Devotional Song: Go to this link … Please go to this video link to Steve Green singing the poignant and powerful song, Find Us Faithful, … reminding us that we are to be faithful in following Christ first, but also submitting our lives, faithfully, to those whom God has led to shepherd our way.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Hebrews 13: 17 [NKJV] …
17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Hebrews, Chapter 13, Verses 7-17 [NKJV] - Go to this link
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Reference Passage #1: 1st Peter 5: 1-7 [NKJV] … Go to this link
Reference Passage #2: Philippians 2: 3-4 … [NKJV] …
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Reference Passage #3: John 13: 15-17 … [NKJV] …
15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
My Journal for Today: In today’s Church, I’m afraid the attached photo displays an all too prevalent attitude in this age of ENTITLEMENT. We sit on Sunday mornings in the pews of our churches; and I’m afraid all too many of us, who call ourselves “Christian” merely feel entitled to be entertained or tickled or comforted in some way. And all too few of us are willing to surrender ourselves to the leadership of our Pastors, Elders, or Church leaders the way many authors in the New Testament challenged the early church.
If we are truly big-C “Christians,” dedicated to the big-C “Church,” where we hopefully committed ourselves, we should adhere to the directions of the Author of Hebrews, the Apostles Peter and Paul, and to Jesus, Himself, all of whom charged the faithful followers of Christ, i.e., His disciples, to surrender and submit to the Priests, Pastors, and Church leaders who have been called or lto shepherd the congregations of today’s world.
But I’m afraid all too many in those congregations feel a sense of entitlement and would rather try to control their own “church,” rather than to submit gratefully and faithfully to their church leaders. So, my dwelling in today’s Our Daily Bread has me asking myself, as I would hope you would ask yourself, … “Am I doing enough to follow my Pastor?” … And have I expressed my encouragement to my Church leaders rather than expecting them to serve my desires? I’ll leave it to you to ask those same questions; and then do something to thank your Pastor today – especially since it’s Sunday.
My Prayer for Today … Lord, I thank you for my Pastor, who so desires to follow You and to shepherd his flock into a closer relationship with You. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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