Wednesday, October 15, 2014

October 15, 2014 … A Friend of Sinners

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 288

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please take the time to see/hear a video of of Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing one of my favorite songs, He’ll Do Whatever It Takes, declaring the truth of what our Savior is willing to do to save even the worst of sinners.

Click on Photo to see a larger image - Then on the "X" to return to blog 

Highlight Passage: Matthew 9: 11-13, note verse 12 [NKJV} …
  11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
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Highlight Context - NKJV: Matthew 8: 1-4; 9: 9-12 [NKJV] … GO TO THIS LINK  With Jesus, religion was upside down …

Reference Passage #1: Luke 5: 27-32 [NKJV] … GO TO THIS LINK … Jesus was a “friend of sinners” …  

My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional entry, authored by Phillip Yancey, relates a story from two of the Gospels, … from Matthew, directed to Jewish legalists, … and from Luke, written for Greek pagan minds.

 You probably know the story of Jesus choosing Matthew, the outcast tax-collector, to be one of His inner 12 Disciples. And, in doing so, even dining socially with sinners, Jesus showed His true colors as a Messiah Who had come to save the lost, … no matter who they might be.

 And I, for one, am so grateful that my Savior, as depicted in the attached photo, and in today’s song was/is willing to do whatever it takes to reach down and pursue even the worst of sinners, … of whom I was surely one.

 So, please take a few minutes to take in the reality of these images, the song, and the Scriptures, relating the truth of a Messiah, Who came from His Father in Heaven, to reach down and to save the lost, … whomever they are … and wherever they might be.

 And do I sense a reader here joining me in a resounding … HALLELUJAH!!!

My Prayer for Today … Lord, … Thank You for being a friend to sinners like me. … 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, 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.

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