They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not
want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his
disciples. Mark 9:30-31
Beloved
Brothers and Sisters,
I heard something this week
that caused me to stop and ponder and seek it’s truth.
“When victory does not tend
to turn our hearts to worship…. we part company with God, so to speak, as soon
as the victory is achieved. As I pushed and pulled on this truth, I received
another perspective! This is also true of miracles! When a miracle does not
tend to turn our hearts to worship, and is quickly drowned out by life’s new
struggles, we tend to part company with God. And on the other end of the
spectrum, it can also be said of suffering. If our trials do not tend to drive us
to our knees in worship, we miss the purpose, the encounter, a locking eyes
with the Savior, and the opportunity to trust Him. We make life about us; not
about Him. We do not see our trials from a heavenly perspective.
In Mark 9 Jesus again
foretells His death to ears too dull to receive this truth. Instead they were
arguing which of them was the greatest. A source of embarrassment when Jesus
ask, “ What were you arguing about on the road?” vs 33
They didn’t answer. He
shared his heart and not one disciple would hear this precious truth that would
change their lives forever. This intimate teaching time was one of the last
they would have with Him and He was promising a miracle! Fearful and
self-absorbed, they made this about themselves and who was the greatest.
Jesus answered their
argument with a powerfully, foreign perspective. Mark 9:35
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve
and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the
servant of all.”
HUH? Say what? In chapter
10:24 it states the truth about the reaction of disciples to His teaching. The disciples were amazed at his words. Also verse
26 enlarges on this: The disciples were even more astonished”,
but did it lead to worship? Look at
Peter’s question in verse 28…” Peter began to say to Him, ‘Behold, we have left
everything and followed You.” Did you hear that? He was saying ‘What’s in it
for me?’ Jesus then says again:
“We
are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man
will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They
will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and
spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” Mark
10:33-34
This
was Jesus third try to ‘teach and prepare’ His disciples. He barely finished
speaking when James and John ask to have the honored seats at His side! All
about them. Hadn’t they heard anything he just said? As I read this wondering
at their callous, self-centeredness, I felt a prick of conviction and knew I was
just as self-centered and too often make life about how I feel, or what I want and my
desires.
I thought
of Jesus healing the lepers in Luke 17:15-16. He cleansed 10 men of an
incurable disease. And
one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice
glorified God, and fell down on
his face at his feet, giving him thanks. A miracle, which tended
to lead only one of ten to worship.
However, for the Lord Jesus to be fully manifested, it is going
to involve a lifetime of the Holy Spirit’s deep dealing with the more subtle
and deadly characteristics of the self-life “always
delivered unto death (2
Corinthians 4: 11) MJS
All
of us are going to experience sorrow and suffering and I do not want to miss any
spiritual benefits. How sad if victories, trials or miracles lead only to
deliverance and joy, instead of sweet, eternal intimacy, where we are crowded
to Christ, in dependence as we learn to enjoy Him! It sets my feet to dancing.
One
more example is in Job 5:11. We count those blessed who endured. You
have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s
dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
God
gave satan the permission to afflict job with suffering so terrible it hurts to
read it! He is set forth as an example of suffering and endurance. In a short
period of time, Job lost multiple flocks, which were stolen in raids and burned up with fire from heaven. Many
servants were killed and all of this was valued at a great price. What is Job’s
response to multiple tragedies?
His response touched my heart deeply this week. Read and receive the
truth of Job 1:20-22
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved
his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be
the name of the Lord.” Through
all of this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.
Suffering
drew Job to worship! Let us not just endure, but humbly endure with joy and
surrender; as we let God’s grace strengthen us with courage to worship the
King!
God of grace,
God of mercy, worthy of our worship, we too want to live and bring You glory.
Let our response to suffering be, to be strong in the Lord and in the power of
His might! I pray especially for my brothers and sisters, in countries where
they suffer for their faith. Pour out Your grace that they would endure, even
endure with joy. Make them strong in faith. Strengthen us that we would endure
with a humble, unspeakable joy, so worship of You will flow out of us, even
when no one is looking. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty! We bow in worship
of You, now and forever, You who love us unconditionally, amen.
Not to endure is greater pain,
az
Be amazed at God's design in the tallest land animal.
Go to Gramz Kidz and click on 'By design'.
The Gospel (or Good News) message of Jesus Christ is so simple that it almost defies understanding. By evidenceofdesign|
