14/10/2026
📖 RHEMA FOR LIVING
OFM DAILY DEVOTIONAL
APOSTLE JOHNSON-SULEMAN
📅 WEDNESDAY, 14TH OCTOBER, 2026
📌 BIBLE READING: Ezekiel 21–24
🔥 TOPIC: FOLLOW GOD (2)
📜 TEXT:
“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” — Matthew 4:19 (KJV)
FOLLOWING GOD REQUIRES DYING TO SELF
One fundamental truth about following God is that we must die to self. Anyone who continues to live according to the dictates of the flesh cannot truly follow God. The Bible says:
“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” — Romans 8:7–8 (KJV)
During His earthly ministry, Jesus declared to His disciples and to everyone who desires to follow Him:
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” — Matthew 16:24–25 (KJV)
Following God means submitting to His terms, not ours. As the redeemed of the Lord, we are alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, we must yield ourselves to Him as those who are alive from the dead and present our bodies as instruments of righteousness unto God (Romans 6:11–13).
When we surrender ourselves completely to the One who owns us, we find true fulfilment in Him, and our destinies are fulfilled according to His divine purpose. The God who knows the end from the beginning leads us along the path of life and moulds us into vessels of honour for His glory.
The enemy, who desires to truncate our destinies, will do everything possible to make us walk in the flesh and become carnally minded. However, we must remain conscious of our identity in Christ and live according to the truth of God’s Word.
Galatians 2:20 declares:
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Beloved, following God is all about Jesus. It is about surrendering our will to His will, allowing Him to direct our steps, and living every day by faith in Him. As Acts 17:28 reminds us:
“For in him we live, and move, and have our being.”
The more we surrender to Christ, the more His life is revealed through us. Let us therefore die to self, crucify the desires of the flesh, and follow God wholeheartedly. In Him, we discover our purpose, fulfil our destinies, and become vessels fit for the Master’s use.
🙏 PRAYER
My Father! My Father! As I begin to pray, help me to follow You wholeheartedly. Help me to die to self, surrender my will to Yours, and live a life that brings glory to Your name, in Jesus’ name. Amen!
💡 FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Following God begins where self-will ends.