João 12

João 12

Ironside - Preferment in the kingdom of Christ depends not on self-seeking, nor is it achieved by worldly methods. He who would be honored of God in the day when His Son will be acknowledged as King of kings and Lord of lords must be willing to follow Him in His lowly path of unrequited service for the blessing of a needy world. Following Jesus is not following Him into His heavenly home. It is following Him out of His Heaven, down into a world of sin and wretchedness, taking the path of humbleness and readiness to be rejected by men. In this way we portray the spirit of Christ to those who do not know Him. It is only in this way that we can represent our Master, the ultimate Servant, correctly. And in order to do this we must first yield ourselves to Him. We cannot live a Christian life until we have a Christian life to live. There is a Life by which we live. And there is a life we are called upon to live. We obtain life only by faith in Him who gave Himself a ransom for all. We reveal that life as we yield ourselves to Him as Lord. Christ never asks of us such busy labor As leaves no time for resting at His feet; The waiting attitude of expectation He oft-times counts a service most complete. And yet He does love service, where ’tis given By grateful love that clothes itself in deed; But work that’s done beneath the scourge of duty, Be sure, He gives to such but little heed. Then seek to please Him, whatsoe’er He bids thee, Whether to do, to suffer, or lie still; ‘Twill matter little by what path He led us, If in it all we sought to do His will. John Courson - John 12:26 - A prince and his servant traveling through a hostile region were taken captive by the enemy. After being beaten and thrown into a dungeon, the prince developed a terrible fever, and it looked as though his days were numbered. Semiconscious as he was, however, he didn’t miss the opportunity to alert his servant when their guard fell asleep one day. ‘Get his keys and get out of here,’ he said. ‘I’m too weak; I can’t make it. But you go. This is your chance.’ ‘My prince,’ answered the servant, ‘where you are, there I will be. If need be, we’ll both die here together.’ Two weeks later, the prince’s father launched an invasion and freed his imprisoned son in the process. ‘Oh, Father,’ said the prince immediately upon his return, ‘even as my servant stayed with me in my danger, suffered with me in my sickness, stood by me in my imprisonment, honor now him.’ And the servant was honored throughout the kingdom. So too with you. The Lord knows you could opt to escape, that His way of the Cross and obedience is not always easy. The Lord knows many of you are truly paying a price to follow Him. You’ve been passed by for promotions at work because you’ve stood for integrity; or you’ve stayed in a relationship because you committed yourself maritally. ‘Forget it,’ the world says. ‘Here’s a key. Get out. Go on. Be free.’ But you’ve said, ‘No, my Master, my Prince, my Savior has called me to follow Him. And even when it’s not easy, I will stay by Him.’ I’ve got good news for you who have taken this stand by the Father’s Son, the Prince of Peace. After the invasion, when He brings you safely home to heaven, you will be honored greatly, for the Father honors those who honor His Son. The word mediocre comes from two Latin words and literally means “halfway to the peak.” This makes it an apt description of the progress of many Christians. They are halfway up to the peak. They are not halfway to heaven but halfway up to where they ought to be, halfway between the valley and the peak. They are morally above the hardened sinner but they are spiritually beneath the shining saint. Many have settled down right there, and the tragedy is that years ago some of you said, “I am not going to fail God. I am going to push my way up the mountain until I am at the top of the peak, at the highest possible point of experience with God in this mortal life!” But you have done nothing about it. If anything, you have lost spiritual ground since that day. You are now a halfway Christian! You are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. You are halfway up to the peak, halfway to where you could have been if you had pressed on. Do we really think that this halfway Christian life is the best that Christ offers—the best that we can know? In the face of what Christ offers us, how can we settle for so little? Dear Lord, when I meet You at the gate of heaven, I don’t want my name to be listed under the column entitled: “Halfway Christians.” I want You next to me, encouraging and exhorting me, as we scale the peak together. Oswald Chambers - THE SYROPHOENICIAN WOMAN WANTED JESUS Christ. She did not care one iota about the disciples or any of their teaching; she wanted the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 12, we read that certain Greeks came and said to the disciples, “We want to see Jesus.” What did those disciples do? They went to Jesus and told Him so. When anyone says, “We wish to see Jesus,” what do you do about their request? Try and persuade them to accept certain teachings first? You never will. Remember what Philip and Andrew did; they went and told Jesus. Whenever people ask you to help them find Jesus, do not begin with “firstly, secondly, and thirdly.” Go to Jesus and say, “Lord, these people want to see you.” Rely on the Holy Spirit to help you. Live among the facts of God’s Word, and among human facts, so that people will recognize Jesus Christ through you. Remember that the only One who will touch sinners is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself! Christians say that it is so hard to present Jesus Christ to sinners today. Of course it is! So hard that it is impossible, except by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. C H