“And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry; how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?” (Mark 2:25-26)

Jesus is a good lawyer.  There are examples of the interpreted minutia of the law being interpreted in another way.  Who knows, maybe Jesus had David do this preparing for this very circumstance.  The laws are boundaries for living in a right relationship with the Lord.  The laws are not shackles to bind us in a legal prison.  Living our lives, we all know that a certain amount of balance is always necessary.

Lord, there is a fine line here and sometimes I do not understand where it is.  Show me the difference between the freedom You grant me and the line which crosses over into rebellion.  Help me not to build a trap for myself or others by being the one who interprets things according to my will, but show me the better way of living by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Be the One who leads me always.

Lord Jesus, I need to learn from You.  I do what I think is right according to my desires.  Grow in me the desire to do what is pleasing to the Father.  Lead me, Lord, in the way You know I need to go.  Teach me how to be attentive to Your direction as You speak to my heart.  Show me what is lawful and where You have given me liberty.  Through all things, help me learn how to be faithful. Amen.

“And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain.  The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” (Mark 2:23-24)

What is it that makes certain people so obnoxious that they so scrutinize others, seeing something so trivial as walking along and gleaning grains of wheat?  These are those who are out to get others.  It is as if they say, “I am better than you because I caught you breaking the law and doing something I would never do.  Is it pride, or envy, that causes such obnoxious behavior?

Lord, there are things I do that I think are good and right, and they are not.  Show me where my behavior is offensive to You.  Teach me what it means to love my neighbor and put the best possible construction on the actions of others.  There is enough insanity in this world, and I do not need to add to it.  Guide me into a right attitude toward others, seeking to show brotherly love.

Lord Jesus, You were literally watched constantly.  The wicked one will stop at nothing to thwart Your work.  Help me to see this world’s battle and help me to lean upon You and the wisdom You give for each situation.  Where others are so judgmental, keep me humble and gracious.  Lead me in the way of righteous living that looks to You as the source of all direction.  Amen.

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results.  No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins” (Mark 2:21-22).

The LORD must make us new for us to become what we shall be.  He works on our character before we are poured into a new body with our resurrection.  This is the journey of salvation.  We walk on the path of becoming like Christ.  Of course we do not know all the details, for we are being saved, but we can see the steps that are set before us, and we need to take those steps one at a time.

Lord, help me not look far into the future and try to second guess what will happen.  Help me to deal each day with its trouble and  joys.  You have called for me to follow You.  Help me to follow!  Guide me along right paths for Your sake and for the sake of the Gospel which you have placed in me.  Lead me according to the wisdom You have given me so that I may learn this new obedience as You remake me according to the Father’s will.

Lord Jesus, You alone are my Savior.  You alone must be the One who saves, and I need saving.  You, the author of my faith, must write and rewrite who I am according to the Father’s will and by the grace You give me, which I need.  Help me to learn how to be a willing follower during this process, seeking to put my faith into action and doing what You give me to do each day.  Amen.

“And Jesus said to them, “While the bridegroom is with them, the attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast, can they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.  But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day” (Mark 2:19-20).

There is a season for everything under heaven.  While the Lord was with them, they were taught to celebrate and rejoice.  The time did come when they fasted and prayed during times of persecution.  We too have seasons.  We are to implement what our Lord has taught us so that we do what we do for an audience of One.  We are not to seek to appease or please the world, but to hold fast to the faith we have been given.

Lord, help me to see more clearly.  In times of difficulty, the world is often pressing in, seeking my conformity to its ideas.  It has been this way over the ages.  Grant me wisdom to navigate amidst the storms of this world so that I may humbly follow You at all times, and through all things.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to see through the temptations of this world which call for me to do things their way.

Lord Jesus, I need Your grace and mercy.  I do not fast when I should, and I do when I should not.  I do not pray as I ought.  Teach me how to live the life of faith which You have given me.  Guide me so that I willingly obey You above all others.  Lead me to do what You set before me to do.  Show me how to be an obedient disciple, rejoicing when it is time to rejoice and fasting when it is time to fast.  Amen.

“John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they came and said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”  (Mark 2:18-19)

The world is constantly judging the actions of others.  We do this.  Why do we do that?  We have been fed lies to become meddlesome, paying attention to other’s actions.  With inner motivation, we want others to do what we think is right.  At the heart of this may be a seed of pride.  Pride brings on all kinds of wickedness.  We are fed on pride all day long.  Seek understanding, but do not judge unrighteously.

Lord, I am curious about things.  Sometimes I do something. and I wonder why another is doing what they are doing.  Help me to remain curious so that I may learn the glories of Your creation but also help me to not follow any path that may sneak in pride.  People do what they do.  I have my opinions, and I will do what I do.  Help me to look to You and be led by You so that I do what is pleasing to You.

Lord Jesus, I need to be saved from myself and my self-righteousness.  I think I know what I am doing, but as a sinner in need of saving, how can I truly know?  Lead me, Lord, so that I humbly submit to You and do as the Holy Spirit guides me.  Teach me to do what I do for You, Holy Trinity, not seeking the approval of either myself or others.  Guide me into wisdom.  Amen.

“And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17)

Who is sick among us?  Is not everyone infected with the disease of sin?  Jesus came for us sinners.  In our sick minds, we turn away from some and consider one better than the other, but it is not so.  We are all pretending what is good, and what is evil behavior.  Only in grace do we see not only our need, but the need of all whom we meet.  Do not be led by the world, but by the Savior of the world.

Lord, I am guilty of thinking myself better than others.  I am guided by the morals of this world.  Free me from such bondage so that I may see things as they are.  Guide me in Your goodness to live according to Your word and not the words of this world.  Lead me, Lord, so that I abide richly in You as You abide in me.  You have condescended to be with me.  Whom will I keep out because I think them less than me?

Lord Jesus, You have come for everyone.  Lead me ever deeper into this faith that You have given me.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to be willing to be with whomever You lead me to be with.  Keep me from judging others by their outward appearance or manner.  Instead, help me to see all other people through Your eyes.  Be the One who leads my every action.  Amen.

“When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?” (Mark 2:16-17)

In this world, you are known by whom you gather with.  It is as if their guilt becomes your guilt.  When we are in Christ, we understand that every gathering of humans – with the exception of Christ – are sinners who are meeting together.  What we should think is that they too may come to Christ and be forever changed by His amazing grace.

Lord, You know how there are certain places I ought not go, for I would become entangled in sin. There are others whose gatherings, to which I may go, will cause the world to judge me.  You do not judge in that way.  You have shown that You have come for all people to have the opportunity to come into salvation.  Lead me in the right direction and help me to listen to You and not the world.  Guide me into the depth of the faith You have given me.

Lord Jesus, I need Your help and guidance.  I do not know what is safe and what is dangerous.  Lead me so that I am always looking to You, being guided by what You know will happen.  Help me to be bold and be willing to speak truth amongst the wicked but remain faithful to You for the sake of all others who also need to hear of You grace and mercy.  Lead me, Lord, to go where You will send me.  Amen.

“And it happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him” (Mark 2:15).

Jesus dwells with us.  He is not far off and distant but seeks to abide in us and we in Him.  The idea of communion may, at times, be formal, but it also includes our daily lives.  It doesn’t matter who you are or what your circumstances are, for He has come to be in union with you and me.  Following Jesus is not some formal thing we do from time to time, but the essence of being with and in Him at all times.

Lord, I do “go” to church and forget that I am the church: that is, those of us who believe met together in You.  You abide in me and all others with faith who abide in You.  Lead me from the merely formal way of seeing things to realize that You have come so that we may have an eternal  relationship in which You are always with me.  Guide me into the life You intend.

Lord Jesus, remind me constantly that You are with me.  Help me to be in prayer with You without ceasing.  You have come to establish an eternal and every moment relationship with me and with those who gather in Your name.  Guide me so that I live the kind of life which You intend.  Keep me in this life and let it be evident to those around me.  Amen.

“As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him” (Mark 2:14).

A tax collector?  From amongst the most hated in the culture, Jesus calls this man who would write the Gospel of Matthew.  Yes, Jesus can redeem any who will follow Him, even the despised and hated.  The good gifts the one called had would be turned from gaining at the expense of others to bringing others the gain of eternal life.  We all have good gifts, and the Lord is more than able to put what is good to use for the kingdom.

Lord, I tend to think in terms of good and bad people.  But You see all of us as those who need to be redeemed.  Guide me in the upward call so that I see that all are gifted by You for good, but that sometimes they use the good for what is bad.  You alone know who they are, so grant me wisdom to understand that Your offer of grace should go out from me to all whom I meet.  Lead me in the direction of wisdom.

Lord Jesus, You call each one of us to follow You. Help me to understand that You do not see people from the outside but judge them by what they are inside.  You see the faithful as You created them to be.  Just as You have called me to follow You, so also, You call out to all.  Guide me to be an extension of Your call process so that I may reach out to others and share the Good News of the Gospel with all whom I meet.  Amen.

“And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them” (Mark 2:13).

If we are disciples, then we are willing to learn, and Jesus is our teacher.  A part of going to Scripture daily is that each time we go, our Lord teaches us more.  Like an onion with levels that peel away, so much more does Scripture unfold as we dive ever deeper into the mystery of the faith.  After all, how else can the eternal God and Father of us all share the mysteries to those who are bound by time?

Lord, one path of temptation onto which I often wander is the path that tells me that I already know something.  But wisdom calls for me to go deeper into Your word.  You have spoken the words of eternal life, but if I think about it, I, who often looks towards death in this life, knows precious little about what it means to be eternally alive.  I need You to teach me how to live here and now as You prepare me to live forever.

Lord Jesus, be my teacher.  Guide my understanding so that I take in what is truthful and learn how to reject what is false.  Help me to always come to You, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, grant that I would have a discerning wisdom to learn and grow in Your likeness.  Guide me now and always and keep me on the path of wisdom so that I learn what is true, right and salutary, and put these things into practice.  Amen.