Our paragraph topic is:
(The mother of James and John) Part 8.
They wanted fame and fortune. They wanted to sit at his side. They wanted to have power and prestige. They wanted to be at the head of the table and not at the end. But, they did not know the price they would have to pay for their wants. These were they wishes of James and John as expressed by their mother. She spoke what they would not speak. She came forth and worshipped even as they could not worship. She brought forth what others only thought about, what would be their rewards for following in the footsteps of the Lord.
They loved him surely. They walked with him for years. They watched him work unbelievable miracles. They listened to his words with care. They, like no other living today, had the opportunity to see with their own eyes and experience with their own beings the living Christ.
He came down from heaven. He walked the earth. He lived amongst the people. He taught them of the Father and gave them his principles and practices. And then he died. He suffered, he was punished as no man has ever been punished. And he was hung on a cross for sins that he did not commit. They did not know the whole picture at the time they asked to sit at his side. But they would follow in his sacrifice. And: He said to them, "Of my cup you shall indeed drink."
Here is something that we can ask ourselves today, "Can we drink of his cup?" Can we take even a sip, a whiff or even a smell of the cup that he drank from? It was a tall cup, a cup filled with issues, a cup filled with pain, suffering, unselfish love, grace, tenderness, patience, knowledge, faith, trust, and a deep seated passion in the redemption of mankind, a passion that required his life. Are we worthy of the love that he has for us? Do we know the value of the sacrifice that was made for us? Can we not see, can we not understand, can we not know the beauty of who we are in his eyes?
We live in a world, a realm, where we are provided with all that our hearts desire. In order to have all, we must strive. We must work, we must achieve, we must educate ourselves, overcome obstacles, revise who we are in order to conform to the common mole. We must give up who we are, sacrifice that which is natural to us, change how we think and feel, how we know, and how we believe, in order to achieve all. And in the process of all this, we become something else, somethin other than who we are. We become something that the world has created. We do all this that we might succeed, that we might be on top.
Will we drink of his cup or shall we drink of the cup the world has given us. Both will change us. Both require a decision. We live in the world but we are spiritual. The world gives us food, gives us protection, allows us to grow, it gives us love, educates us, gives us the opportunity to provide for ourselves, and demands us to conform to its norms. But when we come of age and decide which road we want to take, we make a choice. Sometimes the choice is easy, natural, given to us from birth. At other times we come to re-evaluate the choice in order to continue.
Our Father walks with us at each choice we make. We can let go of the world and turn back to him. We can change the decision that we make. We can understand that there is something more, something greater, something that gives us peace and joy and love in our lives. There is something that is within us that is not of this world but of the spirit and life given us by our Father. It is that spirit that will guide us along right path that leads to him. The choice is ours to make. Do we drink of his cup?
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.
They wanted fame and fortune. They wanted to sit at his side. They wanted to have power and prestige. They wanted to be at the head of the table and not at the end. But, they did not know the price they would have to pay for their wants. These were they wishes of James and John as expressed by their mother. She spoke what they would not speak. She came forth and worshipped even as they could not worship. She brought forth what others only thought about, what would be their rewards for following in the footsteps of the Lord.
They loved him surely. They walked with him for years. They watched him work unbelievable miracles. They listened to his words with care. They, like no other living today, had the opportunity to see with their own eyes and experience with their own beings the living Christ.
He came down from heaven. He walked the earth. He lived amongst the people. He taught them of the Father and gave them his principles and practices. And then he died. He suffered, he was punished as no man has ever been punished. And he was hung on a cross for sins that he did not commit. They did not know the whole picture at the time they asked to sit at his side. But they would follow in his sacrifice. And: He said to them, "Of my cup you shall indeed drink."
Here is something that we can ask ourselves today, "Can we drink of his cup?" Can we take even a sip, a whiff or even a smell of the cup that he drank from? It was a tall cup, a cup filled with issues, a cup filled with pain, suffering, unselfish love, grace, tenderness, patience, knowledge, faith, trust, and a deep seated passion in the redemption of mankind, a passion that required his life. Are we worthy of the love that he has for us? Do we know the value of the sacrifice that was made for us? Can we not see, can we not understand, can we not know the beauty of who we are in his eyes?
We live in a world, a realm, where we are provided with all that our hearts desire. In order to have all, we must strive. We must work, we must achieve, we must educate ourselves, overcome obstacles, revise who we are in order to conform to the common mole. We must give up who we are, sacrifice that which is natural to us, change how we think and feel, how we know, and how we believe, in order to achieve all. And in the process of all this, we become something else, somethin other than who we are. We become something that the world has created. We do all this that we might succeed, that we might be on top.
Will we drink of his cup or shall we drink of the cup the world has given us. Both will change us. Both require a decision. We live in the world but we are spiritual. The world gives us food, gives us protection, allows us to grow, it gives us love, educates us, gives us the opportunity to provide for ourselves, and demands us to conform to its norms. But when we come of age and decide which road we want to take, we make a choice. Sometimes the choice is easy, natural, given to us from birth. At other times we come to re-evaluate the choice in order to continue.
Our Father walks with us at each choice we make. We can let go of the world and turn back to him. We can change the decision that we make. We can understand that there is something more, something greater, something that gives us peace and joy and love in our lives. There is something that is within us that is not of this world but of the spirit and life given us by our Father. It is that spirit that will guide us along right path that leads to him. The choice is ours to make. Do we drink of his cup?
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.
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