Tag Archives: your Lord and Teacher

Given You An Example

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The Virtuous Life - Day 210 - John 13-12-17 - Given You An Example - Growing As Disciples

The Virtuous Life – Day 210 – John 13-12-17 – Given You An Example – Growing As Disciples

After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing?  You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am.  And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.  I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.  I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message.  Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them. John 13:12-17 (NLT)

My Example

I have given you an example to follow. What will you do? How will you respond? What course of action will you take? I want to know and do your will. Is my will a mystery to you? Have I hidden my desire for you? Must you be very wise to understand what my will is for you? No, your will is not a mystery. No, your desire for me is clear. I don’t need to be wise to know your will. However, my doing what you desire and living out your will does require wisdom. Is that all that doing my will requires of you? No, doing your will require many things from me. Like what? My doing your will requires faith. I must believe that you love and care for me and that you have a purpose and plan for my life. My doing your will requires humility. I must not be proud and think that I have a better, more perfect, way of thinking, and speaking, and acting. My doing your will requires obedience. It would do me no good to simply know your will but to fail to do your will. That would be foolish. Yes, it would be foolish. I have more to say about doing your will. I’m listening. Doing your will require strength and endurance. It may not always be easy to do your will. It will require strength and endurance for me to keep on doing your will. What will be the source of your strength and endurance to do my will? That is the best part, you will help me to do your will. You will give me all that I need to do your will. You will keep on helping me to do your will as I keep on relying on you. Yes, I will.

We have gone a little bit ahead of ourselves in our conversation. What do you mean? You haven’t told me what you understand my will is for your life. It is so obvious; it didn’t get stated. State it now, for me. It is your desire that I follow your example. You have given me an example to follow. You want me to become like you in all I think and say and do. You want me to live the kind of life you lived. You want me to love like you loved. You want me to give like you gave. You want me to serve like you served. Is that it? I am sure that there is much more. You want me to live in an intimate relationship with you. You want me to live a life of prayer. You want me to hear your voice. You want me to receive your guidance and follow your instruction. Day by day, you want to guide the course of my life. Yes, I do.

What will happen to you as you follow my example? God, my Heavenly Father, will bless my life. His favor will be with me. His hand will be on me. I will live the life that I have been called to live. Yes, that is true. Will you follow my example? Yes, I will. That will be very good.

Lord, thank you for giving me numerous examples to follow. I will humbly serve others. I will sacrificially give away my time and talent and resources. I will love like you loved. I will give like you gave. I will serve like you served. I will gladly follow and obey you. Amen

Key Question…  How is it the priority of your life to follow Christ’s example in your thinking, speaking, and acting?

Living It Out…  Follow the examples Christ has given to you so God will be able to bless your life.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that your life will be blessed as you follow the examples Christ has given to you.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group how you are following the examples Christ has given to you.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you follow Christ’s example of serving others.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Devotional Study Guide click here

The Virtuous Life – Day 210 – John 13-12-17 – Given You An Example – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

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Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                                                        Copying not permitted                                                                                    http://www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Set You An Example

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Knowing God - John 13:14-17 - Set You An Example - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Knowing God – John 13:14-17 – Set You An Example – Growing As Disciples

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.  John 13:14-17 (NIV)

Do As I Have Done

I have set before you an example to follow. What have I shown you? You have shown me what it looks like to have the heart of a servant. What does the heart of a servant look like? It looks like your heart. How so? A servant is willing to do what you did. A servant is willing to serve like you served. A servant is willing to give like you gave. You humbled yourself. You had no regard for your rights. You had no concern for your position. There is nothing you wouldn’t do. There is no one you wouldn’t serve. There was no one who was outside of your concern. There was no one that was beyond your care. There was no one that was unworthy of your love. You poured yourself out. You held nothing back. You kept nothing in reserve. You laid your life down for others. You went where you were asked to go. You did what you were asked to do. Your mission, your goal and your tasks were to do the will of your Father. You lived to know and do His will. You served Him with all your heart, and mind and soul and strength. Yes, I did.

Why did I do what I did? You did what you did because you love your Father. You did what you did because you love others. Your love made you willing to lay down your life in service to God. Your love made you willing to lay down your life for others. That’s right. Does that sound familiar to you? Yes, it does sound familiar to me. The two greatest commandments are to love God with all your heart and soul and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. That’s exactly what you did. That is the example that you have set before me. Yes, it is. Will you love like I loved? Will you do as I have done?  Will you go where I send you? Will you do what I ask of you? Will you serve me with all your heart and mind and soul and strength? Yes Lord, I will.

Lord, thank you for setting an example before me to follow. You humbled yourself in service to others. I will follow your example. Use my life in humble service to others. Help me to be your witness in the world as I do for others what you have done for me. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Knowing God – John 13-14-17 – Set You An Example – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com