Today's Reading: Mark 10: 32-45
**For a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link: Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf.
Please click this link to read Mark 10: 32-45
Bible Study
The passage shows the third time of Jesus warned his disciples about what's going to happen to him. Isaiah chapters 40 - 55 prophesies the coming Messiah would suffer and die for the sins of Israel and the world. Jesus refers back to Isaiah 53: 12 that he as the Godly servant is going to give his life as a ransom for many.
N. T. Wright says:
James and John want to turn Jesus' messianic journey to Jerusalem into a march to glory - a glory in which they will sit on either side of him when he reigns as king. They have clearly heard all the language about suffering, death and rising again simply as a set of pictures, perhaps meaning 'It's going to be tough, but we're going to come out on top.' But the cross is not, for Jesus or for Mark, a difficult episode to be got through on the way to a happy ending. It is precisely God's way of standing worldly power and authority on its head. When, at the end of this passage, Jesus quotes the servant song ('... to give his life as a ransom for many'), he is making the point, with which Isaiah would have emphatically agreed, that the kingdom of God turns the world's ideas of power and glory upside down and inside out.
This is the third time Jesus challenge His disciples of their core believe, whether they want to give or to get, whether to die or to lord other people.
What is your choice?
Have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to God as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"
Spiritual Journal
What I heard from Jesus today is: Giving or getting, dying or lording!
Today Jesus reminds me of so many pictures of how Christians struggle against this kind of core believe - giving or getting, dying or lording. I have seen so many Christians including Christian leaders and all through the history of mankind that we as human beings greedily desire to get all we can get, I want MORE! And selfishly desire to lord other people including own family members. I have seen too much "stealing", "killing" and "destroying" in the name of God that many pastors have been bullied, accused and fired.
Jesus also gives me His word in this passage that if we want to follow Him we have to drink the cup He drank and to receive the baptism of "blood" he had to die on the cross! I have faced quite a number of times similar to what Jesus experienced, being misunderstood, mocked, bullied, accused, bad-mouthed, it is really so painful and so sad that Christians can do this kind of "stealing", "killing" and "destroying" job. Well, what do you expect? That's why Jesus says in John 10: 10 reminding us that this is Satan's job description. Praise the Lord that because of God's miraculous protection and provision I have never been "fired" before!
So, today Jesus wants me to warn and remind all of you do not let the Deceiver, Satan, to succeed his cunning game in you that you would do the same to your pastor as those people did to Jesus. Protect your pastor with all your life because Satan well know that without a captain the ship will sink.
Giving or getting, loving or killing, dying or lording, that is your choice today!
Choose wisely!!!
Dear Lord Jesus,
Open our eyes to see the cunning plan of the Devil to turn us into "killing machines" to destroy Kingdom works of God. Help us to be able to give, to love and to die. And give us the courage to stand up and fight for your Kingdom sake. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Chinese praise song - 主你是我力量 You are my strength
You can subscribe to my podcast feed here:http://feeds.feedburner.com/discipler123
Twitter version:http://twitter.com/bishopsilasng
No comments:
Post a Comment