Scripture: "As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables." Mark 4:10
Observation: Christ spoke from a large platform. There were so many people around that He had to get in a boat and be pushed out from the shore to speak to everyone. The teaching obviously had an impact on those who heard, since they kept returning; but Christ was not fooled. He kept in mind that of the four scenarios He spoke of only one received the word. It would appear, that most of them did not get it in big group teaching. They got it by drawing close to the Teacher at the end of the message and asking Him in private.
Application: I fill my mind with noise. I am constantly reading, listening to sermons and working on Bible studies. There is nothing wrong with these things. In fact, they are good things. That said I can hear teaching all day long; it is my private time with Christ that real teaching takes place. I wonder sometimes why it is so hard for me to remember this? What is it about getting alone with God that is so difficult? Here as I read these stories I am fully reminded that the disciples got a word in the large setting, but they got the full meaning of the word in private conversation with the Master. In this day and time, how is it that we are to do this? As Christ was preparing to leave the earth He gave us a glimpse of this. He told His disciples that it was better for them that He leave, because if he left then the Helper would come. Man do I forget that verse. God did not leave me here to wonder about things. Inside of me rests the Spirit of the Almighty God I serve. He stands ready to teach me. To Counsel me. To prepare my heart so that the seeds planted will find deep soil in which to take root. That is the course of true discipleship. Sitting one-on-one with the one and only True God and simply having a conversation. What an amazing privilege. There are so many things that get in the way of this. Distractions are not very hard to find and often are easy to blame, but let's get real. If I really want to do something, I find a way. If I truly value something, I will move heaven and earth to get it. I will leave my normal day behind to play a round of golf or go hunting. The true reason I avoid private conversations with God? Fear. Laziness. Difficulty. Confusion. Ignorance. I am afraid that He will ask something of me that I will not be able to give. I do not want to work at it. It is hard to really get myself in a place that I can hear from God. It is confusing trying to understand what voice I am hearing. They all sound like me at times. I am completely unaware of just how much I need to be with God.
Prayer: I blame many things for me being the way that I am. At the end of the day, it is fear, laziness, difficulty, confusion and ignorance that keeps me from fellowshipping with you. I am tired of the birds, briars, and shallow soil robbing my life of the seed that you sow. I want my heart to be prepared. I want to sit in Your counsel. I pray that you move in my life to the point where I am inconvenienced by Your truth. I thirst for a deeper knowledge of You. I want my time alone with You to come alive and see Your mighty hand move as my wisdom and strength in you grow. Allow my heart to be broken for the people You have given me and grant that my private time alone with You be the place that I find the words of counsel I need to share with others. I love sitting under a great teacher, but I do not want anything to ever take the place of You showing up in the private setting of my house and filling my heart.
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