KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Monday, November 14, 2016
Chapters: Mark 15-16
Message: An Attitude Adjustment
Hello My Friend,
I discovered something about my faith in God, it is not my faith that is often like the sea, calm one minute and raging the next, it is my attitude, one minute calm and in control, the next raging and acting out. What makes our attitude fluctuate? Many factors, sleep deprivation, depression, anger, loneliness, sadness, fear, different outcomes, all these things play a part in our attitude. While none of these things constitute as sin, they can lead up to it if we have a negative attitude. When a negative attitude starts taking over it is time for an adjustment, if we turn our attention on Jesus and not our emotions we can let Him give us the attitude adjustment we need to not only change our attitude, but see a good outcome.
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:1-2.
I have been teaching a Sunday School class since 2008, but for a year I became a student. After being the teacher for so long it was hard to transition into student mode, but I learned something as I taught my first class yesterday, I made so much of my life about me that I lost sight of what Jesus had done for me. Sure, I talked about Him, as I do every other day of my life through these devotions, but I was just going through the motions because I let my circumstances consume me. Jesus was sentenced to die. For what crime? Saying He was the Son of God. He was beaten and scourged, then had to take the trek down the long road to Golgotha, where He would be crucified, carrying the very cross that He would hang on. He was so weak that He could not carry it, so a man named Simon carried it for Him the rest of the way.
“And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross. And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not. And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.” – Mark 15:21-28.
“And he was numbered with the transgressors.” Transgressor, One who breaks a law or violates a command. Jesus stood in the midst of two men, who truly did break the law, while He was dying for something that was not even a crime. Here is the scene, a weak and beaten man, nailed to two huge pieces of wood, a stake driven into each hand and His feet. He is in pain, blood, dripping from his head, hands, and feet, drenched in sweat from the hot sun, only wearing a loin cloth, and all of His body weight pulling down at him. If that was not bad enough, people were gambling over His clothes, mocking, and taunting Him. What was He to do? He could have come down or had thousands of angles come down, but He did what many in pain do, cried out to God.
“And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.” – Mark 15:33-37,43,46.
“why hast thou forsaken me?” When we are in pain and suffering it can feel like God is no where to be found, but while we suffer God is, in fact, right there with us, but in order to see Him we must first endure the pain, trusting Him. Of course, we are going to ask God questions, we are human and allowed to do that, but He will not keep us suffering for long. It really is incomprehensible to understand the pain that Jesus went through until we are in pain. Once we feel His pain we can truly understand what He did for us and why we cannot let our attitude dictate our lives. Things are always going to happen, but at least with Jesus there is an expected good end. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:11-13.
“when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Do you see the key here? Search for God with all our heart. Many times our heart is not right and that is what causes us to draw on our emotions, often bringing a negative attitude. We must not forget that Jesus did not just die, he arose, and that alone ought to be cause to adjust our attitude. Jesus laid in the grave three nights, as the third day breaks dawn some of the women wanted to embalm His body, but when they got to the tomb they received the shock of their lives.
“And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.” – Mark 16:3-8.
“for they trembled and were amazed:” Jesus could have just died for us and that would have been enough, but He wanted more than that, He wanted to break the curse that the devil caused upon man when he brought sin into the world. Jesus resurrecting proves that even death cannot separate a saved soul from His God. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – I Corinthians 15:55-57.
I have to be honest, my attitude the past couple of years has been just that, my heart was hardened through my circumstances so my passion for serving Him wavered, and I can see why He had me take a year off to see what I was doing. Just because we believe in the Scriptures that does not always mean we think about them when circumstances come, in fact, we often forget them. Jesus shows Himself first to Mary Magdalene, but when she told the disciples that He was alive they did not believe her. Likewise, when he shows Himself to two of the disciples. Jesus shows up as they were all eating together and fusses at them for their unbelief.
“Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.” – Mark 16:9-14.
“upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart,” When we are facing trials we tend to forget the promises that Jesus makes us. And when that happens we can expect Him to fuss at us for our unbelief and hardness of heart. It does not matter how strong our faith, we all have times of unbelief because our heart is hardened. This past week I imagine we all had some issues over the outcome of the election in the US, no matter country we are from, in my case I was saddened by how badly the attitudes of those who disagreed with the outcome are behaving. We are not always going to get the thing we want, we cannot whine, cry, or get destructive about it, we step back, pray, and let God handle the situation, after all He knows what is going in and allowed it to happen. “Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” – Isaiah 41:9-10.
Jesus Christ Magnified:”And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” – Mark 16:17-18.
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You again for the great sacrifice that You made. You did not have to die, You could have chosen any other way to redeem me, or You could have chosen not to do anything at all and leave me trying to work my way to my salvation. You endured the cross, You took my place, You took the punishment that I deserved, and You took all my sins to the cross with You. Now, I have my own cross to bare, and I know I cannot do it alone, I need You or I will fall. Lord, I am alive through You, lead me and guide me, help me to walk with You. Let me not become blinded by my circumstances and harden my heart by any unbelief, turn my attitude into one that is full of thanksgiving, gratitude, and grace. In Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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