On Tuesday, when I asked the Lord where He wanted me to read, He said, “Mark 4.”

So, prayerfully I opened to Mark 4 in my Amplified Bible, and four verses jumped off the page for me to consider. Mark 4:11-12 were the first two. 

Mark writes about a part of the discussion Jesus was having with His disciples when they asked Him why He taught with parables. Jesus’ answer is something we all need to consider:

11 And He said to them, To you has been entrusted the mystery of the kingdom of God [that is, the secret counsels of God which are hidden from the ungodly]; but for those outside [of our circle] everything becomes a parable,

12 In order that they may [indeed] look and look but not see and perceive, and may hear and hear but not grasp and comprehend, lest haply they should turn again, and it [their willful rejection of the truth] should be forgiven them.

I believe He was telling them, “People who have already decided to reject Me and the things I say will never see or hear what I say as being more than a story. They have already chosen to be blind and deaf to My words. They do not consider Me trustworthy. They are willfully rejecting the truth. So, all they hear when I teach is a story that does not apply to them.” 

Then in Mark 4:23-24 He says, “If any man has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him perceive and comprehend. 24 And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure  [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure  [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you—and more [besides] will be given to you who hear.”

Do you see that second sentence in verse 24? We should not only hear God’s word we need to dig into it, apply it, and act on it. When we do, there are benefits we receive that surpass what we get when we only hear the word. 

Well, not surprisingly, these verses connected to some revelation He gave me last night. 

I was thinking about our need for truth, especially right now. The deception is flowing more than ever, and so many people are giving up on God ever bringing about change. But Jesus knew there would be seasons like this, and He spoke to His disciples about them. Let’s look at John 8:31-32 in the Amplified.

So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. 32 And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.

Jesus is the Truth. (John 14:6) And He is full of Truth. (John 1:14, 17) Once we KNOW the victory Jesus won over the enemy and all the blood covenant blessings He provided for us, we will be free of fear and free of pride. Fear and pride are two of our biggest obstacles to overcome in our faith walk with Jesus. 

When we get down into our hearts the truth that He is always with us, that He will supply ALL that we need according to His riches in glory, that His plans for us are Good, that He loves us beyond our understanding, that He knows us better than any other person alive and goes before us preparing good things for us to walk in—and on, and on, and on, we live free. We need to know these things in our knower. Then we, like David, will run to our giants, knowing that it is God’s battle and He is already victorious. 

We can’t take credit for the outcome, and we must not set aside God’s instructions to do our own thing in pride. No, we give Him the glory, and we follow where He leads. If we do these things, we will call on Him when we need help, and we will be free of fear and also full of wisdom as to what to do. 

All of this is born out of a daily relationship with Him. There are not any instant fear removal pills we can take without first believing fully in His faithfulness. And that belief is only born out of life experiences with Him. 

Just a quick FYI–Abba has given me a new assignment for this year’s writing. We are going to deep dive into the Tabernacle. It is FULL of revelation about Jesus, what is available to us because of Him, and about who we are in Him. While many of us, me included, have skipped over this portion of scripture in the past. God is about to reveal priceless treasure.

Shalom ♥