January 31, 2024 … Completely Surrendered!! … Really?

January 31, 2024 … Completely Surrendered!! … Really?    

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from Carrie Underwood singing … I Surrender All …  poignantly singing of how we Christians must surrender our ALL to follow Jesus. 

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Highlight Passage: … Mark 8:36 [NLT] … 

36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?            

… Jesus challenges His disciples to surrender their souls to believe in Him as Lord. 

Highlight Passage (in context): … Mark 8:31-38 … USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus tells His disciples about His upcoming surrender to die on the cross for mankind and calling on them to surrender to that truth and believe in Him.                                                          

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Reference Passage: … Proverbs 3:5-6  [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… God, thru Solomon, calls in believers to trust in God with ALL their (our) hearts.

Reference Passage: … Matthew 16:25  [NLT] … 

25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. . 

… Jesus teaches His disciples that it takes complete surrender to follow Him as Lord as the only way to salvation.      

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.   

… Jesus declares to His followers that it takes complete surrender in faith to be His disciple.   

Reference Passage: … Hebrews 11:6 [NLT] …   

6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.. 

… God’s call, thru the Author of Hebrews, for believes to surrender in faith and sincerely seek to follow the Lord.    

Reference Passage: … James 4:7  [NLT] …   

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,   

… James, calls on fellow Christians to battle with Satan by submitting completely to follow God’s will and His ways.  

        

My Devotional Journal: Today’s Our Daily Bread  Author , Jasmine Got  -  AT THIS LINK -   tells of a young Chinese son of a Christian Pastor who was awarded a scholarship to study in America and ultimately received a PhD.  But on the ship home cast all his awards into the sea except for his PhD certificate to give to his parents, … surrendering his life to preach the Gospel, which he did for the rest of his life        

And the ODB author today used this story to challenge her readers - and that’s us today - to follow God’s call - in the Scriptures above - for all born-again Christians to be willing to surrender their (our) lives to believe in Christ and follow Him to glory.  So, we must ask ourselves … are we really in COMPLETE surrender to die to self and live for our Savior?  Personally, I need to do so, … SO …  much more!   How about you?      

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for honoring me with Your call to surrender and follow You.           

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray. again today, that all reading here will join me, … to surrender to Your will, Lord, and ?to follow You.      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.