Thought to Guide Your Reading
When Jesus is lifted to give light to the world, they can set things right.Summary in 100 Words or Less
Mary, Lazarus' sister, anointed Jesus' Feet with oil. This infuriated Judas, who was embezzling money and preparing to betray Jesus.Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey to a fanfare.
Jesus threw merchants out of the Temple.
The Apostles could do great things if they embraced the God-life.
Jesus trapped His opponents when they questioned His Authority.
The Time to fulfill His Purpose had come. "I must be lifted up to draw everyone to Me. Believe in the Light."
Many leaders believed but in secret to keep their positions.
Jesus taught, "If you do not believe, My Words will judge you."
How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right
Jesus told His Apostles to pray for everything in faith.
As I mentioned earlier, I am not very good with prayer. This passage is difficult for me to do because in this section Jesus tells His Apostles that if they pray with the outcome expected that God would do it.That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything. (Mark 11:24, The Message)God's Chosen People should pray for everything because we should submit everything to God.
Judas, though an Apostle hand-picked by Jesus, was not dedicated to setting things right.
Jesus prayed all night before choosing the 12, yet one of them betrayed Him. The reason was not limited to the need for Jesus to be crucified. Judas was not dedicated to setting things right because he allowed his heart to serve money, not God. He used the poor as a club to guilt-trip people into giving to his purse, which he liberally took a piece of. Beware people who complain that you are not giving them enough under the guise of helping the poor. Their motives may not be good—although we should not become paranoid that all charities or social programs are corrupt.Unless we die, we cannot gain Eternal Life.
"[A]nyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal " (John 12:25). We must give up on our lives and allow God to direct them. Until then we cannot set all things right.If Jesus is raised, many people see the Light and set things right.
Jesus came to be the greatest example of God setting things right. This would be done by sacrificing himself. By telling the crowd that He must be lifted up He told them how He would die. Since Jesus is the Light, putting Him high shines light on the largest area. Jesus wants His Disciples to be Children of Light—shining God's Light into dark places. If God's Chosen People lift the Light, All People will have a chance to set things right.There will be no subjective judging by God. Either you set things right or you did not.
Jesus told the crowds that He would not judge everyone. Instead, His Words would judge everyone. We will not have a chance to sweet-talk our way out of punishment. Nor will we need to prove our case. Either we set things right or we did not. It makes obeying Jesus a lot less mysterious. Listen to Jesus' Words. They will show you how to set things right.Do you lift Jesus for the world to see His Light?
Have something to add? Leave a comment on the Sonoma Mountain Parkway Church of Christ Facebook page.
If you missed a reading or want to go to a specific date, type the link as follows:
http://grahambates.blogspot.com/2013/mm/dd.html
That will take you to the reading for that day.
Subscribe to receive the daily readings by email. See the top, right side of the page.
Share this post with others! See the links below the post to share on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.
No comments:
Post a Comment