Devotionals

Called to Live

by Dr David Jeremiah

..."These who have turned the world upside down have come here too." Acts 17:6

Recommended Reading: Luke 24:13-35

Peter: crucified upside down.
James: beheaded.
John: natural causes.
Andrew: crucified on X-shaped cross.
Philip: crucified.
Bartholomew: skinned alive, beheaded.
Matthew: stabbed to death.
Thomas: speared to death.
James: stoned, crucified, beaten to death.
Jude: crucified.
Simon: crucified.
Matthias (replacement for Judas Iscariot): stoned and beheaded.
Paul: beheaded.

Jesus warned His original disciples before He was killed, "If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20b). And when their faith was finally tested, when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, "...they all forsook Him and fled" (Mark 14:50). What happened to turn a group of cowards into a core of courageous couriers of the Gospel who turned the world upside down and were willing to die for their beliefs? One thing: they witnessed the Resurrection. This event had a transforming effect on the disciples, transforming them into apostles--"sent ones." When they saw the risen Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3-8), they were no longer afraid.

You may not be called to die for Christ, but you are called to live for Him--the resurrected Lord.

The Christian church has the resurrection written all over it. F. G. Robinson

See Also:

More Devotionals

Daily Morning and Evening Devotionals by Spurgeon

Daily Devotional: Today With Jesus

Daily Devotional: My Utmost for His Highest

Wisdom from the Desert Devotional

Weekly Devotional

Thought for the Day

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