This morning while waiting for an oil change,  I read in Mark 6 that Jesus departed to climb a mountain and spend time in prayer.  He sent the disciples off in a boat to cross the sea of Galilee and then went to be alone with the Father.   All of us can learn the value of solitude. Alone with God so we can know that we are never alone.  Busyness, personal adventures, lack of discipline, the tyranny of the urgent, all threaten to squander the time necessary to give ourselves to the most important aspect of our existence, time with God.  Learning to listen, meditate, think on the things that are truly honorable, pure, noble etc..  is what adds the most value to my life so I might be able to add value to others. Lord help every part of my ministry, life, blessing, truth, love, joy all flow out of my time, my relationship with you.

I also read about the pharisees who jumped on the disciples for what they did not do. They failed to wash their hands.  They had been in the world, or out in the marketplace which made them ceremonially unclean.  How easy is it for me to observe behavior and build pharisee type barriers because of someone else is unclean.   How does love conquer and flow out of us? If I am judging the behavior rather than seeing sheep without a shepherd or recognizing the opportunity to offer water that will cause you to never thirst or to eat bread that will satisfy the deepest hunger of our heart and life.  Lord please help me to not be filled with self righteousness and judgment of others.  You are the righteous judge!  You are the only one who can make us to be right with the Father.  The take away was it wasn't external things that we need cleansed from it is the unclean junk that comes into our hearts. Jesus said it is what comes out of the heart of a man that makes him unclean not what comes from external matters.  God I pray that my heart be filled with all the fullness of you so that there will be no room in my heart for the wickedness that creeps in when you are absent or removed or ignored by focusing on the things of the flesh or of man rather than the things that are centered on you.  I love you! I want to be the best that I can be for your glory.

One last word that seemed to jump out at me was the word marketplace. People were searching Jesus out in the marketplace.  What does 21st century marketplace ministry look like?  I think it comes to what Sam Guidry spoke to the men's life group last night when he mentioned incarnational ministry.  Living the reality that God is present in us and therefore is ready to work through us in the very place that we live.   How do we help each other to live with the mindset that we are the light of the world and we are the salt of the earth.  We do shine! We do create thirst as we life for Jesus!