SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/5/2021 1:03 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
Intro to Matthew 10:32-42
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matt.
10:32-42
Message of the verses: “32 “Everyone
therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My
Father who is in heaven. 33 “But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also
deny him before My Father who is in heaven. 34 “Do not think that I came to
bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 "For
I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND
A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; 36 and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE
MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. 37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not
worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of
Me. 38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of
Me. 39 "He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his
life for My sake shall find it. 40 "He who receives you receives Me, and
he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 "He who receives a prophet
in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who
receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a
righteous man’s reward. 42 "And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to
one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you
he shall not lose his reward.’”
John MacArthur entitles this last chapter in his
commentary from the 10th chapter of Matthew “The Hallmarks of
Discipleship—PT-2.” In his short
introduction which I will quote is a story about a missionary from the early
1800’s.
“After
Henry Martyn spent virtually a lifetime of ministry in India, he announced that
God had laid a burden on his heart to go to Persia (modern Iran) and translate
the New Testament and Psalms into the Persian language. Doctors had already told him that he would
die because of the heat if he stayed in India.
He went to Persia, studied the language, and eventually finished the
translation work in 1812. He then
learned, however, that he could not print and distribute the Scriptures without
the shah’s permission. He traveled six
hundred miles to Teheran but was denied permission to see the shah. He took another four hundred-mile trip to visit
the British ambassador, who gave him proper papers of introduction. Riding a mule at night and resting during the
heat of the day, he came back to Teheran and managed to obtain the needed
permission. Ten days later he died. Shortly before his death he had written in
his diary, ‘I sat and thought with sweet comfort and peace of my God. In solitude my Companion, my Friend and
Comforter.’
“Bound
up in the spirit of Henry Martyn was the key to genuine discipleship: being so utterly consumed with the cause of
Christ that you take no thought for your own life or welfare.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: Stories like this one and the one from
yesterday and also from what I have learned from a FB post of a missionary from
Peru who was killed in her home by a robber make me think about how these
people cared more about the cause of Christ in their lives than the human body
that they lived in.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Lord give me the desire to follow you and do
your work more than thinking about me and my wants.
11/5/2021 1:24 PM
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