1 Corinthians 12:25-27 NKJV
Lord, restore in me the sensitivity to suffer and honor with those around me, no matter who they are or what they believe in.
Showing posts with label Suffering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Suffering. Show all posts
Sunday, June 13, 2021
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Worthy to Suffer Shame
[S] Acts 5:41 --
So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.
[O] The apostles were arrested, warned, and then flogged before released and yet they rejoiced because they knew the suffering was due to their loyalty to Jesus and the commitment to spread His word despite the oppositions from the Jewish leaders. To see how suffering shame for His name's sake is very difficult to relate to because I had not gone through such an experience but I, nevertheless, need to keep this in my mind because as I continue to follow His footsteps here on earth, I will have to face oppositions from the world and yet I must still commit to Jesus' name.
[A] The Holy Spirit's convicting me the criticality of training more disciples in the Lord who will take the shame and suffering coming from this world for the sake of His name. This year, I would like to pray and proceed on starting up a disciple-making community.
[P] Dear Father, forgive my life for staying in my own comfort zone and not branching out to preach Your word into this world which is fading away. I've been too comfortable among the believers and I would like to reach out to the lost souls more actively even if it means shame and suffering. I am scared as I pray this to You but I want to trust You completely as I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.
[O] The apostles were arrested, warned, and then flogged before released and yet they rejoiced because they knew the suffering was due to their loyalty to Jesus and the commitment to spread His word despite the oppositions from the Jewish leaders. To see how suffering shame for His name's sake is very difficult to relate to because I had not gone through such an experience but I, nevertheless, need to keep this in my mind because as I continue to follow His footsteps here on earth, I will have to face oppositions from the world and yet I must still commit to Jesus' name.
[A] The Holy Spirit's convicting me the criticality of training more disciples in the Lord who will take the shame and suffering coming from this world for the sake of His name. This year, I would like to pray and proceed on starting up a disciple-making community.
[P] Dear Father, forgive my life for staying in my own comfort zone and not branching out to preach Your word into this world which is fading away. I've been too comfortable among the believers and I would like to reach out to the lost souls more actively even if it means shame and suffering. I am scared as I pray this to You but I want to trust You completely as I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Choosing the Path of Failure
[S] Matthew 17:12 --
12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands."
[O] In light of the Passion week followed by the Resurrection Sunday we just celebrated last week, Jesus' remark about how John the Baptist came and suffered and murdered and fully knowing how He still came to us despite the suffering He will face is truly the message as a follower of Christ must hold dear to our hearts. How many of us will take the path when it's been proven to fail for sure? Not that many. However Jesus did just that by taking the path of His coming to us.
[A] Rising above the circumstances to carry out God's will is to say the least challenging. I must partake in His ministry with such an attitude also: Instead of having a goal of succeeding in ministry (however that is defined), I need to do it for the sake of turning more people's hearts toward God even at the cost of sacrifice leading to suffering. This world is not conditioned to welcome Jesus' disciples.
[P] Dear Father, please seal in my heart on how to do Your ministry with the right frame of mind. This isn't some luxurious task I am doing to succeed but to follow the footsteps of my Lord Jesus' whom, fully knowing, took the path of suffering in order to provide a way out for us from eternal condemnation. I pray in Your name. Amen.
12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands."
[O] In light of the Passion week followed by the Resurrection Sunday we just celebrated last week, Jesus' remark about how John the Baptist came and suffered and murdered and fully knowing how He still came to us despite the suffering He will face is truly the message as a follower of Christ must hold dear to our hearts. How many of us will take the path when it's been proven to fail for sure? Not that many. However Jesus did just that by taking the path of His coming to us.
[A] Rising above the circumstances to carry out God's will is to say the least challenging. I must partake in His ministry with such an attitude also: Instead of having a goal of succeeding in ministry (however that is defined), I need to do it for the sake of turning more people's hearts toward God even at the cost of sacrifice leading to suffering. This world is not conditioned to welcome Jesus' disciples.
[P] Dear Father, please seal in my heart on how to do Your ministry with the right frame of mind. This isn't some luxurious task I am doing to succeed but to follow the footsteps of my Lord Jesus' whom, fully knowing, took the path of suffering in order to provide a way out for us from eternal condemnation. I pray in Your name. Amen.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Go To Where There Is No Lasting City
[S] Hebrews 13:13-14 --
13So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
[O] Just like the Mosaic times of giving sacrifices to God (vv. 11-12) the animals used as offering for sin are burned outside the city gate, Jesus suffered outside the gate as well symbolizing that He was our sin offering. Denying myself to follow Christ is to go outside the gate myself to a place of outcast where Jesus was crushed selflessly. It is not a place of establishment of a lasting city but a place where God will establish His city in the future for eternity on that foundation. If you ever looked at the construction site preparing to build a large building, it's a mess with all kinds of equipments and foundational materials digging away into the dirt. But once that process is over and then the actual construction of the structure takes place, before we know it an awesome building will take place on top of that messy place of nothing but dirt. That's what I envision here because in the desolate and "messy" scene of the crucified Christ outside the gate is only a temporary and yet necessary foundation for the lasting city to come.
[A] How am I going to join the crucified Christ outside the gate rather than staying inside the comfortable city? For me, it's about dying to myself more by smoothing out the rough edges of "pride" that sticks out, at times even without my awareness, through interactions with people close to me. This time it was feeling self-righteous or self-justifiable caused me to pride over others.
[P] Dear Father, why is that I keep failing to follow the footsteps of Jesus' humility outside the gate? More I reflect, more I am so awed by Christ's complete humility (when He didn't have to at all). Please grant me just a fraction of that humility to rule my life. Lead me to that desolate place where there isn't anything so that I will witness Your everlasting city establish itself there to live in there forever. In Jesus' name. Amen.
13So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
[O] Just like the Mosaic times of giving sacrifices to God (vv. 11-12) the animals used as offering for sin are burned outside the city gate, Jesus suffered outside the gate as well symbolizing that He was our sin offering. Denying myself to follow Christ is to go outside the gate myself to a place of outcast where Jesus was crushed selflessly. It is not a place of establishment of a lasting city but a place where God will establish His city in the future for eternity on that foundation. If you ever looked at the construction site preparing to build a large building, it's a mess with all kinds of equipments and foundational materials digging away into the dirt. But once that process is over and then the actual construction of the structure takes place, before we know it an awesome building will take place on top of that messy place of nothing but dirt. That's what I envision here because in the desolate and "messy" scene of the crucified Christ outside the gate is only a temporary and yet necessary foundation for the lasting city to come.
[A] How am I going to join the crucified Christ outside the gate rather than staying inside the comfortable city? For me, it's about dying to myself more by smoothing out the rough edges of "pride" that sticks out, at times even without my awareness, through interactions with people close to me. This time it was feeling self-righteous or self-justifiable caused me to pride over others.
[P] Dear Father, why is that I keep failing to follow the footsteps of Jesus' humility outside the gate? More I reflect, more I am so awed by Christ's complete humility (when He didn't have to at all). Please grant me just a fraction of that humility to rule my life. Lead me to that desolate place where there isn't anything so that I will witness Your everlasting city establish itself there to live in there forever. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Not Nullifying the Grace
[S] Galatians 2:21 --
21"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."
[O] As we approach the Easter my mind's been wondering along the paths of Jesus' journey to Calvary, bearing His Cross for us through all the humiliation and deep suffering no human cannot withstand. The vivid pictures from the Passion of Christ movie flashes back and forth but there is more to it than the external visualization of His suffering because the suffering of His detachment from God through loneliness probably was far greater pain. This wasn't some good humane effort for some portion of the human population on earth but the God of the universe abandoning His throne to come down as a sacrifice for our inadequacies to satisfy God's righteousness. This one man who is also a full God has paved the path as He carried that Cross down that path to Calvary.
[A] Meditate more on the deeper and personal meaning of the Cross for my life. How should it reflect in my life? Or is it reflecting in my life at all now? I need to be broken more inside as I sense more areas in my life that are calloused hard over the years of living a Christian life without applying the word specifically into my life.
[P] Thank You, Jesus, for taking the Cross to Your own crucifixion through all the pain and suffering because of that I can be freed from my own limitation here on earth to enter into the Heavenly Kingdom to unite again with You. May I live my life here on earth to reflect this joy and hope with the backdrop of Your Cross to not nullify the grace which You poured out for me. In Jesus' name. Amen.
21"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."
[O] As we approach the Easter my mind's been wondering along the paths of Jesus' journey to Calvary, bearing His Cross for us through all the humiliation and deep suffering no human cannot withstand. The vivid pictures from the Passion of Christ movie flashes back and forth but there is more to it than the external visualization of His suffering because the suffering of His detachment from God through loneliness probably was far greater pain. This wasn't some good humane effort for some portion of the human population on earth but the God of the universe abandoning His throne to come down as a sacrifice for our inadequacies to satisfy God's righteousness. This one man who is also a full God has paved the path as He carried that Cross down that path to Calvary.
[A] Meditate more on the deeper and personal meaning of the Cross for my life. How should it reflect in my life? Or is it reflecting in my life at all now? I need to be broken more inside as I sense more areas in my life that are calloused hard over the years of living a Christian life without applying the word specifically into my life.
[P] Thank You, Jesus, for taking the Cross to Your own crucifixion through all the pain and suffering because of that I can be freed from my own limitation here on earth to enter into the Heavenly Kingdom to unite again with You. May I live my life here on earth to reflect this joy and hope with the backdrop of Your Cross to not nullify the grace which You poured out for me. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
No Pain, No Gain
[S] Hebrews 5:8 --
8Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.
[O] As they say, no pain, no gain. But did you know even Jesus had to learn obedience through the things He suffered. So, I surely won't have it any easier than that. The reverse -- suffering will produce obedience -- is not true so I shouldn't go look for suffering. Instead, in the course of my obedience I should expect to face some suffering because that is what will produce obedience as Jesus had.
[A] Think: Suffering is a part of His training to perfect me (Hebrews 5:9).
[P] Dear God, grant me the endurance to learn obedience even if it means going through suffering. I desire to grow in You. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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