Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics sung by Joy Williams from her song … Do They See Jesus In Me … poignantly singing a question in prayer all Christians should like ask of ourselves with the goal of becoming the images of our Lord as we live for Him.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Philippians 2:5 [NLT] …
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
… And having His attitude others see Him living through our choices/actions.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Philippians 2:1-11 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, exhorts Christians to become more like Christ so that others see Him living in our lives.
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Reference Passage #1 [NKJV] : … Luke 9:23 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… All Christians should internalize Jesus’ discipleship command to deny self and follow Him.
Reference Passage #2 [NKJV] : … Acts 1:8 [NLT] …
8 “… But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
… Jesus’ command for His disciples to be His witnesses to a lost world, with Him giving them (us) the power to do so.
Reference Passage #3 [NKJV] : … Acts 4:1-22 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Peter and John after the Resurrection were brought before the Sanhedrin, who, in trying to get them to quit preaching the Gospel, could only see Jesus working thru these two Disciples.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Bill Crowder , used an artistic illustration to teach on Christians becoming more like Christ and displaying His attitude and actions to a lost world. The ODB author wrote: The National Portrait Gallery in London, England, houses a treasure of paintings from across the centuries, including 166 images of Winston Churchill, 94 of William Shakespeare, and 20 of George Washington. With the older portraits, we may wonder: Is that what these individuals really looked like?
For instance, there are eight paintings of Scottish patriot William Wallace (c. 1270–1305), but we obviously don’t have photographs to compare them to. How do we know if the artists accurately represented Wallace?
And I think the ODB illustration is an interesting and pertinent allegory, depicting how we, as disciples of Christ, appear to others when we live our lives as CHRISTIANS in this ever darkening world. And it begs the all important personal question, at least for me today, … Do other see Jesus in me?!
So, PLEASE take the time to use the song link above, viewing today’s attached photo, asking that question of yourself as you read along with me. There’s another illustrative story of Jesus’ Disciples becoming what He commanded them to become (see Luke 9:23 and Acts 1:8). It’s that time depicted in Acts 4:1-22 (linked above) where Peter and John we brought before the Sanhedrin, who were doing all they could to suppress the Gospel spreading in Jerusalem in those days after the resurrection. And these Jewish leaders could not deny what they were seeing in these men; … and that was the persona of Jesus working thru these disciples.
So, as we reflect on the highlight passage above (primarily Philippians 2:5), let’s all ask ourselves if, in our daily lives, others see Jesus in the way we think, talk, and act. If not, … I think we all, as I am today, need to ask ourselves: “What do I need to be doing to become a portrait of Jesus for others to see when they see me?”
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … Lord, I want others to see YOU when they see me. … 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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