"Thirdly"

 "This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead." (John 21:14 KJV)

  "Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."" (Mark 8:34-38 NLT)

 So, recalling the fourth morning, including today, the opening to these three Scriptures was titled, "Jesus Provides." Usually, it is how I break up the passages, making them based upon the headings, whether it be in the NLT or the BLB, whichever one I am feeling led to use; sometimes I use both. The NLT, in this instance, only had the one heading at the beginning of the chapter, but the Blue Letter Bible has four. Hopefully that makes sense, because there are at least two more sections to dive into; maybe three, if the last verse of the chapter gets looked at on its own. 

 There are three very important things that Jesus provides, besides those three from yesterday, they were all part of one, primarily based upon the fact that He abides within us. The first of which was obviously the fellowship of His presence; when we have Jesus within our heart, He is Lord, but He is also our Friend, to walk with us, talk with us, and to show us how we must show Him to the world. 

 Secondly, Love, Justice, and Dependance, have more than what we could ever need or ask for. These are also the three things we constantly struggle with, doubt about love, both getting it and giving it; being ashamed for whatever, even though, we have been washed clean and made right with the Father; and worried that He might not actually provide for those things we need or ask for! These are really all tied together, and they show how much we believe that He is both Lord and Friend. 

 Thirdly! New Life! Even though we can't know what it is, most of the time, He really wants us to experience the new life we can have, by abiding in Him! He abides in us, giving us the friendship and all that comes along with it; but we abide in Him, to pick up our cross and follow Him; which basically means, turning from our selfish ways, taking up our cross, and following Him! How close do we need to follow? Close enough to abide in Him...

"The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guilds me along the right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever." (PSALM 23 NLT)