Alistair Begg

Christ's humiliation for us and exaltation above us are surely enough to bring us to the point where we bow in joyful submission to Him. They show us that there is one who has the status to demand our obedience and the character to deserve our adoration. They remind us that the best thing about heaven will be the most glorious person in heaven:

Envy is a feeling common to humanity. It is also a monster—a giant that can eat anyone alive.

Here in this little incident nestled at the beginning of Mark's Gospel is the life-changing reminder that Jesus is the living Christ, a sympathetic Savior, and a steadfast companion. There is no one better suited to deal with any predicament you or I may face than the Master whom the disciples found sound asleep on a cushion. You, like they, can cry out to Him and discover that the one who needed to sleep in that boat is also the one who could rebuke a storm—the one who reigns on high, who will never slumber nor sleep, and who will not let your foot be moved (Psalm 121:3-4).

It is perilous and unnecessary to remain wicked. The gospel message sounds forth as loudly and effectively today as it did in the streets of Corinth, and it cuts through the deception of the world's relativism and of the tendency to think that laws alone can change hearts or produce faith. The great need of our lives, of our cities, and of our nations is for sinners to be saved. Do not be deceived into thinking that sin does not matter. Do not be deceived into thinking that your society most needs something other than the news of the kingdom of God. We must confess the message of the crucified Messiah:

When we look at the shattered remnants of our most trying experiences, it often seems as if collapse is imminent. But in those moments, we can remember that God exchanges “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 61:3, KJV). Each trial we face is an opportunity to remind ourselves that, as with David, it is God's steadfast love that secures our souls and gives us reason to delight in His salvation.

The Bible makes it very clear that history is moving purposefully towards a definite conclusion. That reality is one of the distinctive features of the biblical worldview.

So look afresh at Jesus, who brooked no compromise in pursuing the glory of God through enabling the nations to worship Him rightly. Look afresh at Jesus, who used His authority and perfections willingly to take our place and bear our punishment in His body so we could be restored. Look afresh at Jesus, of whose amazing grace you are a beneficiary. And let His zeal for God's glory also be yours.

It was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church

I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.

The Holy Spirit is given to us so that God's people may bring God's word to God's world.