Readings: Mark 1:14-20, Romans 1:21-25

Quotes:

"If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." --C. S. Lewis (from his sermon "The Weight of Glory")

"I’ve traded naked and unashamed,

For a better place to hide.

For a righteous mask, a suit of fig leaves and lies..." --Derek Webb (from song "I want a broken heart")

“Pupils chose rabbis; rabbis did not choose pupils. Those who wished to learn sought out a rabbi to say, ‘I want to study with you.’ But Mark is showing us that Jesus has a different type of authority than a regular rabbi’s.” --Tim Keller (in book "Jesus the King")

“Both pairs of brothers found that obedience to the call of Jesus was costly; it meant abandonment of all that they held dear, and all earthly security, in simple committal to Jesus.” --R. Alan Cole (from his commentary "Mark")

Article: What is the Holy of Holies?

We are Far too Easily Pleased (@ DesiringGod.org)

Reading: Psalm 25:1-10

Quotes:

“I hate to display such a firm grasp of the obvious, but how will we ever change if everything around us stays the same? Or what will ever cause us to move on to the next place He has for us if something doesn’t happen to change the way we feel about where we are? God is thoroughly committed to finishing the masterpiece He started in us. And that process means one major thing: change.” (Beth Moore)

Image: PETA's Headstone to "Honor" Colonel Sanders