Monday, March 18, 2024

March 18, 2024 … “I AM Who I Am” …

March 18, 2024 … “I AM Who I Am” …      


Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from the group Phillips, Craig, and Dean  singing The Great I AM …  Powerfully singing of God as the great “I AM,” becoming Who He is in our heats … forever!! 



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Highlight Passage: … Numbers 11:29 [NLT] … 

14 God replied to Moses, “I am who i am.  Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.”           

… God declares His name to and thru Moses to identify The Lord to God’s people.                       

Highlight Passage (in context): …  Exodus 3:11-15 … USE THIS LINK … 

… Moses confronts God in the burning bush … who declares who His Name is to be is to the world.                       

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Reference Passage: … Isaiah 41:10 [NLT] …   

10 Don’t be afraid, for I AM with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I AM your God.I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.   

… God, thru Isaiah, shows His people whom He is … snd will always be … to them.  


Reference Passage: … John 8:12, 15 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK  

… Jesus declared to His followers in Disciple Who He is as the Great “I AM.”     


Reference Passage: … John 15:1, 5 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK  

… Jesus, in the Upper Room, declares to His disciples Whom He is to them and to all who believe in Him.                  


Reference Passage: … 2Corinthians 5:17 [NLT] …   

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!   

… The Apostle Paul strongly teaches truth that to believe in Christ is to become a new person.        

Reference Passage: … Galatians 2:20 [NLT] …   

20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 

… Paul shows fellow Christians that he has been transformed by His faith in Jesus.


Reference Passage: … Revelation 1:8, 17-18 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK  

… reveals Himself to John to be the beginning and the end to all His chosen people. 

 

My Devotional JournalToday’s Our Daily Bread  Author, Kenneth Petersen -  AT THIS LINK -   tells of how C.S. (Jack) Lewis, a British professor and declared atheist who read Exodus and was finally convinced that God was real and who He, the Lord, was - and is - whom He declared Himself to be … the great “I AM.” 


That realization brought C.S. Lewis to saving faith, as it did for me in 1983, … as an angry atheist myself, who was changed and transformed when I surrendered my life to faith in Christ.  And oh how I pray that any/all who read with me here today have experienced the great I AM for whom He is … and for Whom He becomes for ANYONE who comes to Christ and believes on Him as the LORD of all.  Believe in Christ as Lord and you too will be transformed by His love and grace.                        

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for becoming my Lord and Savior thru my faith in You. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray. again today, that all reading here will join me, … to be transformed by You, Lord, … the great “I AM.” … Amen


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Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

March 17, 2024 … Serving God TOGETHER …

March 17, 2024 … Serving God TOGETHER …      


Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from Alay Artist  singing WE Will Serve The Lord …  Poignantly, and yet  powerfully, singing of being called by God’s Spirit to serve the Lord TOGETHER as the family of God.



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Highlight Passage: … Numbers 11:29 [NLT] … 

29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them all!”           

… Moses is thankful for God’s Spirit providing leadership to help Moses lead the people.                      

Highlight Passage (in context) …  Numbers 11:16-17, 27-29 … USE THIS LINK … 

… God anoints leaders/elders to serve along side Moses to serve the Lord - TOGETHER.           

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Reference Passage: … Joshua 24:15 [NLT] …   

15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. …  But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” 

… God, thru Joshua, calls God’s people to choose who they will follow.  


Reference Passage: … 1Samuel 12:24 [NLT] …   

24 But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve Him. Think of all the wonderful things He has done for you.   

… God, thru Samuel, calls on His people. to serve the Lord faithfully.    


Reference Passage: … Matthew 6: 24, 33 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK 

… Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount, calls on His followers to seek to follow and serve the Lord  TOGETHER.                


Reference Passage: … 1Corinthians 15:58 [NLT] …   

58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

… The Apostle Paul exhorts and assures fellow Christians that nothing done to serve the Lord is ever useless.        


Reference Passage: … Colossians 3:23-24 [NLT] …   </b>

23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.  

… Paul helps fellow Christians to remember that anything we do to serve others is serving King Jesus.  

 

My Devotional JournalToday’s Our Daily Bread  Author, Xochitl Dixon -  AT THIS LINK -   writes of how she joined a group of authors of Christian children’s books to promote each other’s work.  And in this unified effort, they were criticized as foolish to work TOGETHER with competitors.  But these authors realized that promoting one another’s work was promoting the Gospel and serving God’s kingdom TOGETHER, (see photo), which is their calling to serve God as Christians.  


And today’s ODB entry challenges, along with the linked song, and calls all Christians to decide whom we are serving as we go about planning and creating our TO DO lists today.  Whom will we be serving as we go about our day today?                       

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … calling and leading me to serve You, Lord, again today.      

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray. again today, that all reading here will join me, … to choose to follow Your lead again today, Lord..    … Amen


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Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

Saturday, March 16, 2024

March 16, 2024 … Ambassadors of God’s Grace …

March 16, 2024 … Ambassadors of God’s Grace …       


Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from Steve Green  singing People Need The Lord …  Poignantly, and yet  powerfully, singing of being called by God’s Spirit and His word to share the grace of God for lost people who desperately need saving. 



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Highlight Passage: … Acts 16:9 [NLT] … 

That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him,  “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”            

… The Apostle Paul in a vision is called to a region in Asia Minor to share the Gospel with the people there.                     


<b><u>Highlight Passage (in context) </u> …  Acts 16:1-10 … USE THIS LINK … </b>

… God’s Spirit gives Paul a calling to go to Macedonia and share Christ with the people there.  

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Reference Passage: … Matthew 28:19-20 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK  

… Jesus, just before re-entering heaven proclaims His “Great Commission” calling to all Christians.              


Reference Passage: … Mark 16:15 [NLT] …   

15 And then He told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.   

… Mark’s post resurrection version of Jesus calling all Christians to go into ALL the world and preach the Gospel to the lost who need God’s saving grace (ie., Jesus Great Commission).         


Reference Passage </u>: … Acts 1:8 [NLT] …   

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me EVERWHERE — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  

… Jesus’ charge (i.e., HIs calling) to all Christians to become Christ’s witness in all the world.


Reference Passage: … 2Corinthians 5:20-21 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK  

… The Apostle Paul exhorts fellow Christians to becoming ambassadors of/for Christ, helping the lost to be reconciled to God.         


Reference Passage: … 1Peter 2:9, 3:15 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK 

… The Apostle Peter calls fellow Christians to always be ready to show others, who need God’s saving grace, how they can share in God’s love.  


My Devotional JournalToday’s Our Daily Bread  Author, Bill Crowder -  AT THIS LINK -  writes of how the Church of England, in 1701, founded an organization,  The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel,  in order to fulfill God’s Great Commission to send Christ’s ambassadors into all the world (see Matt 28:19-20 and Mark 16:15 and Acts 1:8).  


But as for me, today’s ODB entry, was a strong reminder of God’s call for all Christians to become His ambassadors of Christ’s love and grace and to share God’s saving grace with a world of lost souls, desperately needing the Lord (as Steve Green sings in the linked song).  What will we do today to share Christ with someone who obviously needs the Lord?  Will we be ready and willing to share the Gospel story?                     

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for calling me to be Your ambassador of saving grace, … ALWAYS! …     

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray. again today, that all reading here will join me, … to be ready, even today, to share Your love and grace, Lord, with any who need You.    … Amen


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Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

Friday, March 15, 2024

March 15, 2024 … What’s Our Legacy? …

March 15, 2024 … What’s Our Legacy? …      


Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from Nicole Nordeman  singing Legacy …  Poignantly, and yet  powerfully, singing of wanting to leave a legacy of how we have lived our lives for God’s glory.      



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Highlight Passage: … Ecclesiastes 5:10 [NLT] … 

10 Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!            

… Solomon warns of the meaninglessness of trying to leave a legacy of wealth.                    


Highlight Passage (in context): …  Ecclesiastes 5:8-15 … USE THIS LINK … 

… Solomon writes of how wealth alone should never be the legacy of our lives.                    

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Reference Passage: … Psalms 127 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK  

… A Song of Solomon on building a legacy for our children.            


Reference Passage: … Proverbs 13:22 [NLT] …   

22 Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth passes to the godly..   

… Solomon promotes godliness being passed on to the children of godly parents.        


Reference Passage: … Matthew 6:19:21 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK  

… Jesus, in His sermon on the mount, teaches of building up treasures in heaven.     


Reference Passage: … 1Timothy 6:6 [NLT] …   

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.  

… The Apostle Paul teaches Timothy (and all Christians) that passing along godliness should be the goal of our ives.   


Reference Passage: … Hebrews 13:5 [NLT] …   

Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you.  I will never abandon you.” 

… God’s Sprit, thru the Author of Hebrews, promises never to abandon those who live their (our) lives to glorify God, not relying on worldly wealth.  


My Devotional JournalToday’s Our Daily Bread  Author, Tim Gustafson -  AT THIS LINK -  tells how a self-made millionaire during the dust-bowl days in Kansas, since he had no children, decided to leave a legacy for those in his area, commissioning a sculpture to create nine statues of himself and his wife and became one of the most hated people in his home town.  

And if my readers here today have taken in the poignant song by Nicole Nordeman and meditated on the Scriptures above, I believe “all y’all,” as we would say here in the South of the USA, will be asking, … as am I, …  what kind of legacy will we be leaving for those, possibly our children, to remember us?  Will it be a legacy of Godly living as Lord in His word calls us to live?  Oh, how I pray that is our eternal legacy?                        

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for calling me to live Your legacy of Godliness.     

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray. again today, that all reading here will join me, … to live today and all days building a legacy of Godliness for Your glory, Lord.    … Amen


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Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

March 14, 2024 … Jesus Alone Satisfies …

March 14, 2024 … Jesus Alone Satisfies …       


Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from The Brentwood Baptist Church  singing Who Can Satisfy My Soul …  Poignantly and powerfully in worship to God singing of how only our God can satisfy our inner longings.       



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Highlight Passage: … Genesis 24:29-30 [NLT] … 

29 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!”.      

… Jacob uses Esau’s desperate hunger to trade him food for Esau’s birthright.                  


Highlight Passage (in context): …  Genesis 25:29-34 … USE THIS LINK … 

… Jacob satisfies his famished brother, Esau, with stew by demanding Esau’s birthright from their father, Isaac.                    

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Reference Passage: … Psalms 16:11, 17:15, 37:4 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK 

… King David sings over and over that only God can satisfy our human longings for peace and satisfaction of our desires in life.          


Reference Passage: … Isaiah 58:11 [NLT] …   

The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring..   

… God promises, thru His Prophet, Isaiah, to ALWAYS provide the needs of His chosen and faithful remnant of believers.       


Reference Passage: … Matthew 6:33 [NLT] …   

33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.

… The Apostle Paul teaches and assures fellow Cristians that their (our) God is ALWAYS faithful to show His way out of the (our) trials in life.   


Reference Passage: … Romans 15:13 [NLT] …   

13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.  

… God’s Spirit, thru Paul, assures fellow Christians that God provides for the needs of those who trust and follow The Lord. 


Reference Passage: … Philippians 4:11-12, 19 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK ...  

… Paul teaches fellow Christians of the truth that only our God can satisfy the needs of His chosen. born-again, Christians and give them (us) contentment.  


My Devotional JournalToday’s Our Daily Bread  Author, Marvin Williams -  AT THIS LINK -   ells how $1000+ of food was delivered to a home, … because a father gave his six year old son the use of his phone and the boy ordered all the food.  When the dad confronted is young son as to why he had ordered the food, the immature, but very bright boy, answered, … ”I was hungry!”


This somewhat silly scenario reminded the ODB author today of the story of how Jacob, in the Old Testament (see highlight passage), was able to swindle his father’s birthright from his famished older brother, Esau, who was willing to trade the birthright for some stew when Esau was depleted and hungry.  And how often are we willing to bypass our promises to God for what we WANT in order to satisfy our fleshly or worldly desires, … not realizing or recognizing God’s promises to supply all that we need … ALWAYS!!  

So I charge all my readers to take in the linked song and the Reference Scriptures above and and to meditate on them to remember - and be thankful for - all that God can - AND WILL - provide to satisfy our needs … ALWAYS!!!                        

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for providing all I need in life … ALWAYS! …    

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray. again today, that all reading here will join me, … to praise and thank our God for providing all we need today … and tomorrow … and ALWAYS.    … Amen


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Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.