Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of Chris Tomlin leading in worship and singing … I Stand Amazed, joyously declaring the radical and wonderful nature of Jesus’ love and willingness to die for us.
Highlight Passage: Matthew 10:39 [NKJV] …
39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
… What?!! … Did I hear Him right?
===========
Highlight Context – Matthew 10:34-42 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus’ teach was RADICAL in His day.
===========
Reference Passage #1 … John 13:1-17 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… What’s He doing? … Washing their feet!! … WOW!! … What’s that all about?!!
My Journal for Today: … Our Daily Bread author, Bill Crowder, used an interesting modern word picture to illustrate how radical Jesus’ teaching must’ve seemed to His followers. He wrote: In the midday heat of summer, while traveling in the American South, my wife and I stopped for ice cream. On the wall behind the counter we saw a sign reading, “Absolutely No Snowmobiling.” [See attached photo] The humor worked because it was so unexpected; … and sometimes saying the unexpected has the most effect.
And that’s the way it must’ve seemed to Jesus’ followers at times when they heard Him teaching about God’s kingdom, … for example in the “Sermon on the Mount,” … or maybe in that Upper Room discourse when the Disciples saw Him put on an apron to wash their feet (see John, Chapter 13). Hearing Jesus say that “one must lose his life to find it” [see Matthew 10:39] just didn’t compute in the lives of so many of those who were following the One they wanted to become their conquering King.
He was their King; but His words didn’t seem “King-like.” He taught that a King must first serve His followers; and that’s what He illustrated to His inner 12 when He washed their feet; and they just didn’t - or couldn’t - get it. And it’s a message many don’t get today, do they?
But, … oh how I pray those who read me today understand our Savior’s Gospel message. He came as King Jesus, born in a lowly manger, to die for His slaves; and being one of those, as sung by Chris Tomlin, “I Stand Amazed” - but oh so grateful - for the love and sacrifice of my King Jesus.
My Prayer Today: O, Heavenly Father, … Lord Jesus, … You are my King, … My Savior!!! And I will always stand amazed by Your love for a sinner such as I. 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment