Daily Manna 24 November
KEY VERSE: Deuteronomy 32:15 – “However Jeshurun waxed fats, and kicked: thou artwork waxen fats, thou artwork grown thick, thou artwork coated with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and calmly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.”
TEXT: Mark 8:27-38
27 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?”
28 So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”
29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”
30 Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.
31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not [a]mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
Decisions borne out of sound and strong convictions often result in a very strong and firm character. It is usually very difficult, if not near impossible, to get such a person to recount and rescind his stand. People with strong convictions are usually willing to seal their convictions and beliefs with their lives. These are the positions of martyrs. Jesus, in our text today, tests the stand of His disciples. Do they personally have conviction of His person and mission or are they merely following popular opinion? So, He asked them, “Whom do men say that I am?” And, “whom say ye that I am?” Interestingly, the disciples knew what the popular opinions were about Christ; but their belief and conviction was different. They refused to join in the bandwagon belief of the people around them.
They knew and were very sure of who Jesus was. This was why they staked their lives for Him and could be trusted with the truth of the gospel. Nobody can run the Christian race successfully without a strong and personal conviction in the Lord. Many do not personally know Jesus and are not sure of their relationship with Him. They are Christians by default; that is, because they were born into the Christian religion and their parents are active members of a particular church. No wonder then that they have such a shallow relationship with the Lord.
They cannot give up anything, let alone stake their lives for Him. Who do you say Jesus is? Do you have a strong and personal conviction of Him as the only Lord and Saviour? Have you committed your life to Him, willing to stake all you have for Him including your life? Are you totally deaf to the changing opinions of men and willing to stand for Him? Your Christian character cannot be sound without a strong conviction.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: How strong is your conviction about Christ?
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 45-46
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – Who is Jesus to You? – by Pastor Enoch A.
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Daily Manna 24 November 2021
