Mark 2

In Ch. 1 of Mark Jesus encountered satan. In Ch. 2 He starts His encounter with the teachers/Scribes/Pharisees. He knew what they were thinking... I do not think we get the point so much here, we get caught up in the healing (take up you mat and walk) or we are caught up in the help of the 4 friends who get the man to Jesus who could not get there himself. I often miss that first Jesus forgave the man's sin, then he healed him in the body to prove he had the power to forgive. The teachers saw that if Jesus was forgiving sins then he was really claiming some divine authority - this is a no no, this is trouble.

New wineskins - a great name for a new, innovative church. I do not know if there is such a church with that name. Probably is, but there is an association called the New Wineskins Association of Churches. ---

What we have seen is a movement of God’s Spirit across the world which is
transcending denominational lines and drawing millions to meet Jesus Christ
as their Lord and Savior for the first time. New wine of fresh faith in Christ is
being poured out from heaven.
We want to be part of what God is doing. But here at home, mainline denominations struggle with theological confusion, ethical compromise and numerical decline.
We envision a church, therefore, that is theologically clear and passionate because it is based on shared essential tenets of historic orthodox faith.
We envision a church that is brimming over with compassion because we are clear about the Biblical ethics we share.
We envision a church that is missionally driven. Our focus is on outreach, on spreading the gospel in word and deed beyond our walls.
We envision a church that is reshaped in polity in order to serve, not impede, our
mission, in order to deepen trust and accountability. (google new wineskins)

It appears that maybe this group is a Presbyterian reform group. I
must think more about the new wineskins group being based more on the "shared
essential tenets of the the historic orthodox faith." So Jesus is a new wineskin guy - shake the foundations, quit
missing the point, exist for God, not for maintaining the things that seem
to
need to be maintained and do the right thing, glorify God, help
people,
fix the
broken, shake a few trees, be missional. His disciples
will not look like disciples
always looked... or act that way, because they
are reaching new generations,
people groups, etc. for the Lord.. or because
the Lord divinely directed
them
there. Sabbath - another place that Jesus gets in trouble because he is
showing He is Lord of the Sabbath. NLT "The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of
people, and not people to meet the needs of the Sabbath." So let me take a
shot
at it here - Sabbath is for restoration, not obligation. Not what I
can
do for
God, but what God can do for me in a time of rest and
renewal.
There's a New
Year resolution for some of us - take Sabbath or
burn out and
be no good to
anyone, especially to God. Granted, I am the
first one to
admit, it takes some
conscious change and working out. But
the words of
Jesus are still the Word of
God. Figure out Sabbath!!!! His
divine authority
shouts it out. I try to take Fridays myself. Been a bit lax at the end of the
year. So here goes for the New Year 2009. What will re-create me so that I
can
serve God better the rest of the week? Shalom, Alan