Wednesday, December 25: Mark 9- Time alone with Jesus.

Merry Christmas…

Mark 9 feels a little funny as the reading for Christmas day, then again, all Scripture is God-breathed. So any Scripture is right for every day.

I found myself meditating on verses 30-31: They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise."

Verse 30 tells me that Jesus understood He needed alone time with His disciples, time when He could pour into them personally. Maybe there were things He wanted to tell them that the general public could not have handled –at least at the present time. Maybe Jesus wanted time to go deeper with them than He could go with a crowd. MaybeHe wanted them to have extra time to process and wrestle with the things He was teaching. MaybeHe wanted time and space for them to ask the questions on their hearts. Maybe He knew there are things one can talk about with a few trusted friends that aren’t workable in a large public atmosphere. Maybe this or that…I could come up with a hundred more maybes.

Whatever the reason, Jesus arranged time alone with His closest disciples. And during those times, He taught and explained things the general public was not able to understand at the time.

This got me thinking… how important it is for disciples today to find that alone time with Jesus?  Sunday worship, small group studies,  and large Bible studies are all important. One could even make an argument that they are highly important to the life of a disciple. But alone time with Jesus is equally so.

In one’s alone time with Jesus, we can read the Word and wrestle with Jesus. We can pray and ask Him the perplexities of life. We can be vulnerable. We can listen for Him to speak. We can ___fill in the blank____.

As it was for the original disciples, so it is for all of us… alone time with Jesus is essential.

Even on Christmas and the hectic days this time of year, I hope you find some quiet alone time with your Savior, Jesus. He is waiting for you, of this I am certain.

To sit with You, Jesus… Oh what a treasure…

Amen.

 

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