Mark 14:43 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him
was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the
teachers of the law, and the elders.
Yesterday, I received a report from a small community in Nigeria in which a
missionary had been killed by a mob as he tried to protect his wife and
children. His eldest son attempted to shield his father from a hail of bullets,
and even although fourteen shots hit him, the young lad couldn't do anything to
save his father. It was a terrible and terrifying incident. It reminded me once
again of what our faith costs other people in foreign lands.
Jesus also experienced that level of violence in the Garden of Gethesemane. His
passion, His pain and torment began on the night Judas betrayed Him. He could
have taken the easy way out. He could have requested thousands of angels to
shield and protect Him, but Christ knew He had to fulfill the scriptures. Jesus
understood that He had to endure the suffering of Gethesemane and Golgotha in
order to win the world for God.
Come Sunday morning, there will be some Christians who will find it hard to get
to church or even take time to rise early and go to Sunday School. Perhaps if
they realized that there will also be a Nigerian family rising to go to church
on Sunday, without the comfort of their preacher father, and still having to
look after their wounds, then the temptation to skip church or the aggravation
of getting ready early will be unimportant and trivial.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, become our number one priority and keep us committed to You.
Free us from our fallen ways and help us to seek to please You with our lives.
Keep us mindful of the true costs of our faith and deliver us from diminishing
the sacrifice that others make as they witness for You in hostile places. In
Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.
John Stuart traqair@aol.com
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
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