Weekend Reading- Psalm 6 & Proverbs 6
Saturday: Psalm 6
1 O LORD, don’t rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your rage.
2 Have compassion on me, LORD, for I am weak.
Heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony.
3 I am sick at heart.
How long, O LORD, until you restore me?
4 Return, O LORD, and rescue me.
Save me because of your unfailing love.
5 For the dead do not remember you.
Who can praise you from the grave?*
6 I am worn out from sobbing.
All night I flood my bed with weeping,
drenching it with my tears.
7 My vision is blurred by grief;
my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.
8 Go away, all you who do evil,
for the LORD has heard my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my plea;
the LORD will answer my prayer.
10 May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified.
May they suddenly turn back in shame.
Sunday: Proverbs 6
| LESSONS FOR DAILY LIFE 1 My child,* if you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger— 2 if you have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said— 3 follow my advice and save yourself, for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy. Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased. 4 Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do. 5 Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from a net. 6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. 12 What are worthless and wicked people like? 16 There are six things the LORD hates— 20 My son, obey your father’s commands, 30 Excuses might be found for a thief |
March 12- The Least Likely- Mark 16
What I find so interesting about the resurrection account is the person who Jesus first appeared to. For many they would think the persons that would be entitled to see the risen Lord would be the High Priest or John the disciple. Maybe it should of been Mary the mother of Jesus, but it was not. Can you believe the first person Jesus appeared to was Mary Magadelene, a woman who had lived in adultery, She was a woman who should have been stoned by the religious leaders and condemned. To Jesus she was the very reason for his life, death and resurrection.
We have made Christianity unapproachable, something for the perfect. The problem is no one is perfect but all of us our in a deep need for a savior. I find it extremely liberating that Christ had made the point to come for the broken and the “least of these.” He not only came to give them life but to be in relationship with them and to allow them to be identified with himself. Why? Because it is in a persons brokenness they are able to recognize their deep need for salvation.
March 11- Risk!!- Mark 15:42-47
Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. (Joseph was an honored member of the high council, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.)
Risk, it is something we do when we value something. We risk when we love, we risk when we have invested into something, we risk when we are chasing after dreams. This was the same reason Joseph of Arimathea had taken a risk when he went to Pilate.
What could have happened to this man Joseph? For one thing he could have been flogged himself. This could have been by the Roman officers or even the Jewish leaders. Another thing that could have happened was to be excommunicated by the Jewish community. The idea of giving Jesus a proper burial was to agree that Jesus was the King of the Jews.
When was the last time you have risked your faith? How easy has it been to slide into the back of conversations or allowed injustice to take place in front of you. Today we want to learn from Joseph of Arimathea and stand up for what you believe by risking how others may view you.
March 10, 2010: What Will You Do With Him? Mark 15:1-15
Jesus’ trial before Pilate is one of the most suspenseful accounts in the Gospels. First you have this political leader who has no real understanding why he has this, what seems to be, innocent man on trial. The picture that is being played out reveals the insecurity of Pilate allowing the religious leaders to get their way out of fear of losing political supporters.
We are also given a picture of an innocent man unwilling to plead his case. It is in this scene that Jesus’ silence brings more problems to him than good. Jesus could have simply silenced the crowd yet chose to silence himself to look at the goal before him.
Pilate had asked a profound question which would bring about the verdict to this case, “What should I do with this man you call the King of the Jews?” It was the crowd’s response that set in motion the brutality Jesus would endure.
This question that Pilate asked is the same question every reader of this passage is asked, “What will you do with the King of the Jews?” The first choice we have is to ignore, keep silent, and be unwilling to look at the deity of Christ. The other is to be someone in the crowd who is willing to stand up and embrace Jesus for who he is, the King of the Jews and the King of all Glory.
March 9: Not Mine But Yours-Mark 14:1-42
One of the best lessons we learn from Jesus is a life that was unselfish. Everything Jesus had done was stemmed by doing the will of His Father. He never once had his own agenda or plans. Rather he came to be a servant and to reflect servant leadership to those around him.
We see this best in the first half of this chapter. I know that many see the washing of the diciples feet as one of the greatest examples of leadership but what about the Gethsemane account? Here you have Jesus knowing he was going to die, knowing he was going to be betrayed and denied and still chose to do the will of His Father. Was there hesitation and struggle? The bottom line was Jesus desired to be obedient to God.
For each of us living in our western world we operate quite contrary to Jesus’ model. We function in expecting God to line up His will with our will rather then the other way around. The problem occurs when we realize that is not how God works.
Today, meditate on the Gethsemane account. Ask God to give you both the desire and ability to say as Jesus said, “Not my will but yours!”