Would you step up to answer the call?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
(John 12:23-26 (NIV))

This may seem off target for this verse since it speaks of Jesus telling His disciples that His time has come. However, the words that Jesus uses speak to all of us.

The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
(John 12:25 (NIV))

Memorial Day started back in the 1860s as a way to remember those who had given their lives in battle. Originally it was called Decoration Day since the way that people honored the fallen was to decorate their graves. Regardless of what it is called, we owe these men and women a debt of gratitude and honor for their sacrifice. Many people do not agree with war, but the truth is that these people stepped up to take the responsibility of righting something that they did not agree with and they were willing to give their lives for that calling.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
(John 15:13 (NIV))

Most of us never knew these people throughout our history, yet we owe them so much. I can honestly say that it is a certainty that not all were believers in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, still, I believe that they carried a spark of the Light that Jesus brought to this world. You cannot be exposed to the Light without having some of it take root.

Jesus laid down His life so that we could have life. These men and women did the same thing in their own ways.

We must never forget to honor those who have gone before us and stood for the truths that we, as the Body of Christ, hold fast to. They answered the call when an answer was needed. Would we be willing to answer a similar call today? Would we rely on the Light of Jesus to guide us in that answer?

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Is your past still tempting you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”

Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
(Luke 9:57-62 (NIV))

Today’s church does not count the cost of being a disciple. They count the blessings. The church has become infiltrated by the “me” generation and the “just-in-time” attitude that surrounds us every day.

Looking back, it was the same in Jesus’ day. Everyone wanted the blessing, but did not want to pay the price that Jesus asked. That price was, and still is, total commitment and faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

He is not just a quick fix guru that can take all of the bad things that have happened to us because of sin. He does not make them go away so that we can go back and sin more. Jesus wants one hundred percent from those who call upon His name. He knows that we will stumble and fall, but He does not want us to look back.

It is said that God puts our sins away as far as the east is from the west. If the Creator of all the universe can forget them, we must also.

Remember when God delivered the Jews from captivity in Egypt? Some wanted to turn back. Do you remember Lot’s wife? The price for looking back is a dangerous price to even consider. When you accept Jesus, you must look forward, for God has something much better ahead of you.

If your past is so tempting, why did God have to send Jesus to rescue you from it? If you are having thoughts about looking back, keep focusing on Jesus, for the prize is only attainable through what God has done through Jesus.

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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