Topic: Prisoners of the Lord Jesus Christ  [Church of God Mission International] Above Only Daily Devotional 16 July 2021

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Above Only Devotional
Friday, July 16

Prisoners of the Lord Jesus Christ

Ephesians 3:1-2 (CEV), Acts 9:15-16 (TPT), 2 Corinthians 5:14
Christ Jesus made me his prisoner, so that I could help you Gentiles. You have surely heard about God’s kindness in choosing me to help you. *…Arise and go! I have chosen this man to be my special messenger. He will be brought before kings, before many nations, and before the Jewish people to give them the revelation of who I am. And I will show him how much he is destined to suffer because of his passion for me.” *For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead.

The reason Apostle Paul called himself a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ was not because he was severally arrested and placed in jail for preaching the gospel. Rather, it was because he had allowed himself to be arrested by the purpose that Jesus had for his life. He said, “…I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Phil.3:12, NIV). From the moment he understood God’s purpose for his life, he willingly yielded himself and allowed himself to be caged in and controlled by that purpose. This attitude was stirred up in Apostle Paul by the revelation of the love of Christ that had filled his heart.

In Romans 1:1(NKJV), Philippines 1:1 (NKJV) and Titus 1:1(NKJV), Paul introduced himself as a bond servant of Jesus Christ. A bond servant is a servant who chooses to continue serving his master though he is given the choice to be set free in the seventh year of his service (Deut.15:12-17). Yes, he was a son of God, but this was the mindset Apostle Paul used in serving and carrying out God’s will and purpose for his life. Even Jesus took the form of a bond servant when He made Himself of no reputation and came down to earth as a man to fulfil God’s purpose of dying in the cross (Phil.2:5-8). The things that Apostle Paul suffered were not the punishment for all he did before he met Jesus. On the contrary, he willingly went through those things because of the purpose had for him. In Acts 21:13, Apostle Paul said he was willing to be imprisoned and also to die for the name of the Lord Jesus. Are you a prisoner or a bond servant of the Lord Jesus Christ? How yielded and willing are you to fulfil God’s purpose for your life?

Prayer Focus:
Yield yourself to God right now and tell Him that you are willing to lay hold of that for which He had laid hold of you in Christ.

Bible in One Year Reading Plan
1 Chronicles 22:1-23:32, Romans 3:9-31, Psalm 12:1-8, Proverbs 19:13-14