March 20, 2024 Morning Devotional
Morning Devotion: Read Colossians 4
Colossians 4:10 Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) 11 And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me.
Just because you make a mistake in your life does not mean God is finished with you.
Peter denied he knew the Lord Jesus Christ at the Lord’s most dire time.
Matthew 26:69 Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. 70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. 71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. 72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. 73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. 74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
Even after the denial, the Lord restored and used Peter. We know Peter wrote first and second Peter and was used all through the books of Acts to open he door of the gospel.
Here in our text we have another person who, in a sense, was considered unworthy of the ministry of the apostle Paul.
Colossians 4:10 Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)
The bible does not tell us what the problem was between John Mark and Paul but it does tell us there was something because John Mark left Paul.
Acts 13:13 Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
In Acts 13:13 John is the same John Mark, they just used the first name in the text.
Later, Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them again and Paul said no.
Acts 15:36 And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. 37 And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. 38 But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. 39 And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; 40 And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.
What we do know is this, Paul and Barnabas disagreed about the value of John Mark in the ministry. The contention was sharp and they chose to go their separate ways yet, still fulfilling the will of God. It just goes to show that these men were human and just because one disagrees doesn’t mean that they lash out in hate and try to destroy each others ministry. (That happens a lot in todays churches.)
In fact you find the opposite, each man went about the business of serving the Lord faithfully without trying to destroy the other. In other words you can agree to disagree and still be faithful to God.
Paul later asks for John Mark for he had changed his mind and found that Mark was profitable for the ministry.
2Timothy 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
In our text we also find that Paul recommends that the church at Colosse receive John Mark into fellowship.
Colossians 4:10 Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)
The point is this, making mistakes does not mean your invaluable to God. Just keep serving the Lord: serve the Lord without trying to tear down someone else. Let God use you in His ministry. (By the way, you never read about John Mark or Barnabas retaliating or being angry and hateful and vengeful. I don’t believe Paul would have recommended John Mark later if either one were vengeful.)
How you respond is always up to you. There are two choices on the shelf, serving Jesus or serving self.
The choice is still yours,
Pastor Cook
