Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a video of Clay Crosse and two of his friends, Bob Carlisle and Bebe Winans, singing the poignant song I Will Follow Christ … declaring the commitment of what should be every Christian to follow Christ and serve Him as our Lord daily.
Highlight Passage 1st Corinthians 15: 36 [NIV] …
36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
… Our lives are meaningless unless we die to self and live for Christ
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Highlight Context - 1st Corinthians 15: 30-38 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Have we died to self in order to live lives worthy of Christ
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Reference Passage #1 - Luke 9: 23 [NKJV] …
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. … “
… Jesus’ call of worthiness as His disciple.
Reference Passage #2 - Romans 12: 1-2 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK ...
… Our lives as “living sacrifices,” doing all we can to avoid the ways of the world.
Reference Passage #3 - Ephesians 4: 1 [NKJV] …
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, …
… Living lives of worthiness to our calling as Christians.
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Mart DeHaan, having studied the early church historian, Theodoret, reports the story of an early church martyr, a 4th century monk named Telemachus, who spoke out against the worldly bloodshed involved in the gladiator games in the Roman Forum in those times; and this monk was stoned to death because of his outspoken resistance. Learning of the incident, however, the Roman Emperor, Honorius, put an end to the games with their senseless bloodshed. Telemachus had died to self; but his worthiness for Christ made a difference in his world.
The story was used by author DeHaan to raise the question as to whether we, as Christians, are willing to stand up for Christ in a world that’s becoming more and more hostile to Christian values and beliefs. He essentially asks his readers (me) whether we’re willing to do do what my friend, Clay Crosse, and two of his friends sing about in today’s linked devotional song. … Are we truly followers of Christ as He called us to be in Luke 9: 23? Are we willing to be “living sacrifices” in His Name as Paul wrote about in Romans 12: 1-2 and Ephesians 4: 1?
Some years ago, seeing that the world was becoming more and more “pornified,” … my wife and I were called to found and lead a ministry for Christians to be liberated from the bondage of the growing XXX world; and in our 15+ years of following Christ in this ministry, we have seen many men walk free from the addictive magnetism of pornography; and we have helped many marriages be resealed in Christ because husbands were willing to follow Christ rather than succumb to flesh-driven lusts. But sometimes it seems like we’re fighting a losing battle and we’re being overwhelmed Satan’s XXX weaponry.
What is the battle in life that you’re willing to stand against in a worthy manner for Christ, as did the monk Telemachus? Today, my wife and I will continue to help Christians who’ve fallen on the XXX battlefields of life; and we pray that we can be worthy of our calling as Christians.
My Prayer Today: Oh Lord, … Help us to die to self and follow You … EVERYDAY AND IN EVERY WAY … into battle. 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, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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