Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,436
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She *said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.” But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They *said to Him, “We are able.” He *said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.” (Matthew 20:20-23 NASB’95)
All of us humans, who live on the earth, were born with sin natures, in the image of Adam, the first man created by God, and the first man to sin against God. Ever since Adam and his wife Eve sinned against the Lord, all humans have been born with sin natures, separate from God, unable within our own flesh to be approved by God and to share in his holiness and righteousness. And the only reason that any of us can be delivered from our slavery to sin and have eternal life with God, is all because of God’s grace.
So not one of us has the right to see ourselves as superior to others, nor should we ask of God that we should be treated as more special than others. Are there people approved by God, and some who are not? Surely, yes. But even that is all because of God’s grace to us that any of us are approved by God. For even the faith to believe in Jesus Christ comes from God, and it is persuaded of God, and it is gifted to us by God, and it is not of our own doing. And we can only obey God in his power and not in our own strength.
So, rather than any of us thinking that we should be given special honor in heaven over other humans, we should be humbled and thankful for God’s grace to us, that he loved us enough to send his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (God the Son) to die on that cross for our sins. And we should be thankful that, in Jesus’ death, he put our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him we can now be free from the control of sin and now walk as servants of righteousness, obeying our Lord.
Now, when Jesus asked the “sons of Zebedee” (James and John) if they were able to drink the cup that he was about to drink, and they responded with, “We are able,” it soon became apparent that they had no idea what that meant, what they were agreeing to. For when Jesus was arrested on false charges, and when he was given a mock trial, all of his disciples initially deserted him. And prior to this, his disciple Judas Iscariot betrayed him to the death. And Peter ended up denying the Lord three times after his arrest.
And what was this “cup” that Jesus was about to drink? It was his arrest, his trial, all the beatings he received, and his crucifixion on a cross, although he had done no wrong and only good. And all of us who follow Jesus with our lives, in sincerity, in walks of obedience to his commands, and no longer as slaves to sin, who walk the walk that Jesus walked in sharing the truth of the gospel with the people, we will share in that cup of suffering with Christ. We will be hated and persecuted as he was, and many will die for their faith.
So, believing in Jesus Christ is no “picnic.” It isn’t this, “profess faith in Jesus Christ and now all your sins are forgiven, and now heaven is guaranteed you when you die,” but regardless of how you live. Faith in Jesus Christ is death to self and to sin, and it is surrender to Jesus as Lord, and it is following him in his footsteps in doing what he requires. It is obeying him and his commandments, and being his witnesses, and living the lives that God had planned out for us to live even before he created the world we live in.
If we are of genuine faith in the Lord Jesus, and if we are walking the walk he has for us to walk, and we are not living to please ourselves and for the approval of other humans, but we are going where he sends us, and we are saying what he gives us to say to the people, then we should expect to be cast aside as unwanted and as unnecessary, and to be called “crazy,” as he was called, and to be persecuted and rejected even by others who profess faith in Jesus Christ, but who are not walking in his ways, in truth.
But this is what it means to be a Christian, to be like Christ, to walk in his ways, according to his commands, and according to the individual callings that he places on our lives. Our lives are to be fully surrendered to him, to doing his will, and we should no longer be living just to please our flesh. For if sin is what we practice, and not walks of obedience to our Lord, it won’t matter what our lips profess. We will not inherit eternal life with God. Jesus said it! His New Testament apostles taught it! And we need to believe it!
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Caution: This link may contain ads
Are You Able to Drink the Cup?
An Original Work / April 2, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
All of us humans, who live on the earth, were born with sin natures, in the image of Adam, the first man created by God, and the first man to sin against God. Ever since Adam and his wife Eve sinned against the Lord, all humans have been born with sin natures, separate from God, unable within our own flesh to be approved by God and to share in his holiness and righteousness. And the only reason that any of us can be delivered from our slavery to sin and have eternal life with God, is all because of God’s grace.
So not one of us has the right to see ourselves as superior to others, nor should we ask of God that we should be treated as more special than others. Are there people approved by God, and some who are not? Surely, yes. But even that is all because of God’s grace to us that any of us are approved by God. For even the faith to believe in Jesus Christ comes from God, and it is persuaded of God, and it is gifted to us by God, and it is not of our own doing. And we can only obey God in his power and not in our own strength.
So, rather than any of us thinking that we should be given special honor in heaven over other humans, we should be humbled and thankful for God’s grace to us, that he loved us enough to send his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (God the Son) to die on that cross for our sins. And we should be thankful that, in Jesus’ death, he put our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him we can now be free from the control of sin and now walk as servants of righteousness, obeying our Lord.
Now, when Jesus asked the “sons of Zebedee” (James and John) if they were able to drink the cup that he was about to drink, and they responded with, “We are able,” it soon became apparent that they had no idea what that meant, what they were agreeing to. For when Jesus was arrested on false charges, and when he was given a mock trial, all of his disciples initially deserted him. And prior to this, his disciple Judas Iscariot betrayed him to the death. And Peter ended up denying the Lord three times after his arrest.
And what was this “cup” that Jesus was about to drink? It was his arrest, his trial, all the beatings he received, and his crucifixion on a cross, although he had done no wrong and only good. And all of us who follow Jesus with our lives, in sincerity, in walks of obedience to his commands, and no longer as slaves to sin, who walk the walk that Jesus walked in sharing the truth of the gospel with the people, we will share in that cup of suffering with Christ. We will be hated and persecuted as he was, and many will die for their faith.
So, believing in Jesus Christ is no “picnic.” It isn’t this, “profess faith in Jesus Christ and now all your sins are forgiven, and now heaven is guaranteed you when you die,” but regardless of how you live. Faith in Jesus Christ is death to self and to sin, and it is surrender to Jesus as Lord, and it is following him in his footsteps in doing what he requires. It is obeying him and his commandments, and being his witnesses, and living the lives that God had planned out for us to live even before he created the world we live in.
If we are of genuine faith in the Lord Jesus, and if we are walking the walk he has for us to walk, and we are not living to please ourselves and for the approval of other humans, but we are going where he sends us, and we are saying what he gives us to say to the people, then we should expect to be cast aside as unwanted and as unnecessary, and to be called “crazy,” as he was called, and to be persecuted and rejected even by others who profess faith in Jesus Christ, but who are not walking in his ways, in truth.
But this is what it means to be a Christian, to be like Christ, to walk in his ways, according to his commands, and according to the individual callings that he places on our lives. Our lives are to be fully surrendered to him, to doing his will, and we should no longer be living just to please our flesh. For if sin is what we practice, and not walks of obedience to our Lord, it won’t matter what our lips profess. We will not inherit eternal life with God. Jesus said it! His New Testament apostles taught it! And we need to believe it!
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Caution: This link may contain ads
Are You Able to Drink the Cup?
An Original Work / April 2, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
