Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song and lyrics from the Zach Williams singing hi8s song… Chain Breaker … powerfully singing of how we, as Christians, can break free from the chains of temptation and sin which entangle us … IF … we’re willing to follow the Chain Breaker, … King Jesus.
Entangled in a web of selfishness and sin
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Highlight Verse[s]: Hebrews 12:1 [NKJV] ... 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. … God's word charges us to strip off all the entanglements of sin which bind us to ourselves. ==============
Highlight Passage [context]: Hebrews 2:17-18, 12:1-2 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru the Author of Hebrews, exhorts Christians to shed the entanglement of sin strongholds so that we can utilize the empowering grace of God to serve him effectively.
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… So often our own biases and perceptions entangle us in our own nature. So, we need to trust in the way God leads us forward.
Reference Passage : … Luke 9:23 [NLT] … 23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. ..."
… Jesus commands His followers to be willing to deny our own selfish desires which entangle us in our sin nature to surrender completely and follow Him to deal with the challenges (i.e., “crosses”) of life.
Reference Passage : …1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT] … 13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure..
… God shows us that He will lead us out of the entanglements of temptation and life’s trials … IF … we’re willing to deny our selfish desires and follow Him as He instructed in Luke 9:23 (see above).
Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 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 showed Paul, and us, that He grace and strength are always there to help us untangle ourselves from ourselves in order to follow Him thru life more effectively.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Cindy Hess Kasper, uses a word picture of soldiers entangled in prickly vines to illustrate how we can easily become entangled by our strongholds of sin to make it difficult to impossible to deal with the challenges of life. … The ODB author wrote: Soldiers fighting in a sweltering jungle many years ago encountered a frustrating problem. Without warning, a pervasive prickly vine would attach itself to the soldiers’ bodies and gear, causing them to be trapped. As they struggled to get free, even more of the plant’s tentacles entangled them. The soldiers dubbed the weed the “wait-a-minute” vine because, once entwined and unable to move forward, they were forced to shout out to other members of their team, “Hey, wait a minute, I’m stuck!”
In a similar way, it’s hard for followers of Jesus to move forward when we’re ensnared by sin. [see photo]
I’d guess that any born-again Christian reading with me here has experienced the challenges of life created when we let our own sin nature and selfish desires entangle us in selfish sin. Can I get a witness?
But, … and it’s a big “BUT;” … we have God’s promise (see Scriptures above) that He will lead us out of those entangling vines of selfishness, especially the temptations which grab ahold of us (see photo), helping to free us to follow Him and receive His empowering grace to be more effective as His disciples.
So, how about it? let’s take up the empowering mantra of Luke 9:23 and set aside our selfish desires, and just follow Jesus’ way today. Because, if we do, we’ll walk free from those thorns which have us entangled, … walking free to follow our Lord.
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, ... for showing us the way out from the thorns of selfishness which so often entangle us.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to shed the thorns of temptation and was free to follow our Lord. … 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.</ span>
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