Scripture: ^.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

John 8:31-32 (NLT)

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

I believe that one of the most aggravating reasons we could give our kids as to why we have declined a request of theirs, is “because I said so”!! For we have truly not told them why, and that we have no reason for declining other than because of our personal wish or desire. Jesus was questioned or interrogated by the Pharisees and other religious leaders, and being the Son of God, He could have very easily said that You need no other reason, but instead He told them, and I am convinced that He is telling us today through these same words, that although it is important for us to go through the earthly rituals of coming forward and surrendering our hearts to the Lord, but what really proves that we have had a ‘heart’ experience is when we follow the ways of God and obey His commands. The focal verse here says, “if you remain faithful to my teachings” (if you hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them). To me, this means that I must have my life so saturated with the Word of God that not only will others know whose I am, but they will see evidence of that in what I say, what I believe, how I act and how I react. Friends, let’s make our salvation experience more than just a ‘ticket punching’ event for going to heaven, but rather show evidence of the change that has transpired in our lives by studying God’s Word and following its teachings. I don’t believe that there is one command given by God that was intended to unreasonably restrain us or constrain us, but rather His commands are intended to make us more like Jesus in every way so that others will believe on Him and know Him because they could see that we truly know Him and follow Him. Let’s not try to imitate any earthly person or figurehead, Jesus is our example as He was the only perfect One, and He’s the One that we should always choose to please and follow. Pray that He will truly know that we are His disciple today, because He has seen us remain faithful to His teachings.

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father I believe that one of the greatest compliments my earthly father could receive, if he was still alive today, would be hearing that he raised a good son because there is evidence that he is following many of the same principles that my dad followed in his lifetime to be a child of God and a successful citizen of this earth. Similarly, I believe that one of the greatest compliments that I could possibly hear from You is that I made it a point to always follow Your commands and Your teachings and Your will. I wouldn’t dare say that I have attained in this goal yet, so again this morning I humbly plead with You for strength today to follow Your perfect will, obey Your commands and biblical teachings so that I may represent You well to my lost friends and coworkers, and especially so that You might recognize me as one of Your disciples. Please guide me and show me the way today, oh Lord.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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