02.21.2017 – New Testament: Mark 4.16–17

To read the Bible in a year, read Mark 4.1–20 on February 21, In the year of our Lord 2017

By Don Ruhl

Have you met someone who received the word of God quickly, almost too quickly, and later you saw him fall away? Jesus spoke of such people,

“These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble” (Mark 4.16–17). 

They receive with gladness because they see the wonders, beauties, and benefits of it, but they either do not have the steadfastness needed to stay with it, or they were blind to the suffering that often accompanies following Jesus, and so when it comes, they leave.

Questions:

• Why did you obey the word of God?
• How did you handle adversity when it arrived?