Monday, November 15, 2010
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Isaiah 51-53 and 2 Thess. 1-2
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Isaiah 51-53 and 2 Thess. 1-2
THE LONGING FOR GREATNESS
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 19:23 (NKJV) Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Read: Matt 19:16-30 In this story, Jesus was approached by a rich man who wanted to know more about following Him. This man had lived according to the commandments but still was lacking something. In this interaction, Jesus was making the point that money and position make it more difficult to make the necessary life adjustments to pursue God wholeheartedly. Jesus was not condemning wealth or social position, He was illustrating that if we have everything invested in this life then we will have a harder time pursuing our assignments in the age to come. Like the rich man, most people fail to understand that we must not live out our desire for greatness in this age; we don’t need to push, prod and poke our way to the top. Often people come to the end of their lives to find that they have wasted their earthly lives, pursuing greatness in the eyes of others at the expense of the age to come. God has given us the gift of greatness that will last forever, it has nothing to do with how big our ministries are, how big our bank accounts are or how many people like us!
PRAYER AND MEDITATION
1. Can you relate to the rich man who struggled making the sacrifices necessary to pursue the Kingdom of God wholeheartedly?
2. Ask God to reveal to you things that are getting in the way of you putting God first in your life. Ask Him to show you ways in which you are pursuing worldly greatness at the expense of pursuing the greatness that will last forever.
3. Spend some time in prayer, thanking God for showing you these things. Him for revealing to you how you can realign your life so that you won’t have regrets.
