OUR DAILY BREAD : TRUE GREATNESS

[cimi]

January 20
Monday


TRUE GREATNESS

READ:
Mark 10:35-45
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Whoever desires to
become great among
you shall be your servant.
__Mark 10:43
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Some people feel like a small pebble lost in the immensity of a canyon. But no matter how insignificant we judge ourselves to be, we can be greatly used by God.

In a sermon early in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. quoted Jesus' words from Mark 10 about servanthood. Then he said, "Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve....You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love."

When Jesus' disciples quarreled about who would get the places of honor in heaven, He told them: "Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom from many" (Mark 10:43-45).

I wonder about us. Is that our understanding of greatness? Are we gladly serving, doing tasks that may be unnoticed? Is the purpose of our serving to please our Lord rather than to gain applause? If we are willing to be a servant, our lives will point to the One who is truly great. __Vernon Grounds

````````````````````````````````No service in itself is small,```````````````````````````
``````````````````````````````None great, though earth it fill;`````````````````````````
```````````````````````````But that is small that seeks its own,`````````````````````````
``````````````````````````And great that does God's will. __Anon.``````````````````````
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Little things done in Christ's name are great things.

***************************Today's Bible Reading __ Mark 10:35-45****************************

35 Then James and John, the
sons of Zebedee, came to
Him, saying, "Teacher, we
want You to do for us
whatever we ask."

36 And He said to them,
"What do you want Me to
do for you?"

37 They said to Him, "Grant
us that we may sit, one on
Your right hand and the
other on Your left, in Your
glory."

38 But Jesus said to them,,
"You do not know what you
ask. Are you able to drink
the cup that I drink, and be
baptized with the baptism
that I am baptized with?"

39 They said to Him, "we
are able." So Jesus said to
them, "You will indeed drink
the cup that I drink, and with
the baptism I am baptized
with you will be baptized;

40 but to sit on My right hand
and on My left is not Mine
to give, but it is for those for
whom it is prepared."

41 And when the ten heard
it, they began to be greatly
displeased with James and
John. 42 But Jesus called
them to Himself and said to
them, "You know that those
who are considered rulers
over the Gentiles lord it over
them, and their great ones
exercise authority over them,

43 Yet it shall not be so
among you; but however
desires to become great
among you shall be your
servant. 44 And whoever of
you desires to be first shall
be slave of all. 45 For even
the Son of Man did not
come to be served but to
serve, and to give His life a
ransom for many.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Today's reading reveals the ugliness of self-promotion. This spiritual
cancer has plagued the human race since the fall. The remedy
to pride is in following Jesus' model of servanthood. He is the
embodiment of a leader who served and a servant who led. Our
desire should be to do the same.