Hope Rises Us Up! Pt 1
Hope Clears Our Vision
If you would like to extend this over a week, you can easily do one of the points each day of your devotion. Here is a printable version.
Monday
Matthew 6:22 - "The eye is the lamp. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness."
Have you ever told someone, "I just don't see how we are going to make it," or "I just don't see that anything is going to change," or "I just don't see any hope for my future"? How you see your life can determine your stress level, success, strength, and stability. If we do not have a clear and correct vision, we could experience challenges in these facets of our life. Wisdom is seeing life from God's point of view. Jesus was often confronted by those who had great knowledge but could not see what was most important. Jesus provided us a few lessons to help us understand how to see clearly not only when we are confused, but also when we are going about making decisions in our daily lives.
Open your group with a prayer. This is only a guide--select the points you want to discuss.
A misunderstanding
Please read Mark 8:13-21.
Mark 8:13-21 - Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. 14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 "Be careful," Jesus warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod." 16 They discussed this with one another and said, "It is because we have no bread." 17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" "Twelve," they replied. 20 "And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" They answered, "Seven." 21 He said to them, "Do you still not understand?"
According to the gospel of Mark, we can see that there is something to learn from every miracle that Jesus performs. He uses the miracles to teach the disciples vision and an opportunity to "see" this vision that God has for them. What can we learn from the miracles in Mark 8 about how to see life clearly?
1. Our pride keeps our vision cloudy.
In Mark 8:15, Jesus warns the disciples to "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees." In this scripture, what is Mark using as a metaphor for pride and arrogance? _________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Our short-term thinking keeps our vision cloudy.
Again, we see in Mark 8 that the disciples are having trouble understanding the illustration Jesus is providing.
Wednesday
3. Our short-term memory keeps our vision cloudy.
Jesus tests the disciples in Mark 8:18-21 and asks them to remember the lessons of past miracles that were performed. How did the disciples respond to his prompting? _____________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ephesians 1:18 - I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints....
Ephesians 1:18 is a prayer for us to have open hearts to the vision God has for us and that clear vision is the key to hope in our lives. Are you distracted and not seeing God's vision due to your own pride? _____________________________________________________________________________________
Do you focus on your present circumstances and ignore the possibility of future blessings?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Do you fail to remember God's blessings that have already occurred in your life and fear the future ahead? __________________________________________________________________________________
Spend some time in prayer and ask God to reveal those areas in which you may struggle. Ask Him to help release you from those burdens so that you will remember what Christ has done and have faith that He will do it again.
Thursday
Hopelessness fades.
Mark 8:22 - They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
In Mark 8:22, how did the blind man get to Jesus? _____________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. When we get close to Jesus.
3. When we trust Jesus to lead us.
Friday
What we learn.
We are now going to discuss some lessons from Jesus's healing of the blind man. Before we do, read Mark 8:23-26.
Mark 8:23-26 - He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?" 24 He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." 25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
26 Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don't go into the village."
Please keep in mind: 1) Jesus never says or does anything by accident; 2) He teaches His disciples about spiritual vision through an object lesson; and 3) this was the ONLY miracle Jesus performed that progressed in stages.
1. Spiritual growth is progressive.
2. We see life through God's perspective.
1. Our focus gets sharper.
What happens to our focus when we look at life and others through God's point of view?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Our perspective gets larger.
With the bigger picture in view instead of a partial, limited point of view, how is our vision of life enhanced? ________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Our vision about life gets clearer.
When Jesus opens our eyes, our point of view gains focus, foresight, and framework.
Select any one or all of these benefits of seeing clearly and share with the group how
your spiritual vision could be enhanced. _________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Job 34:32 - Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.
Keeping in mind how Jesus corrects our vision, what is it that you need help to see? __________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Discuss with your group the issue at hand and ask for their prayers to help you.
Take a moment to review any assignments/challenges made during the personal application and commitment section of your previous meeting. Seeing God at work in the lives of those who commit to him is essential for growth.
Matthew 6:22 - "The eye is the lamp. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness."
Have you ever told someone, "I just don't see how we are going to make it," or "I just don't see that anything is going to change," or "I just don't see any hope for my future"? How you see your life can determine your stress level, success, strength, and stability. If we do not have a clear and correct vision, we could experience challenges in these facets of our life. Wisdom is seeing life from God's point of view. Jesus was often confronted by those who had great knowledge but could not see what was most important. Jesus provided us a few lessons to help us understand how to see clearly not only when we are confused, but also when we are going about making decisions in our daily lives.
Open your group with a prayer. This is only a guide--select the points you want to discuss.
A misunderstanding
Please read Mark 8:13-21.
Mark 8:13-21 - Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. 14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 "Be careful," Jesus warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod." 16 They discussed this with one another and said, "It is because we have no bread." 17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" "Twelve," they replied. 20 "And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" They answered, "Seven." 21 He said to them, "Do you still not understand?"
According to the gospel of Mark, we can see that there is something to learn from every miracle that Jesus performs. He uses the miracles to teach the disciples vision and an opportunity to "see" this vision that God has for them. What can we learn from the miracles in Mark 8 about how to see life clearly?
1. Our pride keeps our vision cloudy.
In Mark 8:15, Jesus warns the disciples to "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees." In this scripture, what is Mark using as a metaphor for pride and arrogance? _________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
- We may miss the point of something because we are distracted by the yeast. What point did Jesus want the disciples to understand? _____________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________ - How did the disciples misunderstand the point that Jesus was trying to make? _________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________ - Do we see clearly when we are prideful? _________ Why or why not? ____________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Our short-term thinking keeps our vision cloudy.
Again, we see in Mark 8 that the disciples are having trouble understanding the illustration Jesus is providing.
- How did they misunderstand the metaphor of the yeast that Jesus was using? ____________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________ - Jesus was talking about their ________________________________________________________________.
- The disciples thought he was talking about _________________________________________________.
- We can see that the disciples were focused on their present situation and not on the future behavior that Jesus wanted from them. How do we miss seeing God's vision for our lives when we focus on our present happiness or short-term comfort? _________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Wednesday
3. Our short-term memory keeps our vision cloudy.
Jesus tests the disciples in Mark 8:18-21 and asks them to remember the lessons of past miracles that were performed. How did the disciples respond to his prompting? _____________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
- What did Jesus want the disciples to understand and see about the present by remembering the blessings in the past miracles? __________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________ - Was he looking for "right answer" or a clear vision of God's work in their lives? ____________
______________________________________________________________________________________________ - Is there room for a miracle in our future when we do not remember a past blessing? ______ Why or why not? ____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Ephesians 1:18 - I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints....
Ephesians 1:18 is a prayer for us to have open hearts to the vision God has for us and that clear vision is the key to hope in our lives. Are you distracted and not seeing God's vision due to your own pride? _____________________________________________________________________________________
Do you focus on your present circumstances and ignore the possibility of future blessings?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Do you fail to remember God's blessings that have already occurred in your life and fear the future ahead? __________________________________________________________________________________
Spend some time in prayer and ask God to reveal those areas in which you may struggle. Ask Him to help release you from those burdens so that you will remember what Christ has done and have faith that He will do it again.
Thursday
Hopelessness fades.
Mark 8:22 - They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
In Mark 8:22, how did the blind man get to Jesus? _____________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
- Once the blind man was brought to Jesus, how did the people ask Jesus to heal him? _________________________________________________________________________________________
- How did Jesus lead the blind man outside the village? _________________________________
- When we care enough to help others on their behalf, we practice INTERCESSION. Looking back on Mark 8:22, which two actions taken by the people demonstrate their intercession on the behalf of the blind man? ________________________________________________________________
- In many miracles, God is waiting on you to care. Caring people bring their hurting friends to Jesus. Who do you need to care about? ____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
2. When we get close to Jesus.
- What about being close to Jesus do you think is vital in order to see a miracle in your life?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________ - Contrast God's plan for us to have a personal relationship with Jesus with that of the secular view of being "religious" and "ritualistic." ___________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. When we trust Jesus to lead us.
- As we have discussed previously, Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him. Imagine Jesus taking you. Where is He taking you? ___________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ - What does your walk of faith look like? ______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Friday
What we learn.
We are now going to discuss some lessons from Jesus's healing of the blind man. Before we do, read Mark 8:23-26.
Mark 8:23-26 - He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?" 24 He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." 25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
26 Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don't go into the village."
Please keep in mind: 1) Jesus never says or does anything by accident; 2) He teaches His disciples about spiritual vision through an object lesson; and 3) this was the ONLY miracle Jesus performed that progressed in stages.
- Briefly discuss Jesus's actions, questions, and the results while healing the blind man. ______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
1. Spiritual growth is progressive.
- Do you understand life better today than ten years ago? ___________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________ - Spiritually speaking, and like this miracle, why do you think we cannot understand life instantly, that it happens in stages, and that our point of view becomes clearer over time?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
2. We see life through God's perspective.
1. Our focus gets sharper.
What happens to our focus when we look at life and others through God's point of view?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Our perspective gets larger.
With the bigger picture in view instead of a partial, limited point of view, how is our vision of life enhanced? ________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Our vision about life gets clearer.
When Jesus opens our eyes, our point of view gains focus, foresight, and framework.
Select any one or all of these benefits of seeing clearly and share with the group how
your spiritual vision could be enhanced. _________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Job 34:32 - Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.
Keeping in mind how Jesus corrects our vision, what is it that you need help to see? __________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Discuss with your group the issue at hand and ask for their prayers to help you.
Take a moment to review any assignments/challenges made during the personal application and commitment section of your previous meeting. Seeing God at work in the lives of those who commit to him is essential for growth.
Recent
Archive
2022
February
March
2021
January
March
April
November
2020
May
June
July
August
September
October
November