Saturday, June 20, 2009

MkITN VIII, Verses 32.b - 38

32b. ...But Peter, in spontaneous protest, grabbed Him by the hand, took Him aside, and began to openly rebuke Him for saying these things.

33. But turning His back to Peter, and seeing how His disciples were responding to all this, He returned the rebuke, saying, "Peter, you're completely out of line...get behind Me, you adversary! You are seeing and hearing only with your physical, natural senses...you are oblivious to what is happening...and what needs to happen...in the spirit realm, which is why you are responding like this. The will of God is bigger than your perception or opinion of what I have said is going to happen to Me!"

34. Then Jesus called the throng with His disciples to Himself, and said to them, "Look...if any of you intend to follow after Me, you're going to have to deny the lower life with its selfish agendas and instinct for self-preservation...and you're going to have to take up your own 'cross'...your own gateway to the larger life...the life motivated by a love, unafraid to make hard choices...the life of personal sacrifice...a resurrected life, born out of a death of selfishness.

35. For whoever wants to save his higher, spiritual, enlightened life, will lose the lower, natural, limited life which is lived out only in the physical realm. By the same token, whoever gives up the life lived only in the physical realm for My sake and the Gospel's, will save his/her higher, spiritual life in the eternal kingdom of God.

36. For what does it profit an individual to gain everything the physical world has to offer, and forfeit his spiritual, visionary life in the eternal kingdom of God?

37. For what could a person ever give as an exchange or compensation for his/her blessed, enlightened life in the kingdom?

38. And this is a great concept...nothing to be ashamed or afraid of! In fact, whoever is embarrassed in this dimension of Me and My words, of him or her will the Son of Man also be embarrassed when He is revealed in the glory and majesty of His Kingdom...and before His Father and the holy angels.

3 comments:

SCRIBE said...

How truly amazing and insightful it is to read this translation of the scripture. It really hits home, and most of us, if not all should be able to clearly identify with what is taking place here.

I am reminded of the scripture that says "Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies to itself, it is not able to take root and reproduce after its own kind." (this is a paraphrase of course) Yet Christ is prompting them to be able to grasp hold of the Bigger Picture and this key Kingdom Principle at work. Even in our own lives, others may not understand what they THINK they see going on, yet underneath it all, God has a greater plan at work that becomes more obvious and revealed when we totally submit to His Will and die to ourselves, thus producing overflowing harvests to feed many around us, including those who may have made a mockery and ridicule of us before. We may not even like or completely understand what is happening in the grand scheme of things, yet as we continue to walk by faith and not by sight, not depending on our own logic or knowledge base, GOD even surprises, shocks, and amazes us.

From the seeming messes, through lives of submission and obedience- which is born out of true relationship and hearts that hunger and thirst after God- likened to an unquenchable passion and Pure Love for God, HE reveals what we deemed impossible and almost unimaginable through us and IN us, not only to others, but to us as well. Then, we can look back on where He brought us from along the journey and compare it to that which only HE has transitioned us into, it is a delightful sign and wonder... What a Magnificent God we serve! And through this process, progression is made and we are better equipped to inspire others through the Words of Our Testimony, where Life Impacting Messages of Power and Supernatural Change make the most difference!

The Divine Works and Wonders of God are absolutely incredible, and that is a mild understatement, at best.

karl said...

Wow, good stuff here, read a little and will try to read more later...

...instinct for self-preservation...and you're going to have to take up your own 'cross'...your own gateway to the larger life...

I like that term 'gateway' in reference to the cross we bear.

Goin' blackberry pickin' with Zachary now. I'm thinkin' cobbler maybe.

Unknown said...

V.34...the life motivated by "a" love. An important word in this sentence and sequence. It made me stop and ponder "a love...a gateway" and even ask the personal questions, "Have I done this? Have I loved like this?"

Without the "a" it would be easy to skim past "life motivated by love" saying "sure, I do that" or "yeah, I gotta do that more."

But the life motivated by "a" love...that's personal and deep.