{"id":2230,"date":"2021-03-30T18:30:01","date_gmt":"2021-03-31T01:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/?p=2230"},"modified":"2021-03-27T12:54:15","modified_gmt":"2021-03-27T19:54:15","slug":"abiding-in-the-lord-mark-ch-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/blog\/abiding-in-the-lord-mark-ch-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Abiding in the Lord: Mark Ch. 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

(Translated version, original article written in Chinese by Pastor Mickey Hsiao)<\/em><\/p>\n

Worship<\/strong><\/h3>\n

By singing praises and hymns, awake your soul, open your heart to the Lord, and prepare yourself to welcome the presence of God and receive the Word of God that will be given to you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thanksgiving<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Petition with thanksgiving to God for a wonderful day and pray sincerely for a focused Scripture reading time! (Do not rush into reading the Bible without starting with prayers!<\/strong>) (e.g., you may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what will you be speaking to me today?)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Scripture Reading<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Get the following items ready in advance: your devotional notebook, paper, pen, and\/or electronic devotional articles so that you can easily write down the Bible verses, questions, and thoughts you have noticed! You are encouraged to open your Bible and vocally read out the scriptures (Try to practice this reading method daily or once a week)!<\/p>\n

Scripture Reading: Mark Ch. 10 (ESV)<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Meditation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Take a moment to quietly reflect on today’s Scriptures. Through such exercises, let God’s Word be gradually written into our hearts and be inscribed to our mind.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Devotional<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Read the devotional articles prepared by CBCLWA (*Read the Bible first before reading any devotional materials.<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(<\/span>vv.\u00a0<\/span>1-31)<\/span>\u00a0Jesus\u2019 teaching<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>from three different occasions can\u00a0<\/span>help us reassess our standards for three kinds of relationship. At first, the Pharisees tried to test Jesus by asking,\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/b>Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?<\/span><\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>Jesus\u00a0<\/span>taught them G<\/span>od\u2019s intent for marriage.\u00a0<\/span>After that,\u00a0<\/span>people\u00a0<\/span>were bringing\u00a0<\/span>children to Jesus\u00a0<\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them<\/span>. This illustrates one kind of\u00a0<\/span>relationship between God and man.\u00a0<\/span>Finally, a\u00a0<\/span>young official ran up<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0knelt before Jesus<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and asked<\/span>\u00a0him<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/b>Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?<\/span><\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>These dialogues help us reevaluate<\/span>\u00a0three kinds of relationships:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Relationship with spouse<\/span><\/b>\u00a0(<\/span>vv.<\/span>1-12): God said that<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/b>Therefore\u00a0<\/span><\/b>a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.<\/span><\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Relationship with the Father<\/span><\/b>\u00a0(<\/span>vv.<\/span>13-16):\u00a0<\/span>Just like children<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>we\u00a0<\/span>must h<\/span>ave a\u00a0<\/span>pure<\/span>\u00a0heart and admiration towards the Father,\u00a0<\/span>for the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like children<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Relationship with Jesus<\/span><\/b>\u00a0(<\/span>vv.<\/span>17-31): Jesus commands us to leave everything behind and follow Him!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    These three\u00a0<\/span>kinds of\u00a0<\/span>relationships have been\u00a0<\/span>severely impacted by\u00a0<\/span>the world we live in. We can hardly\u00a0<\/span>see figures<\/span>\u00a0with\u00a0<\/span>complete<\/span>\u00a0and functional family background\u00a0<\/span>in\u00a0<\/span>any\u00a0<\/span>movies, tv shows, in real life among\u00a0<\/span>neighbors<\/span>\u00a0or\u00a0<\/span>among children\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>classmates at school.\u00a0<\/span>As for the adults, t<\/span>he world is full of pride and conceit<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and people crave money, fame<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and power above their desire for the Lord. The world tells you, you are the maker of your own fate, and be your own god.\u00a0<\/span>Some\u00a0<\/span>Christians\u00a0<\/span>began to follow the worldly trends,\u00a0<\/span>drifting away from God<\/span>. They replaced\u00a0<\/span>God\u00a0<\/span>with human\u00a0<\/span>and other things<\/span>, losing their knowledge<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span>the Lord<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Does my standard for these three\u00a0<\/span>kinds of\u00a0<\/span>relationships require any adjustment? Read through th<\/span>is<\/span>\u00a0passage one more time and see how Jesus wants you to respond to him!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    (<\/span>vv.\u00a0<\/span>32-45)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Jesus foretold his death a third time. This time he spoke in more detail.\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/b>See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.<\/span><\/b>“<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>Still,<\/span>\u00a0the disciples\u00a0<\/span>didn\u2019t seem to know how to respond.<\/span>\u00a0It\u2019s puzzling that James and John even asked to be seated at Jesus\u2019 right and left hands in his glory! It\u2019s even more baffling that Jesus was not angered by the<\/span>ir<\/span>\u00a0request (though the other ten were annoyed). Instead, he continued to teach them about being a servant.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cBut w<\/span><\/b>hoever would be great among you must be your servant,<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b>and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    This is a passage\u00a0<\/span>that some of us\u00a0<\/span>are familiar with<\/span>. H<\/span>ow well are you applying it in practice? Is there any room for improvement? The<\/span>\u00a0main\u00a0<\/span>question<\/span>\u00a0is: are we willing to\u00a0<\/span>deny ourselves\u00a0<\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>follow Jesus<\/span>?<\/span>\u00a0He already told us,\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/b>For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.<\/span><\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>Jesus already set an example for us.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    (<\/span>vv.\u00a0<\/span>46-52)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>In Jericho, Jesus met a blind beggar named Bartimaeus<\/span>. Jesus healed this man after hearing his\u00a0<\/span>persistent\u00a0<\/span>crying out,\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/b>Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!<\/span><\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Upon the recovery of his sight,\u00a0<\/span>this man began his journey to\u00a0<\/span>follow<\/span>\u00a0Jesus<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Have you noticed that Jesus asked the same question\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/b>What do you want me to do for you?<\/span><\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>first to James and John, and then to Bartimaeus? What were their responses, and what happened afterward? If Jesus asks you the same question today, how would you respond?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Pray<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Give thanks to God for His enabling us to read the Scriptures and for our response for living out the Word of God today! (e.g., You may start with a simple prayer like this: \u201cDear Lord, what\/where are you going to lead me to today?”)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":2111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abiding-in-the-lord","category-pastor-mickey-hsiao"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2230"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2232,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230\/revisions\/2232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}