Author: David Short

Mark 10:43-45

Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

Personal Challenge

God’s economy always appears to be upside down compared to the economy of man. Here we are reminded that we must become servants to all if we desire to be first. We must put the needs of others before our own if we desire to have our needs and desires met. In reality, it is man’s economy that is upside down. God created us in His image. He created us so that He could walk with us in the garden and be in a relationship with us. He is the one who chose to serve us first. When Adam and Eve chose to sin, this way of life was reversed and we started expecting everyone and everything else to be servants to us. Jesus has turned this back around by becoming man and becoming a servant to all of mankind, giving us the example to follow. Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Ephesians 4:31-32

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Personal Challenge

Can I truly claim to be a follower of Christ and not behave differently than the rest of the world? Can my language, whether verbal or on mediums such as social media, be filled with bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, sarcasm, and evil speaking, and still being saying that I follow Jesus and desire to be like Him? I don’t believe so! If my behavior is not being changed from the inside out then I must truly question if I have Christ sitting on the throne of my heart. If He is, then being kind to one another, being tenderhearted and forgiving toward others will be a natural part of my behavior. Time for a self-assessment. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

Psalm 109:21-22 (108:21-22 LXX)

And of those who speak evil things against my soul.
But You, O Lord, O Lord, deal mercifully with me for Your name’s sake,
For Your mercy is good.
Save me, for I am poor and needy,
And my heart is troubled within me.

Encouraging Words

Why does my Lord, the creator and master of the universe and all of creation, deal mercifully with me, a fallen and broken sinner? It is not because of anything that I have done or could do. He does this because of who He is. He is all merciful! He is all love! He created me, and everything else throughout eternity so that He could pour out His mercy and love on us. And yes, just like everyone else and everything else in creation, I am poor and needy, living with a troubled heart. However, His relentless love and mercy makes me wealthy and without need. He heals my troubled heart. Thank You, O, Lord!

Proverbs 17:28 (17:30 LXX)

Wisdom shall be imputed to a man without understanding who asks for wisdom,
And anyone who holds his peace will seem to have discernment.

Encouraging Words

Our Lord desires that we understand His mysteries with the wisdom that only He can give us. So many of us go through life with the quest to garnish as much knowledge that we can believing that we are gaining God’s wisdom. Without doing this under the wing of our Lord, and regularly petitioning Him for it, then all tat we are gaining is knowledge. True wisdom is imputed to us from our Father through our asking Him for it and being prepared by Him to receive it. Glory be to God!

Proverbs 16:7 (16:4 LXX)

He who seeks the Lord will find knowledge with righteousness,
And those who seek Him rightly will find peace.

Encouraging Words

Our Lord rewards us with righteous knowledge and peace if we will seek Him. These virtues can only be found once we are in Him, and He is in us. Glory be to God!

1 Peter 2:19-20

For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.

Personal Challenge

The life that Jesus calls me to live is so much different than what the world calls me to live. The world calls me to live my life with me as the center of the universe with everything revolving around me. Living this way sets me up to expect that everyone else treat me nicely, especially when I do nice things. Therefore, I do nice things so that I get rewarded and honored. Jesus, however, showed me that God and others should be the center of my universe and that I should live my life loving them. From this love will flow acts of love and kindness expecting nothing in return. But what if I suffer for doing these good things? Then I should take the suffering patiently as Jesus did knowing that this too is an act of love. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

2 Timothy 1:12-14

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

Encouraging Words

I have found that if I am truly trying to live my life for Christ, and hopefully live it the way that I believe He would want me to, then there will be suffering. It may be from others oppressing me for my belief, or it may be from sacrificing things that this world has to offer, and sometimes it is from other believers challenging me because my faith practice is different than theirs. But no matter what form the suffering comes in, Jesus, the One in whom I have put my faith, is always there to keep me strong in Him and filled with His joy. Glory be to God!

Romans 14:19

Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

Personal Challenge

Paul was such an amazing man and clearly an example to follow. He lived in a day when one of the most ruthless governments was in control of the known world of his day, the Roman empire. On top of that he was under the jurisdiction of the local government and religious governing intstitutions in Jerusalem and Israel. Corruption was rampant. Persecution was at its height. And yet Paul did not rebel against the institutions of the world for he knew that his citizenship was in heaven. To the contrary, he worked within the government institutions in order to share the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout his world. What a valuable lesson for me today, to know and trust that God has placed me right where I am in time, in geography, and in social structure, so that He can use me to glorify Him and not magnify me.