{"id":2242,"date":"2021-04-06T18:30:04","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T01:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/?p=2242"},"modified":"2021-04-03T23:32:43","modified_gmt":"2021-04-04T06:32:43","slug":"abiding-in-the-lord-mark-ch-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/blog\/abiding-in-the-lord-mark-ch-15\/","title":{"rendered":"Abiding in the Lord: Mark Ch. 15"},"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. 15 (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>1-47)\u00a0<\/span>Through these verses, let<\/span>\u00a0us walk with Jesus<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>on<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0path to the cross.\u00a0<\/span>After Jesus was tried and convicted\u00a0<\/span>before<\/span>\u00a0Pilate, he not only had to carry a heavy cross, but also\u00a0<\/span>had to endure\u00a0<\/span>mocking<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>from<\/span>\u00a0the Roman soldiers<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him.\u00a0 And they began to salute him, \u2018Hail, King of the Jews!\u2019 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him.<\/span><\/b>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus suffered great affliction not only in his heart but also on his body.\u00a0<\/span>The soldiers compel<\/span>led<\/span>\u00a0Simon the Cyrene to carry\u00a0<\/span>Jesus\u2019\u00a0<\/span>cross<\/span>\u00a0so that he\u00a0<\/span>would<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>be able to make it<\/span>\u00a0to Golgotha. There, we\u00a0<\/span>see<\/span>\u00a0Jesus crucified\u00a0<\/span>along\u00a0<\/span>with criminals, one on\u00a0<\/span>his<\/span>\u00a0right and one on\u00a0<\/span>his<\/span>\u00a0left.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Even\u00a0<\/span>at this<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>stage<\/span>, the\u00a0<\/span>mocking<\/span>\u00a0still\u00a0<\/span>continued.\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross<\/span><\/b>!<\/span><\/b>\u201d<\/span>\u2026<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/b>He saved others; he cannot save himself.\u00a0 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.<\/span><\/b>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Suddenly,\u00a0<\/span>there was darkness over the whole land<\/span>\u00a0for three hours. Then Jesus\u00a0<\/span>breathed his last breath<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Truly this man was the Son of God!<\/span><\/b>\u201d\u00a0<\/span>exclaimed<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>t<\/span>he<\/span>\u00a0centurion\u00a0<\/span>who had stood facing\u00a0<\/span>him.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Many women who had followed Jesus\u00a0<\/span>looked on from a distance<\/span>. At the end of the<\/span>se verses<\/span>, we see that Jesus was buried in the tomb of\u00a0<\/span>Joseph of Arimathea<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Crucifixion<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>was<\/span>\u00a0an extremely cruel\u00a0<\/span>form of\u00a0<\/span>punishment in human history.\u00a0<\/span>Only those<\/span>\u00a0who\u00a0<\/span>were<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>found guilty and deserving of death were\u00a0<\/span>nailed to\u00a0<\/span>the cross<\/span>. But\u00a0<\/span>here was\u00a0<\/span>an innocent Jesus\u00a0<\/span>who was also\u00a0<\/span>nailed to\u00a0<\/span>the cross<\/span>. What does this mean to you?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Jesus on the cross\u00a0<\/span>fulfill<\/span>ed<\/span>\u00a0many prophecies in<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>scripture\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>Psalm<\/span>\u00a039:8-9;\u00a0<\/span>Psalm\u00a0<\/span>69:21; Ps<\/span>alm<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>22; Isaiah 53:7-12)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Jesus on the cross show<\/span>ed<\/span>\u00a0the horror of sinful nature.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>From the governor who\u00a0<\/span>held<\/span>\u00a0the power\u00a0<\/span>to judge<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>the council<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>with the\u00a0<\/span>religious\u00a0<\/span>influence<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>to the\u00a0<\/span>Roman\u00a0<\/span>soldiers,\u00a0<\/span>they all acted in their<\/span>\u00a0own interests<\/span>\u00a0and ignored the suffering of an\u00a0<\/span>innocent Jesus.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Jesus on the cross\u00a0<\/span>display<\/span>ed<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>his incomparable<\/span>\u00a0obedience.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(John 10:18)\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>This charge I have received from my Father.<\/span><\/b>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n
    • Jesus on the cross\u00a0<\/span>highlight<\/span>ed<\/span>\u00a0God<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s great love for\u00a0<\/span>us<\/span>. (Romans 5:8)\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.<\/span><\/b>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Dear brothers and sisters,\u00a0<\/span>do you see\u00a0<\/span>Jesus on the cross?\u00a0<\/span>Take some time today<\/span>\u00a0to meditate on Jesus and\u00a0<\/span>h<\/span>is crucifixion so that you can\u00a0<\/span>gain<\/span>\u00a0a deeper understanding of\u00a0<\/span>h<\/span>is<\/span>\u00a0death! Thank\u00a0you Jesus\u00a0for\u00a0<\/span>sacrificing you<\/span>r<\/span>\u00a0life to save me<\/span>!<\/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-2242","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\/2242","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=2242"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2243,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242\/revisions\/2243"}],"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=2242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}