Wednesday, May 10, 2017

May 10, 2017 … Dark Road Ahead

Berry Patch Devotions in 2017 - Day 130 

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …   Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Steve Green singing the old hymn … Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise … poignantly singing the light provided in the dark road of life by the immortal, invisible God of Glory.


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Highlight Verse[s]: Joshua 1:5, 9 … [NLT] … 
5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. … 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” 
… God sent the light of His word and His promises to light the path of Joshua as he was to lead God’s people into the Promised Land.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Joshua 1:1-9 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK
… When the road ahead in life seemed dimmest for Joshua, God gives Him the Lord’s promises to light the way of His people.
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Reference Passage #1 [NKJV] : … Psalm 119:105 [NLT] … 
105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. 
… The Psalmist declares that God will always light the path of the faithful with the light of His truth.

Reference Passage #2 [NKJV] : … Matthew 28:20[NLT] … 
20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 
… Jesus’ promises that He will ALWAYS be with us as we carry our His Great commission.

Reference Passage #3 [NKJV] : … John 8: 12 [NLT] … 
12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” 
… Jesus so clearly tells His followers that He, alone, is the light of the world.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Kirsten Holmberg, uses a personal story to illustrate how God lights our path when things seem darkest. The ODB author wrote: As we ventured home from a family vacation, the road took us through some desolate parts of central Oregon. For nearly two hours after dusk we drove through deep canyons and across desert plateaus. Fewer than twenty sets of headlights punctuated the darkness. Eventually the moon rose on the horizon, visible to us when the road crested hills but eclipsed when we traveled through the lowlands. My daughter remarked on its light, calling it a reminder of God’s presence. I asked whether she needed to see it to know He was there. She replied, “No, but it sure helps.” 

The attached photo can be a visual of how life seems sometimes, can’t it; … like a dark road with very little light to show us the way to go? Well, that’s how Joshua must’ve felt when Moses died and the task of leading God’s people into the Promised Land fell to his shoulders. And in the fist few verses of Joshua, Chapter 1 (esp. vs 5, 9), God gives old Josh His promise that He (GOD) would always be there to light the way for Joshua and His obedient people.

And that promise was reiterated by Jesus to His followers as He walked among them (see John 8:12; and especially as He gave His disciples His Great Commission upon ascending to Heaven (see Matthew 28:20. And that promise holds for any believer today who desires to surrender to the Lord and follow Him down the dark roads of this life.

And that’s why you find me here everyday, seeking out the light, His Light (see John 8:12) which comes from God’s word (see Psalm 119:105; … because I know [REALLY KNOW!] that His truth will ALWAYS light my way, … no matter how dark the road ahead may seem.

My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … dear Lord, … You are the light of the world, … shine it brightly on my path that I will always follow it down the dark roads of life. … 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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