Thought for the day

2 Samuel 22:29 - 35

"You, Lord , are my lamp;

the Lord turns my darkness into

light

With your help I can advance

against a troop

with my God I can scale a wall

As for God, His way is perfect

The Lords word is flawless

He shields all who take refuge in him

For who is God besides the Lord

And who is the rock except our God

It is God who arms me with strength

and keeps my way secure

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer

He causes me to stand on the heights

He trains my hands for battle

my arms can bend a bow of bronze."

Trusting in the Rock....

Mark 12:41 – 42 “Many rich people throw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.”
Some things seem like they’ll be there forever like granite carvings, balancing rocks and so on. However, things we trust disappear. They fade away in the night with one sudden phone call, car ride or decision made. Perhaps we knew, deep down, that the person could not be counted on, the job could not last, the relationship would not weather the storm, but we decided to believe it was timeless anyway. When we carry many responsibilities – children, job, home, marriage, parents etc, we often come to trust ourselves as well. Who else will keep things going? we wonder. So we hold on tightly to keep everything together, to stay in control.

God’s desire is the opposite of our human inclination: He wants us to release our tight-fisted control. He wants us to give him the control of everything in our lives. The widow who gave two small copper coins showed her trust in God to provide for her, even if her very material possession was gone. The crowd who went before her gave a lot, but in proportion to what they owned, they gave very little. They were holding back. This faithful woman “put in everything – all she had to live on.” V44.
God wants us to place everything in his hands, not because he wants you to be empty, but because the wants to fill you to overflowing. Of all the things we look to for stability and permanence, he is the only true Rock who will never fall or fade away.

Jesus My Everything

Matthew 16:15 – 16 “’But what about you?’ he asked? ‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”

“Jesus is Everything.” Mother Teresa’s words are demonstrated by her selfless, Christlike actions – she was a friend to the poor, unabashedly loving society’s rejects and giving hope to the hopeless in her adopted country of India. How broken her heart must have been every time she lifted an untouchable out of the gutter to die in her arms or she fed and bathed a hungry, dirty orphan.

Through her actions, this humble woman proved that Jesus was more than a good man, a brilliant teacher or even a prophet sent by God. She knew in her heart that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and that knowledge empowered her with enough love for a lifetime of service.

In Matthew 16, Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was. Peter aced the pop quiz, calling him “the Son of the living God.” We all know that Peter wasn’t perfect. He was the one who had denied Jesus three times at Jesus’ trial. Yet at this key moment, he comprehended that Jesus was the Messiah God had promised for centuries. After Pentecost, Peter’s boldness allowed him to proclaim Christ’s identity whenever and wherever he could, regardless of the persecution and suffering it invited. Eventually, he was crucified for spreading the news that Jesus was God’s Son. Peter was crucified head down because he felt unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus. To the Apostle who once denied him, Jesus was everything; in fact, Jesus was the only thing.

The ONE who lived among us was God’s hands and feet. He gave us the very words of his father. He taught us how to love. He taught us how to give. And he taught us to die as a grain of wheat dies, so that the seeds of life are multiplied (see John 12:24)

Mother Teresa understood that was Jesus, there was no such thing as loving moderately. So did Peter. They showed others that Jesus was Lord of their lives by loving as he loved and serving as he served – continually, wholeheartedly and sacrificially.