What Jesus Did! 'First Priority: Following Jesus' — Luke 9:59-60

Saturday, June 24, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving

We're thankful for your prayers, encouragement, and financial support!

 #thankful
[Jesus] said to another person, "Come, follow me."

The man agreed, but he said, "Lord, first let me return home and bury my father."

But Jesus told him, "Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God."

— Luke 9:59-60 NLT

Key Thought

Following Christ is our highest priority. Nothing should stand in our way. Does that mean abandoning our responsibility to our families? Certainly not! God makes clear that how we live in our families is crucial to our discipleship and to our leadership. However, we so often use family concerns as excuses for not following rather than reconciling family matters with Kingdom values and priorities. Jesus must come first. God and his Kingdom must be THE priority in our families. Our families must see honoring God as the primary value lived out in our own personal lives.

Today's Prayer

Give me wisdom, O God, to make you and your Kingdom THE primary value of my home. Help me demonstrate your compassion and your holy character in my interactions with my loved ones. Help me be loyal, faithful, and supportive of them so they will see those characteristics in me and know that my heart's first allegiance is to you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Related Scripture Readings

Have thoughts on this devotional? Leave a comment

2 Related Resources by Heartlight

One Singular Purpose
Devo: A Year with Jesus
"Dear Disciple, Following Me is hard. I want your heart. I want your focus. I want your future. I want to be your consuming passion. Yes, I know..."
Seize Today
Article by Paul Faulkner
Why are you putting so much stuff off? Procrastination nearly always makes things worse, so why do we put off so much stuff; and let's stop procrastinating and seize today!

Illustration

Illustration of Luke 9:59-60 NLT — "Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God."

Other Devotionals from Heartlight for Saturday, June 24, 2023

Praying with Paul
Features the apostle Paul's writings turned into daily, powerful prayers.
'A Citizen of Heaven' (Ph. 3:16-21)
"Dear Father, I want to join all your holy people in imitating the example of your apostle Paul, and I want to take notice of people in my own time..."
Morning & Evening
The classic twice-daily devotional from Charles H. Spurgeon.
Evening Thought: Ephesians 1:7
"Could there be a sweeter word in any language than that word "forgiveness," when it sounds in a guilty sinner's ear, like the silver notes of jubilee...."
Quotemeal
A daily dose of Christian quotes to inspire and encourage.
Quote by Abraham Lincoln:
"It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their own independence upon the overruling power of God ... and to recognize the sublime truth announced in....."
God's Holy Fire
A daily devotional about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
'Received with Joy' (1 Th. 1:6)
"So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. "

About This Devotional

What Jesus Did! is a series of one-year devotional guides through each gospel, using one short scripture passage each day and following the Gospel in sequential order. Each devotional consists of a scripture passage and a reflection and a prayer which open up the day's scripture and show how it challenges you to live for Jesus.

What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware and is available in book form.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

More What Jesus Did!