Monday October 16th, 2023
« All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death »
2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
12 And because lawlessness sins will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
Numerous blessings await anyone who knows Jesus, spends time reading, studying and meditating on the word of God.
Apostles Paul prayed that he might know Jesus the more (Philippians 3:10) because he know that doing so would bring a lot of blessings.
What does it entail to know Jesus Christ?
It takes staying with Him, learning of Him, doing His bidding and loving people unconditionally.
He said in Matthew 11:28-29 NLT
« 28 ….“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you (partner with me). Let me teach you…. »
There are lots of things we must learn of Jesus if we really want to know Him as He is.
For example, Jesus Christ was confronted with the three categories of sins:
– the lust of the flesh
– the lust of the eye
– and the pride of life
when He was tempted by the devil to engage in a show of power.
However, He refused to jump from the pinnacle of the temple, according to Luke 4:9-13.
Jesus overcame by His obedience to the word of God.
Against one of the temptations, Jesus said in Luke 4:4
« ….. “It is written, ‘people shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ »
The more we know Jesus Christ, the more we want to conform to His image, the suffering He endured and His death on the cross. 2 Timothy 2:12-13 NLT
« 12 If we endure hardship, we will reign with Him. If we deny Him, He will deny us. 13 If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny who He is »
Anyone who lacks the knowledge of Jesus Christ is an alien to God and thus short-changes himself or herself. The Bible says in Daniel 11:32 CEV
« The king will use deceit to win followers from those who are unfaithful to God, but those who remain faithful will do everything possible to oppose him. »
The apostle of old understood the importance of knowing the true God, thus one of them said in John 14:8 CW
«……’All we want is to see the Farther’»
Our knowledge of Jesus Christ is all we need for our cases to be permanently settled.
My prayer is that you will know Him today in Jesus’ name.
Application: Using Philippians 3:10, pray earnestly to God that He may reveal Jesus Christ to you.
Author: Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
Freely you received, freely you must give (Math 10:8) , kindly share this devotion, and the Lord will bless you for it .
Spread the love of Christ by clicking on the ♥
