We observed from Mark chapter 1 that among the first things Jesus did was start to build a team – a group of men he would train and send out. Mark articulates the strategy in chapter 3:

And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. (Mark 3.13 – 15, ESV)

“With him…send out…to preach and have authority to cast out demons.”

I confess I don’t know much about the casting out demons part, but the Gospels are clear that there’s an enemy, and we ignore him at our peril.

This passage also contains the first listing in Mark of the “12 apostles:”

He appointed the twelve:

• Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);
• James the son of Zebedee and
• John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);
• Andrew, and
• Philip, and
• Bartholomew, and
• Matthew, and
• Thomas, and
• James the son of Alphaeus, and
• Thaddaeus, and
• Simon the Zealot, and
• Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. (Mark 3.16 – 19, ESV, bulleted so we can count them!)

Jesus considered training and sending a vital part of his ministry. The Apostle Paul did, too, instructing Timothy:

What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2.2, ESV)

Paul -> Timothy -> Faithful Men -> Others

It’s the heart of our ministry as well, and it’s why we’re teaching a discipleship class to one person. As someone said:

You can count the number of seeds in an apple; you cannot count the number of apples in a seed.

As we follow Jesus this Lenten Season on the way to the cross, we remember one of his primary objectives:

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3.8, ESV)

I wrote about the devil, our enemy, on Thursday. One regularly recurring event in the Gospel of Mark is Jesus casting out demons. My friend and Navigator colleague Bob Adame, with his wife, Claudia, are in the thick of the battle in Albuquerque. He writes:

Pray for us as we continue to minister in the apartments where drugs, gangs, violence, death rule.  We are praying that the Lord turn this apartment complex from darkness to the Gospel light.  We are in a battle with the evil one that is destroying the lives of young people and children. 

“A battle with the evil one…destroying the lives of young people…” Then he shares some successes:

Casandra, who was also part of our pre-teen and teen Bible Kids Club ended up living with a drug addicted man that ruined her life.  She eventually ended up in prison but recently she has been transformed by the blood of the Lamb, and she is being discipled by Claudia and her ex also wants to be discipled by Bob.  Casandra is out of prison and working and she desires to minister to women who have experiences a similar lifestyle as she has experience. 

Ruby who was 12 yrs old when she became part of Kids Bible Club has led her parents and also led her nieces and nephews to Christ.  When we met Ruby, she was a rebellious teenager and hanging out with bad company.  Her father was an alcoholic and was a bad influence on Ruby. but praise God she came to the Lord. 

Nick was 12 yrs old when we met him.  At 12 yrs old he was banned from any public school for fighting and his drug-addicted mother was supposed to home school him, but it never happened.  Claudia tutored him and brought him up 2 grade levels, and we enrolled him in a Christian school since no public school would accept him, and he did graduate from high school, and while he was in High school, he became Co leader of the basketball team. We led Nick to Christ as soon as we met him and begin to minister him through Kids Bible Club.  Now he is married to a Christian girl and doing well.  Also, he gets up at 5 in the morning to pray and read his Bible.  Praise God. 

The enemy is alive and well, but my friend Bob is working hand-in-hand with Jesus to destroy the works of the devil. Picture of Bob (sorry about the closed eyes!) at the National Navigator Staff Gathering, November 2023. He and Claudia would appreciate your prayer.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10.10, ESV)

Yesterday, I wrote about a challenge to be encouraging from Job 16:

I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you! Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing? I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you. But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief. (Job 16.2 – 5, NKJV)

I tried to implement this principle when having lunch with a friend who is perpetually discouraged. And rightly so. He’s between jobs. He’s suffering from a disease that’s said to be incurable. He tries hard to follow God and hear from God, often without success (in his mind).

Within a few days after our visit, three different sources, including one from our current readings in Job, seemed to speak to his issue. So I sent him a note. Maybe you will find something encouraging in there, too.

–Beginning of email to my friend–

Thanks for having lunch with me. It’s tough when both of us are going through challenges!

After seeing you I ran across three quotes from different sources. I pass them on without comment:

This came from Ryan Danker of the John Wesley Institute:

I was watching reels on my phone yesterday and came across a clip of Rick Warren speaking at the commencement ceremonies of Oral Roberts University in 2024. His words struck me:

I can’t tell you how many times in my life people have come up to me and said something like, “You know, Rick, my problem is I just don’t love God enough.” And I say, “that is not your problem. That’s not your problem. Your problem is you don’t understand how much he loves you. Because if you understood how much God loves you, you can’t help but love him.”

When you understand and you feel—now you’ve heard God loves you all your life — but when you finally feel loved by God, unconditionally loved by God, it changes you. God loves you on your good days as much as he loves you on your bad days. God loves you when you feel it; God loves you when you don’t feel it. God loves you when you do the right thing; God loves you when you don’t do the right thing, because his love is not based on who you are it’s based on who he is.

It’s not based on what you do. It’s based on what Christ did for you on the cross, with arms outstretched, and nail pierced hands, and blood flowing down. Jesus is saying to the people, “I love you this much; I love you so much it hurts. I’d rather die than live without you.” That’s how much Christ loves you.

You can’t make God stop loving you. You can try. But you will fail. Because [his] love is not based on any condition, it’s based on God’s character. When you get that it will set you free. – Ryan Danker, quoting Rick Warren

Job certainly didn’t have this information when he wrote:

He has torn me in his wrath and hated me; he has gnashed his teeth at me; my adversary sharpens his eyes against me…God gives me up to the ungodly and casts me into the hands of the wicked. I was at ease, and he broke me apart; he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces; he set me up as his target; his archers surround me. He slashes open my kidneys and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground. He breaks me with breach upon breach; he runs upon me like a warrior. (Job 16.9, 11 – 14, NKJV)

And one last one:

Perhaps the most basic act of faith, after believing that God exists, is believing that God is good when evidence seems to point to the contrary. From The Ignatian Workout for Lent: 40 Days of Prayer, Reflection, and Action by Tim Muldoon

Hang in there,

Bob

–End of email to my friend–

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10.24, 25, NIV)

Decades ago, I was asked to teach one Sunday at a singles’ Sunday School class at a large church. The regular teacher gave me this counsel: “Bob, they’re singles, most of them divorced, they’ve had a lot of pain in their lives. You don’t need to pile on.” Then he quoted Job:

I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you! Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing? I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you. But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief. (Job 16.2 – 5, NKJV)

“My mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.” It was a good word then…and now. I tried to keep it in mind when talking with a friend the other day. Stay tuned.

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. (Hebrews 3.13, NIV)

We noticed yesterday one of Mark’s obvious theme: “immediately.” There’s another theme that we may tend to gloss over. See what you think:

• And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” (Mark 1.25, ESV)
• And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. (Mark 1.34, ESV)
• And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. (Mark 1.39, ESV)

He “cast out many demons.” Satan is alive and well and is our enemy:

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6.11, 12, ESV)

The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3.14, 15, ESV)

Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. (Revelation 12.17, ESV)

Maybe we ignore him at our peril. After all, who is the antagonist in the story of Job that we are reading?

And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. (Job 1.12, ESV)

When things are going badly, resisting Satan and his demons might not be a bad idea.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4.7, ESV)

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. (1 Peter 5.8, 9, ESV)

One fun aspect of the Gospel of Mark is his use of the word “immediately.” Did you see them in the last two posts?

• The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. (Mark 1.13, ESV)
• And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. (Mark 1.17, 18, ESV)
• And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them… (Mark 1.19, 20, ESV)

The theme continues:

• And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. (Mark 1.21, ESV)
• And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. (Mark 1.29, ESV)

There are 35 “immediately” in 16 chapters of Mark compared with 14 in 28 chapters of Matthew. Mark is clearly an action-oriented story, confirming what people who know about this sort of thing believe, that Mark got his material from Peter, an action-oriented guy.

And there’s nothing wrong with action! Life is filled with situations where immediate, decisive action is required. Firefighting comes to mind.

There are, however, other times when immediate action is inadvisable. The story of the Gibeonite deception is an example (see Joshua 9):

So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD. (Joshua 9.14, ESV)

And right here in the middle of all this “immediate” action in Mark, we have this:

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1.35, ESV)

Unlike Joshua, Jesus did “ask counsel from the LORD.”

May we do the same: appropriate, immediate action AND taking time to pray.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. (Ephesians 6.10…18, ESV)

Jesus had a 40-day wilderness experience, summarized succinctly by Mark:

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. (Mark 1.12, 13, ESV)

And then it’s off to work:

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1.14, 15, ESV)

Of course. Jesus came as a preacher, right? What else would he be doing? Mark tells us what else:

Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. (Mark 1.16 – 20, ESV)

Nearly the first thing Jesus does as he begins his ministry is to build a team. Not just a team, but a group of men, whom he will teach to do what he is doing: “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

My Navigator hero Skip Gray pointed out that it would be a cosmic tragedy if Jesus came, had a 3-year ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing, died on the cross for our sins, but didn’t leave behind anyone to carry on the work or explain what Jesus’ work was about.

We’ll remember as we follow Jesus through the gospel of Mark that he’s almost never alone. He has the men with him. Jesus describes his own ministry this way:

I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do…I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. (John 17.4 – 8, NKJV)

It’s St Patrick’s Day. The Ewellogy missed it last year because it coincided with the fifth Sunday of Lent, and we had a series going. I can’t do better than reprise what I posted in 2023.

For all the hoopla and wild parties that some practice on March 17, the real story of St. Patrick is worth remembering. A friend and Navigator colleague who is from Northern Ireland summarizes it this way:

It’s important to remember that Patrick was a great missionary. He was an apostle to the Irish in the AD 400s and was used by God to convert the Celts of Ireland to Christianity, despite opposition from those who practiced the Druid religion. – Andrew Henderson

There’s more to the story, including the fact that Patrick was taken from his home in Britain to Ireland and sold as a slave, escaping after six years. Then he returned, years later, to evangelize the people who enslaved him. A nice summary written by Chuck Colson in 2006 is worth the read.

Last year, my friend and Navigator colleague Bill Mowry wrote an extraordinary piece on how Patrick incorporated art and imagination to reach the Irish. This is also an excellent read.

I can’t add to what Chuck and Bill have said except to note that the Apostle Paul was St Patrick’s model:

Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21.13, ESV)

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. (1 Corinthians 9.19 – 22, ESV)

June and I developed the reading program we’re using now – one chapter/day, five days/week, for five years – and this is our first year to go through the Poetry (or Wisdom) section. One chapter/day of Job can be tough going, especially if it’s dialog by one of the three “friends” espousing their Santa Claus Theology. So with the Lenten Season upon us and Job continuing through the week after Easter, I am supplementing my reading with the Gospel of Mark. Not even a chapter a day – maybe two chapters/week.

With this as the Second Sunday in Lent, Mark’s VERY succinct summary of Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness seems appropriate. Coming right after “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased,” comes this:

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. (Mark 1.12, 13, ESV)

• 40 days in the wilderness (driven by the Spirit)
• Tempted by Satan
• With the wild animals
• Being ministered to by angels

Wow. Doesn’t take long to write; does take 40 days to live through…

As of today, I am just over 8 weeks (58 days!) into my prostate ordeal. It definitely feels like the wilderness. There is temptation to be discouraged. My dog isn’t a wild animal, and he has been a great comfort. My “emotional support animal.” I don’t know if Jesus’ wild animals were friends or foes. I do know that my angel June, essentially healed on January 15, two days before my stuff started, has been ministering to me.

And we’ll get through it, and this time next year or five years from now, the whole trial from June’s fall on December 7 until resolution will be a couple of sentences.

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. (2 Corinthians 1.8 – 12, ESV)

It is tough to read Job, isn’t it? We’re allowed behind the scenes from the beginning where God himself declares this about Job:

Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1.8, NKJV)

Blameless, upright, fears God, shuns evil… Impressive. Yet after Satan attacks his children, then his health, Satan, I believe, sends three “friends,” who do nothing but ask him to repent of his wickedness. What wickedness? Job has nothing to repent of, at least not the kinds of things his friends think he needs to repent of. Here’s Zophar:

For you have said, “My doctrine is pure, And I am clean in your eyes.” But oh, that God would speak, And open His lips against you, That He would show you the secrets of wisdom! For they would double your prudence. Know therefore that God exacts from you Less than your iniquity deserves. (Job 11.4 – 6, NKJV)

A little Santa Claus Theology, yes? “There’s no question you’ve sinned, and God extracts his payment, probably less than you deserve.” Very comforting.

To which Job reacts:

No doubt you are the people, And wisdom will die with you!…But you forgers of lies, You are all worthless physicians. Oh, that you would be silent, And it would be your wisdom! (Job 12.2, 13.4, 5, NKJV)

Please. Just. Shut. Up.

There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health. (Proverbs 12.18, NKJV)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue… (Proverbs 18.21, NKJV)