Daily Bread 1/11/2023

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    Daily Bread – January 11, 2023 (The Fourth Day – Genesis 1:14-19) John 12:26 – Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will also be. And if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. What vision do you have for your life? Do you see yourself as a servant of the Lord Jesus? If so, then your vision and purpose must be to do the things Jesus showed us to do. Therefore, it is essential that we honestly and objectively understand exactly what it means to follow Jesus. Fundamentally, Jesus is speaking from the context that we must be so devoted to the will of the Father that we cease to live our own lives. This in and of itself is a radical call to a heavenly definition of what we are suppose to be doing with our lives. Serving Christ Jesus demands, then, that we set our affections on things above and not on things of this would (Colossians 3:1-4). It demands that we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:31-33). The whole purpose and meaning of the life of Jesus was summed up in one statement: “He was manifested to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). To this aim, then, He lived only to do the will of the Father – and therefore, He laid down His life each day. In like manner, we are called to deny ourselves, to lay down our lives, and to follow in His footsteps (1 Peter 2:21, 4:1-3; Matthew 10:39, 16:25; Mark 8:34-35; Luke 9:23-24, 17:33). Jesus was anointed by the Holy Ghost so He might heal all that were oppressed of the devil (Acts 10:38). It is, then, essential, if we are going to follow Him, for us also to receive the same anointing. This anointing is what Christ Jesus demands of His Church – and the individuals within the Church. The One Who baptizes in the Holy Ghost, and Whose Word remains the same, says, “You must first receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and then you can be My witnesses.” (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-8; John 20:21). If we will serve Jesus, then we will have His continual companionship, and wherever He is, we will be right there with Him because we are following Him! Blessings,  Pastor Mark Spitsbergen