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Day 285, or October the 12th. Just get on with

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it. Our thoughts today are from Mark chapter

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10, verse 51. What do you want me to do for you?

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Jesus asked him. The blind man said, Rabbi, I

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want to see. And now the big picture surrounding

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this verse. As we proceed through the third and

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final year of the ministry of Jesus, the pace

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slows considerably. Mark has almost stopped using

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his favourite word immediately. Mark's race through

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the life of Jesus is now so important that to

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rush it would seem unseemly. As he approaches

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the climax of the crucifixion and resurrection,

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even Mark is slowed down by the gravity of the

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whole account. In the midst of his ministry in

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Galilee, Jesus travels south to Judea for the

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last time, and very soon he will only have days

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to live before he is crucified. And now today's

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action step. As a youngster, I will never forget

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the way my mother would tell our family when

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a neighbour was pregnant. She always said, I

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see Mary next door is, you know. We always acted

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daft and said that we didn't know what she meant,

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even though we knew full well. My mother would

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try again, but simply couldn't bring herself

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to say such an intimate word as pregnant. We

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are often like that when we talk about spiritual

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things, especially with friends who are unbelievers.

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We dither around the edge in case we offend them.

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In our text today, Jesus asks a blunt question

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and receives an equally blunt reply, no dithering.

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I always remember visiting a couple hoping to

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get the opportunity to tell them the good news.

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We talked about everything else and finally one

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of them said to me, I thought you'd come to tell

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me about Jesus. I had and I did then. Please

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don't blurt the gospel out like, as the Bible

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says, pearls to swine, but don't dither too long

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either. I have found people are not as easily

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offended as you may suspect, so be encouraged

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to speak out when the opportunity arises. You'll

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feel so much better, and they'll benefit eternally

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too.