Today the Lord led me to read Timothy. The focus seemed to be on 1 Timothy 2:1, "First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth." It is interesting because I had been focusing on the President's speech last night and the outburst from the South Carolina Senator. But the Lord is clear that we should always pray for our leaders. I think that may be something that gets lost in all of the vitriol and name-calling that goes on in our political arenas. But take the time to read the passage more closely. He is reminding us to pray for each other, everyone, not just our family and friends but our world, our company, our city, our nation. The passage concludes by focusing on our mission in life. We must share the knowledge of the truth. How are you doing in this area. I know that I struggle with this task but it is getting easier through practice. Where I was timid and tentative in the past, I am now more bold. I create opportunities to talk about the Lord and His kingdom in all situations. My colleague at work calls this the Jesus web but I choose to think that the web is a positive thing. You may not know that a spider's web is the strongest material in the world based on its size. How awesome is it then to offer to your friends an opportunity to wrap themselves in the Jesus web and become safe and secure in the Good News? So let us lift up our leaders in prayer so that we may live in peace and share the knowledge of the kingdom. By the way, I love the new Toby Mac song City on Our Knees. The message in this song ties to today's topic perfectly. Toby sings, "To a city with one king, A city on our knees." How incredible would it be to see your city on its knees praising God?
The spiritual climax of the Gospel of John, as Father John Waiss points out, occurs at the foot of the Cross, where Jesus utters his parting words: “Woman, behold, your son!” and “Behold your mother!” (John 19:26-27). While these words were addressed to the Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, the Church has long understood this moment as a universal adoption. To truly image Christ, we must share in His parentage; if we embrace God as our spiritual Father but reject Mary as our mother, we treat Christ as a half-brother rather than our "firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29). As Origen noted as early as the third century, the profound depths of the Gospel are only accessible to those who, like John, rest their heads on Jesus’ breast and receive Mary into their own homes. This maternal role is deeply rooted in biblical typology, positioning Mary as the fulfillment of the great mothers of the Old Covenant. She is the New Eve , the mother of all the living according ...
Comments
Post a Comment