John 12:27-28 NKJV

Jesus speaking: 27“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify Your name.”

Earlier this morning the Lord led me to write a devotional titled, “Put Your House in Order,” which was a reminder and a warning with regard to the days that we now live in, that we should not take time for granted, and we should not ignore the prophesies of the Scriptures with regard to these last days which are apparently being fulfilled in our day and time right before our eyes, on a daily basis. And this we can see if we have eyes to see and ears to hear, and if we are listening to the counsel of our Lord in obeying what he says we must be doing if we are true followers of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

And Jesus’ words here regarding what he knew was going to happen to him may also apply to us who are following Jesus with our lives today. For Jesus did not put us on this earth, and call us to faith in him, and to his service, so that we could escape Christian persecution and death for our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord. He called us to deny self, to die to sin, and to obey him, in practice, and to suffer for the sake of the gospel, and for the sake of righteousness, and for the sake of our testimonies for Jesus Christ. If we obey our Lord, and we speak his truth, we will be hated and persecuted.

I know for myself personally that when I accepted God’s call on my life 22 years ago that I was risking it all to follow Jesus where he was leading me. I knew I was being rejected and that I would be rebuffed and cast aside by many, that I would be attacked, that I would be falsely accused of what I did not do, and that I would be persecuted. But I knew this was God’s calling on my life and that God had this planned for my life from before I was born. So, I accept that I will not be well liked and received by the many, that I might serve the Lord in sharing what he gives me to share each day from his word.

John 12:35-36 NKJV

35Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

“The light” Jesus spoke of here was two-fold, I believe. For he himself was and is “The Light.” And the words he spoke, which are recorded for us in the Scriptures, especially with regard to the gospel message, are also “the light.” But not just his words, but those of his New Testament apostles, as well, with regard to the teachings on the gospel of our salvation and faith in Jesus Christ, and what that looks like. The light is the truth of God’s word to us regarding our salvation and our need to deny self, die to sin, and obey our Lord in practice, in his power, as led by the Holy Spirit living within us.

And we now live in an era when the truth of the gospel as Christ taught it has been disappearing from sight, and it is largely being replaced with the lies of the enemy. So it is already fading away, and it seems very few are teaching it as Jesus and his apostles taught it. So darkness is already overtaking many people who profess to believe in Jesus because they have believed the lie and not the truth. So many are being taught that God does not require repentance, that they forsake their sins, and that he does not require obedience to his commands. But that is a lie from hell! Don’t buy!

Please know that Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin and to self), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God. So don’t ignore this. Not one of us is assured that we have today, let alone tomorrow.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

The Spirit Calling

An Original Work / November 12, 2019
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Hear the Spirit calling. He’ll keep you from falling.
Tenderly He’s calling, “Come and follow Him.”

Walk with Jesus daily. Don’t give in to lazy.
Folks may call you crazy. Fellowship with Him.

Follow where He leads you. Eat what Jesus feeds you.
His love will renew you if you follow Him.

Do what Jesus tells you. Don’t let your faith fail you.
His love will avail you if you walk with Him.

Jesus, Lord and Savior, reigneth now forever.
He gave us His favor so we’d live with Him.

Turning now from our sin, Holy Spirit live-in.
Holiness we walk in, purified by Him.

But For This Purpose
An Original Work / May 19, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love