#1349. JESUS, THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF PERSONAL DEVOTION (15/9/25)
- Matt Beaney
- Sep 15
- 2 min read
Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) as we begin our new vision series, Rivers.
Today, we briefly reflect on Jesus’ perfect example of personal devotion.
You can listen to this devotional below
‘On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.’ (John 7:37-39)
Our vision, based on this text, is:
Bringing people to Jesus: Myself, One Another, Our Community.
This week, we are focussing on the myself aspect — our need to personally come, and keep coming, to Jesus.
Each of us needs a personal relationship with Him. It’s wonderful to be part of God’s family, but it is also vital that we each know our identity as His children. We are individually chosen and redeemed by God. He knows us perfectly.
Today, I want us to see that, like Christ, the perfect Son, we are called to imitate Him by having a lifestyle of personal devotion to God.
When Jesus began His ministry, we read that He devoted forty days to solitude, fasting, and prayer in the desert:
‘Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.’ (Luke 4:1-2)
Jesus sets us this radical example. I wonder: when we want to begin something important, or we long to see God move, do we stop our doing and give ourselves first to being with the Father?
Later in His ministry, in the midst of pressure, success, and constant demand, we read this simple but powerful line:
‘But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.’ (Luke 5:16)
When life is busy, do we pray more or less? When people expect much from us, do we prioritise God’s opinion above all others? Are we willing to risk misunderstanding in order to be alone with our Father?
Response
Jesus, throughout His ministry, sets us the perfect example of personal devotion. How are we doing at imitating Him?
To be a disciple is to learn from our Teacher, and Jesus was devoted to a personal relationship with His Father.
Applying this to our text from John 7: if we are to drink of living water, and if rivers are to flow from us, we must go to Jesus personally — again and again — to be with Him.
Community Group Notes
This week, we don't have our usual Community Groups. Instead, on the 17th (in the building, beginning at 7:00pm with a meal), we have the second of this year's Together evenings. Please make every effort to come along to worship, be inspired and fellowship together.
Comments