Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from the group Hillsong singing … To Be Like You … poignantly singing of our pursuit and purpose in life as Christians is to be clothed in His humility.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Philippians 2:6-8 [NLT] ... 6 Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, He gave up his divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
… Paul shows other Christians how Jesus was our model of humility.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Philippians 2:1-11 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul had learned Christlike humility and exhorted fellow Christians to take on the humility of Christlikeness in our lives as His disciples.
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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 Himself charged His followers to deny ourselves and become more like Him.
Reference Passage : … Ephesians 4:1-2 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK …
… The Apostle Paul taught - and modeled - that we were to become like Christ, a humble prisoner to God, the Father, and therefore worthy of our calling as “Christians.”
Reference Passage : … Colossians 3:12 [NLT] ... 12 Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
… And the Apostle Paul strongly exhorted fellow Christians to take on the character qualities of Christ.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Winn Collier, highlights the humility of George Washington in refusing to become a king in America after the US became a sovereign nation. … The ODB author wrote: As the American Revolution concluded with England’s improbable surrender, many politicians and military leaders maneuvered to make General George Washington a new monarch. The world watched, wondering if Washington would stick to his ideals of freedom and liberty when absolute power was within his grasp. England’s King George III saw another reality, however. He was convinced that if Washington resisted the power pull and returned to his Virginia farm, he would be “the greatest man in the world.” The king knew that the greatness evidenced in resisting the allure to power is a sign of true nobility and significance.
The humility of George Washington is a good example of what the Apostle Paul learned and taught about life as a Christian (see highlight passage). In his conversion to follow Christ, He took the command of Jesus very seriously (see Luke 9:23), … going on in his life to exhort others to become more like Christ (see Eph. 4 and Col. 3 above).
And probably the primo character trait of Christ we first need to adopt and live is HUMILITY (see Phil 2.5-8). However, of all the character traits of Christlikeness [see Col. 3:12], humility may be the most difficult, … because - by our human nature - we are control oriented, desiring to do life our own way. And that’s why Jesus Himself [see Luke 9:23, commanded His followers (i.e., disciples) to deny ourselves and follow His ways.
And today I pray that we all do just that, … putting on Christlike humility and carrying our crosses, … doing so humbly in His name and for His glory.
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for showing us the way to become more like You.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, … to humbly follow our Lord, shedding our rags of pride and putting on His robes of humility to live out our lives to be like Him. 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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