Fasting

Secrets With God

Ken

Sharing a secret with God is not the same as refusing to confess Jesus before man, for those who refuse to acknowledge Jesus as Lord before others have no part in His kingdom. “But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:33 KJV). God’s children share a secret place and secret things known only between ourselves and Yahweh. A secret place of shelter is offered by Almighty God to His trusting children. “He that dwelleth in the secret place [literally, shelter] of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Secret giving, secret prayer, and secret fasting are things God shares with His children. Open reward is promised to only those, who seek to keep their secret with God. “4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:4, 6, 18). Manifestations of godly living will be inescapable though not intentionally sought. 

Father, may we be like Jesus, who has a secret name “no one knows knows except Himself” (Revelation 19:12 NET), since His glory cannot be seen by man while we continue to live, unless the Almighty places us in the cleft of the rock to see His back side as He passes by. Cause us to be more concerned with keeping our secrets with You than any vain show to man. Lord Jesus return quickly. In Your name, we pray. Amen.

Advice to Married Couples (Part 2)

Ken

Paul the Apostle gave marriage counsel to all NT readers. Specifically, he advised Christian couples about their together walk. Each belongs to the other, granting rights to the other over their own body. 1Corinthians 7:1-5, especially verse 5, encapsulates his advice. “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency [lack of self-control]” (1Corinthians 7:5 KJV). Fasting and prayer protect our relationship with God, while a couple’s together walk or agreement is both manifested and strengthened by their intimacy. LORD, strengthen the marriages of our brothers and sisters that Satan would not cleave them apart in dissension and divorce. Amen and amen. 

Help My Unbelief

Ken

A Brief Commentary on Mark 9:1-29

Especially Addressing the Plea, “Help Me Overcome My Unbelief,” or Overcoming Our Jadedness

Verse 1

“And He said to them, Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power” (9:1 NIV).

The “Some Who Are Standing Here Will Not Taste Death Before They See That the Kingdom of God Has Come With Power” Conundrum: To whom did Jesus address this statement? The answer is found in the previous chapter. “Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me” (Mark 8:34 NIV). So, He addressed “the crowd” and “His disciples.” If He only addressed His disciples, then the complication would arise, which disciples? What event would some disciples see that the other disciples would not? But, this is not the case, since evidently “the crowd” (9:1 NIV) was being informed of a future event to be viewed by these “disciples,” as well.

If physical death (“not taste death”) was implied in Christ’s statement, then when would His disciples “see that the kingdom of God has come with power” (9:1 NIV)? Evidently, Christ was referring to the disciples’ witnessing His Resurrection, to which He referred only earlier in the same discourse (Mark 8:31). Both His Death and certainly His Resurrection were unexpected by His disciples at that time. And, Christ’s defeat of death through the “power of His Resurrection” (Philippians 3:10 NIV) transcends any expectation of a mortal mind. “And who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:4 NIV).

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