Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Chris Rice singing … Great Is Thy Faithfulness … poignantly singing of remembering how God has been - and is - our faithful Savior in all things in our life.
Letting go of a loved one ...
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Highlight Passage : … John 11:27 [ESV] ... 25 Jesus said to [Martha], “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, … “
… If we grieve the loss of a loved one [see photo], if they are in Christ, we can let them go with the assurance of they are going to be heaven with our Lord.
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Highlight Passage [Context] : … John 11:21-36 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus assures Martha and Mary that they can let go of their brother into the hands of their Messiah.
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [ESV] … 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.
… When we truly trust in our God we can let go of our concerns and anxieties.
Reference Passage : … Jeremiah 29:11 [ESV] … 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
… If we truly believe this truth, we KNOW that God has plans for us way beyond our current circumstances.
Reference Passage : … 2Corinthians 5:6-8 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… At at the prospect of losing a dear Christian loved one, we can take solace in the truth that, tho absent from us in death, they will live with Christ forever.
Reference Passage : … Philippians 4:6-7 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God gives us a prescription, thru Paul, for how to let go of our anxieties in life; but will we take this truth and use it?
Reference Passage : … 1Peter 5:6-7 [ESV] … 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
… Peter shows us how take all our cares to God and to let go of our anxieties because of the faithfulness of our Lord.
My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Cindy Hess Kasper, AT THIS LINK relate a scene of a family, singing “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” [see linked song] and grieving, at the bedside of their dying father, yet knowing, that he would soon be with God in heaven.
And the ODB author relates that scene to the one where Jesus wept (see highlight passage) just before He was about to raise His friend Lazarus from the grave, reminding Martha and Mary [and us Christians] that they were in the presence of their Messiah, who would never forget their loved one, even tho he had died.
Many of us have lost dear ones; and it’s difficult to do so, grieving our loss [see photo]. But it’s so much easier to let go when we know that, though gone from us, the loved one is in the presence of the King of glory [see 2Cor 5:6-8].
So, today I pray we all can let go of any loss in our lives, knowing what Jesus said to Martha is true. So, … when when we have trouble letting go of our loved one, like Lazarus’ sister did [see highlight verse], we can and should KNOW Jesus is - and always will be - the resurrection and the life, and we can let go of our anxieties, just as as Paul and Peter declared (see Phi 4:6-7 and 1Peter 5:7). We can let them go to our loving and caring Messiah.
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for always being there for me when I need to let go of my anxieties.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to cast our cares on our loving Savior. … 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>
1 comment:
Good read,thank you Bill for sharing this devotional. My granny is dancing and singing with Jesus!!
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