Today’s Devotional – October 10 (How Do I Become A Disciple of Jesus?)

By admin On January 10th, 2021

Today’s Devotional – October 10

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How Do I Become A Disciple of Jesus?

Jesus Calls Disciples – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

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Jesus is calling out to every man, woman, and child… “go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me.” Matthew 19:21

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This great call has been going out to the world for almost 2,000 years now!

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And through the ages, there have been many who have responded to this call!

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Upward Pathway – by böhringer friedrich for – cropped/altered image – Wikimedia – Share-alike License

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SOMETHING’S MISSING HERE!

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But sadly, today’s churches are filled with many who faithfully attend church each week, giving tithes, kneeling for prayer, serving on committees and going through all the motions of being a Christian.

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And yet, there is something missing. There just doesn’t seem to be the presence of that Holy Fire!

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Oh yes, we may speak in tongues!

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We may do our 15 minute Bible study each morning!

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We may say our prayers!

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We may hand out religious tracts!

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Audience hands – cropped and altered image – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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WORLDLY THOUGHTS

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But our thoughts are just not on God.

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Because, as soon as we close our Bible in the morning, we quickly forget about God’s Word, and begin to fill our mind with all the cares and pleasures which the world floods upon us!

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And we go about our day, pursuing all the things that our selfish heart’s desire! Our careers, our hobbies, our favorite TV shows, our games, our curious books of science, or romance, or travel, or a vast array of other time-consuming, energy-sapping, Spirit-quenching pursuits, all to the neglect of God’s great commission!

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Yes, we neglect His great commission for His people to purify our hearts and conform our lives into Christ’s glorious image!

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Shoppers in Toronto – cropped image – Wikimedia – share-alike license

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So what is the problem? Where have we gone astray?

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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License

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“THEY FORSOOK ALL & FOLLOWED HIM”

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You see, in the Gospel of Luke, is found the account of Jesus calling Peter, John and James and Andrew.

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When Jesus called those disciples, it is written…“And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed Him.” Luke 5:11.

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Yes, those disciples totally forsook the pleasures and pursuits of the world, and followed Jesus.

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ABOVE PICTURE – 7 Stars Constellation as the Cross (aka Big Dipper) – winter – signsofheaven.org – not for commercial uses

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FORSAKING ALL!

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Listen… “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple!” Luke 14:33

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This incredible verse from Luke 14:33 reveals the reason why most church-goers never truly become “Born Again”! We have never received the gift of Salvation that would have resulted in our making that total commitment: that “forsaking all”, which is required to follow Jesus as one of His disciples

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Listen again… “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24

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Prayer – USMC – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain

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WE ARE DISCIPLES OF JESUS TOO!

Oh well, Christ may not be calling us to literally forsake all our belongings, as did those early disciples!

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No, but Christ is calling us to forsake the riches of this world in our heart!

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The heart is where our true change occurs!

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And though we must work and support our family, and try to provide for their needs and happiness, yet when a man, woman, or child becomes a true disciple of Jesus, God places within our heart, new desires, new aspirations, new goals!

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Listen… “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2nd Corinthians 5:17.

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This change occurs within our heart!

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Braet von Überfeldt – Woman with Bible – 1866 – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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WE ARE PILGRIMS TOO!

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“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” Hebrews 11:13

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Yes, when God truly gives us a new heart, we become a changed person! A new creation!

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Now, instead of pursuing all the old selfish pleasures and aspirations of this fallen world, we instead begin to climb that gently ascending pathway which has long been leading Pilgrims out of this City of Destruction world, onward and upward to that Celestial City of God!

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Oh yes, we still work and provide for the needs and contentment of our family.

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But though our feet still touch this terra-not-so-firma, yet our hearts have been translated into the heavenly Throne-Room, where Christ sits at the right hand of God!

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ABOVE PICTURE: Most Holy Place – Signs Of Heaven

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TRADING EARTH FOR HEAVEN!

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And though we may retain our earthly possessions, nevertheless, our new heart can still sing out to all the world, that little praise song…

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“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of this world will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace!”

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Yes, as this song reveals, the more intently we focus our eyes upon Jesus, the more that the glittering trinkets of this world will lose their luster!

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And instead, the treasures of Heaven, the kindness, the patience, the meekness, the wisdom, the purity of heart, the faith, the joy, and the hopeful anticipation of the forever and soon-coming Promised Land, and the Agape Love of Jesus for all Mankind, will daily grow brighter and more precious to the Believer!

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Starry Night at La Silla – cropped and altered image – Wikimedia – Share-Alike license

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THE PRESCRIPTION FOR VICTORY!

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And so, My Dear Darling Soul, if I do not possess this kind of relationship with Jesus; if these aforementioned treasures of Heaven seem out of reach; and if I am weary of the selfish, the fickle, and all the loveless disregard that this world has to offer; and if I am heavily burdened with my own sin, then I must take the following prescription which the great Physician prescribes for every sin-sick soul…

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Listen… “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God…Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.” James 4:3, 6, 8-10:

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As we read this letter by James, God points out our many failings. And until we can read that epistle and not feel condemned by it, we must continue to humble ourselves before God, just as David did, as shown in this old picture.

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But God even gives us joy in the midst of our sorrowful repentance!

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David’s sorrow – Wikigallery – Public Domain

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VICTORY COMES NOT INSTANTLY

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No, God is too wise to give us instant victory over this world.

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And we may have to keep praying for Salvation, for weeks, or even many pain-filled months!

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But in the meanwhile, I can pray for the strength to study my Bible, and to contemplate its life-giving words through my day. And I can begin to turn away from all those things which have interfered with my having a total devotion to Jesus!

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And I can begin to live a life of seeking after the Lord, as is written… “And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

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Yes, this above verse from Jeremiah is really at the heart of our problem with God. We have allowed the Devil to cast many other stumbling blocks across our pathway, which have intertwined our hearts to this world!

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But now we must clear away all the rubbish, and make plain and smooth the true pathway to the City of our God!

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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – public domain

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Listen… “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,

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Prepare ye the way of the LORD,

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make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

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Every valley shall be exalted,

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and every mountain and hill shall be made low:

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and the crooked shall be made straight,

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and the rough places plain:

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And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,

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and all flesh shall see it together:

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for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”

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Isaiah 40:3-5

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And so, dear Stranger & Pilgrim! As this passage proclaims, we must get busy making a true and straight and level pathway for our Soon-Coming King!

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And that pathway is in our own heart!

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Exclamation Mark – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Give me the desire to follow Thee unreservedly. Show me where I may be hiding any idols. Help me forsake them. Let me know what joy is in store for those who forsake all to follow Thee…

Marine Praying – Wikimedia – USMC Public Domain

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

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***FINALLY WALKING UPWARD* INTO THE HIGHWAYS *OF ETERNITY***

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Day by day, you will find yourself walking, like the Disciples, spreading the precious Gospel seed wherever the Spirit leads. Taking the lovely name of Jesus, with every word spoken. Walking through this sin-darkened world, witnessing to those who take notice that of a truth, Jesus is present within you. Even like faithful Enoch, walking through the highways and byways of life in this world, spreading the Gospel-seed of unpretentious love.

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Day by day, you will become more and more closed in with God. Moment by moment, your heart will become intertwined with God’s heart, eventually two hearts beating as one heart.And just like Enoch, when the appointed time of sojourning on earth is finally done…you will walk onward…and upward…and into the highways and byways of eternity. (“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” Genesis 5:24).

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Thomas Cole-Pilgrim of the Cross at the End of His Journey – Wikimedia – US public domain

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TOMORROW…

OCTOBER 11 (Noble Bereans, Part 3: Re-thinking Harold Camping)

Harold-Camping – courtesy Family Radio

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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY

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ALL NOBLE BEREAN TRUTH-SEEKERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

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THIS IS STUDY #3 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

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