QT 20/03/2024 Wednesday Read Luke 21. Striving to reach the oceans. 努力到达海洋。
QT 20/03/2024 Wednesday Read Luke 21
http://www.esvbible.org/luke21
"But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness (Luke 21:12-13).
Being persecuted and held captive "for my name's sake", i.e. Jesus' name, will result in more witnessing opportunities for Jesus.
This strange combination of troubles and progress for Jesus' disciples is sneered upon by many, especially in this individualistic and "my preference" generation, even among Christians.
But the Luke-Acts narrative displays this type of combination all the way:
In Luke - Jesus was nailed to the cross cruelly, but this accomplished the great salvation plan of God. This exhibited God's righteousness and love.
In Acts - Paul was dragged before kings and governors, one after another. In the process, Paul had the opportunity to witness before all of them.
Be it Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:1), Herod Agrippa II, Herod Antipas (Luke 23:6-12), Pontius Pilate (Luke 23:13), Felix (Acts 24:1-25) or Festus (Acts 24:24-32), witnessing opportunities were opened up because these people "lay hands on you and persecute you" (Luke 21:12) or did things in the same vein.
Luke-Acts ended with this strange combination too: while Paul was still under custody waiting for his appeal to Emperor Caesar, he was "proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance (Acts 28:31).
REFLECTION (1): My mindset: Am I co-working with God in the mode by which He opens up opportunities for me to witness to others (especially those that involve some problems and sufferings)?
REFLECTION (2): Am I able to see and tap on opportunities that God had already engineered for His gospel to power through "to the oceans of the world"?
星期三 2024年3月20日 今日读经：路加福音21章. 努力到达海洋。
http://m.bbintl.org/bible/ncv/Luk/21/
“但在这一切以先，人必为我的名，下手拘捕、迫害你们，把你们交给会堂，下在监里，甚至押到君王和总督面前，结果却成了你们见证的机会。”(路21:12-13)
被逼迫和“为我的名”被捕，就是为耶稣的名，将会导致更多为耶稣作见证的机会。
"麻烦"和"前进"在门徒身上的奇妙组合，被许多人嘲笑，尤其是在这个自我和“我的选择”的年代，甚至是基督徒也包括在内。
但路加-使徒行传在叙述中常常都以这样的组合呈现:
在路加福音--耶稣被残酷地钉死在十字架，但这却成就了神伟大的救恩。这也显示了神的义和爱。
在使徒行传--保罗被拖到王和总督的面前，一个接一个。在过程中，保罗有机会在他们所有人面前作见证。
无论是希律阿格里帕一世(徒12:1)、希律阿格里帕二世、希律安提帕斯(路23:6-12)、本丢彼拉多(路23:13)、腓力斯(徒24:1-25)或费斯图斯(徒24:24-32)，见证的机会被打开了，因为这些人“下手拘捕、迫害你们”(路21:12)或以相同的方法对付你。
路加-使徒行传也以这奇妙的组合结束：当保罗还在监管中等待向凯撒帝上诉时，他在“放胆地传讲 神的国，教导有关主耶稣基督的事，没有受到什么禁止。”(徒28:31)
反思(1):我的心态：我是否正与神同工，为那些祂开启机会让我们去作见证的人传福音(尤其是那些有着问题和烦恼的机会)?
反思(2):我是否能看见并把握神已预备好让福音的大能传到“世纪的海洋”的机会？
