DAY 282 Read Matthew 9:36 through 11:1; Mark 6:1-29; Matthew 13:54 through 14:12; Luke 9:1-9.
Today's reading: The ordination of the twelve apostles and the instructions for their mission precede the account of the shameful execution of John the Baptist.
Memory gem: "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 10:39).
Thought for today:
The late A.E. Housman, a professor at Cambridge University, was one of the most distinguished scholars of his time. In 1933 he gave an address at that university on "The Name and Nature of Poetry." In it he said that "the most important truth which has ever been uttered, and the greatest moral discovery ever made in the moral world" were these words of Jesus: "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life...shall find it."
Now, of course, we have heard preachers say that since we were children. We have read it ourselves in the New Testament. But who was Professor Housman? He was an atheist, a pessimist. We are told that he even contemplated suicide at one time; yet he declared that the man who thinks only of himself is not living the full life and will not get much of out life. It was clear even to him, as he looked on life through many years of careful study, that adjustment to this world is not always the happiest and best thing. Here we find a man who was himself an unbeliever, or at least thought he was, quoting those paradoxical words of Jesus.
"He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." Willing to give up anything in this world in order to please Christ; willing to do God's will in spite of everything else! Instead of making our own selfish plans, ideas, and enjoyments the center of living, we are to make the Word and work of Christ central. We are to do everything for His sake. Surely we must agree that this is the greatest truth ever uttered, the most profound moral discovery of all time.
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Difficult or obscure words:
Matthew 10:10. "Shoes"--literally: sandals. Mark 6:9 says that the apostles were to wear sandals; the context in Matthew indicates that they should not carry an extra pair.
Mark 6:25. "By and by"--at once.
Today's reading: The ordination of the twelve apostles and the instructions for their mission precede the account of the shameful execution of John the Baptist.
Memory gem: "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 10:39).
Thought for today:
The late A.E. Housman, a professor at Cambridge University, was one of the most distinguished scholars of his time. In 1933 he gave an address at that university on "The Name and Nature of Poetry." In it he said that "the most important truth which has ever been uttered, and the greatest moral discovery ever made in the moral world" were these words of Jesus: "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life...shall find it."
Now, of course, we have heard preachers say that since we were children. We have read it ourselves in the New Testament. But who was Professor Housman? He was an atheist, a pessimist. We are told that he even contemplated suicide at one time; yet he declared that the man who thinks only of himself is not living the full life and will not get much of out life. It was clear even to him, as he looked on life through many years of careful study, that adjustment to this world is not always the happiest and best thing. Here we find a man who was himself an unbeliever, or at least thought he was, quoting those paradoxical words of Jesus.
"He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." Willing to give up anything in this world in order to please Christ; willing to do God's will in spite of everything else! Instead of making our own selfish plans, ideas, and enjoyments the center of living, we are to make the Word and work of Christ central. We are to do everything for His sake. Surely we must agree that this is the greatest truth ever uttered, the most profound moral discovery of all time.
----------------
Difficult or obscure words:
Matthew 10:10. "Shoes"--literally: sandals. Mark 6:9 says that the apostles were to wear sandals; the context in Matthew indicates that they should not carry an extra pair.
Mark 6:25. "By and by"--at once.
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