January 11, 2024 … He Calls … I Follow
Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from Chris Tomlin singing … I Will Follow … Singing of how we, born-again Christians. are called to follow our Lord.
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Highlight Passage: … John 21:22 [NLT] …
22 Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.”
… Jesus demands of Peter to not be concerned about others … only to be concerned about following The Lord.
Highlight Passage (in context) … John 21:17-24 … USE THIS LINK …
… Peter is restored in faith and called, by Jesus, to follow and serve the Lord.
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Reference Passage: … Matthew 16:24 [NLT] …
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. </i>
… Matthew documents Jesus’ call to His disciples (and to us) to follow Him exclusively.
Reference Passage: … Mark 8:34 [NLT] …
34 Then, calling the crowd to join His disciples, He said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.
… Mark also documents Jesus’ call for His disciples (and to us) to set aside our own feelings and to follow Jesus’ will and His ways.
Reference Passage: … Luke 9:23 [NLT] …
23 Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
… And finally Luke documents the same call from Jesus for those who desire to be Christ’s disciples (perhaps you and me) to carry the concerns of the world by following Him as our Lord.
Reference Passage: …Acts 1:8 [NLT] …
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”.
… Jesus, after His resurrection calls those who’ve received His Spirit, … true, born-again Christians, … to be His witnesses as we follow the Lord’s calling.
Reference Passage: … 1Corinthians 11;1 (NLT] …
1 And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
… The Apostle Paul exhorts (i.e., calls) fellow Christians to follow him (Paul) just as he follows Jesus.
My Devotional Journal: Today’s Our Daily Bread Author , Matt Lucas - AT THIS LINK - tells of one his daughters, resisting his request for her to clean a room in their house, by saying, …“Why doesn’t she have to do it?” And to that, today’s ODB author replied, … “Don’t worry about your sisters; I asked you.”
And that personal scenario reminded our ODB author of the time when The Lord had restored Peter after Jesus’ resurrection when the Lord had reappeared to the disciples. Peter was concerned about John’s role in God’s kingdom; and Jesus rebuked Peter, telling him to ignore his own concerns for others and to focus on being Christ’s witness by following the Lord always.
And from three different synoptic gospel authors (see Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, and Luke 9:23), we read of Jesus calling all who desire to be His disciples to give up our own feelings and desires about others, … or our own perceptions, … and to merely surrender to follow Christ’s calling to serve Him. But the simple - but VERy challenging questions is … ARE WE REALLY following God’s calling today?
My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for showing me the way to follow You thru Your word.
My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray. again today, that all reading here will join me, … to surrender our own way and to follow You, Lord, … today and tomorrow. … Amen
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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.
1 comment:
Amen.
!
Kjetil..
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