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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father
his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to
death. All men will hate you because of Me, but He who stands firm to the end
will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell
you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before
the Son of Man comes.”
"A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!”
“So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
"A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!”
“So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Matthew 10:21-28
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of Me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
Mark 13:12-13
“You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and
sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. Everyone
will hate you because of Me. But not a hair of your head will perish. Stand
firm, and you will win life.”
Luke 21:16-19
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Over the past few devotions, we have found Jesus giving His disciples a primer on evangelism, empowering them with the power of the Spirit, specifically instructing them on what they were to do, and warning them as to what they could expect to experience while carrying out their calling.
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Over the past few devotions, we have found Jesus giving His disciples a primer on evangelism, empowering them with the power of the Spirit, specifically instructing them on what they were to do, and warning them as to what they could expect to experience while carrying out their calling.
As we turn to today’s passage, we see that the coming of
Jesus and the nature of His teaching disrupted the world He entered into. It
shook the cultural norms and beliefs that existed and changed everything.
Indeed, life became far from business as usual with Jesus on the scene. Look
again at today’s verses from the Gospel of Matthew:
"Brother will
betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against
their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of Me,
but He who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one
place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through
the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
"A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!”
“So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:21-28
In today’s scripture, note that Jesus tells His disciples that even families would be shaken to the core because of Him with brother betraying brother to death, fathers betraying their children, and children rebelling against their parents before having them executed. Even worse than that, Jesus promised the chosen twelve that all men would hate them because of their association with Him.
Doesn’t exactly sound like a fun venture, does it? In fact, we may ask ourselves, “Why in the world would anyone want to sign up for work like that?”
Because there was more at stake than just being liked or disliked, more on the line than life in the here and now. That’s why.
For Jesus promised His disciples that anyone who stood “firm to the end” would be saved. Through Him and the salvation He brought, life would not end in death for those who placed their faith and trust in Jesus but rather just begin for all eternity.
"A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!”
“So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:21-28
In today’s scripture, note that Jesus tells His disciples that even families would be shaken to the core because of Him with brother betraying brother to death, fathers betraying their children, and children rebelling against their parents before having them executed. Even worse than that, Jesus promised the chosen twelve that all men would hate them because of their association with Him.
Doesn’t exactly sound like a fun venture, does it? In fact, we may ask ourselves, “Why in the world would anyone want to sign up for work like that?”
Because there was more at stake than just being liked or disliked, more on the line than life in the here and now. That’s why.
For Jesus promised His disciples that anyone who stood “firm to the end” would be saved. Through Him and the salvation He brought, life would not end in death for those who placed their faith and trust in Jesus but rather just begin for all eternity.
With that, the salvation of the unsaved was worth more
than the danger encountered in trying to help them get there. That’s why Jesus
continued to do what He did, despite people despising Him and plotting His
demise. That’s why His disciples followed His example and remained obedient to
His calling.
Friends, this is the essence of what Jesus lived and died for. Jesus didn’t give up when things got hard. He didn’t quit when people hated Him. Rather, He carried on boldly and fearlessly, moving from one place to another until His mission was complete and He expected anyone who followed Him to do the same, to model and mimic the ways of their Teacher and Master.
Yes, the world in the days of the disciples was a scary place. For as hard as Christ was working to save souls, Satan was working equally hard to ruin them and he used whoever he could to make that happen.
But even in the midst of situations that were harrowing and downright treacherous, Jesus provided His beloved twelve assurance saying:
Friends, this is the essence of what Jesus lived and died for. Jesus didn’t give up when things got hard. He didn’t quit when people hated Him. Rather, He carried on boldly and fearlessly, moving from one place to another until His mission was complete and He expected anyone who followed Him to do the same, to model and mimic the ways of their Teacher and Master.
Yes, the world in the days of the disciples was a scary place. For as hard as Christ was working to save souls, Satan was working equally hard to ruin them and he used whoever he could to make that happen.
But even in the midst of situations that were harrowing and downright treacherous, Jesus provided His beloved twelve assurance saying:
“Do not be afraid
of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that
will not be made known.”
Essentially, Jesus was telling the disciples that no
matter how hard people might scheme against them and attempt to conceal their
plot, in the end, everything would be exposed. The disciples were not to be
afraid of man, for man could only kill the body and not the soul. But they were
to be afraid of God, their Father, who held their destiny in His hands, a
destiny that could bring salvation if one believed in Jesus or the power to
“destroy both soul and body in hell” if one rejected His Son.
In other words, disobedience to God’s call would result
in punishment and judgment far worse than anything that man could ever do to
someone. It’s the consequences of God that we should really be afraid of.
So this brings us to today. How well are we responding as disciples who have been commanded by Jesus to share the gospel message?
So this brings us to today. How well are we responding as disciples who have been commanded by Jesus to share the gospel message?
Are we going out into the harvest fields boldly,
confident through the One who is sending us, the One who is ever with us
providing leadership and counsel?
Or do we turn away from our responsibility as Christians because
we are afraid?
And if we are afraid, what exactly are we afraid of?
Friends, the world is still a scary place to live. One need only follow the news to see that.
Friends, the world is still a scary place to live. One need only follow the news to see that.
Families are still at odds internally for the cause of
Christ.
People still hate the disciples of Jesus, even enough to
kill them as evident in the continued persecution of Christian believers around
the world.
And Satan still works overtime to counter any of the
Lord’s best efforts to win salvation for lost souls.
Indeed, not a whole lot has changed.
But equally, Jesus has never changed and still expects us to be unafraid of man who can destroy the body but not the soul and instead reverently fear God who can still destroy body and soul in hell if we choose to not trust in His Son as Savior and respond in obedience to the call to go forth and make disciples of all nations.
Friends, I don’t know about you but given a choice between damnation and salvation, I’m choosing salvation every time.
With that, there’s much work to be done for the cause of the Gospel, so many people that need to be saved.
But equally, Jesus has never changed and still expects us to be unafraid of man who can destroy the body but not the soul and instead reverently fear God who can still destroy body and soul in hell if we choose to not trust in His Son as Savior and respond in obedience to the call to go forth and make disciples of all nations.
Friends, I don’t know about you but given a choice between damnation and salvation, I’m choosing salvation every time.
With that, there’s much work to be done for the cause of the Gospel, so many people that need to be saved.
Let’s get to it, shall we, and do so unafraid.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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