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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.
“Here is My servant, whom I uphold,
My chosen one in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him. In His teaching
the islands will put their hope.”
Isaiah 42:1a,
4a
This ends this
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Learning.
It’s
something that begins as soon as we emerge from our mother’s womb and enter
into creation. Imagine the world as seen through the eyes of a baby, unable to
do much but to take in the whirlwind of sensory experiences that bombard him or
her. The sights, sounds, and smells are all new, at least at first as they get
to know their environment and those who are there to care for them and meet
their needs.
Once
these babies grow and develop to be strong enough, they begin to find mobility
and with it, the ability to roam and explore. They no longer are restricted to
being held or held down but now can investigate new things and in the process,
learn more and more.
Infants become
toddlers and toddlers become preschoolers, with a vocabulary or words and a
highly imaginative mind that they use in tandem to try and better understand
the world around them. These children are beginning to attend school and gain
knowledge beyond what they receive from their care providers. They are also
beginning to socialize more with children their age, an experience that teaches
them how to function within relationships with others.
These
preschoolers take the basic knowledge they learn as preschoolers into the elementary
school years where they build on their primary knowledge and skills while
honing their social skills. Friends become ever more important to children in
this age group and they are learning how to deal with the emotional side of
themselves, particularly when they like or dislike someone, or when they are accepted
or rejected.
And then
come the teenage years, turbulent times when learning can be more revolutionary
as these adolescents advancing on adulthood seek to be more independent and
that means more independent on their thoughts and actions. There is sometimes a
rebellious stance adopted toward parents as the desire for independence begins
to take root even though these pre-adults are still required to be dependent on
those who God ordained as their parents. In these years, we find teens learning
based more on what they are interested in as they form their personalities and
views of the world they live in and in the process, become ever more free
thinkers.
Finally,
adulthood dawns and these young adults come into the world thinking they are
ready for it only to find out that there is still so much to learn. It’s a
shock to the system much of the time and once the realities of life sink in,
these young adults usually get to a place where they see they need to rely on
the wisdom of others to help navigate life’s sometimes stormy seas. I think the
old saying goes something like this, “Your parents get smarter every day that
you get older”, implying that you think your parents are crazy as they raise
you into adulthood only to find out that they really knew what they were
talking about as you become an adult and experience life a little yourself.
In the
end translation, learning is a lifelong process and I give thanks for seeing
that in my own life. Next week, I turn 55 years old and I am now working on my
Master’s Degree in Public Administration. There is always something new to
learn and what I have found is that it keeps the mind fresh and active. There’s
no reason to surrender to the aging process when you can continue to stimulate
your brain, no matter how old you are.
Yes, we
should never stop seeking to learn and I think that’s what I love about the
word of God because every time I read and study it, I learn something new and
fresh, even in passages I have read countless times. It’s no wonder why the
Bible is often referred to as the Living Word because it’s the only book that
consistently comes to life as we read it, animated and illuminated by the Holy
Spirit.
If you
want to learn about life and how to live it, you have to read the Bible. There
is no other book more worthy of your time.
Why do I
say this?
Because
the Bible is the only place where you read first-hand about the life of Jesus,
the only One we are to model our lives after. Don’t waste your time following
worldly mentors and role models but rather place your full attention on Jesus,
the One who told us that He is the way and the truth and life (John 14:6).
There’s no need to go anywhere else but Jesus and trust me that when you seek
Him and how He lived, you will find Him and the answers to handle whatever
situation you are going through in life. You see, Jesus was a modestly just and
restoring servant, sent by God to save but also sent to teach and bring hope to
all the nations and people of the world. Look at today’s word from Isaiah 42:
“Here is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom I delight; I
will put My Spirit on Him. In His teaching the islands will put their hope.” Isaiah 42:1a, 4a
Jesus, the chosen servant who
brought God great delight, was given the Holy Spirit and sent to teach God’s
people, bringing them His words (John 7:16) and putting those words into action
in a way that fostered faith and hope in all who believed in Him. Indeed, we
could easily say that teaching was one of the things that defined who Jesus was
and He was even identified as a teacher in many places by others. Look at these
verses from the Gospels, the life stories of Jesus:
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching
in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom. Matthew 4:23,
9:35
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at
His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and
not as their teachers of the law. Matthew 7:28-29
After Jesus had finished
instructing His twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of
Galilee. Matthew 11:1
Just then a man came up to Jesus
and asked, “Teacher, what good
thing must I do to get eternal life?” Matthew 19:16
Once again Jesus went
out beside the lake. A large crowd came to Him, and He began to teach them. Mark 1:23
When Jesus landed and
saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep
without a shepherd. So He began teaching
them many things. Mark 6:34
He then began to teach
them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders,
the chief priests and the teachers
of the law, and that He must be killed and after three days rise again. Mark
8:31
One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting
there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and
Jerusalem. Luke 5:17
Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. Luke 7:40
One day Jesus was
praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, teach us to pray, just as
John taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1
Then Jesus went through
the towns and villages, teaching
as he made his way to Jerusalem. Luke 13:22
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the
Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that
You are a teacher who has come from God. John 3:1-2a
To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples.” John 8:31
Jesus said, “If you hold to My
teaching, you are really My disciples.” With this, you cannot claim to be Christian
with any validity unless you have placed your faith and hope in the teaching
that He provided and still provides through the Holy Spirit this very moment.
The point is made clearly by our Savior: To be a disciple or follower of
Christ, you must first receive His instruction and then apply it to the way you
live for it does you no good to just know His teaching. Unless you put it into
your actions, then there is no real effect of those teachings in your life. In
other words, you are not living the way and the truth and the life that is
Jesus.
Further, unless you hold to the
teaching of God’s servant and Son Jesus, it will be impossible to carry out His
commission to all of His followers. Look at this command given just before
Jesus left this earth to ascend and sit in power at God’s right hand:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you. Matthew 28:19-20a
We’re to go and make disciples,
baptizing them in the name of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, and look at the last part of our tasking as we are to teach those who
are just coming to Christ to obey all He has commanded.
Did you catch that?
WE are now to be the teachers,
sharing the commands of Jesus with others so that they might find themselves in
an obedient relationship with Him and receive the blessed title of “disciple”
themselves. Then, they too must join the effort and fulfill the Jesus’
commission themselves.
In other words, Jesus’ teaching
perpetuates itself through the words of the Gospels and the sharing of those
words by His disciples.
Friends, Jesus intends for us to be
lifelong learners, ever dedicated to knowing Him more intimately each and every
day. For then and only then can we effectively go out into the harvest fields
of our world and carry out the call to make disciples, teaching them about how
to live in Christ, Just as our Savior did more than 2,000 years ago.
Amen
POST NOTE: What has Jesus taught you? If you like, I encourage you to take
a few minutes to comment in response to this devotion.
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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