Day 43: October 24, 2025 – Deuteronomy 6-10 and Mark 8

We begin the Old Testament reading with probably the most subsequential reading in the Old Testament with chapter 6. This beginning section of this chapter is called the Shema because it is a command that has been passed down from generation to generation to remember all that the Lord has done. Hear O Israel, is in Shema Israele, the command for the people of God to remember what God has done for them and what God expects and requires of them today, right here and now. The subsequent chapters are reminders of the works of the Lord so that as we move forward in our faith journey we reminded of all that God has done for us.

In Mark we have the second feeding of the crowd, this time it is 4,000 instead of the 5,000 from the previous reading. We also have Jesus being lifted up as the Messiah and reminding his disciples that he will have to be sacrificed and hung on a cross in order for his work to have any efficacy at all. Peter chastises Jesus and Jesus calls him Satan and reminds his disciples that we are not to focus on our future as the world focuses on its future, trying to amass as much as possible and be as safe as possible. Safety is relative to a life lived in the arms of God, which isn’t always safe.