As I began reading Mark this week, which I’ve read many times before, this time it was as though the theme of evangelism was leaping out of the text at me.

I wouldn’t call myself a very active evangelist, and it isn’t something that comes naturally to me. I like getting involved with my church’s Easter outreach events and occasional other things, but I don’t find many natural opportunities for sharing the good news of Jesus in my daily life. There probably are times when I could share, but I just don’t feel bold enough, or even just motivated, to do it, I confess.

I can easily sideline evangelism as something for those who seem more gifted at it, and therefore as something that can be a low priority in my walk as a follower of Jesus. But as I read Mark this week, it felt like it was challenging where my soul had stagnated on this topic.

As I read Mark 1:16–17 this week, I was struck by Jesus’ words to His disciples as He called them to follow Him.

“As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭1‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

He calls them to follow Him, to fish for people. It is apparent that this is their primary purpose that flows out of following Him. Can I really say I’m a true disciple of Jesus if evangelism isn’t one of my core values as a Christian?

Jesus’ call to the disciples is intriguing. As fishermen, they are familiar with fishing, but I’m sure they must have wondered, How will this work? It would appear that Jesus immediately shows them, as seen in Mark 1:21–28.

They went into the town where they would find people, and Jesus began to teach. His teaching amazed them because He taught with authority. He then further displayed His power and authority by casting out a demon, which again caused amazement. He doesn’t tell the people who He is; He shows them that He is not like any religious or messianic figure they have encountered before. His words are truth and life, and He has authority over the kingdom of darkness. Note that this leads to news about Him spreading quickly over the whole region of Galilee (Mark 1:28, NIV).

I know that when I go into town, it does not cause such a stir!

It left me wondering: how, in my life, can I partner with God in a way that would show other people who Jesus is and leave them totally amazed at who He is? Not able to dismiss Him or forget about Him, but totally awestruck at this man, the Son of God, who is not like anyone or anything they have encountered before.

I’m not sure yet, but as a disciple of Jesus, He has called me to fish for people, and I want to partner with Him to do that. I feel that this looks different in different stages of life. For me, I know I can’t always go out onto the streets, as I just don’t have the energy. But perhaps part of fishing for people, in this season of my life, is learning how to use the gifts God has given me—whether through conversations, acts of kindness, or writing—to point people towards Jesus. I’m still contemplating what that fully looks like, but I want to go on the journey with Him and discover how He wants to work through the gifts He has given me.

In my last post I looked at Mary and Zechariah in Luke 1 and their differing responses to the word of God. You know I have to be honest and say I could relate much more to Zechariah than to Mary. Long years of waiting and disappointment had left me feeling a bit ‘bruised’ within myself and much more likely to question the promises of God than to receive them with rejoicing. But recently God has been stirring my soul with his promises and inviting me to believe… That’s why I’ve been writing about faith in my last few posts because it’s been my current personal journey with God!

God used Luke 1 to show me what my unbelief, fear and doubts looked like, and invited me instead to become like Mary, humbly believing God at his word, fully trusting that nothing is too difficult for him. But its rarely just a simply ‘switch’, I actually had to walk this out with God in real life situations and it was and still is, a journey! I often found I could really believe and trust God for a few days but then I would become worn down and my fears and doubts would mount up again, as not much in the situation seemed to change. 

One thing that really helped was meditating on the promise of God or the truth God was speaking to me for that situation, throughout the day (as well as regularly declaring it). Also I found that often, what God had said to me included an ‘instruction’, as in it wasn’t about just passively waiting. If I wanted to see the promise of God come to pass and see the change happen, I had to play my part and do what God was telling me to do. 

I’m going to share one of the words/promises God has spoken to me, my meditations upon it and how I am walking it out in my life by faith. 

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Ephesians 3:20 NIV

Continue reading “My Journey of Faith” →

As written about in my previous blog post, living by faith has a great deal to do with hearing the voice of God for our situation. However it is not just about ‘hearing’ from God, it matters how we respond to what he has said – how do we receive his words? It really is our choice how we react when he speaks to us.

The Lord desires us to respond with faith, believing him completely at his word. However many of us will struggle with fear and doubt, the “What ifs?” filling our minds… In Luke chapter 1, Mary and Zechariah both hear from God and respond in completely different ways. They show us just how different our reactions and attitude can be.

Firstly, Zechariah is visited by an angel of the Lord (Luke 1:11), who declares that his barren wife, Elizabeth, will have a son named John. Zechariah, however, is not overjoyed and thankful at this news, instead he says, but how can I be sure of this? He goes on to point out the problems in the natural realm that are obstacles to this word being fulfilled.

Continue reading “Are you responding with fear or faith?” →

Living by faith is an essential part of our walk as believers. When we were born again, we put our faith in what we could not see, Jesus Christ and received the fullness of salvation in him. In 2 Corinthians 5:7, Paul commands us to “to live by faith and not by sight”, implying that our faith doesn’t begin and end with receiving salvation, but faith continues to be an essential part of our every day lives. 

Hebrews 11:1 declares that “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”. Both 2 Cor 5:7 and Heb 11:1 contrast faith to sight, suggesting that if we are living only by what we can see in the natural realm, we are not living by faith. To have faith is to look beyond what we can see and to be confident in what we do not see. But for most of our time on earth, our primary way of looking at our lives is through our natural eyes! So how can we train ourselves to not be led by what we can see, but instead to look beyond and have faith in what we cannot see? 

Continue reading “Living by faith” →

At church on Easter Sunday last year, God surprised me in a really beautiful way. All Easter weekend I had been focusing and meditating on a couple of scriptures from Mark’s gospel:

“With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” Mark 15:37-38 NIV

The final moment of Jesus’ death had captured my attention in a way it hadn’t before. I spent a lot of time picturing that scene, the moment where his final breath tore the temple veil in two, as well as contemplating what exactly that meant for us as believers… 

Then at church, during worship, I saw that a member of the art team was finishing a large canvas at the front, directly in line with where I was sitting. As I looked more closely at it, I realised that, amazingly, it was the exact scene I had been imagining, of the veil being torn in two! I found it moving to see what I had been intently reflecting on suddenly so vivid before my eyes.

Continue reading “The Veil Is Torn” →