Zondervan Inspire

The Greatest Example

From the Editor: No, this is not a picture of the garden of Gethsemane. I’m sure most of you have figured that out already. But it’s a beautiful garden with a path that shows the way. Kind of like how Jesus shows us the way.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

One moment stands above all others in history as the greatest example of loving God with all one's soul. It took place on the night before Jesus died, as he talked to his Father in the garden of Gethsemane. Knowing that the next day he would face the physical, emotional, and spiritual torture of the cross, Jesus prayed, "Not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42). Jesus set aside anything he may have desired and determined to do only what the Father directed.

How do you set your soul to make such a radical decision? Jesus shows the way. You set the direction of your soul by talking to God. The power to follow Jesus' example is found in being able to pray the prayer that Jesus prayed: "Not my will, Lord, but yours be done."

From The Relationship Principles of Jesus

by Tom Holladay

Reckless Self-Giving

Jesus gave moral teachings that encouraged his followers to become the type of people who naturally care for the good of others because he wanted them to be united as a family. The life of heaven focuses on the good of others. It picks up the spoon not to fill its own belly but to offer a bite to the other starving stomachs in the room. This is the best life possible because it is the very type of life that is going on within God. The Father gives us his Son. The Son gives us his life. The Spirit gives us understanding of all that is true and praiseworthy. This reckless self-giving is the activity of heaven. Jesus said that all God wishes for you and me — all he encourages us to do and be, the entirety of our moral obligation — is summed up in this kind of reckless self-giving toward God and others.

From Seven: The Deadly Sins and the Beatitudes

by Jeff Cook

Any comments or testimonies today?

This Is Who God Is

God is looking for a body, flesh and blood to show the world a proper marriage of the divine and human. What happens when your body looks nothing like you? What happens when your people become the embodiment of everything you are against? What happens when you're being given a bad name? What happens when your people are unfaithful to the vow they made to you? What happens when your people "go back that way again," the way you rescued them from?

The Hebrew Scriptures have a very simple and direct message: God always hears the cry of the oppressed; God cares about human suffering and the conditions that cause it. God is searching for a body, a community of people to care for the things God cares about. God gives power and blessing so that justice and righteousness will be upheld for those who are denied them. This is what God is like. This is what God is about. This is who God is.

From Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile

by Rob Bell and Don Golden

Any comments or testimonies today?

Passion, Total Commitment, and Loyalty

When Chris Spielman played for the Buffalo Bills, he was everything a middle linebacker should be: tough, strong, and smart, with passion, total commitment, and loyalty to the game. He played the entire 1995 season with a torn pectoral muscle that he sustained in the season opener.

But the game took a distant second place in his thinking during the 1998 season. He chose to stay home. He cooked, took care of his kids, and cared for his wife—by choice. Stephanie, Chris's wife, was struggling through the stark reality of breast cancer. Surgery, chemotherapy, and nausea were Stephanie's opponents. During her fight, Chris was at her side. Why? Because he couldn't imagine her going through this tough time without him.

From Trading Places: The Best Move You'll Ever Make in Your Marriage

by Drs. Les & Leslie Parrott

Any comments or testimonies today?

others

There are some things we view as our rights that really aren't. We have the right to speak our minds, but does that mean we always should really say whatever is on our minds? Do we have the right to hurt people with our words just because they're true? As Christians we are to lay down our self-interest and consider others more important than ourselves (see Philippians 2:3-4). This is so different from our culture and what we usually feel in our hearts. But if we're to follow the example Jesus set for us, sacrifice for others can't be dismissed.

From Be the Change: Your Guide to Freeing Slaves and Changing the World

by Zach Hunter
Read Zach's latest book Generation Change,
now available.

Any comments or testimonies today?

provision

It is hard to read the story [of Abraham's test] without imagining how Abraham must have felt (see Genesis 22:1-14). Was his hand shaking as he held the knife? Was his mind reeling under the burden of the terrible command he was about to obey? It is not hard to imagine his agony.

But have you ever considered it from God's point of view? Watching the man and his son, did God feel something tearing at his heart, knowing that what he asked but did not require of Abraham—the sacrifice of his only son—he would one day require of himself?

From Praying the Names
of God

by Ann Spangler

Any comments or testimonies today?