Dying to Live (Part 2)
Jesus says, “Whoever serves me must follow me”  (John 12:26).   Where was Jesus going?  What direction was he heading?  He was heading toward the cross, and if we’re going to be his disciples, we have follow him there. But where is there, exactly, in our lives today?  What does it mean for us today to go to the cross?  Well, first, we have to go there in our hearts.  We have to, in our heart of hearts, surrender everything to him.  We have to make a decision tha

Dying to Live (Part 1)
In these next couple of posts, I’d like to focus on John 12:23-33.  The first few verses say, 23Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hat

The Lord Jesus is My Shepherd–Part 3 of 3
In the first post in this series we looked at what it means to authentically say the 23rd Psalm and how, as Christians, we can say it with the Lord Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd, in mind.  In the second post we drew three points of application from John 10.  To be able to say “The Lord Jesus is my shepherd,”

The Lord Jesus is My Shepherd — Part 2 of 3
Yesterday we looked at the 23rd Psalm and talked about why we are justified in taking what it says about “the LORD,” and thinking of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  We’re back to our question – ““What does it look like to have ‘The Lord is my shepherd’ written—not just on my tombstone—but on my life?”  “What does it mean to be the person who can say the 23rd Psalm without hypocrisy?”  “What i

The Lord Jesus is My Shepherd–Part 1 of 3
Few passages of Scripture have brought comfort to as many people as the 23rd Psalm.  If you memorized it in childhood, take a moment to recall it.  If not, here it is.  (This is one case where the King James Version is still my favorite.)  1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.  3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.   4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff t