Is Jesus trying to teach you the same old lesson?
5 Mar 26
Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One
Readings:
Numbers 34
Numbers 35
Numbers 36
Mark 10:32-52
And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all (Mark 10:44).
Is Jesus trying to teach you the same old lesson?
Earlier we observed how Jesus clearly laid out to His disciples His path of suffering, death, and resurrection (Mark 9:31). His followers miss the message because they are too consumed debating about their future greatness (Mark 9:34). Jesus repeats to His disciples about His suffering and resurrection, but with greater detail (Mark 10:33-34). What is their response? “Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, ‘Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask’” (Mark 10:35). After Jesus had explained all that He will endure they insensitively ask for a blank check from Him to be written out for their future greatness. The Lord expresses that our future greatness will come if we identify with His sufferings and become slaves of all.
Employment Point: Willingly suffer for Jesus and serve everyone for future greatness.
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Reflections
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””Mark 10:45 NIV
- This is a reminder that even our Lord came to serve His people. So none of us should have thoughts about wanting to be served by others. It is all about humbling ourselves, lowering our posture, to love His people to the point that we are willing to suffer for people all for Christ’s sake.
- He gave His life. We too ought to be willing to make some form of sacrifice.
- We cannot be choosing what we want to do or not want to do. His foundational learning includes service. So if any one of us is not serving, perhaps it is something we ought to ask the Lord for-the ministry He wants us to be in.
- a Christ risen life is never about our own glory. It is to suffer along with Christ and give glory to Him.
“When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!””Mark 10:47-48 NIV
- this image reminds me that if we focus on the Lord, let it always be on Him. There may be distractions, obstructions and many things that may want to pull us away but it should never derail us from the goal, that is to reach Jesus Christ.
- May our shouts to the Lord be like this man, who doesn’t relent in his circumstances.
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Is He Really Lord?
BY OSWALD CHAMBERS
March 05
So that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus. — Acts 20:24
Joy comes from the ultimate fulfillment of my life’s purpose—that for which I was created and reborn. It doesn’t come from the successful performance of a task. Jesus’s joy lay in doing what the Father had sent him to do, and this is also where our joy lies: “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21).
Have I received a ministry from the Lord? If so, I have to be loyal to it. I have to count my life precious only for its fulfillment. Think of the joy and satisfaction that will come from hearing Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21). We all have to find our place in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive our ministry from the Lord. First, though, we must get to know Jesus as more than our personal savior; we must know him as an intimate companion. Only then will he reveal to us our purpose.
“Do you love me?” Jesus asked Peter. “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17). Notice how Jesus doesn’t offer Peter, doesn’t offer us, a choice about how to serve. The only possibility is absolute loyalty to his command, absolute loyalty to what we discern when we are close to him.
Sometimes we misunderstand the call. We think that we are being called by a certain need—the need of God’s children to hear the gospel, for instance, or to have someone intervene for them in prayer. But the need isn’t what’s calling us; the need is simply an opportunity for answering the call. The call itself is a call to absolute loyalty. God wants you to be loyal to the ministry you receive when you are close to him, whatever it may be. This doesn’t imply that there is a specific campaign of service marked out for you, but it does mean that you will have to ignore the demands for service along other lines.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
There is nothing, naturally speaking, that makes us lose heart quicker than decay—the decay of bodily beauty, of natural life, of friendship, of associations, all these things make a man lose heart; but Paul says when we are trusting in Jesus Christ these things do not find us discouraged, light comes through them.
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Reflections
The calling itself is a high calling. Because it calls for our total abandonment to self, a full surrender of our own choices and a complete obedience to His commands. Indeed like what Oswald is saying, it does not imply that there is a specific campaign of service marked out for us-i.e. we may not necessarily be called to be missionaries or to step out into another country. At times our calling is just something like the verger. Who, does whatever that is needed because they are available to do it. It may not necessarily be something any one is looking forward to do. It can be mundane even.
So the question becomes, would we avail ourselves to do things like these or do we shun away from such tasks. Sometimes the Lord do tests us and our faithfulness, or what our true motives are in following Him.
But do we love the Lord enough to do what He calls us to do? Or do we debate or even shirk our responsibility and tell Him to get someone else to do it. Remember the time when Moses told the Lord that he doesn’t speak well and asked Him to ask Aaron instead. What did it caused? God’s wrath.
Our Lord is not without anger but don’t go provoke Him or do anything to incur His wrath upon ourselves.
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Lent devotion Day 16/53
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 12:1-21
WEEK 2: THURSDAY
To get the full flavour of what's going on here, you should really read not just Matthew 12, but Isaiah 42 as a whole. Actually, even that isn't really enough, because Isaiah 42 is a key passage within a much larger unity, Isaiah 40-55 . . . maybe you should set aside some time later on and read those 16 chapters right through. Imagine yourself in Matthew's congregation. Ask yourself what he's trying to tell you by quoting from that great prophecy.
We have already seen that for Matthew, and for Jesus him- self, Jesus' public career was the fulfilment of the ancient prophecies. Not just 'fulfilment' in the sense of a few random long-range predictions that were now at last 'coming true' in an isolated fashion. Rather, 'fulfilment' in the sense of a mountain climber who, after several days of hiking, sheer rock faces, ice floes and so on, is now standing on the summit ridge with the peak of the mountain at last in sight. 'Fulfilment' in the sense of a couple who have endured a long engagement while one was called away on urgent business and who now, at last, can hear the wedding bells ringing as they make their way to the church. Jesus is the 'fulfilment' of scripture in that sense. He brings its long, winding story to the place it was meant to go all along.
When Matthew quotes these verses from Isaiah 42, then, he isn't just suggesting a distant resemblance between Jesus' commands to silence (12.16) and the humble behaviour of Isaiah's 'servant of the Lord'. He is indicating that this 'servant' passage and the others like it, which reach their own climax with the servant's death in chapter 53, are a key part of the build-up of the ancient story. It is all driving forward, looking eagerly ahead, to an ultimate moment in which all the meaning built up over the centuries would be displayed in one extraordinary burst of fulfilment. Every bit of the 'servant' prophecies points to Jesus, Matthew believed. Here, nearly half way through his gospel, he wants to rub our noses in the fact. He could assume that many in his audience would know the whole section of Isaiah quite well. We, who probably don't know it quite so well, may need to catch up.
The point he is making, underneath it all, is that of a different kind of kingdom, an alternative model of kingship. John the Baptist had misunderstood what Jesus was up to, hoping that he might be the sort of leader who would mount a rescue operation and get him out of prison, and he had to be put right. James and John, later on in the story, were eager to have the best seats when Jesus became king, and they too needed to be put right (20.20—28). In the same way, Matthew is keen to point out here that Jesus is redefining what God's kingdom looks like, and hence what being God's Messiah might actually mean.
In fact, of course, what he says here is exactly in line with the Sermon on the Mount. The meek will inherit the earth, and Jesus is leading the way. God's kingdom belongs to the humble, and Jesus is showing how it's done. The kingdom of heaven belongs to those who suffer, are persecuted, and even killed, because they are following God's way . . . and Jesus will go ahead of them in that, too. Matthew, by quoting this passage here, is pointing forwards all the way to the climax of his gospel, when Jesus will be 'enthroned' as 'king of the Jews' by being nailed to the cross.
There is, to be sure, great comfort for us in all of this. If God's kingdom came the same way that earthly kingdoms come, by force of arms and military victory, the weak and the vulnerable would once more come off worst. But God does things the other way up, and we should all be thankful for that. In particular, those of us who struggle from time to time in our faith and discipleship should take heart from Isaiah's words, applied here to Jesus: he will not break a bruised reed, or quench a smouldering wick. His task, and his delight, is gently to fan into flames what was smouldering, gently to strengthen and firm up the weak, bruised faith, hope and love that we have at the moment. Let that be our prayer this Lent.
TODAY
Humble Lord Jesus, as you reach out to us in your gentle love, help us to find the way to bring your kingdom in our own day.
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“If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”
Matthew 12:7 NIV
- This verse especially is a reminder, that we may give so much as sacrifices to the Lord, be it monetary, time, energy, etc. but if our hearts do not have love, if we do not have grace, if we do not have mercy, whatever sacrifices we give, are all pointless.
Let’s pray:
Father we just want to thank You for the reminders that You have shared with us today. It is important for us to know our place and to recognise everything is in Your hands and Your control. Father, thank You for Your grace and mercy towards us all, especially when we think that we are already great, when we feel complacent or when we feel that we have already achieved. Thank You Lord for the reminder that that is a dangerous place to be. Help us to remain humble and teachable and to always have that servant heart as we live our lives. Thank You Father for holding our hands and not letting go. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen 🙏🏻
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