Mark: Living the Way of Jesus in the WorldSample

First Thought 

It’s easy to feel sorry for the fig tree. It wasn’t the season for ripe figs, yet Jesus cursed it for having no edible fruit. In the Bible, fruitfulness is a symbol of spiritual health. Consider the passage that sits in between the two parts of the account of the fig tree. It’s about the spiritual disease of the temple. The fig tree reflects what Jesus encountered in the temple - lots of show but ultimately barren of spiritual fruit. The temple had failed as a house of prayer for all nations, but prayer, Jesus says, can change the world. God will not necessarily answer as we hope. This would be Jesus’ experience in the Garden of Gethsemane, too. Yet the vivid picture that Jesus paints of the power of prayer should encourage us to pray with boldness and a biblical imagination for all God might wish to do as we trust Him. 

What Does the Bible Say?

Why is forgiveness central to prayer?

Living it Out

Is there something really difficult in your life that you’re trusting God for?

Responding in Prayer

Father God, I’m trusting you for this ‘mountain’ in my life (…). May your will be done. Amen.