Mark 13-16 & The Blue Parakeet

Finished Mark's gospel today. 1 book down, 26 to go! A few things jumped out at me. First, I found it interesting that Mark decides to include a naked young man in his account of Jesus being arrested! Second, this verse:

Mark 16:15-16 (ESV)

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."

This is why we must get it right! This is why we can't become lazy or unconcerned in our efforts! Lives are on the line and we've been given the task of partnering with the Holy Spirit to bring as many of them in as possible. Don't forget it!

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I've been reading a great book called The Blue Parakeet by Scot McKnight. Scot's a great author and has written a few commentaries that I'm fond of. In The Blue Parakeet he sets out to teach us to rethink how we read the Bible. In short, this is one of the best hermeneutics books I've ever read, but it's not overly academic and dry. Very approachable and enjoyable to read. It's definitely worth your time and money.

To all the 27 Living Hopers who've accepted my challenge to read the entire New Testament during the 40 days of Lent, I want to challenge/encourage you with this quote from The Blue Parakeet:

Perhaps you remember the Magic Eye books. Whether you do or don't I hope you can find one somewhere and open it up and look at its pictures, which aren't really pictures. They are autostereograms. The pictures in these books, if we let our eyes do what they can do, somehow transform from normal two-dimensional images into three-dimensional images. In front of you is what appears to be a flat picture, perhaps with some dots. but if you look at that picture just right--if you have eyes to see!--what you think is an ordinary picture of dots and an assortment of shapes begins to take on life. We see humans and flowers and planets in the sky in three dimensions. ...

What we are looking for in reading the Bible is the ability to turn the two-dimensional words on paper into a three-dimensional encounter with God, so that the text takes on life and meaning and depth and perspective and gives us direction for what to do today. Gaining Magic Eyes ushers us into the renewal way of reading the Bible.