Following After Our Lord & Savior
Day 1
Soul Search
What sin(s) do I currently struggle most with, have I been asking the Lord to take my thoughts captive before they turn into sin?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I struggle more than I want to. Like Paul, I often do what I don’t want to do and don’t do what I want to do. Help me to allow Your Spirit to do greater work in me and to remove the noise of demonic opposition that is keeping me from walking close to You and doing Your will. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen
Day 2
Commentary
Peter rightfully states that we’ve spent too much time already doing the sinful activities that the unbelieving world does. Gone should be our days of living in unrestrained sin. Those who lack a saving faith in Jesus attempt to find their joy in every place they can, but Jesus, you and I used to be like that, but now we’re not — you can’t be if Jesus is indeed living inside of you. But sinners love to bring others into their party. Though you may find yourself cozying up to sin in moments of spiritual weakness, don’t allow it to even set a finger on you. Its hand is quick, and before you know it, you’ll be wrapped up in the strong grip of something that you don’t want to be wrapped up in. Resist the temptations and resist trying to gain acceptance from those who place the stumbling blocks in front of you, even if it means losing a friend or relative because of your love for Jesus over willful sin.
Soul Search
Am I spending too much time around people who are bad influences or consuming too much entertainment that is not edifying in my walk with Christ?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, if there are people in my life who are bad influences, help me to stand tall for You and to glorify You over keeping them happy with me. May I not stress over what others think of my love for You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen
Day 3
Commentary
True followers of Jesus are slandered every day, and depending on your personal relationships, you may be experiencing slander or persecution yourself, directly from someone you know. It’s not that they despise you personally, it’s that they despise Jesus. It’s your love for the Savior that sets off their unsavory behavior along with the fact that deep down, their suppressed conscience is telling them that what they’re doing is wrong. When a person is proud and outed for their immoral behavior, they will lash out; that’s what pride does. Don’t take it personally; keep your eyes on Jesus because He is with you every moment. Glorifying God comes with great eternal reward, but glorifying oneself leads only to death. Take time to pray for those who might be persecuting and slandering you because of your love for Jesus.
Soul Search
How can I show the love of Christ to anyone who might be mistreating me or persecuting me for my faith?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I want to live for You! Help me to stop being distracted or fearful, but to boldly proclaim the Gospel message to everyone around me, even if I’ve told them one hundred times before. I know that some will hate me for it, but I pray that their hearts will be opened to You before it is too late. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen
Day 4
Commentary
The Bible teaches that there will indeed be a God-appointed time of judgment for every person. For the believer in Jesus, comes a judgment of your faithfulness to His will. Salvation has already been guaranteed since you first believed, but this judgment brings eternal rewards for the good works that you did for the Lord during your Christian life on Earth — your sins have already been washed away, removed as far as the east is from the west. However, for the unbeliever, they will be raised into eternal bodies, where they will be face-to-face with the God that they deny, to give an account for all of their hatred toward God, His children, and their sins. Then, they will be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity. The righteous justice that many escape in this world now will catch up to them on judgment day. For those who mess around now and fail to accept Jesus’ precious gift of salvation, their fate will be horrible. While on Earth, Jesus spoke more about the horrors of Hell than He spoke about Heaven. Don’t fear what others think of your love for Jesus; rather, fear for their eternity and love them so, even if they hate you for it. God might just use you to push them right into His waiting arms.
Soul Search
Do I let anger consume me to thoughts of hatred toward those who are doing evil, and seemingly “getting away with it”?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I know that You are just and right in all of Your ways. I know that justice will be served at a measure for which each person deserves. I pray for (name), that they may repent of their unbelief today and run into Your loving arms. In Your awesome name, I pray. Amen
Day 5
Commentary
Regardless of what you do or where you go, people will judge you. You will be judged by some for every little word or action you take. Some will watch you like hawks, knowing that you are a follower of Jesus — waiting in prone to attack you for any mistake they perceive that you have made or for your lack of what they call “tolerance”, which is based on their own moral standards. Today and every day, suit up in the armor of God so that you may deflect the flaming arrows of evil that are shot at you. For the struggle you face today at the hands of people will be nothing when compared to the glorious joy that awaits you in Heaven. Keep your heart focused on the things of Heaven, for your life is now eternal from the day that you accepted Christ Jesus. This world is on a collision course with God’s wrath, and your stay here is only temporary. Remember that we don’t do what is righteous because we think we’ll gain a better life now or gain more love from this world; we do what is right because God has placed it in our hearts to do so — for His glory.
Soul Search
Am I still bold for the Lord or have negative experiences frightened me into keeping my faith to myself?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to tune out the evil words, the cold shoulders, and the hateful actions of those who now despise me. May I walk in Your strength, light, and wisdom for all of my remaining days upon this earth, to bring glory to Your beautiful name. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen
Commentary
If anyone ever tells you that following Jesus is easy, then they likely don’t know Him. To know Jesus means to live for Him, looking to Him for all things and depending on Him for the strength, endurance, wisdom, and the hope that you will need to follow in His ways. As Jesus taught, anyone who wants to be His disciple must first deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow after Him. Denying yourself the ungodly desires that your flesh wants is extremely difficult. This holds especially true when those around you encourage you to participate in sin, or even worse when they chastise or mistreat you for not joining them. But as a new creation in Christ Jesus, mission number one is to live for God’s will, not worrying about how that might offend friends, coworkers, or family members. The fact of the matter is, the Gospel is offensive to those who are perishing. But we must be God pleasers rather than people pleasers.