John 21: 16He said to him again a second time, "Simon, {son} of John, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed My sheep."
From "My Utmost for His Highest:
"Jesus did not say - Make converts to your way of thinking, but look after My sheep, see that they get nourished in the knowledge of Me. We count as service what we do in the way of Christian work; Jesus Christ calls service what we are to Him, not what we do for Him. Discipleship is based on devotion to Jesus Christ, not on adherence to a belief or a creed. "If any man come to Me and hate not..., he cannot be My disciple." There is no argument and no compulsion, but simply - If you would be My disciple, you must be devoted to Me. A man touched by the Spirit of God suddenly says - "Now I see Who Jesus is," and that is the source of devotion.
Today we have substituted credal belief for personal belief, and that is why so many are devoted to causes and so few devoted to Jesus Christ. People do not want to be devoted to Jesus, but only to the cause He started. Jesus Christ is a source of deep offense to the educated mind of today that does not want Him in any other way than as a Comrade. Our Lord's first obedience was to the will of His Father, not to the needs of men; the saving of men was the natural outcome of His obedience to the Father. If I am devoted to the cause of humanity only, I will soon be exhausted and come to the place where my love will falter; but if I love Jesus Christ personally and passionately, I can serve humanity though men treat me as a door-mat. The secret of a disciple's life is devotion to Jesus Christ, and the characteristic of the life is its unobtrusiveness. It is like a corn of wheat, which falls into the ground and dies, but presently it will spring up and alter the whole landscape (John 12:24)."
I have intimated to you in most, if not all, of these postings that this is an incredible time for me. I am being drawn close to God. I am finding a deep devotion to Christ that I had never before found.
Those around me are saying, "Wow, I never knew Danielle was so religious!" I'm not religious -I'm seeking and finding relationship mith my God and Savior. Those around me are saying, "I can't commit to Christianity because I don't believe everything it teaches." I call myself a Christian. I study the teachings of Christianity. But I believe and commit to what God tells me, through His voice and His scripture, and nothing else.
I cannot serve the needs of men. But an interesting thing is happening in my life. When I am completely focused on God, when I look no further than to hear God's word and see God's face, both my brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as nonbelievers, start to relate to me that I am having an impact on their lives. I start to hear God telling me to do things for people - make a CD; buy a book; send an email; call. And like the surface of a pond newly struck by a pebble, the ripples of these small gestures grow.
The greatest desire of my heart is to let my light shine for all to see. And now, people are finally seeing it, recognizing it as something of God and asking me for insight. Suddenly it occurs to me, I'm feeding His sheep.
I know one thing: I love God. I love worshipping and praising and thanking and singing and serving. I love immersing myself in His word and learning every lesson He puts on my heart.
It is such a joy to see the fruits of my devotion.
Now I see who Jesus is.
Posts
