Why We'll Always Celebrate Christmas!
When It's All Been Said and Done
Friday, December 2, 2003
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, the New Year is but two days old, and already I find myself failing to live fully for You. I pray that You will restore my commitment to You, but more than that that You will pour out Your Holy Spirit in my life that I may experience that life that is more than a conqueror promised to me in Your word through the Apostle Paul. I pray that I may live with boldness and power in the areas of setting aside selfish ambition, shouldering my cross and following You. I pray that I will serve You with every breath I take not only today, but also tomorrow and the next day and the next! I pray that You will use me to advance Your kingdom in whatever manner will yield the greatest fruit. These things I ask 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 mission as we turn again to Mark 8:34-38. Consider the commands of Jesus, and how they impact our pursuit of the purpose of mission in our lives.
As you reflect on mission, how do you see mission itself as a setting aside of selfish ambition, as shouldering your cross, and as following Jesus?
What would be different about your mission, 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 mission? (8:34-38)
Questions for Understanding
When you think of the word mission, what part does “location” have to do with your definition? In other words, do you see mission as being carried out in a certain, specific location or locations?
As the new year gets underway, where is your primary mission field?
Questions for Application
What one thing will you change about your mission focus as we start the new year as a result of reading today’s scripture?
Putting Aside Selfish Ambition...
It is never easy to put God’s will before our will—until we understand that God’s will is better for us than our will. The primary reason that we want to do what we want to do is we think that we know best what is the best course for our lives. This is wholly untrue! Only God knows what is best for our lives. At times, God allows pain and suffering in our lives when it is best for our growth, even though most of us would never ask God to give us pain and suffering. The other day I was talking with someone about patience, and said, “Don’t ever pray to God for patience unless your ready for a lot of challenges and difficulties to come your way.” What I meant by that is that patience is only built in times of challenge and difficulty. No one grows in patience in easy times. Patience is tested through difficulty. It also grows in difficulty. Our mission in the world differs based on the gifts and abilities God has given us, but we all have the common mission of sharing the new life of Jesus Christ with the world—one person at a time. In order to do that we must put aside our selfish ambition. God may want us to speak to a neighbor, but we would rather invest (spend?) our time doing that which honors us. After all the neighbor is difficult at best, and probably won’t respond to our efforts to share the Good News of Jesus anyway. (We reason). God knows our neighbors better than we do, so we must listen to Him and respond to His leading whatever the course of action may be. Sometimes we look at missionaries who have sold their homes and moved to foreign lands and say, “I could never do that.” The reality is any of can do anything if we rely on Jesus to give us the strength! Whether God calls us to a life of mission in a foreign land, or a life of mission right where we are right now, the one prerequisite that remains the same is a willingness to put our selfish ambition aside. Life is filled with choices and decisions, and nearly every decision has as a component whether to follow our own selfish ambition or to do what God wants us to do. As we go about this day may we truly set our selfish ambitions aside that God may be glorified and our neighbors may come to see Him in and through us!
To view other studies from the Why We Celebrate Christmas series, click here.