Episodios

  • January 26th - Mark 6:37

    January 26th - Mark 6:37
    Jan 26 2026
    Mark 6:37 Jesus said, “You feed them.” “With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!” The feeding of the 5,000 was a spectacular miracle, but Jesus didn’t rush into performing it. First of all, he challenged the disciples with a blunt command: “You feed them.” Just imagine how they would’ve felt! Suddenly, they had to come up with an answer. They started thinking through the implications and quickly worked out that they would need to work for a long time to earn enough to feed such a huge crowd. They were firmly convinced that Jesus’ challenge was completely impossible. The problem with the disciples was that they were thinking in purely human terms. Jesus was trying to help them think beyond the normal limitations of life. Their response was entirely reasonable, but the snag with it was that it didn’t take account of God. It left no room for miracles. As disciples of Jesus, they needed to stop thinking in purely practical terms and start seeing things from God’s perspective. The miraculous feeding of the 5,000 must have been a major moment in their development as disciples. They had to start thinking in completely new ways. I have spent a large slice of my life in church leadership meetings. In every single meeting, we have had to make decisions, and often we have had to face very challenging situations. I believe that God wants us to make good plans and think carefully through the implications of all our actions, but at the same time we always need to be listening for the voice of God, who will often call us to do things which don’t make any human sense. God is still the God of miracles, and he calls us to see things from his point of view and to never forget his amazing generosity and miraculous power. Question In what situations are you looking for God to do a miracle at the moment? Prayer Loving God, forgive me for those times when I only think in a human way. Help me to always remember that you are a God of miracles. Amen
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  • January 25th - Mark 6:31

    January 25th - Mark 6:31
    Jan 25 2026
    Mark 6:31 Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. The disciples had just returned from their first mission trip, and they were full of it. They couldn’t wait to update Jesus and he, in turn, was keen to hear what had been going on. He invited them to head off with him to a quiet place where they could have quality time together and catch up on all the news. It was a great plan, but it failed spectacularly. As they headed off in their boat, the crowd spotted them and reached their destination before they did! I draw two conclusions from this fascinating account. Firstly, Jesus valued the opportunity for taking time out. He cared for his disciples and was aware of the pressure that they were under. Mark records that there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his disciples didn’t even have enough time to eat. They desperately needed to get away from it all. We are just the same. We can’t keep going at full pace all the time. There are times when we need to have a deliberate plan to stop. However, the second conclusion I draw is that our plans don’t always work out! If Jesus’ plan for having some quiet time with his disciples failed, we shouldn’t be surprised when ours don’t work out. We ought to plan to have quiet times and breaks in our busy routines, but we always need to be light on our feet. Mark tells us that when Jesus stepped out of the boat, he had compassion on the people because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He wasn’t going to ignore their needs, so he scrapped the original plan and ministered to the crowds. I love the realism of this account and the fact that Jesus was so flexible. His intention was to serve God his Father and he was committed to doing so even when it mucked up his original plans. Question How good are you at being flexible when your plans suddenly change? Prayer Loving Father, help me to serve you effectively, even when things don’t work out in the way that I had planned. Amen
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  • January 24th - Mark 6:3

    January 24th - Mark 6:3
    Jan 24 2026
    Mark 6:3 Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. This was an agonising moment. Jesus was rudely dismissed by the people of Nazareth. They couldn’t work out how someone they’d known for nearly 30 years had such an amazing ministry. Some of the people may have gone to school with Jesus and others would probably have known him and Joseph through their business. Through the centuries, it has been believed that Joseph, and presumably Jesus, were carpenters, although we can’t sure. The word in Greek describes people who worked with stone and metal as well as wood. However, whatever their precise line of work, they would have had customers. Jesus was being rejected by people who knew him well, and their rejection was brutal – they wanted nothing to do with him. The problem that the people of Nazareth had was that they could only see Jesus in human terms. They knew his family and everything about him. They couldn’t bring themselves to believe that a local boy could be anything special, and that continues to be the challenge with Jesus. People are happy to see him as a remarkable human being. They warm to his teaching; they love how he reached out to every kind of person; they are amazed by his miracles and impressed by his consistent love for people. However, they want to leave him there. They are resistant to the idea of him being the Son of God, but Mark’s Gospel is good news only because Jesus was both human and divine at the same time. Only in that way was he able to bring salvation to the world and so, however dismissive people might be, we need to be absolutely clear that Jesus was both God and man. Question Why do you think the people of Nazareth were so reluctant to accept that Jesus was the Son of God? Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, I worship you and praise you for entering into the life of our world so fully. Amen
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  • January 23rd - Mark 5:18-19

    January 23rd - Mark 5:18-19
    Jan 23 2026
    Mark 5:18-19 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” This healing took place on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. It was a very different area from the other side of the lake, where Jesus spent most of his time living and ministering. Most of the people on the east side were Gentiles. Jesus was confronted with a man who lived in the burial caves and who couldn’t be restrained. He was known as Legion because there were so many evil spirits in him. No doubt the local population lived in great fear of him. Whenever he was put in chains and shackles, he just snapped the chains with his wrists and smashed the shackles. Jesus healed the man and ordered the evil spirits to enter a local herd of pigs. Two thousand of them hurtled down the hillside and drowned in the lake. Inevitably, the owners of the pigs were outraged by this, and the local population begged Jesus to leave the area. It was clear that Jesus’ ministry in this area had come to an end, so although he was keen to stay with Jesus, Legion had a job to do. The people’s hostility meant Jesus couldn’t remain there, so Legion needed to be the messenger. Jesus ordered him to go to his family and tell them what had happened, and he was clearly very effective in this. We learn that he travelled throughout the region telling people the amazing things that Jesus had done. There are many occasions when, like Legion, we might choose to keep things the way they are, but God wants us to move on. He wants us to go for the harder option of speaking to other people about him and helping them to understand how great he is. Question Are there times in your life when you should have been going out and speaking about your faith, but you chose the easier option of meeting up with other Christians? Prayer Loving Father, thank you for the amazing things that you have done in my life. Help me to always be ready to share them with others. Amen
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  • January 22nd - Mark 4:38-39

    January 22nd - Mark 4:38-39
    Jan 22 2026
    Mark 4:38-39 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. The account of Jesus stilling the storm is well known, but only Mark records the rather rude question of the disciples. To imply that Jesus didn’t care that they were about to drown suggests that they didn’t know him very well. They were still trying to work out who he was, and when he had brought calm to the situation, the disciples were absolutely terrified, asking with shock and surprise: “Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (v41). When things go wrong, it is easy to lash out at God. In the heat of the moment, it is easy to suggest that God doesn’t care when we face rejection, or an illness, failure or accident, but it’s a question that we never need to ask. God always cares for us, whatever the circumstances. We will often face difficulties and challenges, but they are a consequence of sin and the brokenness of our ungodly world. They should never lead us to doubt the unchanging nature of God and of his love for us. The psalmists had many moments when they accused God of being absent, but it is never true. God is always present. Psalm 103:8 reads: “The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.” The Hebrew word translated as ‘unfailing love’ is hesed. The word is often used in the Old Testament and it speaks of the fact that God is a covenant-keeping God. He will never stop loving us because he has promised to be faithful, and he will keep his word whatever the circumstances. I totally understand you may sometimes feel that God is far away and doesn’t care, but you need to know that you are wrong. He will never stop loving you. Question In what way is your life blessed by knowing that God’s love is unfailing? Prayer Lord God, forgive me for those moments when I have doubted your love for me. Thank you that you will never leave me or forsake me. Amen
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    4 m
  • January 21st - Mark 4:26-27

    January 21st - Mark 4:26-27
    Jan 21 2026
    Mark 4:26-27 Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens.” This wonderful little parable tells us why it is so exciting to work for God. As I sit down at my laptop to write these reflections, I haven’t any idea how God will use them. I have no way of knowing who you are or what your needs are at the moment, but God knows and uses what I am putting in his hands. When we care for another person, offer a word of encouragement or write a thoughtful email, people will be blessed by God, but in a way that is totally beyond our knowledge. It’s just the same for the farmer who may not have any understanding of botany but who simply knows that once he has put seeds in the ground, growth takes place, and it happens whether he’s working hard or sleeping in his bed. Let this be an encouragement to you: nothing that you ever do for God is a waste of time. I am more than aware that it can feel like it at times. Working hard in a youth club where there is only ever rudeness and cynicism, working in a church where the numbers are declining and the people are reluctant to change, sharing your faith when people don’t seem to take you seriously, caring for people who are demanding and unappreciative – there are lots of situations in which it can be really tough to serve God. However, be sure of this: if you are doing God’s work, blessing will flow in miraculous ways from what you do. Don’t ask me how God does it or how he makes things grow. I don’t know, and I don’t need to know. Whatever you are doing today, commit it to God and you can be sure that, miraculously, it will help to make his kingdom grow, even though we haven’t a clue how he does it. Question In what ways does this little parable encourage you? Prayer Lord God, thank you that your kingdom is constantly growing. Help me to work enthusiastically for you today. Amen
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  • January 20th - Mark 4:21

    January 20th - Mark 4:21
    Jan 20 2026
    Mark 4:21 Then Jesus asked them, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine.” Jesus often spoke using parables. On the surface, they were just simple stories, but they all had a very deep spiritual meaning. Like me, you may well have been listening to the parables since you were young, and I’m sure you’d agree that they keep challenging and encouraging us in new ways. We are not always in a position to understand what God is saying to us, but he is always in the business of shining his light on our lives. He wants us to understand what his will is, and the Bible is one of the main ways in which he chooses to speak with us. So the question we all need to ask is this: “How are we going to make sure that God’s light shines in our lives?” First of all, we need to set aside time to receive God’s truth. However busy your life is, you need to make sure you have time to reflect on what God is saying to you. These brief devotionals may well be helpful to you, but you also need to stand back and consider what these words mean for you personally. That cannot be done in a hurry. You may be able to go for a walk or sit quietly in a room, and as you do so, you need to invite the Holy Spirit to speak to you and to apply God’s word to your life. From time to time, it is good to set aside a longer period of time to listen to God. Perhaps you can go on a personal retreat where for a day or a number of days you can spend time reflecting on what he is saying to you. There are scores of wonderful retreat houses throughout the United Kingdom where you would receive a warm welcome and where you can allow God’s light to shine. Putting the lamp of God’s truth under the basket of our busy lives just doesn’t make sense. Question What do you find the most helpful way of listening to God? Prayer Lord God, I thank you that you are constantly seeking to speak with me. Help me to carve out time to listen carefully to your word. Amen
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  • January 19th - Mark 3:34-35

    January 19th - Mark 3:34-35
    Jan 19 2026
    Mark 3:34-35 [Jesus] looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” The Gospels tell us remarkably little about Jesus’ family. We would so love to know about all his family members and his relationships with them, but the Gospels are largely silent. However, we meet them on this occasion because they had clearly got the impression that Jesus wasn’t looking after himself. Earlier in this chapter, we are informed that Jesus and his disciples were so busy that they couldn’t even find time to eat. Mark records that they had formed the view that Jesus was out of his mind. When Jesus was told that his mother and brothers had come to see him, his response was to identify who his true family was: people who did God’s will. I don’t believe for a moment that Jesus was abandoning his birth family or seeking to insult them. He always sought to uphold the law, which affirmed the God-given responsibility for caring for one’s parents. However, he wanted to make it plain that the most important relationships were with his spiritual family. The whole Bible is very clear in its teaching about family relationships. The apostle Paul was particularly strong in his language when he addressed his young friend, Timothy. He wrote: “Those who won’t look after their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers” (1 Timothy 5:8). We need to care for our families but never lose sight of the fact that our forever family is our Christian family, made up of those who obey God. Question How important is your birth family to you? Prayer Lord God, thank you for the blessing of both my birth family and my forever family. Amen
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