Title: Lent Dawn Prayer (14) Jesus' ...
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Lent Dawn Prayer (14) Jesus' spiritual management (Mark 1:35-45) 2002.03.19.
The essence of spirituality is love for the Lord.
“After they had had breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said, “Yes, Lord. You know that I love you.” He said, “Feed my lambs.” - John 21:15 -
Christian spirituality is becoming like Christ. To be like Christ, we must first love Christ. If we love and respect each other, we will resemble each other. That is why couples resemble each other, and parents and children resemble each other. Saying that you resemble a great person is a compliment, and saying that you resemble someone who will be criticized is an insult. Christians are to be like Christ. Only those who truly love the Lord resemble Him.
Jesus did not ask his disciples to have techniques to feed the sheep, but he shared his love for Him to the very end. To feed the sheep, they must be filled with the full love of the Lord. Faith is not the filling of knowledge, it is the filling of the happiness of love.
What does spiritual management mean?
Spiritual management refers to managing one's inner world. “I believe that one of the fiercest battlefields of our time is the inner world of each person. ” ( Gordon Macdonald)
“God is looking for people with depth, not talent” (Richard Foster). Spirituality is the management of the heart, which is the central stage of God's activity. “A man's soul is the lamp of the Lord, and it searches the depths of man” (Proverbs 20:27). “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it” (Jeremiah 17:9).
“Jesus said to him, ‘Are you not yet enlightened? Don't you know that everything that goes into the mouth goes into the stomach and is thrown back? The things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and this is what defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, and slander, which defile a man, and to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man” (Matthew 15:16-20).
A person's maturity is evaluated by his inner maturity and inner wealth. We must manage our own souls before we manage the souls of others. You cannot conquer the world without conquering yourself. You cannot control others unless you control yourself.
We should spend a lot of time praying before God to rule ourselves. You need to take the time to take care of yourself. Even beautiful music has rests, and even world-class performers re-tune after a song is over. You must stop before changing direction. We must stand quietly before the Lord and listen to the voice of God. “I strike my body into subjection, lest after I have preached to others, I myself will be rejected” (1 Corinthians 9:27). To achieve God's vision, thorough self-management is required. Only then can we succeed in God's principles and methods. Howard Hendrix said, “It is not failure that I fear for you. It’s about being successful the wrong way.” God also values the process.
Christians must take good care of themselves according to God's methods and principles. Christian spirituality is to live according to the Bible. Just as an athlete beats him and makes it difficult to train him to obey, you need to train yourself with Jesus as your coach. Like a farmer, you need to be sincere, diligent, and able to wait in order to reap a lot. How do you manage your time, material, and talents for self-management? is real. Have you ever taken seriously the problems of your own soul?
Jesus' spiritual management
Jesus first heard the voice of God before hearing the voices of people. Jesus woke up at dawn and had intimate fellowship with God in a quiet place (Mark 1:35,45). He spoke alone with God, heard the word of God, and was filled with the Holy Spirit of God (John 3:34).
Before meeting people, you need to have fellowship with God. Jesus was always with God. God has not left you alone (John 8:29). We need to meet in our daily life what kind of God is with us now. So, I need to experience the omnipotence of God who provides me and know how abundant God's love is. Meet God at dawn to nurture your dreams and have a good time. It will lead you to a happy future.
You set priorities in life and worked. Time management is a priority in life. Jesus prioritized what must be done and what was not. He has decided who to meet and whom to avoid. He set a time to pray and a time to meet his disciples. Jesus chose not to live impulsively, but to live according to the call of God.
“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for you, and one day of suffering is enough for that day” (Matthew 6:33). -34).
The Lord has always reaffirmed the purpose of life. If the target misses, you get a suicide goal. Even if you work diligently, if your goal is wrong, it's my job, not God's. “I came down from heaven, not to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38). “Jesus answered and said, “Those who are healthy do not need a doctor, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31-32).
What is your goal? Like Jesus, let us reaffirm our purpose in life and scourge our lives, just like Paul. “I am not saying that I have already obtained it or that I have achieved it, but I am running to seize the thing for which I was captured by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not yet count that I have grasped; but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and grasping what is ahead, I run toward the goal for the reward of the above calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).
Jesus did not live according to popularity, but according to his mission. Mission is mission in English. This word means 'send'. Therefore, mission means a person sent by God, a life sent by God. Jesus always lived according to the mission God sent to this world. “He said to them, “Let us go to other nearby villages, and we will preach there as well, for this is why I have come.” So he went about all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues, and casting out demons” (Mark 1:38-39).
To live by your mission, you need to know your mission. Carl Hilti said, “The best day of your life is the day you discover your mission.” A Christian is a person who lives for a mission and dies for a mission. Paul said, “But the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider even my life to be of any value in order to finish my course and the mission I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of God’s grace. No” (Acts 20:23-24).
The mission is talents and gifts. God doesn't force you to work. He lets you work to the fullest according to your talents and gifts. “Where your talents and the needs of the world intersect, your mission is” (Aristotle). A missionary is a person who develops God-given talents and gifts well and lives for the glory of the one who entrusted them with it. Thomas Carlyle said, "Blessed are those who find their work. He should not seek any other blessings.” Mission is a sacred burden. God's people, including the prophets, prayed and fulfilled their missions with a holy burden in their relationship with God. You have to pay a price to fulfill your mission. Jesus gave his life for his mission.
Jesus received the power and wisdom of his ministry from God.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth… We all received from his fulness, grace upon grace” (John 1:14,16). ).
The motive of Jesus' ministry is only in love and compassion. Jesus always had God's merciful heart in his heart. Faith in following the Lord is not a skill, but a relationship of love. Following the Lord with love like a married couple is spirituality. So, before the resurrected Jesus ascended to heaven, he did not teach his disciples the techniques of ministry or how to live in the world, but shared only the most precious love.
Christian spirituality is the pure love of the Shunammite woman who served Elisha or the love of Jesus Christ of Mary Magdalene.
Jesus made his position clear so he did not fall.
“I have glorified you in this world by doing what you have given me to do. Father, glorify me now with you, with the glory that I had with you before the foundation of the world” (John 17:4-5). Jesus' place was always after God. Although he was God, he never once was in the place of God, but rather worshiped God in the low position of a servant. If I pray, I know where I should stand. If I study the Bible, I know the Lord I need to serve.
Henri Nouwen said, "The way of faith is to die from the past of others, and to die from the wrath within me." People begin with planning, achieve with effort, and perish with pride. Jesus went to the mountain alone to pray (John 6:15), avoiding the crowds that were trying to force him to be king (John 6:15). “One of the ailments the Spirit is prone to is the thought that one is doing very well” (Chesterton).
“Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as robbery, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human form, and being found in human form, humbled him and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. and every tongue confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, always obey, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2: 5-12).
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