Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Brian Littrell singing a contemporary arrangement of the old hymn … I Surrender All … poignantly singing of something we all should do EVERY DAY … to give back to Jesus our all in return for His love gift - His all - given to us on the cross.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Romans 12:1-2 [NKJV] …
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
… Our everyday gift to Jesus is our all.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Romans 11:33-12:2 … USE THIS LINK …
… The Apostle Paul lays out for believers what Christians must to give back to Christ a measure of what He has given to us.
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Reference Passage #1 [NKJV] : … Luke 9: 23 [NLT] …
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.
… What Jesus sees as true discipleship … our giving our all to follow Him.
Reference Passage #2 [NKJV] : … John 41:21 [NLT] …
21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
… What Jesus sees as our love gift to Him … total surrender … total obedience.
Reference Passage #3 [NKJV] : … Ephesians 4:1-3 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul wrote of what he - and we, as a surrendered prisoners of our Lord, must give to Him continually to show our worthiness as Christian disciples.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, David McCasland, uses a holiday analogy to teach on what Christians must do to give back to Jesus what He has given for us. The ODB author wrote: The weeks after Christmas are the busiest time of year in the US for merchandise returns as people trade unwanted gifts for what they really want. Yet you probably know a few people who always seem to give the perfect gift. How do they know just what another person values and what is right for the occasion? The key to successful gift-giving is not money; it’s listening to others and taking a personal interest in what they enjoy and appreciate.
This is true for family and friends. But what about God? Is there anything meaningful or valuable that we can give to God? Is there anything He doesn’t already have?
The ODB author today asks important questions, especially as we enter and move into a New Year, … where many of us are thinking about how we might be better and do better in the new year. And isn’t that what Jesus was asking His disciples to do (See Luke 9:23 and John 14:21) … to do what Brian Littrell sings in my song link for this journal entry … to surrender our all as our New Year’s resolution … for this year and forever more.
But the Apostle Paul in his letters to Christians really nailed the greatest love gift we can give our Lord (see Romans 12:1-2 and Ephesians 4:1-3) … that we humbly and obediently surrender our all to the Master.
The question we, as Christians, must ask our selves today: … ARE WE?!
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … Lord, … May I give You my all in 2017 and beyond. ... 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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