Why We'll Always Celebrate Christmas!
When It's All Been Said and Done
Thursday, December 1, 2003
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, As we move to a new year, I thank You for Your promise to be with me always. As I face unknown opportunities and challenges, I thank You that You already know what they will be, and have prepared Your Holy Spirit to be with me to guide and direct me through them. I pray that in 2004, my life will, indeed, be fully devoted to You. I pray that You will glorify Yourself in every aspect of my life—my thoughts, my words, my actions. I pray that You will give me the courage to face whatever comes this year and that You will give me the boldness of Your Holy Spirit to stand up and be counted for You regardless of the personal cost that may come with those opportunities. Thank You again for all the blessings of my life. I offer myself to You, fully and unreservedly, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Bible Verses
Mark 8:34-48
34Then he (Jesus) called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. “If any of you wants to be my follower,” he told them, “you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. 35If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life. 36And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? 37Is anything worth more than your soul? 38If a person is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in the glory of my Father with the holy angels.”
Questions for Reflection
Today, we’re focusing on ministry as we turn again to Mark 8:34-38. Consider the commands of Jesus, and how they impact our pursuit of the purpose of ministry in our lives.
As you reflect on ministry, how do you see ministry itself as a setting aside of selfish ambition, as shouldering your cross, and as following Jesus?
What would be different about your ministry, if you took Jesus’ command to set aside selfish ambition, shouldering your cross and following Him seriously all the time?
Questions for Exploration
What, if anything, does today’s Scripture teach us specifically about ministry? (8:34-38)
Questions for Understanding
What do you see as your daily ministry in the world around you? How does today’s Scripture encourage you to live it out?
Why do you think that Jesus invited both His disciples AND the crowds to come and listen as He made these statements?
Questions for Application
What is one thing You will do differently as we enter 2004, as a result of your reflection on this Scripture for the past week?
Overcoming Shame...
One of the most universal experiences of humanity is shame. Shame is a feeling that we are not worthy, that we are “wrong,” not just that we have done something wrong, but that there is something wrong with us. All of us carry shame with us from our earliest remembrances. As children we do things that our parents prohibit. When we do, we feel shame, because we know that we have done something wrong, and we know that we are wrong. This shame builds to a greater or lesser degree based on several important factors. First, shame grows if we have parents who are themselves filled with shame and feel a need to control or dominate others to feel good. Shame can also grow if we live in a “religious” family, where standards of right and wrong are stringently enforced, and where punishment for wrongdoing is frequent.
How interesting it is that Jesus invested so little of His time in speaking about shame, but when He did, it was in terms of whether we are ashamed of Him! Jesus told us that if we are ashamed of Him and His message in these adulterous and sinful days, that He will be ashamed of us when He returns to earth in His glory. How does one demonstrate being ashamed of Jesus and His message? Well, we don’t tell anyone that we are followers of Jesus, or we don’t speak up at school or work when someone suggests that we live or do something in a manner directly opposed to Jesus and His message. Jesus doesn’t want us to carry shame for the sins of our lives. He died to take away the shame of our lives that comes through sin, and the consequence of sin our lives through the shedding of His precious blood. Shame for sin is a good thing only for as long as it takes us to recognize our sin and then to repent of it—to give it over to Jesus and to allow Him to take charge of our lives again by the Holy Spirit. Being ashamed of Jesus and His message is NEVER a good thing. Therefore, if we want to be Jesus’ disciples we must receive Him fully into our lives. That means both that we accept His forgiveness for our sins, and that we actively pass on the Good News of Jesus to others. To fail to receive the first—Jesus’ forgiveness, is to live in shame forever. To fail to carry out the second—pass on the Good News of Jesus and our relationship with Him to others, is to be ashamed of Jesus, and thus to condemn ourselves of to Jesus’ being ashamed of us when He sees us face-to-face one day. If we are either feeling shame or being ashamed of Jesus in our lives right now, then it’s time to PAUSE, and PRAY for God’s forgiveness and for the power to live in freedom! Let’s start the new year without shame!
To view other studies from the Why We Celebrate Christmas series, click here.