Monday, March 24, 2014

March 24, 2014 … Telling Our Story

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 83

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go to this video link to hear an anonymous gospel quartet singing the old hymn I Love To Tell The Story, … encouraging us to share our story of God’s life-changing gospel transformation.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Acts 1: 8 … 19b [NKJV] …  
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Acts 1: 1-11 [NKJV] Go to this link  
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Reference Passage #1: Matthew 28: 19-20 [NKJV] …  
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

My Journal for Today: A little over 30 years ago I was a self-declared “agnostic,” who was searching for spiritual strength; and a friend loaned me a cassette tape to hear a story about a young man who became paralyzed in a football accident; and in this story his football coach told of the young man finding his strength in his relationship with Christ.

Well, hearing that story of a young quadriplegic witnessing to strength in the midst of his weakness changed my life forever; because here I am writing a bit of my story and how I found the strength I was looking for by hearing a story and surrendering my life to Christ on April 13, 1983.

I love to relate that story, with more detail, of course, because when I do, I can relive how Jesus, through His Spirit, transformed my life. And I have told the story many, many, many times since then; and in doing so, I’ve seen the lives of many others change by using my witness, empowered by His Spirit, to transform the lives of others.

But what if, like in the photo attached, I was unwilling to witness for Christ as our Lord Himself commanded us to do in the highlight verse for today, Acts 1: 8, … the words of Jesus to His disciples just before He ascended into heaven after the resurrection.

Yes, my friend, along with the Great Commission, found in Matthew 28, copied above, we have our marching orders as Christians, don’t we? We’re to be witnesses for Christ, telling our story to others so that God carry out His disciple-making mission in the world. And it’s God’s promise that, when we do tell the old-old story (hear today’s song), He will use HIS power to change the lives of others who hear it.

So, if you knew that a life could be changed for eternity even today by simply sharing your story about how Jesus has changed your life, why then don’t we go and share our witness with others?

I’ll leave you to deal with that one as I am dealing with the challenge today.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, give me the opportunity to share my story – no, I mean Your story with someone today. … Amen

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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

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