Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. "What is it you want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom." "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" "We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father." When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Before we take a serious look at the wrong motive of Salome, the mother of James and John, we must salute her decision to request for something good for her children even though it was a selfish ambition. She wanted the best for them, she loved high position for his children and she did it fast before someone like Peter who was most qualified for it might demand for it. What is your own request for your children? How generous are you that your children will be able to have peace and live in abundance? Hope you are not seeking for the downfall of your own children? If the crop you are planting today will bring forth fruits in abundance tomorrow will your children praise God for your life or will they send curses to you in your grave?
We saw that the motive of the mother was wrong. Jesus had just talked to them about cross but they were concerned about crown. He talked about the kingdom of heaven; they were interested in worldly position. Such a request was motivated by the pride. They were totally ignorant of the things of heaven. In your asking for abundance do you think of heaven or you just want things the way the people of the world want? As Christians we must be heavenly minded in our request and think of things that will benefit not only ourselves but people around us as well. The result of the request made by Salome brought about indignation among the other disciples. Probably they wondered why the two would have to separate themselves and make such request at the expense of others. However, this disagreement gave Jesus the opportunity to teach a practical lesson on leadership. In His kingdom, we must not follow the examples of the world. Our example is Jesus, not some corporation president or wealthy celebrity. Jesus came as a servant; therefore, we should serve one another. He came to give His life; therefore, we should give our lives in service to Him and others.
If you desire to have abundance, then you need to keep yourself busy with things that are profitable. You cannot be or live in abundance if you are the type who keep himself busy in things of the other people, backbiting and tale bearing from one place to the other. Many of our people who have traveled to over-seas usually keep themselves busy by even taking two jobs together. So there is no time to waste discussing other people’s matters. Stop lazing about if you are interested in enjoying abundance from God. Get something doing in the house of God, stop pretending to belong to a high class in the society, work so that you can eat. Remain blessed in the Lord.
PRAYER POINTS FOR THE WEEK
Monday: - Help o Lord that I may request for something profitable and not the head of John the Baptist IJN
Tuesday: - Direct me o Lord on the foundation I am laying today so that my children will not wallow in poverty tomorrow IJN
Wednesday: - Teach me o Lord that my ambition will not cause trouble for me and my contemporary IJN
Thursday: - Guide me o Lord that pride will not mislead me in my quest for abundance IJN
Friday: - Teach every member of Seed of Life, o Lord, how to set his/her priority right IJN
Saturday: - Save Nigeria o Lord from selfishness IJN
Before we take a serious look at the wrong motive of Salome, the mother of James and John, we must salute her decision to request for something good for her children even though it was a selfish ambition. She wanted the best for them, she loved high position for his children and she did it fast before someone like Peter who was most qualified for it might demand for it. What is your own request for your children? How generous are you that your children will be able to have peace and live in abundance? Hope you are not seeking for the downfall of your own children? If the crop you are planting today will bring forth fruits in abundance tomorrow will your children praise God for your life or will they send curses to you in your grave?
We saw that the motive of the mother was wrong. Jesus had just talked to them about cross but they were concerned about crown. He talked about the kingdom of heaven; they were interested in worldly position. Such a request was motivated by the pride. They were totally ignorant of the things of heaven. In your asking for abundance do you think of heaven or you just want things the way the people of the world want? As Christians we must be heavenly minded in our request and think of things that will benefit not only ourselves but people around us as well. The result of the request made by Salome brought about indignation among the other disciples. Probably they wondered why the two would have to separate themselves and make such request at the expense of others. However, this disagreement gave Jesus the opportunity to teach a practical lesson on leadership. In His kingdom, we must not follow the examples of the world. Our example is Jesus, not some corporation president or wealthy celebrity. Jesus came as a servant; therefore, we should serve one another. He came to give His life; therefore, we should give our lives in service to Him and others.
If you desire to have abundance, then you need to keep yourself busy with things that are profitable. You cannot be or live in abundance if you are the type who keep himself busy in things of the other people, backbiting and tale bearing from one place to the other. Many of our people who have traveled to over-seas usually keep themselves busy by even taking two jobs together. So there is no time to waste discussing other people’s matters. Stop lazing about if you are interested in enjoying abundance from God. Get something doing in the house of God, stop pretending to belong to a high class in the society, work so that you can eat. Remain blessed in the Lord.
PRAYER POINTS FOR THE WEEK
Monday: - Help o Lord that I may request for something profitable and not the head of John the Baptist IJN
Tuesday: - Direct me o Lord on the foundation I am laying today so that my children will not wallow in poverty tomorrow IJN
Wednesday: - Teach me o Lord that my ambition will not cause trouble for me and my contemporary IJN
Thursday: - Guide me o Lord that pride will not mislead me in my quest for abundance IJN
Friday: - Teach every member of Seed of Life, o Lord, how to set his/her priority right IJN
Saturday: - Save Nigeria o Lord from selfishness IJN
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