Friday, November 01, 2019

November 1, 2019 … Our Ministry of Reconciliation

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 305 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from the group Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing … Your Grace Still Amazes me ... poignantly singing of how God’s reconciling and saving grace is truly AMAZING and needs to be shared with others.

The hand of reconciliation at St. Patrick's Cathedral

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Highlight Verse[s]: 2Corinthians 5:18-19 [NKJV] ... 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 
… We have been given Christ ministry of reconciliation to share with others who are lost without Him.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 2Corinthians 5:14-21 [NKJV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru Paul, calls us to a ministry of reconciliation so that others can hear of God’s reconciling love and grace and come to receive that grace to be saved.
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Reference Passage : … John 14:6 [NKJV] … 6 Jesus said to him [Thomas and to all mankind], “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." 
… Jesus’ declaration that He’s the only way we can be reconciled to God.

Reference Passage : … Romans 10:9-13 [NKJV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Paul gives testimony of the only way to be reconciled to God and receive His saving/sanctifying grace.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Estera Escobar, uses a historical reference to illustrate how God wants His Saints to reconcile with others as He has reconciled with us thru Christ. … The ODB author wrote: Inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland, there’s a door that tells a five-century-old tale. In 1492 two families, the Butlers and the FitzGeralds, began fighting over a high-level position in the region. The fight escalated, and the Butlers took refuge in the cathedral. When the FitzGeralds came to ask for a truce, the Butlers were afraid to open the door. So the FitzGeralds cut a hole in it, and their leader offered his hand in peace. [see photo] The two families then reconciled, and adversaries became friends. 

The testimony of our salvation and sanctification thru the blood of Christ is our hand of reconciliation to others who have yet to receive God’s saving grace thru the finished work of Christ on the cross. So, we need to reach thru any barrier we can, like the hole in the door of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, as in the ODB story, and share the love and grace of God, given to us in our story of reconciliation, so that others can join us and be reconciled to God.

That’s the ministry of reconciliation called for by the Apostle Paul in today’s highlight passage; and it’s what we should be looking to share with others anytime God gives us the opportunity to share how God has reconciled us and saved us with His love and grace and our faith in Christ as Lord and Savior (see Romans 10:9-13).

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, ... for reconciling us to Yourself thru the blood of our Lord, … King Jesus!
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, to share God’s reconciling grace with anyone He allows us to extend His hand of sreconciling grace. … 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.</ span>

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