“And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away” (Mark 12:12).

Wickedness can never stand up to the truth.  Although multitudes in crowds may not fully understand all that is happening, there are those who know enough to know whether or not it is a bald-faced lie.  The world is filled with manipulative politicians who are always playing the crowd.  Jesus comes in and speaks to each one of us personally and asks us to follow Him and not to follow the whims of the politicians of this world.

Lord, nothing has changed.  There are those who seek a power they will never have and the sheep who are constantly being manipulated.  Help me to see the simplicity of truth and shed myself of those things which get in the way of humbly following You, even if it means to be seized by others.  Lord, You have given the words of eternal life.  Where else can we go?  You are true and You have revealed truth.

Lord Jesus, the truth revealed, guide me in faith to face whatever adversity might arise  seeking to lead me astray.  Keep me faithful to You.  You are the foundation upon which, through which, and for which all things have been made.  Lead me into the depths of true living so that I may humbly walk according to the Holy Spirit’s prompting and do what is pleasing in the Father’s sight.  Amen. 

“Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone; This came about from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (Mark 12:10-11)

There are those who will receive truth and those who will do everything they can to keep to themselves and reject what is true.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that either we build our lives on the rock or else built upon sand.  What we build on our own will crumble.  The One through whom all things have their being has come to lead You to build everything on the solid rock, which is Him.

Lord, over and over, You tell us what is right and true.  It is amazing that the rebellion runs so deep that the lie seems to be believed more readily than the truth.  I too fall into this arrogance.  Help me to be shed of the insistence of thinking I know when I do not.  Bring me to know that only on You, the Solid Rock, can I build my hopes on the truth of the consistent revelation You have made throughout the ages.

Lord Jesus, You are the Solid Rock, the Foundation, the One who is our Savior.  Only upon You and what You have done can any of us have the hope that springs to eternal life.  Guide me, dear Lord, to not only understand this, but to act upon it and build my life upon You.  You alone provide the grace and mercy we all need to come into the eternal life which has been promised to those who believe.  Help my unbelief.   Amen.

“They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.  What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others” (Mark 12:8-9).

Killing, or thinking about killing the problem never resolves anything.  Authority finally catches up with you.  Solving the problem of sin, greed, and avarice does require death, not to gain, but to overcome.  We must die to these things. The pollution of sin is in us all.  When we die to sin, what is gained is not what we imagine, but something better and beyond the pollution that sin brings, which clouds our thinking.

Lord, I do understand this small-thinking way of seeking to gain what I can never have.  Lead me through what You know I need to overcome in order that I may not look at the world as something to gain, but as Your creation.  Help me to learn to be content with my circumstances and gain the life You offer me through grace.  Guide me, Lord, in the way of everlasting life.

Lord Jesus, You were taken to the cross, but it was not done for Your gain.  It was Your willing sacrifice that we might gain the true inheritance.  Lead me away from this world’s way of thinking and into the truth You have come to reveal.  I am a steward and You have placed me where I can grow in Your image.   Guide me so that I may humbly follow You wherever You lead.  Amen.

“He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’  But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’” (Mark 11:6-7)

The devil thinks He can steal what belongs to God.  This world is filled with those who believe things will go the way they want them to go.  The Father sent the Son and they killed Him.  We know it really doesn’t work this way, either in the world, or in heaven, but many act this way all the same.  It really is as simple as recognizing that we are stewards, servants, and we have been created to serve.

Lord, open my eyes to see the insanity of the merry-go-round of sin and the rebellion against You.  You have caused all things to be and in You is all hope and an eternal future.  Lead me, Lord, in the way of living so that I do not seek for myself but live in the way life is meant to be lived.  No matter what we rebels do, You take what was meant for evil and turn it into good.

Lord Jesus, they killed You hoping to gain the inheritance, but through Your death, the true inheritance has been made possible.  Through You, we are heirs of eternal life with You in Trinity.  Through You, we have the restoration of the hope that because You live, we too shall live.  Guide me on the upward way of living so that I no longer scheme but instead seek to do the Father’s will.  Amen.

“Again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully.  And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others” (Mark 11:6-7).

The amount of legitimized thievery that happens in our day is appalling.  From the miser who relies upon others to provide, to the large companies that wantonly take from those who do not have, our world legitimizes thievery shrouded in excuses.  We are stolen from each day by those who take for themselves.  We should respond neither with envy nor anger, but with a desire to seek to become faithful.

Lord, You know that I cannot correct others in those places of avarice and greed, but I can deal with what You give me.  Teach me my part in this life.  Help me to live according to Your word knowing that You are creating in me a right spirit.  Even if I am the only one doing so, help me to hold fast and do what is right and true.  Guide me according to Your will and help me to not follow the will of this world.

Lord Jesus, I need to be saved.  You know where the infection of this world has taken hold of my heart.  You know those places where my attitude needs to be changed.  Take from me the excuses and claims of inability to be a willing servant at every time and in every place.  Guide me to grow in Your likeness and listen to Your leading by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Lead me to the place of living faithfully.  Amen.

“At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers.  They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed” (Mark 12:2-3).

The least attended service of the year is often stewardship Sunday.  Who wants to hear about giving?  How often is the Lord sent away empty-handed?  We often rely upon the good stewardship of others.  In the end of our earthly life, we will leave behind all that we have accumulated in this world.  The pattern of this world is all around us.  The Lord calls us to be stewards and not owners.  All we have belongs to Him and He entrusts it to us.

Holy and Triune God, there is poor stewardship all around us.  From the ones who, without thinking drop their trash for another to pick up to Your church where many do little to nothing but sit.  Help us to move away from the greed of this world to the place where we seek to live faithfully, whatever that may mean.  You know the stumbling blocks in the way of our life in You.  Remove them so we may grow in the likeness of our Savior.

Come, Holy Spirit, and convict me in those places where I am like the world and not like Christ.  Plant in me the word of Christ so that I seek to live in the balance You give.  All I need is provided for.  A good steward does store for times of need; but help me to be balanced according to Your leading and not according to the way of the world.  Teach me to be a good steward and not leave You empty-handed when the need arises.  Amen.

“And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a wall around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey” (Mark 12:1).

Our Lord is the Creator of all things.  He has made all things existing and entrusted all of them to us for our use.  How have we done?  Look at history and you see over and over those who take and do not share.  Contrast this with what the Lord has taught us about sharing with others in need.  It is one thing to accumulate for one’s need and quite another to become greedy.  There is a moral difference.

Lord, I do not know where the line is.  I know that many, perhaps even myself, raise the line to where I do not know when enough is enough.  Help me, Lord, to see the line and live within the means You give me.  I need Your direction as to what I means to be a good steward of what You have entrusted to me.  Teach me the difference between hoarding versus storing up.  Guide me in generosity.

Lord Jesus, You lived humbly and simply while walking the earth in Your earthly ministry.  All that You needed was provided.  Help me to understand that You have provided for my needs with every step I have taken in this life.  Guide me to become a steward of all that You entrust to me, knowing that all things are Yours.  Lead me to live within the boundaries You have established that I may learn to live faithfully.  Amen.

“Answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things” (Mark 11:33).

The Lord does not answer all our questions at this time.  I suspect we would still not understand if we did get the answer.  Better is the way of trusting the Lord, even above our ability to understand.  The Lord grants authority to whom He grants it and He has His reasons.  Sometimes this puzzles us, especially if there is a wicked despot who rules.  But the Lord has purpose in all things and He alone is trustworthy.

Lord, when I am puzzled and have unanswered questions, help me so that my faith is not dependent upon circumstances or my ability to understand.  You alone have the words of life and life eternal.  You have spoken Your word of promise, and You alone can be trusted.  Help me to understand the simple wisdom that trusting You above all things is the way to live.  You have promised that You will work it all together for good.

Guide me, gracious Savior.  I encounter people all day long and wonder by what authority they do what they do.  Help me to understand that You are working all things together according to Your purpose.  Help me to remain in Your will, exercising whatever authority You grant me, respecting those whom You have placed in authority over me and living according to Your word.  Amen.

“They began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’  But shall we say, ‘From men’?” – they were afraid of the people, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet” (Mark 11:31-32).

Here is the contradiction that every politically thinking person faces: how far can we push this.  This first points to the reality that free thinking people cannot be controlled.  The second point is that the wicked seek to control.  The Lord does not use force, the wicked do.  You have been offered salvation and invited to live in the salvation of Christ.  Do not be swayed by fear of men but gain wisdom with fear of the Lord.

Lord, You are loving and gracious, but You are also serious about the condemnation of wickedness.  The two are together.  We see it in nature.  It is beautiful and glorious, but it is also quite dangerous. Help me to live with wisdom, knowing that all things are in Your hands.  Guide me to see that in You is hope and an eternal future.  John’s baptism was from You.  Lead me by Your baptism to repent of the wickedness in me.

Lord Jesus, You have come to lead the way through this rebellious world.  Help me to see more clearly each day and not be driven by the winds of the fear that is in this world.  Let me be afraid of neither the crowds nor those who seek to gain control but fear You above all things.  Lead me into Your love so that I live a life that is faithfully following You wherever You lead me.  Amen.

“And Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.  Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me” (Mark 11:29-30).

There are many questions we cannot answer, but we can look at what the authorities say.  Wickedness abuses authority and we know that the Lord is the source of all legitimate authority.  Here, the ones opposed to the Lord stopped short because they could not deny that the Baptism of John was affecting the crowds.  They feared the crowd, but not the Lord.  Fear the Lord and not the crowd.

Lord, You know how much I am influenced by those around me.  I sometimes fear the crowd instead of You.  You are the source of all authority, and Your will shall be accomplished.  I may question the actions of others; but teach me to understand when You are speaking and to trust You above all created things.  I may not know how or even why; but help me comprehend when it is Your hand that is acting.

Lord Jesus, You came to save all who believe.  You offer this gift to all.  There are those who are constantly questioning and do not want to believe.  Help my unbelief so that I look to You and do not doubt that You are always acting in our world.  When confronted with those who do not believe, help me to answer them with wisdom, pointing to You, as the One through whom all things have their being.  Amen.