As we wrap up our journey through the Gospel of Mark, Alan J. Huth shares insights from decades of personal exploration in scripture and life-changing experiences with the Gideon’s International. Engage with the life-affirming message of Jesus’ resurrection and the charge to proclaim the gospel with renewed vigor. Plus, discover practical steps for making daily Bible reading an impactful and transformative part of your life.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today we finish off the Gospel of Mark. We are in the last chapter, Mark 16. We’ll listen to the 20 verses from Faith Comes By Hearing about the resurrection of Jesus.
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Mark 16 When the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb, and they were saying to one another, Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back. It was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.
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And he said to them, Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid him? But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.
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And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.
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And he said to them, Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe. In my name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them. They will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.
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So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.
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As we wrap up the Gospel of Mark, we will also wrap up the three journals we have been using to go through this book together. Back in 1986, at 31 years old, we had completed our move from Denver, Colorado to Nashville, Tennessee on Easter weekend, attended church on Easter weekend, and that’s when I finished reading the Gospel of Mark. I read Mark 15 and 16 on the same day and I wrote, He is risen, go preach the gospel to all the world. The reason that was so important to me was because I had joined the Gideon’s International staff and I was going to go spread the word around the world. You may notice that these podcasts are recorded back in Denver, Colorado. So yes, I transitioned my family from Denver to Nashville. but it didn’t work out for me to be part of the Gideon’s International staff. So later in 1986, I moved back to Denver, Colorado. I remain active today in the Gideon’s International, but as a volunteer, not a member of the staff. Ten years later, at 41 years old in 1996, I read Mark 16 and I wrote, Up from the grave he arose. We also can access resurrection power from God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Christ is not private. He tells us to go tell others about him. And another 10 years later, when I was 51 years old in 2006, I finished the Gospel of Mark with these words in my journal. He has risen. He is not here. With those words, an angel announced the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. I also wrote a prayer that day, which I’d like to share with you. I wrote, You have done all the hard work, giving us your instructions for life, and if we can’t do it, dying on a cross for our failure, so we can live with you forever. Thank you. I accept your terms again, Lord, and thank you, thank you, thank you for them. Ten years ago, Terry and I got to go to Jerusalem. We went to the spot designated as the burial tomb of Jesus. The rock was rolled away. I could actually enter the tomb. On the door it said, He has risen. When Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Salome visited the tomb that morning, they saw the very same thing I did, an empty tomb. But they got to hear from an angel, the very announcement that’s put on that door today. He has risen. He is not here. The next words the angel said to them was, Go tell. They were to go tell the disciples and Peter. We are instructed to go tell as well. Verse 15 says, And he said to them, Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. In the Gospel of Matthew, the last two verses say, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. Go tell. Proclaim the gospel. We have just completed the gospel of Mark. We’ve just read the greatest story ever told. The story that God Almighty sent His only begotten Son as the Lamb for sinners slain to pay the penalty of the sins of the world and to pay the penalty of my sin. We watched Jesus perform miracle after miracle proving who He was. And we watched many reject him. We said earlier, seeing is not believing. We saw Jesus overcome the power of the flesh by submitting to the power of the Spirit and going to the cross for our sins. And we saw the power of God raise him from the dead. conquering sin, death, and the grave. You’ve read the story. You’ve heard the story. The question is, do you believe? If you do, we’re instructed to go tell. It’s not enough to receive this great story and keep it privately or keep it to ourselves. The only way the story spreads is by Christians spreading the story. So if you have received the forgiveness of Jesus, go tell. Go share the gospel with someone today. If you have not received the Lord yet, the Word of God tells us, be doers of the Word, not hearers only. So may I invite you to believe the story, accept the story, make it personal today. You do so by repenting of your sins, asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins, and asking him to come into your heart as your personal Lord and Savior. Will you do that right now? The gospel we have just read is for everyone. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past. Jesus opened his arms on the cross for you. Receive his forgiveness today. Lord Jesus, we pray. We thank you for Mark, who wrote the story about you and your life here on earth. We thank you that we have heard the entire gospel in these last few days. Holy Spirit, convict our hearts that hearing is not enough. For those of us who believe, help us go tell. For those who do not believe, receive today. We thank you for the truth and the power in the gospel of Mark. We shout with the angels, Hallelujah. Amen. Friends, if any of you have decided to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior today, we would love to know about that at the Ezra Project. Visit EzraProject.net, visit our contact page, and just tell us of your decision. By doing so, we can be an encouragement to you, and you will be an encouragement to us. God bless you. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. You know, sometimes we need a plumb line, a true north, a solid basis of truth to live life. We’re not going to find it in the media or in social media or Google or your friends, but it is available right at your fingertips. Pilate asked Jesus in John 18, 38, what is truth? The chapter before, Jesus had answered the question in his prayer to God for his disciples. In the 17th verse, Jesus pleads with the Father, Sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth. So what would it be like if everyone, everywhere, read the Bible every day? Wow, it might be heaven on earth. What would it be like if every Christian read the Bible every day? Would we be better ambassadors for Christ? What would it be like if everyone in your community read the Bible every day? Would we have greater impact in our communities? And what would it be like if you personally read the Bible every day? Could you use a closer walk with Jesus? Could you use a light unto your path and a lamp unto your feet to walk through this life? Could you use a spiritual power surge in your life? Matthew 22, 29, Jesus speaking to the Sadducees said, You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures or the power of God. Yes, the Scriptures can give us power to live this life. So I’m going to give you three easy action steps to make the Bible worth your time each and every day. Number one, commit to daily Bible reading. Commit to seek God and His Word daily, every day. And if you miss a day, start again the next day. Change your belief about God’s Word to behavior in God’s Word. Use any of our Ezra Project resources to help you. Visit EzraProject.net to get an Ezra Project Bible reading journal or one of our day-by-day through the Bible books. Commit today and visit EzraProject.net for easy-to-use resources for your daily time in God’s Word. Number two, be intentional. Decide what you want out of your Bible reading. I got to visit the headquarters of Back to the Bible once in Lincoln, Nebraska. And in one hallway down one side, they had scribbled all the reasons people say they don’t read the Bible. On the other side were all the reasons people do read the Bible. And I want to give you some of those to encourage you. On that wall, it said, God wants me to. Yes, God wants you to read the Bible. Do you want to meet with him daily? Because he’ll meet with you every day through his word. Number two, it changes me. Where could you be in one year with more Bible reading in your life? Number three, it improves my outlook on life. Yeah, turn out the bad news and saturate yourself with good news from the Word of God. Number four, it keeps me grounded. Yes, when the storms of life come, and they will, can you stand? Yes, you’ll stand better and more solid because you’re in the Word of God. Next, it keeps my heart soft. Yeah, Nehemiah 8, when people heard the word, they wept and they worshipped. You will do the same as the word softens your heart. Lastly, on the wall it said, it keeps my daily focus on God. Yeah, that’s a great reason to read the Bible. You’ll gain the spiritual power to live life in our secular world. And then thirdly and lastly, feed your soul. Let God minister to your soul. Hebrews 4.12 says, The Word of God pierces between your soul and your spirit, between joints and marrow, and is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of your heart. Nothing else goes that deep. I don’t know where the place is between my soul and my spirit, but I want to put the Word of God there each and every day of my life. I hope you do too. God bless you as you spend time in God’s Word. I know you’re going to enjoy it.
