Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Big Daddy Weave singing … Redeemed … singing of how we receive our worth from the redemption provided by Christ’s blood sacrifice.
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Highlight Verse: 1st Peter 1:18-19 [NKJV] …
18 … knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, or from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
… What really gives us self worth … only our relationship with Christ.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 1st Peter 1:17-23 … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Peter, reminding Christians from whence comes our worth … in the redemption from Christ’s atoning blood.
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Reference Passage #1 [NKJV] : ... Luke 9:23 …
23 Then He said to them all (followers), “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. …”
... Our worth in Christ creates newness, redemption, and freedom.
Reference Passage #2 [NKJV] : ... 2nd Corinthians 5:17 ...
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
... Our worth in Christ creates newness, redemption, and freedom.
Reference Passage #3 [NKJV] : ... Ephesians 1:7 [NKJV] …
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
... Our worth comes ONLY from the redemption offered by Christ’s blood covering our sin.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Bill Crowder, uses an historical story to illustrate how we must find our self worth from our relationship with Christ. He writes: There is a story that in 75 bc a young Roman nobleman named Julius Caesar was kidnapped by pirates and held for ransom. When they demanded 20 talents of silver in ransom (about $600,000 today), Caesar laughed and said they obviously had no idea who he was. He insisted they raise the ransom to 50 talents! Why? Because he believed he was worth far more than 20 talents.
What a difference we see between Caesar’s arrogant measure of his own worth and the value God places on each of us. Our worth is not measured in terms of monetary value but by what our heavenly Father has done on our behalf.
Family identification, position, power, wealth, traditions are all factors which so often create our identity … i.e., our self-worth. But as Peter disclaimed to his fellow Christians (and to you/me) [see nightlight passages] our worth ONLY comes from the redemption offered by Christ’s atoning blood, which was shed for all who are redeemed by faith in Him.
As Big Daddy Weave sings in the song today (linked above), we are set free from self-identification and created anew in Christ (see 2 Cor. 5:17 and Eph. 1:7); … but only when we become identified in/with Christ … FOREVER!!
So today’s devotional screams for us, as Christians, to set aside seeking our image/worth in the world or from fleshly lusts/pleasures, and seek only to go deeper into the newness and fruitfulness which comes from our identification with/in Christ.
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, help me to come here daily seeking to grow closer and closer to You and to surrender more, as You commanded, denying self, taking up my cross daily, and following only You. ... 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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