Serving @ MindSay

Hi I am Ronnie, as I have said I am a soldier in the British Army currently serving in Iraq, I am a bit of an old bugger at 40 years of age but thought it was worth a go at finding some friends to while away some lonely hours on a night shift.  I would love to be able to upload a photo but at the moment dont have any at hand, however watch this space, I will get it sorted soon.

The book of Genesis starts off this way.  It is the way we say, "This is how it all started, so pay attention."

Beginnings, though, are not the same to everyone.  Even Life itself is not held to begin at the same point of development on a global scale.  Some people believe fervently that "life" means "when a person takes their first breath." Some advocate that life begins at the first beat of a fetal heart, or the first indication of brain activity.  Some insist that life begins at the implantation of a developing embryo into the uterine wall. Still others maintain that life begins at conception.

Beginnings are not universally understood.

Mark, when he wrote his accounting of Jesus of Nazareth's life, starts off saying:


For Mark, Jesus' story begins with his ministry. This, to him, is the most significant part of his life (as, I am sure it is argued, it is the purpose for which Christ came to Man). Hence, when he is eager to write the story of Christ so that it will be shared and remembered, he begins when Jesus became a public figure.

He gave him a good intro, too: 


John the baptizer, a prophet, a messenger, was also a local celebrity. People came from far and wide to hear him, intrigued by his message of repentance, and his proclamation of the coming of the Lord. 

Mark is clearly showing that John -- though a great and powerful preacher! -- was not the hoped-for Messiah.  He was much less.  A mere servant of the Son of God.  This is important, because many tried to set John up as a Messiah, though he continually rejected that.

For Mark, the beginning of Christ's ministry is the beginning of his story as Savior. So he starts his gospel with Jesus coming to John to be baptized in the Jordan River.  Mark does not go into the details that later gospels did with this account, because Jesus' baptism was an introductory event in his eyes, rather than a significant act.

Mark makes sure to include the second of Jesus' introductions to the public: 


For Mark, Jesus' life was about servanthood. Christ did things to indicate he was at the service of Man, under obedience to the will of God the Father.  For this reason, Jesus is baptized though he has no sin. He does it to show the right way of things. To take his first steps into his ministry, as Mark shares it.

Then, comes one of Mark's "hallmark" words: Immediately. 


Here, without dialog, Mark shows how Jesus made one final preparation before getting to work.

This, then, is the application that we find here at the beginning of Mark's gospel.  Jesus came to serve man through love and obedience.  He came to live in the way we should live. But he didn't do it without suffering. He expected to sacrifice himself, not just with his death, but with his life.

When Christ went into the wilderness, he was with, Mark says, the wild animals. 


This wilderness outside of Bethany, near the Jordan River, was the haunt of wolves, boars, hyenas, jackals and leopards.  Jesus was not in a quiet, dry and fearless place while he was being tempted by Satan. He was surrounded by creatures that menaced people.  The sounds were everywhere.  Yet, he was ministered to by angels.  He was not alone.

Mark does not say that Jesus suffered during the forty days without being ministered to by the servants of God Almighty. He blends the ministering with the suffering.  As if to remind his readers that they, too, might be suffering (for Christian persecution was not unknown, certainly, at the time of this gospel's writing!) but that they, like their Lord and Savior, were not without comfort.  That they were not in a place Jesus had not been before them, and that he had shown them the way.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness is not just John's, in this day and age. It is the voice of every believer who is living in a place where they are not fully nurtured.  The voice of all of those who recognize the beloved Son of God.  You can share as John did, of Christ's coming. You can share, too, of your own wilderness experience. 

In my own experience, I have found that Jesus' preparations before his ministry can be seen as vital for the servants of God as they prepare to serve, too.  A time of setting apart (the baptism, here, though it can be different in every life's experience) and a time of withdrawing for time alone with God, to prepare one's heart and gut and even body against the future.  Resting in the knowledge that we are not alone as we do so, but that even God's own angels will minister to us, if we will just be still and let them.

lol, so our solar system lost its ninth planet yesterday. How weird is that!?!? Now, the old acronym "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" can't be used...perhaps they'll change it to "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos!"

 

lol...I've been desperately trying to finish Chapter 13...but I think I need to sit down and figure out where this story is going! lol. I need to review that before I'm goign to be able to get more done. For those of you who are actually interested, I haven't abandoned hope...yet! so, please, Be PATIENT! lol. later!

serving wasn't that bad. excepet when you carried plates back to the kitchen and your hand would end up in potatos that old people have ate out of but one embarresing thing happened. i was taking the principles plates and hes like dont take more than you can handle and im acting all smart alexy and i said "no its ok" i started walking and a knife slid of and it was thrown onto the floor. he yelled back at me "told ya so" but today my blisters that i had received last night on my feet hurt. the worst part is i have to wear the same shoes 2morrow night for the awards ceramoney thing. im going to wear my new white sundress. well have a fun weekend and watch Desperate housewives tonight, its the finnale.

 

SCHOOL COUNTDOWN==== 7 days left of school + 4 weeks of gym in the summer