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Following Jesus is about sacrificial leadership. Jesus sacrificed existence in Heaven to come and live among us. He sacrificed personal glory to serve others. He sacrificed His own life so others could live. It’s a simple concept. Jesus cries out as He hangs upon the cross. The deed is
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Like Jesus, we must remain true in our understanding that in the end, it is God whose plan will win out. It can be difficult to follow God, make sacrifices for His sake, and watch other people get ahead by following the world’s ways. It is difficult to help
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Jesus’ last moments were spent embracing the pain of life known through the omniscience of God. I’m honestly not sure I can fathom what that sentence truly encompasses. I cannot imagine the massive amount of pain involved in being crucified. I also cannot imagine going through that act with
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Jesus has power and He takes death upon Himself so others can live. With Jesus, the focus is on the other person. Jesus is a servant-leader. Jesus makes sacrifices so others can benefit. Even when we see His humanity in force – His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, for example
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Jesus knew what He was talking about when on the cross He utters, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Those words are still true. Each time we choose sin over God’s ways, we don’t know the full ramifications of the choice. Jesus died because we
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When walking the path God has set for us, our faith can cause us to display amazing composure in times of great trial. Jan Hus allowed himself to be burned at the stake as he attempted to work towards church reformation. Dietrich Bonhoeffer voluntarily returned to Germany under the Nazi
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The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. No sentence describes my frustration with humanity more than this. How many times do I devote myself to doing better today, yet by the end of the day I find myself fallen again? How many times do I know my weak
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God is in control. This is such an easy concept to forget, especially when the world sets on injustice and we seem powerless to prevent it or change the course of the world. We see in the perspective of hours, days, weeks, and possibly months or rarely years. God sees
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We’ll always be tempted to do what we want rather than follow God’s ways. This doesn’t mean we always choose poorly. Sometimes, with the grace of God, we do choose the right thing. That doesn’t change the fact that sin is always right there beside us,
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Even when the world abandons us, God does not leave our side. The Father will never forsake us or leave us alone. He may allow us to choose to leave His embrace, but even then, He is still ready to welcome us back into His arms. We are never truly
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Jesus responds as He does because of His connection to the Father. This theme has been at the surface of this story for the last few days of reading, and it will continue to be significant with every new confrontation Jesus faces. Jesus can do what He does because He
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Jesus will die on the cross, saving the world as He does. This message is repeated so often some worry it might become trite, but I don’t subscribe to that view. The more often I am reminded I know peace, love, and joy because Jesus was willing to go