Written by: Tomorrows Girl
Mark 10 v 32-34
As Jesus and the people with him were on the road to Jerusalem, he was leading the way. His followers were amazed, but others in the crowd who followed were afraid. Again Jesus took the twelve apostles aside and began to tell them what was about to happen in Jerusalem.
He said, “Look, we are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be turned over to the leading priests and the teachers of the law. They will say that he must die, and they will turn him over to the non-Jewish people, who will laugh at him and spit on him. They will beat him with whips and crucify him. But on the third day, he will rise to life again.”
Notes
Trust Jesus with your future!
We heard recently an amazing story about a skydiver who’s parachute failed to open during a 6,000ft fall! He was saved only by the sacrifice of his instructor who took the impact of the fall, himself. This man’s life really was in someone else’s hands.
Putting your life in somebody else’s hands can be a scary thing. Usually the people we trust the most are those we know the best. In the bible passage, Jesus’ disciples aren’t afraid like the others – Jesus is their friend and they trust Him. Even through Jesus told his disciples something which could have been very scary for them. Why? Because they knew that whatever happened, Jesus wouldn’t let them down.
We’ve all been through times where we’ve felt vulnerable and nervous about what the future holds. We must be willing to recognise that Jesus is wanting to speak to us today. He may just be preparing you for something in YOUR future! In the passage it says, “Jesus took the twelve apostles aside and began to tell them what was about to happen…” When you are worried about change, let Jesus lead you. Perhaps you’re anxious about some exams, a job, a family situation or maybe a friendship. The solution is putting your trust in Jesus. Remember that He knows you better than you know yourself. Jesus wants you to spend some time getting to know Him too so you can trust Him with everything.
Mark 10 v 35-40
Then James and John, sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want to ask you to do something for us.”
Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”
They answered, “Let one of us sit at your right side and one of us sit at your left side in your glory in your kingdom.”
Jesus said, “You don’t understand what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I must drink? And can you be baptized with the same kind of baptism that I must go through?”
They answered, “Yes, we can.” Jesus said to them, “You will drink the same cup that I will drink, and you will be baptized with the same baptism that I must go through.
But I cannot choose who will sit at my right or my left; those places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
Notes
Checking out your motives
Have you ever wondered how others view you? What do people think about the way you act and talk? It can be really easy to let success or flattery go to your head and think that you’re something more than you really are. We all need to have regular reality checks from someone close to us, who we trust.
It’s really important to keep remembering why you’re doing what you’re doing. Sometimes we need to sit back and think “who’s glory am I seeking?” If your honest conclusion is yourself or anyone other than God, then your motives need to change! We often recognise pride and arrogance in successful people but what we often don’t notice is that our own selfish priorities can hinder God using us. In the bible passage, James and John are on a power trip, trying to grab the glory for themselves.
Being humble isn’t about thinking of yourself as stupid or pathetic. True humility is seeing yourself as God sees you, no less, no more – and living it!
If you feel challenged today about your attitudes or motives, do some business with God. We all need to have a right image of ourselves, so however you feel today, let God show you how He sees you and let that shape how you live.
Mark 10 v 41-45
When the other ten followers heard this, they began to be angry with James and John.
Jesus called them together and said, “The non-Jewish people have rulers. You know that those rulers love to show their power over the people, and their important leaders love to use all their authority.
But it should not be that way among you. Whoever wants to become great among you must serve the rest of you like a servant.
Whoever wants to become the first among you must serve all of you like a slave.
In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people.
Notes
First serve!
We know someone who doesn’t like fast food restaurants (weird!). He goes in, sits down and expects to be served. When reminded that the principle is self-service he gets someone else to queue up and buy the food for him! If that plan fails, he’ll go elsewhere to get what he wants with the least amount of effort possible. It’s a good thing that fast food restaurants don’t rely on his custom, otherwise they would be out of business!
Sometimes we can all find ourselves behaving like this. We expect to get our own way, regardless of other people’s feelings and if that doesn’t happen, we go off and do our own thing – as long as we’re happy. So often we look for the quick way to the top, doing whatever it takes to be
recognised. Or we rely solely on other’s opinions of us, for our security.
God’s way is the opposite to this. He wants us to serve wholeheartedly even when no-one notices. We need to find our identity and security in Him – only His approval should be important to us. In the bible passage it says; “Whoever wants to become the first among you must serve all of you like a slave.”
Are you prepared to lay down your life so that others can find Jesus for themselves? What about your dreams and hopes and ambitions? Ask God for opportunities today to serve others – and then practice serving first!
Mark 10 v 46-52
Then they came to the town of Jericho. As Jesus was leaving there with his followers and a great many people, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting by the road.
When he heard that Jesus from Nazareth was walking by, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Many people warned the blind man to be quiet, but he shouted even more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and said, “Tell the man to come here.” So they called the blind man, saying, “Cheer up! Get to your feet. Jesus is calling you.”
The blind man jumped up, left his coat there, and went to Jesus.
Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man answered, “Teacher, I want to see.”
Jesus said, “Go, you are healed because you believed.” At once the man could see, and he followed Jesus on the road.
Notes
Keep on asking
There’s a story that Jesus told about a persistent widow that reminded us of this story – a widow is asking for justice from an official and just keeps on nagging him until he finally gives her what she was asking for. Jesus told the story to encourage people to keep asking God for things even if it takes a long time!
It’s sometimes hard to keep on praying when nothing seems to be happening – it can even feel like God’s just not listening!
Can you imagine going to the doctors and being given some medicine that doesn’t seem to work? You would keep going back until you got something that did work. Sometimes you just need to keep on asking.
In the bible passage, Bartimaeus keeps on asking (quite loudly) until he gets a response from Jesus. He wasn’t put off or distracted and he didn’t give up despite pressure from other people telling him to shut-up.
When we’re praying we need to have the kind of persistence that Bartimaeus and the widow had. Keep on asking – don’t give up and God will answer!
Mark 11 v 1-6
As Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his followers and said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will quickly find a colt tied, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here to me. If anyone asks you why you are doing this, tell him its Master needs the colt, and he will send it at once. ”
The followers went into the town, found a colt tied in the street near the door of a house, and untied it.
Some people were standing there and asked, “What are you doing? Why are you untying that colt?” The followers answered the way Jesus told them to answer, and the people let them take the colt.
Notes
Mission Impossible (NOT!)
In the passage Jesus sends two of his disciples on a slightly odd mission. However, they listen to Jesus’ instructions and obey Him even though what he asked them to do seemed quite strange. They didn’t even question Jesus or ask for explanation! Sometimes we may not always understand why God asks us to do something, however we know that whatever it is, God is in control, and by trusting Him things become clearer. His plan for us is perfect even though it may seem a little crazy.
Last year one of us was working in a South African school with a mission team. We stood before the class with nothing planned and didn’t know what we were going to say. We prayed for God to fill our mouths and by the end of the hour, almost every young person in that class had become a Christian. When you step out in faith and do what God asks you to do, His plan will always work out best.
When you know that God is clearly speaking to you, obey him and see the amazing results of God’s power at work!
Mark 11 v 7-11
They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it, and Jesus sat on it.
Many people spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches in the fields and spread them on the road.
The people were walking ahead of Jesus and behind him, shouting,
“Praise God!
God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord!
God bless the kingdom of our father David!
That kingdom is coming!
Praise to God in heaven!”
Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After he had looked at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve apostles.
Notes
“What kind of entrance will you make?”
Do you ever watch award ceremonies on TV? All those people dressed up, competing to be the most glamorous and trying to get the most attention.
Jesus’ ‘triumphal’ entry certainly wasn’t going to win an Oscar! He arrives on a young donkey with a small group of fishermen and a tax collector – not exactly a star-studded entrance like you might expect. Despite this humble entry, the people recognised something extra ordinary about Jesus, shouting “the kingdom is coming”.
We don’t need to compete to be the most holy-looking, talented or glamorous Christian. Jesus has an interesting alternative approach to life – His only desire was to please His Father God – not to please people!
We need to sacrifice the praise of people and live for God’s praise – this might mean doing things for God that no-one sees
except Him. Anyway, whose praise would you rather have??
The people in the bible passage honoured Jesus by laying down their coats for His donkey to walk over. Will you lay down your life for Jesus? Whose praise are you living for?
Psalm 1
Happy are those who don’t listen to the wicked,
who don’t go where sinners go,
who don’t do what evil people do.
They love the LORD’s teachings,
and they think about those teachings day and night.
They are strong, like a tree planted by a river.
The tree produces fruit in season,
and its leaves don’t die.
Everything they do will succeed.
But wicked people are not like that.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
So the wicked will not escape God’s punishment.
Sinners will not worship with God’s people.
This is because the LORD takes care of his people,
but the wicked will be destroyed.
Notes
The benefits of living God’s way
We recently read a great quote by a guy called Arthur Wallis. He said, “If you want to make the greatest success of your life, work out what God is doing in your time and then put all your effort into doing that thing!”
Often success in the world’s terms in measured by your bank balance or your popularity, your possessions or your fashion sense. God’s definition of success is living life by His values – thereby producing lasting fruit.
How do you live a successful life? This Psalm holds some of the keys: don’t pollute your mind or body – focus on living God’s way, 24-7.
God wants us to have goodness in our lives that doesn’t spoil or fade away. God’s ultimate plan for us is that we’ll be rooted and established in His Love. If you know that you’ve been putting yourself into the path of temptation, do the wise thing and get yourself back before God!
The only guaranteed success you can truly have is to do as Arthur suggests – look for what God is doing in your time, in your family, in your school etc and then put all your effort into doing that thing!
Live life God’s way and know His true success!
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version
(Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes