Good morning, dear ones.
Rain is expected, but I don’t think it’s coming down at present. I’ll be out there to find out in a few minutes. I want to do my little old man jog before preparing to return to my sawmill. Not sure yet how much this customer wants me to do.
Once again, conditions on the mountain are kind of bizarre for this time of year. I just checked to see 39 degrees at Timberline—7 degrees above freezing. With so much thawing, then freezing again, the terrain can be changed into an ice arena. Oh well. I have lots of work to do.
Have a blessed day. Love, Ray.
We can only expect that Jesus, being God in flesh with divine powers to heal the sick and raise the dead, even “knowing their thoughts,” would be flawless in His specific selection of these 12 special disciples, bringing together the equivalent of a perfect church fellowship. After all, they were each chosen to walk with Jesus, talk with Jesus, eat with Jesus, sleep with Jesus, and learn from Jesus—all within range of their own physical audio-visual senses. By comparison, we of today who are forced to walk and talk with Jesus by means of a mystical relationship could even find ourselves lusting after such a privileged opportunity. But alas!—did this special selection process and relationship play out to produce a utopian fellowship? Nope! At least, not yet! Jesus’ selections may have been flawless, but those selected were definitely flawed. So—what else is new?!
Let’s rehearse what has just transpired within this short passage. Jesus first clearly lays out before the disciples what is about to happen when they go to Jerusalem. In clear terms He states that the Jewish leaders will conspire to arrest Jesus, sentence Him to execution, turn Him over to the Romans to be tortured and crucified—“Yet three days later he will be raised to life again” (v. 19, TPT). Soon after this disclosure, James (whom The Passion Translation calls “Jacob”) and John, with their mother, approach Jesus with their power-hungry request to be given special political positions just under Jesus when He establishes His Kingdom reign—which they seem to be thinking is just around the corner. They were attempting to be first in line to be FIRST. That kind of self-centered political maneuvering is bad enough, but listen to this: “The other ten disciples were listening to all this, and a JEALOUS ANGER arose among them against the two brothers”(v. 24, TPT). Apparently they all had aspiration of being FIRST and were ticked off over these two peers beating them to the punch. If you were a member of this “church,” you might be tempted to respond, “Phooey with this outfit! I’m going to look for a different church!” Sorry—but I bet you’ll not find one less flawed.
Jesus’ instructions to His disciples in the FOCUS VERSES is just as relevant for us today as it was then. Hang on the last line that says, “…the greatest honor and authority is reserved for the one with the heart of a servant.” Do you hear what I hear? I hear a reaffirmation of the most vital, balanced, and safest posture to pursue at heart level—a HEART AFTER GOD! After all, that disposition covers the essential bases of LOVING GOD (first priority) and LOVING OTHERS (second priority). And only a fellowship made up of a majority of individuals in pursuit of those Kingdom priorities can even come close to utopian.
Let’s understand that NO ONE can legislate or force someone else to have and maintain a HEART AFTER GOD—not even a perfect leader. Pursuing that disposition is the exclusive responsibility of each individual. And the best leaders lead by role modeling. Lord—help us!