“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.”
NUMBERS 26-27
12Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain in the Abarim Range and see the land I have given the Israelites. 13After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes.” (These were the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.)15Moses said to the Lord, 16“May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community 17to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”18So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership,a and lay your hand on him. 19Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. 20Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. 21He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.”22Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. 23Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord instructed through Moses.(27:12-23)
12Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain in the Abarim Range and see the land I have given the Israelites. 13After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes.” (These were the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.)
15Moses said to the Lord, 16“May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community 17to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
18So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership,a and lay your hand on him. 19Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. 20Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. 21He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.”
22Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. 23Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord instructed through Moses.(27:12-23)MARK 8:22-38
31He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
34Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save their lifeb will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
JOURNAL
What are the "human concerns" in my own life? I know with Peter it seemed absurd that the way of the cross would in fact be "the best path". It seemed like a loss not a win. Everyday I face "human concerns"...reputation, food, shelter, clothing, professional success...these are all the tangible obstacles in our world.
Our world is so much different than the world in which the Bible was written. First of all we don't have the rejection generally associated for following Christ. In many ways it seems to be the path to success...while that is definitely a blessing, it also can feel confusing when reading scripture. However, the personal battles associated with fear of the future and shame of the past are always lingering.
To me...this is where the adversity rises...in my own head and heart. To stay true to this moment and to trust God in surrendering and giving my best, this is the mountain I must climb each day. It is much harder than it looks on the outside...maybe that's why Jesus says that if we have faith...we can move mountains. The "mountains" are different for everyone. I think for the most part the mountains are in the realm of the mind and heart. Yet Jesus promises that with faith, nothing will be impossible!
Our world is so much different than the world in which the Bible was written. First of all we don't have the rejection generally associated for following Christ. In many ways it seems to be the path to success...while that is definitely a blessing, it also can feel confusing when reading scripture. However, the personal battles associated with fear of the future and shame of the past are always lingering.
To me...this is where the adversity rises...in my own head and heart. To stay true to this moment and to trust God in surrendering and giving my best, this is the mountain I must climb each day. It is much harder than it looks on the outside...maybe that's why Jesus says that if we have faith...we can move mountains. The "mountains" are different for everyone. I think for the most part the mountains are in the realm of the mind and heart. Yet Jesus promises that with faith, nothing will be impossible!
19Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
20He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
MATTHEW 17:19-20
No comments:
Post a Comment