Matthew under the arm 41
Now I am sure you don't really want to know this. But I am going to tell you anyway. A few days ago, I was about to tell Columba not to be such a bully! In my bunk, I had woken up at 3.00am feeling nauseous. Other unspeakable things were happening as well! At about 6.00am, in comes Columba and says abruptly (or at least, that's how it felt) that it was time to move on. 'No way. I am shivering and empty and I am still feeling sick.' 'So?', was all he replied. For once, I dug in my heels. Well, no. I stayed put in my bunk. 'I'll catch you up', I added self-pityingly. Later that day, I got out of my bunk feeling decidely wobbly. There he was only yards down the road, sitting, head in hands, on a wall. I was about to voice my resentment at the pressure he was putting me under...if you like a mis-use of his authority... yes, bullying. (Well, that's what it felt like.) When I reached him, all he said was, 'I have got the bug too. Youv'e passed it on to me'. Be careful of the authority of the saints, I said to myself. Mmmm. What is authority?
Matthew 10:16-25….
Rejection may ‘go with the territory’ of the Gospel. There seem to be three characteristics of the disciples ‘message’ : authority, simplicity and directness. All of these come from the Spirit of Christ. There is little, if any consideration of self-development or even protection for ourselves. The desire of the disciple is to have Christ at the heart of everything that he or she does and is. No particular slant is put on the Gospel for the furtherance of an institution or personality. In our culture, to follow Christ remains costly.
My Spirit comes to you to deepen your prayer and your life in Christ
Remind yourself of the significance of the word ‘authority’. It is the presence of Christ deep within you. Get in touch with that in your prayer at the start. Then remind yourself of the importance of simplicity in prayer. Ask. What is it you really desire? Ask as often as you want to! Nag God! Then take into your prayer someone or a group of people that you are called to pray for. Do the same…nag! Beg even!Then after you have lived with the sentence in silence and stillness, when you come out of prayer, be direct and look for the presence of Christ around you before you do anything.
+Martin
Argyll and The Isles
Matthew 10:16-25….
Rejection may ‘go with the territory’ of the Gospel. There seem to be three characteristics of the disciples ‘message’ : authority, simplicity and directness. All of these come from the Spirit of Christ. There is little, if any consideration of self-development or even protection for ourselves. The desire of the disciple is to have Christ at the heart of everything that he or she does and is. No particular slant is put on the Gospel for the furtherance of an institution or personality. In our culture, to follow Christ remains costly.
My Spirit comes to you to deepen your prayer and your life in Christ
Remind yourself of the significance of the word ‘authority’. It is the presence of Christ deep within you. Get in touch with that in your prayer at the start. Then remind yourself of the importance of simplicity in prayer. Ask. What is it you really desire? Ask as often as you want to! Nag God! Then take into your prayer someone or a group of people that you are called to pray for. Do the same…nag! Beg even!Then after you have lived with the sentence in silence and stillness, when you come out of prayer, be direct and look for the presence of Christ around you before you do anything.
+Martin
Argyll and The Isles
posted by Martin at 9:52 am
1 Comments:
Authority; that is what comes from a real living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, it is the power of the Holy Spirit living within the believer. That is why few people listen to the church. Its ministers, Rev's and Bishops only know 'OF' Christ, they don't know Him as 'Daddy'. They, and what they say, are rejected, not persecuted and mankind drifts deeper into it's sinful ways.
As we approach Easter we need to learn that our power, our authority comes from a risen Lord who is alive! Then we will have something to say, something to tell.
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