Mark 10:32-34 (Matthew 20:17-19; Luke 18:31-33); Psalm 34:8; Philippians 3:10 (2 Corinthian 1:5; 1 Peter 4:12-14); Psalm 55:22
For Christians, fear is a two edged sword. There is the fear of amazement, astonishment, and awe; it is fear, as reverence, of, to, and for God. Then there is the fear between the known and the unknown. “The world behind me the cross before me”; the place between sight and faith.
This is exactly the place the disciples were as they were climbing the mountain road leading to Jerusalem. They had tasted and had seen the Lord is good but the total implications of following Jesus was not fully known. So step-by-step they went forward with Jesus. They may have been remembering what it was like before they met Jesus – the guilt, the shame, the scars the world system had left on them. And the fear of turning back. Now Jesus stops He gathers them together and tells them exactly what was about to happen to Him (Mark 10:33″,34).
What would happen to them? Would they suffer too? Would they be willing to join the fellowship of his suffering so the power of the resurrection could be manifested through them? These are the unknowns that cause fear. Suffering takes on a multitude of forms but a willingness to suffer carries with it assurance and a promise.- “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:16,17).
Will you join me and more importantly Jesus in the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering?
Today’s Affirmation: I will follow Jesus in the power of the resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering and no turning back no turning back.
Written by Pastor Bob Wood: Pastor Bob is a retired Pastor and a dear friend of America’s Keswick.
The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 99; Proverbs 8
Click Here to Download our 2016 Daily Bible Reading Plan
Daily Quote: “You must learn, you must let God teach you, that the only way to get rid of your past is to make a future out of it. God will waste nothing.” ~Phillips Brooks
This Week’s Verse to Memorize:
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid? ~Psalm 27:1
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