SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/23/2021 8:39 AM
My Worship Time Focus: “Intro to
Matthew 10:24-31”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matt.
10:24-31
Message of the verses: “24 “A disciple is
not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 “It is enough for the
disciple that he become as his teacher, and the slave as his master. If they
have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his
household! 26 “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing covered that
will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 27 “What I tell you in
the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your
ear, proclaim upon the housetops. 28
"And do not fear those who kill the body, but are
unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul
and body in hell. 29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not
one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 “But the very
hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 “Therefore do not fear; you are of more
value than many sparrows.”
There is no doubt that Jesus was a wonderful
teacher, and like good teachers Jesus taught the same truths with many formats,
in various circumstances and with various applications. We see here that the Lord is providing that twelve
apostles with the body of His basic teaching on discipleship. He is using a variety of phrases and also
illustrations throughout His ministry, and He would repeat these truths over
and over again to the disciples and to the multitudes.
MacArthur
writes “Because the truths of Matthew 10 are so foundational and so profound,
believers who have wholeheartedly lived out these truths are the men and women
who have made great marks on the world for Jesus Christ. They are the ones with total dedication, total
commitment, and total obedience.”
The
following quotation from MacArthur’s commentary comes from Florence Nightingale
as she wrote the following in her diary:
“I am thirty years of age, the age at which Christ began His
mission. Now, no more childish things,
no more vain things.” Years later, near
the end of her heroic life of service, she was asked the secret of her ability
to accomplish so much for the Lord. She replied,
“I can give only one explanation, and that is this: I have kept nothing back from God.” That is exactly what Jesus is talking about
in this passage—keeping nothing back from Him.”
We
have some more quotations from MacArthur’s commentary of different people: “When the famous surgeon Howard A. Kelly
graduated from medical school, he wrote in his diary: ‘Today I dedicate myself, my time, my
capabilities, my ambition, everything to Him.
Blessed Lord, sanctify me to Thy uses; give me no worldly success which
may not lead me nearer to my Saviour.’”
“Soon
after graduating from college, Jim Elliot wrote in his diary: ‘God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of
my life that I may burn for Thee.
Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life but a full one like
You, Lord Jesus.’ God answered that
prayer, and in the flower of young manhood, Jim Elliot’s life was cut short by
the spear of an Auca Indian as he and several other young men sought to take
the gospel deep into the jungles of Ecuador.
Lord
willing we will began our next SD with a rather long quotation from Johanthan
Edwards.
10/23/2021 8:57 AM
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