My comments on Mark 10: 35-45

10:43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant,

10:44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.

10:45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."

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My thoughts:

You want to great in God's Kingdom? Can.... not cannot.... why? Because Jesus says we will suffer, but like the disciples, we will be able to go through them with God's help....

But again do you want to be great? Can...

But greatness in another form, from another perspective..... greatness in service.... 

Serve God, serve the people around you, serve your family, serve the needy, serve the lost, serve the unworthy..... people may not, will not appreciate, but we are called to serve anyway....

That is what it means to be great......SERVE!

Readings for 18th and 25th October 2015

18th October

Old Testament: Job 38:1-7, (34-41)

New Testament: Hebrews 5:1-10

Gospel: Mark 10:35-45

25th October

Old Testament: Job 42:1-6, 10-17

New Testament: Hebrews 7:23-28

Gospel: Mark 10:46-52

My comments on Mark 10: 17-31

10:23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"

10:24 And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

10:25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."

10:26 They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?"

10:27 Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."=====================
My thoughts:
Many think that due to verse 25, it is impossible for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God... as he was unable to give of all his earthly possessions. Is that true? 

I think that verse 27 gives hope, as with God, all things are possible.

Conclusion: We may find it hard, maybe impossible to give our all to God. We should trust His word and keep struggling, and in faith, rely on His assurance. It is not about our doing that God wants, but by relying on Him.
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10:28 Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you."

10:29 Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news,

10:30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age--houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions--and in the age to come eternal life.

10:31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
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My thoughts: 
To inherit, there must be two things:
1. Being in the family... leaving our past to move into the family of Christ;
and 
2. Some one to die... that's already been done by Christ.

So, we just need to live in the family of God, and that usually means we live in the household of God, an incredibly rich present reality, but one that is marked with persecutions. It is also a future reality characterised by fullness of life where first and last will no longer have any relevance.

Readings for the coming week: 11th October 2015

20th Sunday after Pentecost

Old Testament: Job 23:1-9, 16-17

New Testament: Hebrews 4:12-16

Gospel Reading: Mark 10:17-31

Personal comments on Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12

1:1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,

1:2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.

1:3 He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

1:4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

2:5 Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels.

2:6 But someone has testified somewhere, "What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them?

2:7 You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honor,

2:8 subjecting all things under their feet." Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them,

2:9 but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

2:10 It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

2:11 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,

2:12 saying, "I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you."


My thoughts in a nutshell:
In the beginning God made the angels, powerful, spiritual, and to serve him...
Over time he also created man, to enjoy creation, the earth and also to run the earth... but man was not as powerful as the angels....
Then man sinned and fallen short of God's glory, 
GOSPEL: To redeem man, God sent his only son, to become man....
Jesus took on the sin of the world, died and was buried. He then rose again from the dead, and was glorified...

Jesus then became more than the angels, as He was the trailblazer... the first of the ones whom will become heirs of God, Jesus is:
1. the heir of all things
2. agent of creation
3. radiating God's glory
4. our High Priest

Jesus has become superior to angels...

Then for us, as we share in Jesus' humanity and also His glory as we give our lives to Him, we also become co-heirs in Christ. Our lives are no longer ordinary:

Our lives and the lives of our sisters and brothers are not ordinary lives because we follow in the steps of the Son who leads us to glory and claims us as his own kin.

THAT"S OUR IDENTITY, in case you are wondering......

Readings for the coming week: 4th Oct 2015

Old Testament - Job 1:1, 2:1-10

New Testament - Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

Gospel - Mark 10:2-16

Comments on James 5:13-20

"5:13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.

5:14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.

5:15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.

5:16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

5:17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.

5:18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.

5:19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another,

5:20 you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins."

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James reminds us to be confident in the power of prayer...not just something we do...

Prayer is not merely the work of individuals, done in solitary. We are currently an individualistic society, hence important that James reminds us that we are to pray "for one another" and pray "together", confess "to one another".....
when done communally, it is effective...

Verses 19-20 also reminds us that we are human, and we will tend to stray, and therefore we must always be there for one another, encouraging each other, and be there to pull each other back when we go the wrong way....

Do we care enough to do so?