the Sabbath,
so that they might accuse Him.”
(Mark 3:1 – 2)
As you read this…
Think on this…
And remind yourself…
What came immediately before this…
“The Sabbath was made for man”
(Mark 2:27)
And go and read again…
My previous Devotional…
“Sabbath was made for man”
(Saturday 16th October 2021)
In this instance in the synagogue
Jesus DID heal the man…
“Then the Pharisees went out
and immediately plotted
with the Herodians against Him,
how they might destroy Him.”
(Mark 3:6)
We can so easily read this
And agree with Jesus
That it was of more importance
To “heal the man”
BUT…
Are we any different…,
Than the Pharisees of Jesus’ day?
Many people treat Sunday
As THE Sabbath…
And give it the same
Biblical importance…
“Thou shalt NOT do any
Kind of work on the Sabbath”
(Not the Bible – but Northern Ireland)
(At least some sections or Denominations)
Now before someone gets “offended”
Let me share with you
“My own story”
Born and bred in Northern Ireland
With a Christian upbringing
Brought up in church, all my life
Initially a Methodist
Then singing as a chorister (C of I)
And remaining Church of Ireland (C of I)
Lived in England for a short time (5+ years)
And went shopping on a Sunday
Now – nice story…
And why do I tell you this…?
Well…
The first day I went shopping
On a Sunday…
(I was in my late 30’s, by the way)
The hairs on the back of my neck
Were standing UP!
I was feeling REALLY uneasy…
You see…
Many of us LIVE in…
A very “religious” society
NOT too unlike the Jewish society
Of the days of Jesus
And YET…
We are supposed to be Christian
We are supposed to be FREE
And sadly…
Many of us are “bound”…
To “dead” “religious” practices
We NEED to “BREAK FREE”
And I have done…
And am “breaking FREE” daily
As I walk with Jesus
The truth of the matter
Is as it says in Proverbs:
“The fear of man brings a snare”
(Proverbs 29:25)
Many people are “afraid”
Of what others might say
Of what people might “think”
If you do “the wrong thing”
Not biblically WRONG
But TRADITIONALLY wrong…
Thankfully that quote from
Proverbs was the correct
Verse to use:
“The fear of man brings a snare,
But whoever trusts in the
Lord shall be safe.”
(Proverbs 29:25)
I am TRUSTING in the Lord
At times, I may feel uncomfortable
With some of the actions I take
But I have learned and am learning
To listen to Him more closely
And intently…
Jesus said:
“Take My yoke upon you
and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and
My burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:29 – 30)
Jesus WANTS us to walk with Him
TIED (by way of a yoke) to and with Him
(By our own FREE choice and will)
For His yoke is EASY…
And His BURDEN is light…
Since a yoke is designed
To be carried by TWO…
And JESUS is carrying it with you
The traditions we have…
So often can be burdensome
But Jesus has set us FREE…
I, for one, want to be yoked
With Jesus…
And CHOOSE to be FREE