Putting God First
Welcome! I pray that the holy spirit gives me the right words to say so, that you're blessed by this. In Jesus Name, Amen
I am grateful for the Bible App on my phone that sends me a scripture of the day, and one evening I opened it to Luke 9:23-27. Although I had read this part of Luke before, I took the time to READ it closely and with new understanding. In this section, Jesus is with his twelve disciples and has already granted them power to cast out demons and heal. They journeyed around doing wonderful works and healing many people. They eventually return to Bethsaida (or the Sea of Galilee in modern day), and here Jesus miraculously fed five thousand men with only five loaves of bread and two fish. But this is when Jesus revealed to his disciples that his death was soon to come, and he instructed them not to tell anyone (Luke 9:21-22).
Continuing in Luke 9:23-27, Jesus further said to them, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the entire world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”
These verses finally came to life as I truly grasped their profoundness. God wants us to relinquish the things of this world, those things that take us away from him, so that we can surrender to his spirit and the eternal life it promises. How often are we focused on the world's promises, promises of material things, status, and pleasure that we ultimately are unable to bring with us after we die? But not only that, if we aren't sharing God's truth here on earth, how can we expect Him to embrace us with open arms into His kingdom in heaven? As it says, 'Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.' So then, let us boldly stand up and declare His truth. Furthermore, God has the power to give us a long and prosperous life here on earth, but that doesn't mean we will not see death, as Jesus declared that some who were standing with Him that day would not die before they see the kingdom of God.
Just remember, surrender to the spirit and remember God gives us the power of choice. As we strive each day to choose God and honor Him in all we do, may we be filled with a desire to find the eternal life that comes with trusting Him, a life full of joy and blessings.
