Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 14 Apr 2008

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 14 Apr 2008

The importance of building the right self image. The fundamental purpose of this series is to remind us all, that our self image is not made by man but made in Christ. Today’s word of encouragement is about learning how to handle jealousy and insecurity. In Luke 8:51 the Word of God states, “When he (Jesus) arrived at the house of Jairus, He did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child's father and mother.” In Mark 5:37 the Word states again, “He did not let anyone follow him expect Peter, James, and John. Numerous occasions even when Jesus was praying before he was to be crucified, He only asked for Peter, John, and James to follow Him (Mark 14:33). The key words that stuck out to me from these key passages, “He did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, and James.” “He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James, and John. I wonder how the other nine disciples felt. Out of the twelve disciples that followed Jesus only these three were closest to Jesus. Learning how to handle jealousy and insecurity are crucial if we want to build the right self image in Christ. There must be a reason why Jesus only chose these three out of the twelve. They stood out, their love for Jesus was steadfast. Even when Peter denied Jesus three times, he was fully repentant, and he truly loved God despite his flaws. Finally these three had a real relationship with God. Their fire never died. There are two ends of the spectrum. Sometimes we are going to be in a position like Peter, James, and John. We are the chosen ones, we get into strategic positions, and we get to see things others do not get to see. Sometimes we are on the other end, we aren’t the chosen ones, we get limited time, and we don’t get to see everything. Today’s word of encouragement is really an eye opener. In either position we may be in of the spectrum, the reminder is to remain secure in our identity in Christ. Sometimes God puts us in lower positions, less prominent roles, to test our character, to test our pride, and to see if we are really after God or are we in it for selfish reasons to better our self image made by man. © Apr 2008 Shaun Lee. www.everynation.org.sg archive: www.shauntzen.blogspot.com