Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living from Wordaction of The Global Church of the Nazarene Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, United States "Warning! Danger Ahead!" by Pat Kissell for Wednesday, 14 December 2016 with Scripture: John 15:18-27
-------
"Warning! Danger Ahead!" by Pat Kissell
John 15:18 “If the world hates you, understand that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would have loved its own. But because you do not belong to the world — on the contrary, I have picked you out of the world — therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they kept my word, they will keep yours too. 21 But they will do all this to you on my account, because they don’t know the One who sent me.
22 “If I had not come and spoken to them, they wouldn’t be guilty of sin; but now, they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done in their presence works which no one else ever did, they would not be guilty of sin; but now, they have seen them and have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this has happened in order to fulfill the words in their Torah which read, ‘They hated me for no reason at all.’[John 15:25 Psalms 35:19; 69:5(4)]
26 “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send you from the Father — the Spirit of Truth, who keeps going out from the Father — he will testify on my behalf. 27 And you testify too, because you have been with me from the outset.
-------
Who likes or wants to be hated? My neighbors, whether Christian or not, my employer, acquaintances, and friends all appear to like me. So why should we be warned of the world hating us? The “world” is to be understood in a moral sense: the world-order under the control of adverse spiritual forces.*
Christ used a series of opposing statements to warn His disciples as they witnessed for Him before a godless world: The world hates you/hates Me; persecutes you/persecutes Me; does wrong to the servant/does wrong to the Master; the world would love you/but I took you out of the world; you will be treated badly/because you identified with Me; You will be disdained/because they don’t know the Father who sent Me; the world doesn’t listen to you/because it doesn’t listen to Me.
Not listening was nothing new to God. He warned Ezekiel that the hardened and obstinate people of Israel would not listen to God [Ezekiel 3:7]. The hatred toward Jesus and the Father happened in fulfillment of what was written, “They hated me without reason” (John 15:25). Recent times have seen an incredible hatred toward Christians.
*D. Guthrie and J. A. Moyer, The New Bible Commentary [Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, revised 1978]. 960.
-------
Hymn for Today: "All for Jesus" by Mary D. James
1. All for Jesus! all for Jesus!
All my being's ransom'd pow'rs;
All my thoughts and words and doings,
All my days and all my hours.
All for Jesus! all for Jesus!
All my days and all my hours.
2. Let my hands perform his bidding;
Let my feet run in his ways;
Let my eyes see Jesus only;
Let my lips speak forth his praise.
All for Jesus! all for Jesus!
Let my lips speak forth his praise.
3. Worldlings prize their gems of beauty,
Cling to gilded toys of dust,
Boast of wealth, and fame, and pleasure;
Only Jesus will I trust.
Only Jesus! only Jesus!
Only Jesus will I trust.
4. Since my eyes were fixed on Jesus,
I've lost sight of all beside,--
So enchained my spirit's vision,
Looking at the crucified.
All for Jesus! all for Jesus!
All for Jesus, crucified!
5. Oh, what wonder! how amazing!
Jesus, glorious King of kings,
Deigns to call me his beloved,
Lets me rest beneath his wings.
All for Jesus! all for Jesus!
Resting now beneath his wings.
-------
Thought for Today: 1 John 5:5 Who does overcome the world if not the person who believes that Yeshua is the Son of God?
-------
Please Pray: For the development of Christian leaders in Denmark
-------
Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living from Wordaction of The Global Church of the Nazarene Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, United States "Is the Price Right?" by Pat Kissell for Tuesday, 13 December 2016 with Scripture: Luke 14:25-35
-------
"Is the Price Right?" by Pat Kissell
Luke 14:25 Large crowds were traveling along with Yeshua. Turning, he said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, his mother, his wife, his children, his brothers and his sisters, yes, and his own life besides, he cannot be my talmid. 27 Whoever does not carry his own execution-stake and come after me cannot be my talmid.
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Don’t you sit down and estimate the cost, to see if you have enough capital to complete it? 29 If you don’t, then when you have laid the foundation but can’t finish, all the onlookers start making fun of you 30 and say, ‘This is the man who began to build, but couldn’t finish!’
31 “Or again, suppose one king is going out to wage war with another king. Doesn’t he first sit down and consider whether he, with his ten thousand troops, has enough strength to meet the other one, who is coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he hasn’t, then while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation to inquire about terms for peace.
33 “So every one of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has cannot be my talmid. 34 Salt is excellent. But if even the salt becomes tasteless, what can be used to season it? 35 It is fit for neither soil nor manure — people throw it out. Those who have ears that can hear, let them hear!”
-------
What can Jesus mean: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters–yes, even their own life–such a person cannot be my disciple” (v. 26)? My first reaction is, “How can I hate my family and still obey the commandment to honor my father and mother and love one another?” There has to be a way to explain what Jesus meant.
Input from many resources helps me understand this passage: “Hate” used here means to love less; it is a willingness to place the Lord’s claims above family, to love the Lord far more than family, to disregard family in comparison with my attitude toward God.
What about the price of following Christ? We must carry our own cross, to shoulder whatever may come, even be willing to die, and to follow behind in Christ’s footsteps. “Follower” and “disciple” are synonymous, but even a “follower” must count the cost.
Christ gives two clear examples of where it would be folly to not count the cost: building a house and going to battle. His closing comment is point blank: “If you have ears, you should use them.” Or maybe, He just said, "Listen up!"
-------
Hymn for Today: "I am Resolved" by Palmer Hartsough
1. I am resolved no longer to linger,
charmed by the world's delight;
things that are higher, things that are nobler,
these have allured my sight.
Refrain:
I will hasten to Him,
hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, greatest, highest,
I will come to Thee.
2. I am resolved to go to the Savior,
leaving my sin and strife;
He is the true one; He is the just one,
He has the words of life.
Refrain:
I will hasten to Him,
hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, greatest, highest,
I will come to Thee.
3. I am resolved, and who will go with me?
Come, friends, without delay;
taught by the Bible, led by the Spirit,
we'll walk the heavenly way.
Refrain:
I will hasten to Him,
hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, greatest, highest,
I will come to Thee.
-------
Thought for Today: Matthew 16:24 Then Yeshua told his talmidim, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him say ‘No’ to himself, take up his execution-stake, and keep following me.
-------
Please Pray: That many people in Denmark will come to know Yeshua the Messiah and receive the fullness of the Ruach HaKodesh.
-------
Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living from Wordaction of The Global Church of the Nazarene Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, United States "A Servant's Certainty" by Pat Kissell for Monday, 12 December 2016 with Scripture: Luke 1:26-38
-------
"A Servant's Certainty" by Pat Kissell
Luke 1:26 In the sixth month, the angel Gavri’el was sent by God to a city in the Galil called Natzeret, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Yosef, of the house of David; the virgin’s name was Miryam. 28 Approaching her, the angel said, “Shalom, favored lady! Adonai is with you!” 29 She was deeply troubled by his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Miryam, for you have found favor with God. 31 Look! You will become pregnant, you will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua. 32 He will be great, he will be called Son of Ha‘Elyon. Adonai, God, will give him the throne of his forefather David; 33 and he will rule the House of Ya‘akov forever — there will be no end to his Kingdom.” 34 “How can this be,” asked Miryam of the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered her,
“The Ruach HaKodesh will come over you,
the power of Ha‘Elyon will cover you.
Therefore the holy child born to you
will be called the Son of God.
36 “You have a relative, Elisheva, who is an old woman; and everyone says she is barren. But she has conceived a son and is six months pregnant! 37 For with God, nothing is impossible.” 38 Miryam said, “I am the servant of Adonai; may it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
-------
Paul L. Maier’s book, The Very First Christmas, begins, “So your daughter is pregnant.” How did Mary explain her unexpected pregnancy to her family? The Scriptures provide some clues.
Review Mary’s interaction with the angel Gabriel:
Gabriel: “Hello! You are special, highly favored.”
Mary: Is greatly troubled; “What kind of greeting is this?”
Gabriel: “Do not be afraid. You will have a holy child named Jesus.”
Mary: “How will this be since I am a virgin?”
Gabriel: In 31 words, explains how this will take place. Tells of her relative Elizabeth’s unexpected pregnancy.
Mary: “I am the Lord’s servant; may your word to me be fulfilled.”
Mary soon went to Judea to visit Elizabeth, who had been labeled "barren." Did someone from the family travel with Mary? How did she explain her trip? After three months, she returned home-with her parents?
Mary’s song, “The Magnificat,” may answer some questions: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me–holy is his name” (vv. 46-49).
-------
Hymn for Today: "Of the Father's Love Begotten" by Aurelius C. Prudentius, translated by John M. Neale and Henry W. Baker
1. Of the Father’s love begotten
ere the worlds began to be,
he is Alpha and Omega —
he the source, the ending he,
of the things that are, that have been,
and that future years shall see
evermore and evermore.
2. O that birth forever blessed,
when a virgin, blest with grace,
by the Holy Ghost conceiving,
bore the Savior of our race;
and the babe, the world’s Redeemer,
first revealed his sacred face,
evermore and evermore.
3. This is he whom seers in old time
chanted of with one accord,
whom the voices of the prophets
promised in their faithful word;
now he shines, the long-expected;
let creation praise its Lord
evermore and evermore.
4. Let the heights of heaven adore him;
angel hosts, his praises sing:
powers, dominions, bow before him
and extol our God and King;
let no tongue on earth be silent,
every voice in concert ring
evermore and evermore.
5. Christ, to you, with God the Father
and the Spirit, there shall be
hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
and the shout of jubilee:
honor, glory, and dominion
and eternal victory
evermore and evermore.
-------
Thought for Today: Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his home right with God rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but everyone who humbles himself will be exalted.”
-------
Please Pray: For the development of Christian leaders in Cyprus.
-------
No comments:
Post a Comment