Devotional Song: Go to this link … Please go this video link to hear Brian Littrell singing the old hymn I Surrender All, proclaiming the totality of surrendering to the discipleship of Christ.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Matthew 4: 19 [NKJV] …
19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Matthew 4: 18-22 [NKJV] … Go to this link … =============
Reference Passages #1 Luke 9: 23 [also Matt. 16:24; Mark 8:34] …
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,[a] and follow Me…. “
Reference Passages #2 John 1: 35-42 …Go to this link … … The first encounter Andrew and Peter had with Jesus …
My Journal for Today: In today’s Our Daily Bread devotional entry, I was taken back to that beach near Capernaum, a beach I have walked myself [see beach photo above with my wife walking on that beach where Jesus called His disciples]; and I was reminded of that day when Jesus, as depicted in the first attached photo, encountered the fishermen, Andrew and Simon (later renamed “Peter” by Jesus) in their boat. Andrew had already had an earlier encounter with Jesus and had told his brother, Simon about believing Jesus to be The Messiah (see also the linked passage of John 1: 35-42).. But when Jesus called them to follow Him, they just surrendered – completely – to His call to become “fishers of men,” which led to a little over three yeas of becoming disciples of this God-man, Jesus.
And all of this reminds us of Jesus’ call to anyone who would become His disciple (see Luke 9: 23, which I hope you have memorized). And as Brian Littrell sings in today’s linked song, discipleship in Christ takes TOTAL SURRENDER.
So, my question today - to me - is … “Am I really surrendered to my Lord and Savior; … or am I just saying I am His for others to see me as a Christian?” Am I becoming a fisher of men; and have I given up ALL of myself to follow Him? …
Tough questions … but then again, He’s a tough Savior, … demanding a tough follower.
My Prayer for Today Yes, Lord, I do surrender all. … 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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