-August 16, 2022-
Good morning, happy Tuesday,
“For if we live, we live to the Lord; Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”
(Romans 14:8).
The Lord Jesus came into this world to die for us, in our place, to save us from our sins, and give us eternal life. He died, was buried, and rose again. We have passed from death to life, from darkness to light. He is in control of life and death. No one knows the day nor the hour of His coming, nor do we know the day of our death. Since these are in His control, how should we thus live?
Paul wrote, “If we live, we live to the Lord.” We no longer live to the world or to ourselves. God put us here on earth for a purpose to spread the gospel, live to and for the Lord, and to serve Him. Paul lived his life this way, and so should we. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 says, “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge this: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”
Our Lord and Savior bought us with His precious blood. We are no longer our own for we have been redeemed at a high price. How can we ever repay the debt of love we owe Him? The hymn writer Thomas Chisholm wrote, “Living for Jesus a life that is true, striving to please Him in all that I do; yielding allegiance, glad heartened and free, this is the pathway of blessing for me. O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee, for Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me; I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne; my life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.”
We can’t control how long we live, but we can control how we live. The quality of our lives is thus measured by we give, not what we have; how we serve, not by how we are served; and what we do for the Lord and others, not what we do for ourselves. As long as our mission in life isn’t finished yet, there is so much we can and should do.
Have a blessed day living for Jesus and to Him alone. Stay safe and healthy.
In living or in dying, all for Jesus now and forever,
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 