Monday, August 25, 2014

August 25, 2014 … Waiting and Witnessing

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 237

Devotional Song: Go to this link -  take the time to see a lyrical video of a group leading in worship and singing … I Have Decided To Follow Jesus, helping any who sing along to make a commitment to be a true disciple of Christ
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Highlight Passage: Acts 1: 7-8 … [NKJV] …
7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me[a] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
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Highlight Context #1 - NKJV: Acts 1: 1-11 [NKJV] … GO TO THIS LINK
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Reference Passage #1: Matthew 29: 18-20… [NKJV] …  GO TO THIS LINK … It’s the “Great Commission,” where Jesus has charged all of His followers to “GO” and make disciples of any/all who would choose to follow Him  …

Reference Passage #2: Luke 9: 23 … [NKJV] …
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. … “ 

Reference Passage #3: John 16: 16 … [NKJV] …
16 “A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.” 

My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional entry, authored by Anne Cetas, helped me remember what Jesus has commanded of me as His disciple. When our Lord left this earth to return to His Father in Heaven and to sit with Him and for Him on the Great Throne of Grace and Judgement again, He commanded His disciples to WAIT and to WITNESS.

Perhaps you have the highlight and references passages committed to memory, the ones above which I have cited in this blog entry. In the highlight passage, Jesus was called up to Heaven; but before He did, He charged His disciples then (and by extension, to all Christians) to wait for His promised return; and, in the meantime, to be His witnesses in this world. We especially read of that challenge from the Lord in Acts 1: 8 and Matthew 28: 19-20. And those who were there to witness Christ’s ascension to Heaven and to hear His charge for them to wait and witness, had the choice to do as the Lord said, being a faithful follower and disciple of Christ, or to become, as the attached photo indicts, muffled or muted witnesses for Jesus.

I’ll not go on with this today; because Jesus said it all about what we are to be as His disciples, didn’t He? He charged any/all who would follow Him to wait for His return; and in the meantime, to go and shine His light as a witness in His Name … to make disciples of any/all who would choose to deny themselves and to follow Him.

All I must do here (for myself and for you) is to ask … “Are we waiting for Him faithfully; and are we being His faithful witnesses … day by day by day … EVERY DAY?”   Or am I, as is pictured in the photo, a muted follower in these dark and evil days.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, help any who read here, as well as this humbled servant, to be faithful in waiting and loud as witnesses for Your Name. … 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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