Advent Devotions- Mark 9

Throughout December we have been reading Mark together. Let me invite you to check out this devotion from Mark 9! If you have not been receiving these devotions and you would like a copy, please contact Pastor Daniel- daniel@cornerstonesavoy.org!

Have you ever seen something so amazing that you can never really describe it to someone else? Earlier this month, I was driving and I saw a pair of semi-trucks almost get into a car accident. Hope was looking at something else and I tried to explain it to her later on and I could not even begin to explain what I had seen! One of the trailers was a flatbed trailer and it slid underneath the other trailer! I never expected to see something like that, but it was remarkable and as I continued driving, I could not help but thank God for protecting us from what would have been a bad accident.

         In Mark 9, something happens that is so extraordinary that it is hard to put it into words. In Mark 9, three of the disciples’ witness something that is often called the transfiguration. We read about the transfiguration from Mark 9:2-13. Essentially, Jesus’s fully man and fully God natures interact differently and Elijah and Moses appear. I love what Mark 9:3 says about Jesus’s appearance during this, “and his clothes became dazzling—extremely white as no launderer on earth could whiten them.” Everything that the disciples are seeing is extraordinary!

         Peter, who so often is the outspoken disciple, offers to build shelters for Elijah, Moses, and Jesus. That does not happen, but God makes a proclamation. Mark 9:7 says, “A cloud appeared, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him!” As Jesus descends the mountain, He tells His disciples not to talk to anyone about this.

         When we read the account of the transfiguration it can be hard to understand exactly what is going on if we are honest! We might begin to wonder how this happened, why this happened, or what the purpose of this was.

         Today, I do not want us to get caught up in a deep theological discussion of the transfiguration, instead, I want to challenge us to keep this simple. The transfiguration shows us that Jesus is God and that God is all-powerful! Everything that occurs or is said from Mark 9:2-13 requires that God is in control. These events are important because they show us a glimpse of who God is! God is all-powerful, and Jesus, who is also fully God, is all-powerful!

         So today, I want to challenge us with an honest question. How often do we stop and consider what God’s power means to us? How often do we doubt our all-powerful God? If I am honest, it is easy for us to doubt God, but as we see in events like the transfiguration, God is so powerful and can do anything!

Pastor Daniel