Devotional Reflection Based on the Incident of Peter Cutting Off Malchus's Ear: “Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.” ( Mark 14:47, Today's Korean Version ) 1. Identifying the People Involved: The person who stood beside Jesus and drew the sword was Simon Peter . The servant of the high priest was named Malchus . “Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.” ( John 18:10 ) 2. Jesus' Response to Peter's Action: (a) Jesus said: “Permit even this.” ( Luke 22:51, KJV: “Suffer ye thus far”; RSV: “No more of this” ) The Greek words clarify this: “ἕως τούτου” (“heōs toutou”) = “up to this point” or “even this” “ἐᾶτε” (“eate”) = “allow it,” “let it be,” “leave it alone” Therefore, Jesus is essentially saying: “Let them do what they are doing. Do not resist any further.” “If ...
Christian heart management
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the
springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
There is still an unforgettable event. A mother, whom I know, was shot to death when
she ran out of her store in following a robber who came into her store and
stole her money. The money the robber
stole from the store was $100. It was an
absurd event. Of course, I don't think
she went after the robber to keep $100 because it could be a momentary
reaction. However, one precious life
died for just $100.
Too many people seem to give their whole strength, heart, and sincerity to
keep money. I think we are doing
whatever we can to protect money in this materialistic world. What's even more frightening is the fact that
we are throwing away our hearts to protect our money. I am thinking about what we Christians are
doing in this world where people try to protect money even while throwing away
their conscience. Are we different from
them? Aren’t we trying to control the
Lord's church with money by strengthening our neck in the church with money,
boasting in front of the church members?
Why are we throwing our hearts?
Why aren’t we any no longer committed ourselves to protect our hearts? Our hearts are getting dirty. What is even more frightening is that even
the faith to rely on the blood of Jesus' cross is fading in our dirty hearts. It seems that we are living by showing people
our form of godliness in our proud instinct to save our hearts that are being
polluted by law. Our hearts are full of
doubts, not faith. And such hearts test
God (Acts 15:10). It is our hearts that
doubt about the salvation plan of grace that God has established (Park). In short, our hearts don’t know "the
grace of the Lord Jesus" (v. 11).
God is giving us the word of
life today. Above all else, we must
guard our hearts because “it is the wellspring of life” (Prov. 4:23). We should not take this fundamental lesson
lightly. We should not waste time
focusing on other things while ignoring the wellspring of life. Specifically, how should we proceed to guard
our hearts? We must keep it by
faith. We must cleanse our hearts by
faith (Acts 15:9). We must do our best
to cleanse and prioritize guarding our hearts amidst Satan's devilish schemes
and many temptations. Although it may be
difficult, painful, lonely, and exhausted, we must guard our hearts with all
our lives. In order to do that, we must
claim only Christ's righteousness by faith.
We must consider our righteousness rubbish. We can boast only our sins and our
weakness. We must hold onto the truth,
saved only through the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, with all our
heart, mind, and soul. In addition,
since we are sanctified through the work of the truth of the Holy Spirit in our
life of faith, we must live a sanctified life.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God …” (Ps. 51:10).
Neglecting
the care of the mind, sighing at the abundance of weeds,
James
Kim
(In a prayerful heart, eagerly awaiting the
short time spent in prayer, looking completely to the Lord who becomes the
gardener of my heart)
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