Are you personally growing in the fear of the Lord?

 12 Mar 26

Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One

Readings:

Deuteronomy 17

Deuteronomy 18

Deuteronomy 19

Mark 14:1-25

Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children (Deuteronomy 4:10).

Are you personally growing in the fear of the Lord?

The Lord knows that Israel will ask for a king. For this reason, He gives the following instruction: “And it shall be with him, and he shall read it [the Law] all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God” (Deuteronomy 17:19). The application of the Word would then produce longevity for the king and his children (Deuteronomy 17:20). Whether king or pauper, we all need to be maturing in the fear of the Lord through reading the Bible and teaching its message to the next generation.

Employment Point: Learn to fear the Lord through personal Bible study, and then teach that lesson to the next generation.

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Reflections 

“Anyone who shows contempt for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering there to the Lord your God is to be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel.”Deuteronomy‬ ‭17‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• the word contempt really stand out in this verse. 
• contempt refers to a deep-seated, arrogant disdain or scorn towards God, His commands, or His people. It signifies treating something holy or valuable—like a birthright, God's word, or the poor—as worthless, often stemming from pride. It is viewed as a form of rebellion that disregards God's authority.
• Something that is worth our pause in what we are doing daily and reflect on whether we too, have treated God or His people with contempt.

“The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭17‬:‭16‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• As the king, this situation is a vast difference from Solomon’s time. The King cannot be too wealthy, cannot own too many things, no such thing as many wives as well. I believe the Lord knows all human hearts. Once given power and wealth, people will just spend it lavishly. No more regards for the Lord, what more reverence of Him even.
• Like what this devotional is saying. It does not matter if we are rich or poor but we should all be maturing in the fear of the Lord. It’s not wrong to be wealthy as the Lord bless but let not the wealthy to be too full of themselves because of their wealth and forgot that it’s the Lord that gives and He too, can take it away.
• May it too be a reminder to us all that treasures on earth is not important at all compared to the treasures in heaven.

“You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.”Deuteronomy‬ ‭18‬:‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• the Lord has already forewarn us that there will be false prophets and we already see or hear about it. Just listen to the ones who so call proclaim the dates of end times. The Lord Jesus has already mentioned that when it is coming He does not know but only our Father in heaven. So whoever proclaims the dates of such events which we have been foretold, will not come true. Those are false prophets. Do not chase after them or listen to their words, for they do not speak the truth. The truth is not in them. Do not let all these talk deceive us from the Word

“Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.”Mark‬ ‭14‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• every time I read this verse, it reminds me of the thought I have on how lavish this gift is to Jesus. Just put into perspective in your own terms, what are your wages for the whole year. It is mentioned that it can be sold for more than a year’s wages. 
• Would we be like those present, also thinking it is a waste to pour this perfume on Jesus’s head? To be honest, given that context, having not fully known Jesus too, I may think the same stuffs. Just because we have yet to know who He is. But now that we know, does that change anything? Would we too be shocked if we already knew it is Jesus she is anointing?

“So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him.”Mark‬ ‭14‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• this was quite interesting because back in those times, only the women would be carrying jars of water. That was how distinct this sign is for his disciples to recognise.
• It is quite the same for us isn’t it? When the Lord wants to let us know something, it will also be so obvious we won’t even have to second guess that it is from Him

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Our Abandonment to Him

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

March 12

Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” — Mark 10:28

Jesus replies to Peter that the disciples will be amply rewarded for their sacrifice. But he also makes clear that their reason for following him shouldn’t be anything they’ll get in return. It must be entirely for Jesus himself: “for me and the gospel” (Mark 10:29).

Beware of an abandonment that has a self-interested spirit in it. Too often, we abandon ourselves to God because we want to be made holy or delivered from sin. We will be, if we are rightly related to him, but this demanding spirit is not in line with the essential nature of Christianity.

Abandonment is not for any thing at all. We’ve become so commercialized in our thinking that we go to God only when we want something. It’s as if we’re saying, “I don’t want you, God. I want myself: a clean, Spirit-filled version of myself. I want to be put on display in your showroom, and to be able to say, ‘See what God has done for me.’”

If we give something to God only because we want something in return, there is nothing of the Holy Spirit in our abandonment: it is miserable, commercial self-interest. To gain heaven, to be delivered from sin, to be made useful to God: real abandonment never considers these things. Real abandonment is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ himself.

When we are forced to choose between our natural relationships and Jesus Christ, most of us desert him. “I did hear your call, Lord,” we say. “But my spouse needs me; my mother needs me; my self- interest needs me.” “Such a person,” Jesus replies, “cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). It is always natural devotion that tests abandonment. Rise to the test, and God will embrace all those you hurt when you abandoned yourself to him.

Deuteronomy 17-19; Mark 13:1-20

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight. 

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Reflections

This abandonment thing is something that I know I think maybe since last year. It is a new concept I felt that He is telling me. Don’t try to treat him like an ATM. Don’t go to Him only when we need something. That kind of relationship is not a relationship at all. It becomes transactional or even worse, not treasured at all.

We would not live our loved ones behind because we love them. For Jesus that is the same case. We love Him because that is all there is! We don’t love Him because He grants us grace, forgive our sins, or that He died for us. No, I think what Oswald is saying that it is not like that. Our relationship with God is one that is two ways. He loves us and we love Him. Simple and straightforward. There is no clauses or conditions involved. It is a love that freely gives, freely abandoned to Him because we feel that He deserves it. He is the One and Only!

When it is love, nothing else matters. The only thing that matters is Him. He say right we will not say left. Maybe at times we try to go left but He knows us enough to bring us back safely. The question then becomes, do we love Him enough to say yes to the abandonment of our lives into HIs hands?

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Lent devotion Day 23/53

taken from YouVersion, Lent for Everyone

Lent for Everyone is a devotional created and written by N.T. (Tom) Wright. For each day of Lent, there is a reading chosen from the Gospel of Matthew, plus a reflection by Wright. These readings have grown out of a project encouraging Lent reading in Northern England. This is the second in a three-volume series based on the Revised Common Lectionary of the Church of England.

Today’s reading:

Matthew 16

WEEK 3: THURSDAY

The unique city of Venice is now mainly a tourist destination. People come from all over the world to be amazed at its canals, its tiny side-streets, and the wonderful churches, mansions and art galleries. But in the days before air travel Venice was much, much more. It was where the trade routes met, a city which looked east and west, north and south. There you could see Europe and Asia coming by and doing business. Many different strands of culture met and mingled on those canals, in those streets and churches. Venice was one of the most powerful and wealthy cities in the world.

This passage in Matthew is a bit like that. We may come to it in search of a quick lesson, a theme to ponder, a direction for today's prayers. But this is one of the places where the trade routes of Matthew's gospel meet, looking all the way back to Jesus' birth and baptism and all the way on to his death and resurrection. This is where the story of the disciples, who had followed Jesus and believed that he was indeed the Messiah, washes up against the story of Jesus' deeper vocation, that he had to achieve his mission by going to the cross. This is one of the most powerful passages in the gospel. Get this straight, and you'll see how much of the rest works out.

Begin at the end — and let's be clear, from the outset, how much Jesus' words here have been misunderstood. 'There are some standing here who won't taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.' Many have imagined that Jesus meant by this that the whole space—time universe would disappear and leave him and his followers in a new heavenly existence. Since that didn't happen — certainly within a generation! — they have concluded that Jesus was mistaken. That point of view has been extremely common.

But it completely misunderstands what the whole gospel story is about. From start to finish, Matthew's story is about the strange way in which Jesus became king. The first two chapters make it clear that he is the king from the line of David, at whose birth Gentile sages come to worship. The closing scene of the gospel makes it clear that with his resurrection and ascension Jesus has now 'come in his kingdom': 'all authority in heaven and on earth', he says, 'has been given to me.' Our problem in the modern world has been that we have taken it for granted that Jesus is not, in any sense, currently 'king of the world'. (It certainly doesn't look like it, we tell ourselves.) So we have assumed that he must have been talking about something else. Something that didn't happen.

But the whole point of this story is that Jesus — to the horror of his close friends — was now beginning to tell them that the way he had to become king was through suffering and death. They had just declared that they believed he was God's Messiah (verse 16). Peter had been congratulated on recognizing this despite the fact that Jesus wasn't doing lots of things a Messiah might have been supposed to do (raising an army to defeat the Romans, for instance). But now he was saying something as shocking to them as his words to the Canaanite woman in chapter 15 were shocking to the foreign crowds. The way to the Messianic kingdom is through suffering and death. Why this is so he doesn't yet explain. That it is so he makes quite clear. And if Peter can't see that, then he is being a 'Satan', an accuser, thinking in mere human categories rather than in God's categories.

The challenge to the disciples, then, turns into the challenge to all of us. Following Jesus means losing your life in order to find it. We squirm and struggle against this, like a fish on a hook. Anything rather than this. But it's the only way. Following Jesus means denying yourself, saying 'no' to the things that you imagine make up your 'self ', and finding to your astonishment that the 'self ' you get back is more glorious, more joyful than you could have imagined. That's how the kingdom arrived through Jesus' achievement. That's how it spreads today. All the trade routes of Christian theology and discipleship pass through this point.

TODAY

Teach us, gracious Lord, to follow you all the way where you lead, whatever it costs.

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People always say to count our costs when following Jesus. Actually what cost is there to count when we ourselves are already handmade by God, created in His own image? Who do we belong to? We can only belong to our creator. Not our world father or mother but to our heavenly Father in heaven. We need to relearn how to live properly and Christ-likely in the new lives.

Let’s pray:

Father, thank You for emphasising to us the importance of abandoning ourselves to You, that is not enough but to have different devotionals talking about the same thing to us. Help us to have the passion to follow You and be willing to be Your living sacrifice. In Jesus’s name we ask and pray. Amen 🙏🏻