Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 108
Passage of the Day: Luke 9: 23-24 [NLT] …
23 Then he said to the crowd [of followers], “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow Me. 24 If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. "
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Contextual Study of today’s passage: Luke, Chapter 9 [NLT] … Go to this link …
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Reference Passage #1: Matthew 7: 20 : [Jesus on how to tell a Christian is the real-deal or not. ] …[NLT] …
20 Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced.
My Journal for Today: How do you tell the real or BIG-C “Christian” from the false or small-c “christian?” Well, it’s really quite simple. The “real deal” Christian lives and acts like Jesus.
In a nut-shell, a born-again Christian will ultimately major on the MAJORS, which reflect the values and attitudes of Christ The Apostle Paul Paul tried to get Christians to see that in Philippians 2: 5-11. It’s reality. The lives of real Chrsitians will be reflective of the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5: 22-23); and the world will see that real-deal Christian shining the light of Christ into a very dark world (see Matt. 5: 16).
Oh, most certainly, some saved people will fool us as they grow into the likeness of Christ; and at early stages in the maturing of their Christian discipleship they may be developing and learning how to do what Jesus said in today’s highlight passage … to die to self and follow the Savior … to lose their selfish life while growing into the image of the selfless Savior. And during this process of discipleship, the fruit on the tree may not always reflect Christ’s light, but rather be a reflection of selfish darkness instead.
But ultimately, as a genuine, born-again Christian matures and grows and becomes more fruitful; and we will see that “BIG-C” Christian majoring on the MAJORS, which will be the values of Christ. And they will become fruitful, shining more brightly the light of Christ, with their values, choices, and behaviors reflecting Christ more and more.
The questions we need to ask ourselves today, desiring to be “BIG-C” Christians, are these …
… Am I majoring on the MAJORS [i.e., Jesus’ values]?
… Am I wearing Christ’s Robe of Righteous for all to see; or am I showing off my own rags of sin?
… Can others see the fruitfulness of God’s Spirit growing and maturing in my life?
How’re we doing today?
My Prayer for Today … Lord, I so want to have others to see You in me rather than me in me. … Amen
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