Word for Today, Mon, 16 Sep 2002: Following Christ at all times

#1 · September 16, 2002, 12:10 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on September 16, 2002, 12:10 pm
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

As we begin a new work week, I would like to share with you two
days of messages from Neil Anderson's series on following Christ.

As I read the passages myself and think about my own situation
and watch my children grow, I am keenly aware that something,
somewhere along the way has to happen, where we give up living
for self alone and live for someone and something else.

Babies are cute, aren't they ... as long as they're not our own
and we don't have to contend with their constant demand for
attention, right? I have 3 children myself. Within the next
week and month, they will reach ages 8, 4, and 2. These past
couple of years, especially since #3 came along, have been eye
openers when it comes to seeing what children are like. But as
I've reflected upon my own children I have seen in an even
clearer way the needs, wants, desires, and self centered
activities that I have been involved with myself.

I have come to realize, more clearly than ever before, that if I
ever hope to overcome my own self limitations, a power far
greater than what is in my own personality will have to emerge.
I believe, as I have for some time, that it is God who needs to
have control of my life. Even so, that's a daily battle. But
when I can see the battle of my own children so clearly in front
of me, one clear blessing I see is a reminder to surrender myself
to God, each and every day. You see, the gift of salvation is
just that, a gift. Accepting it and taking hold of it happens
instantaneously and it lasts. But at the same time, living in a
spirit filled manner is a continual battle of spirit over mind
and body, and that's something that each of us has to be willing
to yield, day after day, and even moment after moment.

To close my thoughts for today as we look into the week ahead, I
offer you these words from a pop Christian tune:

Lord, I give You my heart, I give You my soul. I live for You
alone. Every step that I take, every moment that I'm awake...
Lord, have Your way in me!

That's my personal prayer, too. I realize that I have to be
purposeful about that, too. If I just let the moments float by,
and don't make conscious decisions about everything, large and
small, then God doesn't really have His way in me, now does He?
So it involves both God and me.

I intend to continually pursue my relationship with God - every
step that I take, every moment that I'm awake. Being weak in the
flesh, I am bound to waver at times, but I consciously give
myself to God. My prayer for each of you is that you will also
continually pursue your own personal relationship with God. I
pray that these writings will help you consider what kind of
response God is looking for from you in your life, even right
now.

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

SPONSOR | Visit the Worship Center for great music, new offers &
more!
sda.goshen.net/cgi-bin/redirect.cgi?AD=intmusdevo2
____________________________

The all-new Crosswalk.com is here with faster load, fresh look,
great reads, and more! We are dedicated to bringing glory to
God, building up, equipping and encouraging the Church, the Body
of Christ. Click on this link (www.crosswalk.com) to
visit the new Crosswalk.com!

N E I L A N D E R S O N D A I L Y D E V O T I O N A L
from Freedom in Christ Ministries

September 15, 2002

FOLLOWING HIM

If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him... follow Me
(Matthew 16:24).

Seeking to overcome self by self-effort is a hopeless struggle.
Self will never cast out self, because an independent self
motivated by the flesh still wants to be God. We must follow
Christ by being led by the Holy Spirit down the path of death to
self-rule. As Paul wrote: "We who live are constantly being
delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus
also may be manifested in our mortal flesh" (2 Corinthians 4:11).

This may sound like a dismal path to walk, but I assure you that
it is not. It is a tremendous experience to be known by the
Shepherd and to follow Him as obedient, dependent sheep (John
10:27). The fact that we are led by the Spirit of God, even when
it results in the death to self-rule, is our assurance of sonship
(Romans 8;14). We were not designed to function independently of
God. Only when we are dependent on Him and intent on following
Christ are we complete and free to prove that the will of God is
good, acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2).

Self-rule is motivated by self-interest and supported only by
self-centered resources. When we come to the end of our
resources, we discover God's resources. God will let us do our
thing and patiently wait until self-interest and self-rule leave
us spiritually and emotionally bankrupt. We can turn to God any
time we weary of trying to run our own lives independently of
Him. He doesn't force Himself on us; He just simply says, "If
anyone wishes to come after Me, let him . . . follow Me." Are you
willing to forsake self-rule and follow Him?

Loving Shepherd, I desire Your will for my life, and I purpose
today to follow You in obedience and dependence.

-----------
This daily devotional is published and distributed by
Crosswalk.com. It is written by Neil Anderson at
< www.ficm.org >.

Additional devotionals are available from Crosswalk.com:
< devotionals.crosswalk.com >.
-----------
To read the Current Feature Story from ReligionToday,
go to religiontoday.crosswalk.com/CurrentFeatureStory/

For today's complete News Summary from ReligionToday,
go to religiontoday.crosswalk.com/CurrentNewsSummary/

-----------
For Copyright Terms go to www.crosswalk.com/info/copyright

____________________SUBSCRIPTION INFO_______________________

* Copyright (c) 2002 Crosswalk.com, Inc. and its Content
Providers. All rights reserved.

____________________________________________________________

SPONSOR | Visit the Worship Center for great music, new offers &
more!
sda.goshen.net/cgi-bin/redirect.cgi?AD=intmusdevo2
____________________________

The all-new Crosswalk.com is here with faster load, fresh look,
great reads, and more! We are dedicated to bringing glory to
God, building up, equipping and encouraging the Church, the Body
of Christ. Click on this link (www.crosswalk.com) to
visit the new Crosswalk.com!

N E I L A N D E R S O N D A I L Y D E V O T I O N A L
from Freedom in Christ Ministries

September 16, 2002

THE VIEW FROM THE CROSS

Whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses
his life for My sake shall find it. For what will a man be
profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul?
(Matthew 16:25, 26).

Three guidelines from these verses summarize the view from the
cross, which we must adopt to counteract the self-centered
worldview promoted by the god of this world.

First, we must sacrifice the lower life to gain the higher life.
If you want to save your natural life (i.e., find your identity
and sense of self-worth in positions, titles, accomplishments and
possessions and seek only worldly well-being), you will lose it.
At best you can only possess these temporal values for a
lifetime, only to lose everything for eternity.

Furthermore, in all your efforts to possess these earthly
treasures, you will fail to gain all that can be yours in Christ.
Shoot for this world and that's all you'll get, and eventually
you will lose even that. But shoot for the next world and God
will throw in the benefits of knowing Him in this present life as
well. Paul put it this way: "Discipline yourself for the purpose
of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but
godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise
for the present life and also for the life to come" (1 Timothy
4:7, 8).

Second, sacrifice the pleasure of things to gain the pleasure of
life. What would you accept in trade for the fruit of the Spirit
in your life? What material possession, what amount of money,
what position or title would you exchange for the love, joy,
peace and patience that you enjoy in Christ? "Nothing," we all
probably agree. Victory over self comes as we learn to love
people and use things instead of using people and loving things.

Third, sacrifice the temporal to gain the eternal. Possibly the
greatest sign of spiritual maturity is the ability to postpone
rewards. It is far better to know that we are the children of God
than to gain anything that the world calls valuable. Even if
following Christ results in hardships in this life, He will make
it right in eternity.

Heavenly Father, You alone are God. Help me to choose the higher
life today instead of seeking the pleasures of this world.

----------

This daily devotional is published and distributed by
Crosswalk.com. It is written by Neil Anderson at
< www.ficm.org >.

Additional devotionals are available from Crosswalk.com:
< devotionals.crosswalk.com >.
-----------
To read the Current Feature Story from ReligionToday,
go to religiontoday.crosswalk.com/CurrentFeatureStory/

For today's complete News Summary from ReligionToday,
go to religiontoday.crosswalk.com/CurrentNewsSummary/

-----------
For Copyright Terms go to www.crosswalk.com/info/copyright

____________________SUBSCRIPTION INFO_______________________

* Copyright (c) 2002 Crosswalk.com, Inc. and its Content
Providers. All rights reserved.

____________________________________________________________

=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! News - Today's headlines
news.yahoo.com

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

As we begin a new work week, I would like to share with you two
days of messages from Neil Anderson's series on following Christ.

As I read the passages myself and think about my own situation
and watch my children grow, I am keenly aware that something,
somewhere along the way has to happen, where we give up living
for self alone and live for someone and something else.

Babies are cute, aren't they ... as long as they're not our own
and we don't have to contend with their constant demand for
attention, right? I have 3 children myself. Within the next
week and month, they will reach ages 8, 4, and 2. These past
couple of years, especially since #3 came along, have been eye
openers when it comes to seeing what children are like. But as
I've reflected upon my own children I have seen in an even
clearer way the needs, wants, desires, and self centered
activities that I have been involved with myself.

I have come to realize, more clearly than ever before, that if I
ever hope to overcome my own self limitations, a power far
greater than what is in my own personality will have to emerge.
I believe, as I have for some time, that it is God who needs to
have control of my life. Even so, that's a daily battle. But
when I can see the battle of my own children so clearly in front
of me, one clear blessing I see is a reminder to surrender myself
to God, each and every day. You see, the gift of salvation is
just that, a gift. Accepting it and taking hold of it happens
instantaneously and it lasts. But at the same time, living in a
spirit filled manner is a continual battle of spirit over mind
and body, and that's something that each of us has to be willing
to yield, day after day, and even moment after moment.

To close my thoughts for today as we look into the week ahead, I
offer you these words from a pop Christian tune:

Lord, I give You my heart, I give You my soul. I live for You
alone. Every step that I take, every moment that I'm awake...
Lord, have Your way in me!

That's my personal prayer, too. I realize that I have to be
purposeful about that, too. If I just let the moments float by,
and don't make conscious decisions about everything, large and
small, then God doesn't really have His way in me, now does He?
So it involves both God and me.

I intend to continually pursue my relationship with God - every
step that I take, every moment that I'm awake. Being weak in the
flesh, I am bound to waver at times, but I consciously give
myself to God. My prayer for each of you is that you will also
continually pursue your own personal relationship with God. I
pray that these writings will help you consider what kind of
response God is looking for from you in your life, even right
now.

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

SPONSOR | Visit the Worship Center for great music, new offers &
more!
sda.goshen.net/cgi-bin/redirect.cgi?AD=intmusdevo2
____________________________

The all-new Crosswalk.com is here with faster load, fresh look,
great reads, and more! We are dedicated to bringing glory to
God, building up, equipping and encouraging the Church, the Body
of Christ. Click on this link (http://www.crosswalk.com) to
visit the new Crosswalk.com!

N E I L A N D E R S O N D A I L Y D E V O T I O N A L
from Freedom in Christ Ministries

September 15, 2002

FOLLOWING HIM

If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him... follow Me
(Matthew 16:24).

Seeking to overcome self by self-effort is a hopeless struggle.
Self will never cast out self, because an independent self
motivated by the flesh still wants to be God. We must follow
Christ by being led by the Holy Spirit down the path of death to
self-rule. As Paul wrote: "We who live are constantly being
delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus
also may be manifested in our mortal flesh" (2 Corinthians 4:11).

This may sound like a dismal path to walk, but I assure you that
it is not. It is a tremendous experience to be known by the
Shepherd and to follow Him as obedient, dependent sheep (John
10:27). The fact that we are led by the Spirit of God, even when
it results in the death to self-rule, is our assurance of sonship
(Romans 8;14). We were not designed to function independently of
God. Only when we are dependent on Him and intent on following
Christ are we complete and free to prove that the will of God is
good, acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2).

Self-rule is motivated by self-interest and supported only by
self-centered resources. When we come to the end of our
resources, we discover God's resources. God will let us do our
thing and patiently wait until self-interest and self-rule leave
us spiritually and emotionally bankrupt. We can turn to God any
time we weary of trying to run our own lives independently of
Him. He doesn't force Himself on us; He just simply says, "If
anyone wishes to come after Me, let him . . . follow Me." Are you
willing to forsake self-rule and follow Him?

Loving Shepherd, I desire Your will for my life, and I purpose
today to follow You in obedience and dependence.

-----------
This daily devotional is published and distributed by
Crosswalk.com. It is written by Neil Anderson at
< http://www.ficm.org >.

Additional devotionals are available from Crosswalk.com:
< devotionals.crosswalk.com >.
-----------
To read the Current Feature Story from ReligionToday,
go to religiontoday.crosswalk.com/CurrentFeatureStory/

For today's complete News Summary from ReligionToday,
go to religiontoday.crosswalk.com/CurrentNewsSummary/

-----------
For Copyright Terms go to http://www.crosswalk.com/info/copyright

____________________SUBSCRIPTION INFO_______________________

____________________________________________________________

SPONSOR | Visit the Worship Center for great music, new offers &
more!
sda.goshen.net/cgi-bin/redirect.cgi?AD=intmusdevo2
____________________________

N E I L A N D E R S O N D A I L Y D E V O T I O N A L
from Freedom in Christ Ministries

September 16, 2002

THE VIEW FROM THE CROSS

Whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses
his life for My sake shall find it. For what will a man be
profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul?
(Matthew 16:25, 26).

Three guidelines from these verses summarize the view from the
cross, which we must adopt to counteract the self-centered
worldview promoted by the god of this world.

First, we must sacrifice the lower life to gain the higher life.
If you want to save your natural life (i.e., find your identity
and sense of self-worth in positions, titles, accomplishments and
possessions and seek only worldly well-being), you will lose it.
At best you can only possess these temporal values for a
lifetime, only to lose everything for eternity.

Furthermore, in all your efforts to possess these earthly
treasures, you will fail to gain all that can be yours in Christ.
Shoot for this world and that's all you'll get, and eventually
you will lose even that. But shoot for the next world and God
will throw in the benefits of knowing Him in this present life as
well. Paul put it this way: "Discipline yourself for the purpose
of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but
godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise
for the present life and also for the life to come" (1 Timothy
4:7, 8).

Second, sacrifice the pleasure of things to gain the pleasure of
life. What would you accept in trade for the fruit of the Spirit
in your life? What material possession, what amount of money,
what position or title would you exchange for the love, joy,
peace and patience that you enjoy in Christ? "Nothing," we all
probably agree. Victory over self comes as we learn to love
people and use things instead of using people and loving things.

Third, sacrifice the temporal to gain the eternal. Possibly the
greatest sign of spiritual maturity is the ability to postpone
rewards. It is far better to know that we are the children of God
than to gain anything that the world calls valuable. Even if
following Christ results in hardships in this life, He will make
it right in eternity.

Heavenly Father, You alone are God. Help me to choose the higher
life today instead of seeking the pleasures of this world.

----------

This daily devotional is published and distributed by
Crosswalk.com. It is written by Neil Anderson at
< http://www.ficm.org >.

For today's complete News Summary from ReligionToday,
go to religiontoday.crosswalk.com/CurrentNewsSummary/

-----------
For Copyright Terms go to http://www.crosswalk.com/info/copyright

____________________SUBSCRIPTION INFO_______________________

____________________________________________________________

=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! News - Today's headlines
news.yahoo.com