Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Joy Williams singing … Do They See Jesus In Me … poignantly singing of the way we, as disciples of Christ, should live our lives - everyday doing all we can to follow and emulate His life.
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Highlight Verse[s]: 1 Peter 3:15 [NKJV] … 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; …
… Living a Christlike life, we must be ready, … no matter what, … to give an answer to those who see us living out our lives in witness to the Lord.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 1 Peter 3:8-16 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… Peter exhorting fellow Christians, even in the face of persecution, to live out Christlikeness in their life.
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Reference Passage : … Luke 9:23 [NKJV] … 23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross [a]daily, and follow Me. … “
… Jesus’ commands to followers to deny self and follow Him in confronting the crosses of life.
Reference Passage : … Acts 1:8 [NKJV] … 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
… Jesus’ charge for all of His disciples to become witnesses got Him in the way we live our lives.
Reference Passage : … Romans 12:1-2 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… Paul exhorts Christians to live out their faith in Christ by avoiding walking the ways of the world, … but becoming living sacrifices to walk as Christ would walk.
Reference Passage : … Ephesians 4:1-3 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… Paul exhorts Christians to walk in life in a manner worthy of their calling in Christ.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, David C McCasland, uses an observation about a Christian-based business to illustrate how we should live so that others see Christlikeness in the way we live. The ODB author wrote: While staying at a hotel in Austin, Texas, I noticed a card lying on the desk in my room [see photo]. It said:
”Welcome … Our prayer is that your stay here will be restful and that your travels will be fruitful. … May the Lord bless you and keep you, and make His face shine upon you.”
This card from the company that manages the hotel made me want to know more, so I accessed their website and read about their culture, strength, and values. In a winsome way, they seek to pursue excellence and live out their faith in the workplace.
That is a great example of living out our faith in the workplace to follow Jesus’ commands and charge to His disciples (see Luke 9:23 and Acts 1:8). And that’s everyday, isn’t it? Everyday, … everywhere, … 24/7 … we, as disciples of Christ, are to be witnesses to Christlikeness. We are to live so that others can see Christ in the way we live. And that’s what Joy Williams sings in the linked song.
But do we?
I have to charge myself today, [really everyday!] asking if I will live as Peter charged Christians, being persecuted severely in the 1st century, to become a living witness to Christ (see highlight passages); and the Apostle Paul, who had been transformed himself from a Christ hater to a Gospel witness, charged fellow Christians [that’s me too!] to beware the ways of the world and to become living sacrifices and worthy witnesses to Christlikeness (see Romans 12:1-2 and Ephesians 4:1-2).
And so, AGAIN, I ask myself: “Will others see Christ in the way I live today?”
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You for being the Model for my witness.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Help me to walk as You would walk today. … 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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