 Luke 24:7-8
'The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'" Then they remembered his words. The first people to encounter the resurrection of Jesus were the women who had been faithful in following Him. However, they did not find the body they were looking for. Instead, they saw two angels and heard the words Jesus had spoken about His crucifixion and resurrection. Then the women remembered the words of Jesus. As we live as Christian, we are looking for what God wants us to do through a message of God. We often think that we need to learn more about the Word of God. But, I often realize that we just need to remember what He said, and it would be helpful to be a (holy) reminder for someone else so that we can move closer to God and be transformed by the Spirit of God. PRAYER Father, we thank you for giving us the Bible. Let us remember what you said for us in the Bible and help and guide us to be a holy reminder for someone else around us as the two angels did for the women who looked for Jesus at the tomb. Thank you for the reminder of Your word today. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
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 Hi everyone, how are you doing? I hope and pray that all of you are okay in your new normal life at home. Please make a call to one of our church members every other day so that we can encourage and comfort them by letting them know we are family of God even though we can’t gather together at church. I hope all of us can enjoy a special fellowship with our church families. Today I just want to share this with you, not video message. Today is Wednesday of passion week. One of the key events on Wednesday was Judas’ betrayal plan and negotiation with the chief priests and the elders of the people. Matthew 26:14-16 14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. While Jesus was teaching His disciples as much as he could even in the last minute, one of His disciples, Judas, was negotiating with the chief priest to hand over Jesus to them to earn money. Jesus was trying His best to teach them what is going to happen soon and how they need to prepare for because He loved His disciples so much. However, Judas, one of His disciples, was planning to make money because he was full of his own benefits by selling Him to the religious leaders. He was totally absorbed in his own benefits. I often remember these questions when I think about Judas. Am I using God for my life? Or Am I using my life for God? As we live as Christian, we have a tendency to get more blessings from God. When I was young, when I was in Korea, I had this kind of understanding that I can be rich when I have strong faith in God. However, I got a chance to learn when I went to Youth Retreat that I needed to use my life for God’s dream and His Kingdom because God saved me through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. I realized that I need to do something for God rather than expecting God to do something for me. I hope and pray that all of us can live for God’s glory and His Kingdom because of His love and grace through Jesus Christ rather than expect God to do something for me. Father, we thank you for bringing our attention to how we are supposed to live through Judas’ betray. We confess that we sometimes look for something from You rather than give something for Your Kingdom. Please be mercy upon us so that we can use our lives for You rather than use You for our lives. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.  Today is Tuesday of Passion week.
Today’s scripture is Matthew 21:23-27, Mark 11:27-33, Luke 20:1-8. Let me read Matthew 21:23-27 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. Tuesday of Passion week is called 'a day of debate' because Jesus had a debate with the religious leaders like the chief priests and the elders of the people attacked Jesus’ authority by asking this question, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23) There are two types of questions. One is a question that is really asking from curiosity because the person who wants to know and learn something. This is a good question. The other question is a question that is trying to attack and pull him or her down because their authority seems to be taken by him or her, which is a bad question with a bad motive. The question the religious leaders asked Jesus on Tuesday was a very good example of a bad question because they asked this question to Jesus from the insecurity of their authority, position, or leadership. They asked the question because they worried that People would leave them to follow Jesus. They wanted to pull down Jesus with a tricky question to get more recognition on them and keep their position and authority. What kind of questions do you ask?
I hope and pray that all of us can have Jesus Christ (the Word of God) as the top authority in our lives, even though our words or position become insecure. If God says so, it is so. God’s Word must be the top authority in our lives. Jesus must be the top priority above all like our knowledge, experience, or expertise. Today, let’s ask this question to ourselves and meditate on it.
Let Us Pray Father, we thank you for bringing us into your presence. Today we looked at the people who attacked Jesus because of their insecurity on their position, power, or authority. Lord, please pour out Your Spirit upon us to have the unapproachable authority of the Word of God in our lives so that we can give the greatest glory and worship to you above all in our lives. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. |
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