<\/p>\n
(Translated version, original article written in Chinese by Pastor Mickey Hsiao)<\/em><\/p>\n By singing praises and hymns, awake your soul, open your heart to the Lord, and prepare yourself to welcome the presence of God and receive the Word of God that will be given to you.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Petition with thanksgiving to God for a wonderful day and pray sincerely for a focused Scripture reading time! (Do not rush into reading the Bible without starting with prayers!<\/strong>) (e.g., you may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what will you be speaking to me today?)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Get the following items ready in advance: your devotional notebook, paper, pen, and\/or electronic devotional articles so that you can easily write down the Bible verses, questions, and thoughts you have noticed! You are encouraged to open your Bible and vocally read out the scriptures (Try to practice this reading method daily or once a week)!<\/p>\n Scripture Reading: Mark Ch. 1 (ESV)<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Take a moment to quietly reflect on today’s Scriptures. Through such exercises, let God’s Word be gradually written into our hearts and be inscribed to our mind.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read the devotional articles prepared by CBCLWA (*Read the Bible first before reading any devotional materials.<\/strong>)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n (<\/span>vv.\u00a0<\/span>1-15)<\/span>\u00a0T<\/span>he\u00a0<\/span>overall\u00a0<\/span>recount of Jesus<\/span>\u2019s gospel ministry\u00a0<\/span>is much more fast-paced and action-packed in the Book of Mark than in the Book of Matthew.\u00a0<\/span>In t<\/span>he Book of Mark<\/span>, there are<\/span>\u00a0fewer\u00a0<\/span>records of\u00a0<\/span>teachings<\/span>\u00a0from Jesus and there is no mentioning of\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>genealogy and the\u00a0<\/span>birth of Jesus.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>As if we were watching breaking news, the Book of Mark started with:\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God<\/span><\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/span>it\u00a0<\/span>reveals the protagonist of the gospel\u00a0<\/span>directly<\/span>!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Next, it introduces John the Baptist \u2014\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0<\/span>forerunner<\/span>\u00a0before Jesus<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>John\u00a0<\/span>is the messenger described by the prophet Isaiah to\u00a0<\/span>\u201cprepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0preaching a baptism of repentance in the wilderness.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Jesus\u00a0<\/span>was\u00a0<\/span>baptized by John the Baptist in the<\/span>\u00a0river<\/span>\u00a0Jordan\u00a0<\/span>and then be\u00a0<\/span>te<\/span>mpted\u00a0<\/span>by Satan in the wilderness<\/span>. Fast-forwarding, this Chapter began the recount of Jesus\u2019 ministry, referencing his preaching on the K<\/span>ingdom of God in Galilee:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Brothers and sisters, what is the gospel of God? The gospel is the good news, the power of God \u2013 through the atonement of the cross of Jesus \u2013 to save all who believe in Him. Jesus said\u00a0<\/span>\u201crepent and believe\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u2013<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>that is the most important and\u00a0<\/span>eminent\u00a0<\/span>message we must remember when we preach the gospel.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n (<\/span>vv.\u00a0<\/span>16-34) Later Jesus <\/span>met\u00a0<\/span>his disciples\u00a0<\/span>by the sea and asked them to follow him. Immediately, they submitted to him and\u00a0<\/span>put everything aside to follow\u00a0<\/span>h<\/span>im. In the synagogue, unlike the teachers of the law, Jesus taught with authority<\/span>\u00a0and people were astonished by his teaching<\/span>. Jesus drove\u00a0<\/span>out an\u00a0<\/span>impure spirit\u00a0<\/span>from someone who was demon-possessed\u00a0<\/span>just by\u00a0<\/span>his commands<\/span>. Simon\u2019s mother-in-law<\/span>\u00a0was healed by Jesus. As soon as Jesus touched her hand and helped her sit up, her\u00a0<\/span>fever subsided and she got up to serve.\u00a0<\/span>A<\/span>ll\u00a0<\/span>of\u00a0<\/span>these amazing powers of Jesus<\/span>\u00a0were testified<\/span>\u00a0through these recounts<\/span>\u00a0and his authority is from heaven. Such a<\/span>uthority,\u00a0<\/span>like\u00a0<\/span>healing diseases<\/span>\u00a0and driving out impure spirits, was\u00a0<\/span>witnessed by\u00a0<\/span>his<\/span>\u00a0disciples<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u202fheard by\u00a0<\/span>many people<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At that time,\u00a0<\/span>Jesus\u2019 reputation spread everywhere. Many people \u2013 sick and demon-possessed \u2013 all came to Jesus. He healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Do you acknowledge the authority of Jesus? Today, pick one\u00a0<\/span>thing\u00a0<\/span>from your\u00a0<\/span>to-do-list<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>do\u00a0<\/span>it\u00a0<\/span>in such a way that shows your willingness to submit to\u00a0<\/span>Jesus! May you be blessed because of your obedience and may you witness what Jesus will do as a consequence of your choice.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n (<\/span>vv.\u00a0<\/span>35-45) Th<\/span>e scripture\u00a0<\/span>says that Jesus went off to a solitary place to pray very early in the morning. When Peter told him,\u00a0<\/span>\u201cEveryone is looking for you.\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Jesus unexpectedly replied\u00a0<\/span>\u201cLet us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Jesus was eager to rise early to start his day with prayer,\u00a0<\/span>making himself ready to face people and everything\u00a0<\/span>he has to deal with that day. Jesus purposely avoided the crowds so he can focus on preaching the word of God, which was\u00a0<\/span>the reason\u00a0<\/span>wh<\/span>y h<\/span>e\u00a0<\/span>came<\/span>. He knew the priorities and order of the ministry, and his prayer set the best example<\/span>\u00a0for us<\/span>. When we devote the best time of our day to the Lord, we\u00a0<\/span>put h<\/span>is word\u00a0<\/span>into\u00a0<\/span>our hearts \u2014\u00a0<\/span>first seek His kingdom and His righteousness<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>God\u2019s will<\/span>\u00a0then<\/span>\u00a0guide us throughout the day\u00a0<\/span>to help us\u00a0<\/span>deal with the people we meet or things we do or say. This way, we are able to make good use of our time, and\u00a0<\/span>will have no concerns for\u00a0<\/span>getting caught\u00a0<\/span>up in trivial matters that\u00a0<\/span>may delay other more important things<\/span>. Those of you who have started daily devotions, have you started to experience the power of praying?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Give thanks to God for His enabling us to read the Scriptures and for our response for living out the Word of God today! (e.g., You may start with a simple prayer like this: \u201cDear Lord, what\/where are you going to lead me to today?”)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":2111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abiding-in-the-lord","category-pastor-mickey-hsiao"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2194"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2212,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194\/revisions\/2212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Worship<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Thanksgiving<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Scripture Reading<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Meditation<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Devotional<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Pray<\/strong><\/h3>\n