24 lines
4.4 KiB
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24 lines
4.4 KiB
HTML
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<title>Blue Letter Bible: Day By Day By Grace — Bob Hoekstra</title>
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<div class="head">Day By Day By Grace</div>
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<div class="subhead">Bob Hoekstra</div>
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<div class="desc-center"><div class="pad2020">April 20</div></div>
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<h2>Living as Jesus Lived</h2>
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<div class="block"><i>"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the <b>Father</b> who dwells in Me <b>does the works</b>…<b>As</b> the living Father sent Me, and I live <b>because of the</b> <b>Father</b>, <b>so</b> he who feeds on Me will live <b>because of Me</b>."</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Jhn',14,10);">John 14:10</a> and <a onClick="return mV('Jhn',6,57);">6:57</a>)</div>
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<p>We are to live by trusting in the goodness of the Lord. <i>"Oh, <b>taste</b> and <b>see</b> that the <b>LORD</b> is <b>good</b>; <b>Blessed</b> is the man who <b>trusts in Him</b>!"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Psa',34,8);">Psalm 34:8</a>). Jesus is the <b>ultimate example</b> of <b>living</b> by such <b>trust</b>. When we think of <b>being like Jesus</b> (or we ask, "What would Jesus do?"), the biblical perspective is far more profound than prevailing opinion might provide.</p>
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<p>Jesus <b>lived</b> by <b>depending</b> upon the intimate relationship He had with the Father. <i>"I am in the Father, and the Father in Me."</i> When Jesus spoke or took action, it was <b>not</b> on His own initiative or by His own resources. <i>"The <b>words</b> that I <b>speak</b> to you I do <b>not</b> speak on My <b>own</b> authority; but the <b>Father</b> who dwells in Me <b>does the works</b>."</i> Although Jesus was God coming to earth as a man, He did not live by exercising His deity: <i>"Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of <b>no reputation</b>, taking the form of a <b>servant</b>"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Phl',2,6,7);">Philippians 2:6-7</a>). Jesus lived as a dependent human servant, trusting in the Father to work in and through Him. The prophets of old predicted this path, as they recorded the confessions Messiah would make about His ministry here on earth. <i>"For I</i> [that is, the Messiah, Jesus] <i>shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and <b>My God</b> shall be <b>My strength</b>…<b>The Lord God</b> will <b>help Me</b></i> [that is, the Messiah, Jesus]<i>; therefore I will not be disgraced"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Isa',49,5);">Isaiah 49:5</a>; <a onClick="return mV('Isa',50,7);">50:7</a>). Jesus would depend upon the Father.</p>
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<p>Jesus eventually <b>applied</b> this kind of dependent relationship to <b>us</b>. The structure of His teaching was <i>"<b>As</b>… <b>so</b>."</i> As it was between Jesus and the Father, so it is to be between us and Jesus. Jesus lived His life by depending upon the Father. Without ceasing to be God, He lived as a man, showing us how man is to live. <i>"<b>As</b> the living Father sent Me, and I live <b>because of the Father</b>."</i> Jesus lived by trusting in the Father to work in and through Him. We are to look to Jesus to do the same through us. <i>"<b>So</b> he who feeds on Me will live <b>because of Me</b>."</i> Jesus taught that feeding on Him involved coming to Him in trust. <i>"I am the bread of life. He who <b>comes to Me</b> shall <b>never hunger</b>, and he who <b>believes in Me</b> shall <b>never thirst</b>"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Jhn',6,35);">John 6:35</a>).</p>
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<div class="dbdbg_prayer">Lord Jesus, my hope and my strength, I want to live in true Christlikeness—facing all of life as You did. I want to learn to depend upon You, even as You depended upon the Father. Teach me, Lord, I pray in Your name, Amen.</div>
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