Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing their song … I Want To Be Jesus Like You … poignantly singing of how we need to see God as our true Father and follow the example of Him in His Son, Jesus.
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Highlight Verse[s]: John 8:42 [NLT] …
42 Jesus told them [the Jewish leaders], “If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on My own, but He sent Me. ..."
… Jesus points the Jews to their real Father in heaven.
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Highlight Passage [context]: John 8:39-47 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus chides the Jewish leaders of their day, who held up Abraham as their “father,” telling them that they should honor the God Abraham served/followed as their true Father.
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Reference Passage [NLT] : … John 1:12 [NLT] … 12 But to all who believed Him [Jesus] and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God.
… We become a son or daughter of the living God when we believe Him and receive Him as our Lord.
Reference Passage [NLT] : … Romans 8:14-16 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… When God imparts His Spirit into the hearts of those born again in Him, we become children of the Living God.
Reference Passage [NLT] : … 2nd Corinthians 6:18 [NLT] … 18 “ … And I will be your Father, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
… Paul quotes the Prophet Nathan [see 2Sam. 7:14] that the Lord Almighty (i.e., Jehovah) is our real Father.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Keila Ochoa, relates how some cultures honor their human ancestry more than others The ODB author wrote: When I went to buy a cell phone in the Middle East, I was asked the typical questions: name, nationality, address. But then as the clerk was filling out the form, he asked, “What’s your father’s name?” That question surprised me, and I wondered why it was important. Knowing my father’s name would not be important in my culture, but here it was necessary in order to establish my identity. In some cultures, ancestry is important.
All too often I think we Christians lock into our image of God from our relationship with our earthy ancestors, especially from our ties to our earthly fathers. You probably know of someone who has a distorted image of God because of an abusive or absent earthly dad. Perhaps this speaks way close to your own relationship with our Abba Father.
But when we can clearly see God as our true FATHER; and we pattern our earthly lives from His earthly image, His Son, Jesus, we will do all we can to do - or be - what Phillips, Craig, and Dean sing about in the linked song … to be just like Him … our Heavenly Father.
Oh, how I pray today that all reading this are pursuing a deeper and more abiding relationship with our Heavenly Father thru the intimacy of our relationship with Jesus. Because if we do, we will see our earthly character growing out of our Lord’s eternal character.
My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Dear Lord, … I want to be just like You. … 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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