The NIV is my usual Bible of choice, but every so often I’ll pick up a different translation. Sometimes a phrase in a different version jumps out at me.
When the Apostle Paul made his final trip to Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit warned him there was trouble ahead. Paul’s friends begged him not to go, but he said, “You’re looking at this backwards. The issue in Jerusalem is not what they do to me, whether arrest or murder, but what the Master Jesus does through my obedience. Can’t you see that?” (Acts 21:13b, MSG*)
Let’s make this personal to our own lives. Whatever the stress, fear, pain, can we say “The issue isn’t what happens to me, but what the Master Jesus does through my obedience”?
What the Master Jesus does through my obedience. What will He do, if we trust Him with our circumstances, and choose to obey? After all, it’s not about us at all...it’s about Him.
*The Message MSG Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
© Janet Sketchley, 2008
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For devotionals, reviews and conversation, stop by Janet Sketchley's blog, God with Us: Finding Joy.
Thanks, Joanna. I needed this to begin this day.
ReplyDeleteChallenging!
ReplyDeletePam
So true! God keeps showing me how much I try to protect myself, but this is not about me.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Amen and amen! :)Marcia
ReplyDeleteShort and beautiful. Loved the phrase you emphasized...What the Master Jesus does through my obedience." And it is all about Him. Thanks! Brenda L.
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