Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Steve Green singing … Find Us Faithful … poignantly singing of how we, as Christians, must do all we can to walk the faithful Christlikeness, doing all we can to avoid the unGodly vanities of life.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Matthew 5:29 … [NLT] … 29 So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
… Jesus uses hyperbole to teach on ridding our lives of any part of us that detracts from our relationship with Him.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Matthew 5:21-30 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, preaching on Godly, … Kingdom, … values.
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Reference Passage : … Psalms 51:10, 139:23-24 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… King David’s desire to rid his life of any sinful selfishness and sinful pursuits, following only the ways of the Lord.
Reference Passage : … Ecclesiastes 1:14 [NLT] … 14 I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless [also translated “vanity” in NKJV] — like chasing the wind.
… Solomon, as God’s “Teacher,” observed that all of life can be vanity or meaningless if we focus on self rather than the Lord.
Reference Passage : … John 15:1-8 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus shows disciples how we must focus on our relationship with Him above all else in life so as to live fruitful lives to God’s glory.
Reference Passage : … 2Corinthians 12:9 [NLT] … 9 Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
… Jesus promises Paul (and us) that His empowering grace will always be there to give us His strength to overcome our human weaknesses in our attempts to live for God’s glory and avoid selfish gain.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Remi Oyedele, uses an historical reference to illustrate how we must throw away all elements of life which vainly try to satisfy self rather than living for our Savior. And the ODB author wrote: In February 1497, a Monk named Girolamo Savonarola started a fire. Leading up to this, he and his followers spent several months collecting items that they thought might entice people to sin or neglect their religious duties—including artwork, cosmetics, instruments, and dresses. On the appointed day, thousands of vanity items were gathered at a public square in Florence, Italy, and set on fire. The event has come to be known as the Bonfire of the Vanities.
The Monk, Savonarola, may have had Godly motives for his bonfire [see photo], … motives which were inspired by biblical values found in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (see highlight passages) or by King David following his sinful episode with Bathsheba (see Psalms 51 and 139); or maybe even by Solomon’s repentant journaling in Ecclesiastes. However, we need to have more than a bonfire to rid ourselves of the selfish vanities of life, don’t we?
We, as born-again Christians, are called by Christ to do all we can to live as Steve Green sings in the linked song, … living lives which faithfully pursue Christlikeness (see John 15:1-8); and to do all we can to use our Lord’s strength and grace (see 2Cor. 12:9) to overcome our selfish desires and human weaknesses.
For when we do that, we will be glorifying King Jesus in all we think, say, and do.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for giving us the grace to overcome self and live for You, … our Savior.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all reading here can, and will, join me to throw our selfishness into the bonfires of our relationship with Christ. … 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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