Sunday, November 08, 2015

November 8, 2015:  Faithful Friends

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2015 - Day 311  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a video of Seve Green singing… People Need the Lord, … declaring a truth that challenges us all to bring our lost friends and loved ones to Jesus in prayer.


Highlight Passage:   Mark 2: 5 [NKJV] …  
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” … Taking our lost friends to Jesus.
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Highlight Context – Mark 2: 1-12 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK  …  
… Jesus, seeing the faith of the paralytic’s friends, forgave the man’s sins and healed him.
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Reference Passage #1 - Luke 9: 23 [NKJV] … 
23 Then He said to them all (i.e, Jesus’ followers), “if anyone would desire to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me." 
… Another reminder, from the ODB story in Mark 2 today, just how challenging it is to be a disciple of Jesus.

Reference Passage #2 - Romans 10: 9-13 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK
… How many will I pass today who need this reality ?… Too many, I fear.

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, David C McCasland, used a story from the Gospel of Mark to illustrate a truth. He writes, In ancient times, paralysis was viewed as a permanent, hopeless condition. But one group of men believed Jesus could help their paralyzed friend. While Jesus was teaching in the village of Capernaum, four of the men carried the man to Him. When they couldn’t reach Jesus because of the crowd, “they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.” 

As we know Jesus honored the faithfulness and determination of the trends of the paralytic by healing the man, but even more so … to forgive his sins, … something only Jesus (i.e., God) can do. My conviction today is wrapped up in the song, linked above and sung by Steve Green that our lost friends, … really all the lost we contact, … need Jesus’ healing and forgiveness.

 The question before me today is … Do I do enough to bring my lost loved ones and friends to my Lord, … at least in prayer?” Well I know what the answer to that challenge is for me - not often enough and not with enough diligence. Prayerfully my faith, forward from here, will be more like the friends of the forgiven paralytic in Mark 2.

My Prayer Today:  Yes, Lord, … I bring my sister to you today, as I do often - but not often enough - begging for Your healing and forgiving touch. Do business with her heart, Lord, and keep me under conviction to bring her to you more often until she is saved. … 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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