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 version of the old hymn … I Surrender All … poignantly expressing the need for all Christians to give our all for His team, becoming, as Paul called, “living sacrifices” to our Lord and King, Jesus.
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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.
… Truth … but way tough to live!!
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Highlight Passage [context]: Romans 12:1-8 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul exhorts all Christians to become Christ’s living sacrifices, giving our all for the Master.
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Reference Passage #1 [NKJV] : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Solomon wrote of surrender all in our hearts to follow the Lord God.
Reference Passage #2 [NKJV] : … Luke 9:23-24 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus calls His disciples to deny themselves … and to follow Him as the coach and owner of God’s team.
Reference Passage #3 [NKJV] : … 1Corinthians 10:13 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul explains that Jesus, as the coach of our earthly team, would never call on us to do anything that we couldn’t handle … following His lead.
Reference Passage #4 [NKJV] : … 2Corinthians 12:9-10 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Following Christ, on His team, we ought to revel in giving our all for Him; because when we’re weak, He will be strong for us.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Dave Branon, used a sports analogy to teach about surrendering our all for Christ. The OBD author wrote: When I played college basketball, I made a conscious decision at the beginning of each season to walk into that gym and dedicate myself totally to my coach—doing whatever he might ask me to do.
It would not have benefited my team for me to announce, “Hey, Coach! Here I am. I want to shoot baskets and dribble the ball, but don’t ask me to run laps, play defense, and get all sweaty!” … Every successful athlete has to trust the coach enough to do whatever the coach asks them to do for the good of the team.
Wow! … I really identify with Branon’s ODB analogy, being born/raised in Indiana where basketball is called “Hoosier Hysteria.” In Hoosierland most every boy/girl dreams of what was depicted in the Movie Hoosiers [SEE THIS LINK ], … doing our all to win the game for the coach and the team. But to accomplish that feat in basketball, being a fast, team sport, the individual players have to avoid selfishness and play for the team.
And that was what the Apostle Paul was calling Christians to do in his letter to the Roman Christians in the highlight passage today. He was exhorting them (us) to be willing to be “living sacrifices” for God’s team … with Christ as our team owner, coach, and star player. And when we do, as is described in today’s song link and the reference scriptures above, we will be winners in this life … on to the next … where we’ll revel in the heavenly team banquet of all times.
My challenge today was asking myself if I’m truly surrendering my ego, my SELF, my ALL … to be on Christ’s team. We all have to decide to play by His rules and leadership, don’t we?
How about you? Are you willing to be on God's team today?
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … Lord, … I’m on Your team; … all the way to the finals!! … 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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