August 28, 2013 … God’s Calling

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 240

Devotional Song: Go to this link ... Today take in this poignant and powerful song sung by Steve Green, singing People Need The Lord, reminding us that we may pass person after person today who need Jesus.

 Highlight meditation passage – Mark 10: 47-49 [NLT]: …  
47 When Bartimaeus [a blind beggar] heard that Jesus from Nazareth was nearby [there in Jericho], he began to shout out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 “Be quiet!” some of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 When Jesus heard him, He stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.” 
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 Highlight reading study #1 of Mark, Chapter 10: Go to this link … 

Reference Passage #1: Matthew 7: 7 [If we have needs, we need to ask Jesus to meet them>] … [NLT] …  
7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. … ”

Reference Passage #2: Revelations 3: 20 [He’ll come into us, if we but ask.] … [NLT] …  
20 “Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends. 

Reference Passage #3: Matthew 5: 15-16 [Shining Christ’s light so that those who need Him will see Him.] … [NLT] …  
15 Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. 

My Journal for Today: The 50-cent theological term for Jesus’ calling the lost is “prevenient grace.” It’s God’s grace which calls us out of our need to recognize that we need a Savior, a Redeemer, … Our Lord. It’s what the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, experienced when Jesus came through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem; and the blind man had a need that only Jesus could provide; and so when Jesus came near he called out to the One Bartimaeus knew was the Messiah; and when the Lord called to this blind man, he responded [see the highlight passage above].

 I can remember the time when I was blind and needed a Savior. Well, maybe I wasn’t physically blind; but I was most certainly spiritually blinded by my own selfishness; and I most certainly was in need of a Savior. And then He came close to me on April 13, 1983; and in my brokenness I was able to reach out and receive His call, i.e., Jesus’ prevenient grace; and on that day, this one, who had been spiritually blind for the first 39 years of my life, began to see life with new and different eyes. And like Bartimaeus, I began to follow Jesus.

How many people will we pass today who, as Steve Green sings in my devotional song for today, need the Lord? And how many of them have a need which is strong enough for them to make it known to you or those around them? I just pray today that if we come into contact with someone who needs Jesus, and their actions identify them as “blind” to the Lord, that we have the wherewithal to shine Christ’s light and share Him with anyone in need of our Savior.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, today help me to see and discern any who are blind to You and need Your saving grace. … Amen