Obeying God - Being A Descipler!

Romans 12:1, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."


Our service and obedience to God is the best thing we could ever to for God. Without faith and obedience, it will be hard for us to truly connect and get close with God. Once we start believing in God, we are ought to obey his commands. Whether you like it or not, there are a lot commands that God has commanded us to do.

One of which, be a descipler.

Matthew 29:18-20, And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.


You cannot be choosy on what commands to obey. Once you start believing on God, that's the time you start obeying Him.


By: Edwin Joseph

Who Is This Christ?

READ | Colossians 1:15-20

People often find it hard to understand who Jesus is and why He came. Scripture provides the explanation, which really isn’t that difficult to grasp.

Jesus did something that had never been done before: He enabled man to see God in a new way. Colossians 1:15 says that Jesus is the “image of the invisible God.” No one has ever looked upon the face of the Almighty. While some people were confronted with God, they were never able to look fully upon His glory.

For example, even Moses, who is described as God’s friend (Ex. 33:11), could not look directly at the Lord. At best, Moses had the opportunity to look upon “God’s back” as He passed by, but never His face. (Ex. 33:18-23).

In Colossians, however, we learn that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God” (1:15). He came to bridge the gap between the Father’s pure, holy glory and mankind’s sinful nature. The key here is the word “image”—the Greek “eikon” gives us the familiar term “icon.” Just as an icon on your computer screen directs you to the main program, so Jesus points believers to the fullness of God’s glory.

As the “icon,” Jesus is the exact reflection of God. Therefore, the Lord could say, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” And He could further proclaim, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:6, 9).

Jesus enables us to look upon the very face of God in all of His glory. What an amazing honor! Praise God today for His Son, who has brought us into the presence of the Holy One.



From: InTouch - Early Light Devotional

Religion by Computer

“Those who believe in the Son have eternal life.”
John 3:36


Computerized Christianity. Push the right buttons, enter the right code, insert the correct data, and bingo, print out your own salvation.

You do your part and the Divine Computer does his. No need to pray (after all, you control the keyboard). No emotional attachment necessary (who wants to hug circuits?). And worship? Well, worship is a lab exercise—insert the rituals and see the results.

Religion by computer. That’s what happens when…

You replace the living God with a cold system;

You replace inestimable love with pro-forma budget;

You replace the ultimate sacrifice of Christ with the puny achievements of man.



From: Max Lucado

Getting into God’s Stride

The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight (seeJohn 1:35-37 and John 3:30 ). It is painful work to get in step with God and to keep pace with Him— it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God, there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride, but once we have done so, the only characteristic that exhibits itself is the very life of God Himself. The individual person is merged into a personal oneness with God, and God’s stride and His power alone are exhibited.

It is difficult to get into stride with God, because as soon as we start walking with Him we find that His pace has surpassed us before we have even taken three steps. He has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined in His ways. It was said of Jesus— "He will not fail nor be discouraged . . ." (Isaiah 42:4 ) because He never worked from His own individual standpoint, but always worked from the standpoint of His Father. And we must learn to do the same. Spiritual truth is learned through the atmosphere that surrounds us, not through intellectual reasoning. It is God’s Spirit that changes the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and then things begin to be possible which before were impossible. Getting into God’s stride means nothing less than oneness with Him. It takes a long time to get there, but keep at it. Don’t give up because the pain is intense right now— get on with it, and before long you will find that you have a new vision and a new purpose.



From: RBC - Utmost For His Highest

Showers of Blessings

In Ezekiel 34:26, God is speaking, and He says,

“I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.”

In this passage, God is certainly speaking of natural rain when He talks about the showers He will send. Those are rains He promised to Israel which would water the land and cause it to increase and be fruitful and bring an abundant harvest.

But, more than that, when God says there will be showers of blessing, He is talking about bringing blessings into the lives of His people. The rain is symbolic of more than just the rain that falls to the earth. It symbolizes the good things that God wants to bring into the lives of those who serve Him.

God wants to bring showers of blessings into your life. Not just a blessing or two, but showers of blessings. An abundance of blessings.

You may feel like you are in a season of drought rather than experiencing showers of blessings. So over the next few devotionals, I will help you understand:

* The three ways God brings blessing into the lives of people
* The things that can cause a spiritual drought
* How you can break such a drought in your life


For today, what I want you to begin to see is God’s desire to rain blessings into your life. If you are feeling a spiritual drought, I pray God will use the coming devotionals to help you break that drought, and experience the refreshing rains of His blessing.


From: CrossWalk Devotionals

Just Pray!

One of the disciples said to Jesus, "Teach us to pray."
-Luke 11:1 (NRSV)


WHEN I was two years old, my mother made a commitment to Christ. Some years afterward, I committed myself completely to Christ and his church. Later, I became a pastor. Even so, I was burdened with a significant spiritual concern: I felt that I did not know how to pray. Many times I asked God to teach me to pray, but I heard no response to my plea.

How many times has God spoken to us and we have not heard the message? One Sunday very recently, God answered me in a simple but enlightening message given by a leader in my congregation whose name is Evelyn. She repeated a familiar saying about prayer, "When you cannot pray as you would, pray as you can. But pray!" My burden began to lift after I heard those words, and I have felt more at peace.

Evelyn was the instrument God used to help me with my concern. And it all happened in God's time, not mine.


Prayer
Giver of peace, help us to surrender our will to you. In our times of doubt and anxiety, give us patience as we wait for your guidance. As Jesus taught us, we pray, "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation." Amen.



From: UpperRoom Devotionals - Nicolás Obispo Pérez