Please join our new Mentor 123 campaign starting this coming Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013!
What you need to do is to find two more people meeting once a week for three months, encouraging each others to have daily devotion - a daily intimate personal relationship with Jesus!
To create a momentum to this new yearly campaign I am going to start a new blog and podcast on that day. I will direct my two blogs and podcasts to that new site to have a 40 days BREAK.BUILD daily devotion. For a preliminary format please go to this site: http://www.breakbuild.blogspot.ca/ .
You can see the layout and titles of all 40 days. Come on , let's get two more people to start a daily tasting of Jesus wonderful banquet specially prepared for us!
Today's Reading: Luke 20: 1-8
**For a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link:
Please click this link to read Luke 20: 1-8
Bible Study
Jesus is being challenged of what kind of authority He has to do those things he has been doing. How Jesus answers gives us such an encouragement to those pastors and leaders who have been constantly challenged of the authority we have. N.T. Wright says:
The reason Jesus asks the question is because the authority he has over the Temple is precisely his royal, messianic authority; and his royal status and authority was conferred on him publicly at the time of John's baptism, with the descent of the dove and the voice from heaven. If John was a true prophet, then Jesus is indeed the true Messiah, with authority over the Temple, because he was marked out as such as he came up out of the water. If, of course, John was not a true prophet - if he was simply a dangerous dreamer, leading people astray - then Jesus, too, may be acting out of line. By making John so important in the early parts of the story, Luke has already explained what is happening...
Jesus will exercise that authority, the powerful authority of saving and healing love, until all acknowledge it.
Don't be belittled and discouraged by all those who want to intimidate you and to try to take away the authority you have from Jesus. Be strong and courageous!(Joshua 1: 6, 9)
Let's 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 Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"
Spiritual Journal
What I heard from Jesus today is: Be encouraged, you've got the authority!
Jesus leads me to remember all those painful events happened in the past many years that some people wanted to use all kinds of dirty and cunning method just like what the chief priests, Pharisees and teachers of the law did to Jesus to me! It is so painful and destructive! They did not succeed, instead I have been blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ in a way I have never dreamed of! But, I was in darkness, pain and helplessness for so many times. I wanted to quit so many times but Jesus sent in so many "angels" to help me to get through all those spiritual attacks! Those angels are brothers and sisters coming from all directions, professors, archbishops, bishops, pastors, leaders, brothers and sisters and the most important, my wife Michelle and our two sons Ignatius and Athanasius. I am much more stronger now and have a more deeper relationship with Jesus after all those challenges! But, it's not easy!
So, if you are under similar attack, don't worry! Your authority is from above and in God's time more and more people will know that you have got that authority from on high!
Be encouraged, be strong and courageous!