The Word of God for wisdom:
Proverbs 10:22 (HCSB)
22 The LORD's blessing enriches, and struggle adds nothing to it.
The Word of God for inspiration:
Psalm 45:6-7 (HCSB)
6 Your throne, God, is forever and ever; the scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy more than your companions.
The Word of God for encouragement:
Mark 10:35-45 (HCSB)
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Him and said, "Teacher, we want You to do something for us if we ask You."
36 "What do you want Me to do for you?" He asked them.
37 They answered Him, "Allow us to sit at Your right and at Your left in Your glory."
38 But Jesus said to them, "You don't know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"
39 "We are able," they told Him. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with.
40 But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to give; instead, it is for those it has been prepared for."
41 When the [other] 10 [disciples] heard this, they began to be indignant with James and John.
42 Jesus called them over and said to them, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high positions exercise power over them.
43 But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all.
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many."
My observation:
Today's focal passage is about "Suffering and Service". That is the message of Jesus to James and John, and to the other 10 disciples.
James and John wanted to get something from Jesus. However, the other 10 disciples were no different. They were made of the same material as the two who spoke up. I wonder what happened to Peter's tongue on that occasion. This time he was among the 10 who were indignant with James and John.
It is not what we get that should be of utmost importance to Christ followers; the most important thing is how much can I give.
The servant is not greater than the Master. Jesus had to experience the cup, the baptism, and the cross, and so must his followers experience their lot of suffering. However, thank God that there was a crown for Him, and there is a crown for His faithful servants.
My prayer:
Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I am so thankful for the blessings of being a Christ follower. Father, I thank you for the joy of serving the Lord in spite of the suffering and the pain we sometime face. Father, the hope of the crown makes it all worthwhile.
Note:
Pray for my wife. I was with her at the hospital emergency room for 10 hours yesterday. She is a 24 year over comer of three incidents of cancer. She was kept overnight for treatment; no return of cancer indicated.
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Mark 4:20 (ESV)
20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."
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Are you a servant leader? That is the message as I review the feedback from this post on March 1, 2012.
ReplyDeleteMark 10:44-45 (HCSB)
44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many.”