October 4, 2022 … A Heart of Worship? …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 277 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from tom Sarah Hart singing … O God Of Every Longing … poignantly singing of how we Christians need to have a heart of longing for a deeper relationship with our Lord. 

Bobbie the Wonder Dog ... 

 

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Highlight Passage: …Psalm 63:1  [ESV] …  

1 O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for You. My soul thirsts for You; my whole body longs for You in this parched and weary land where there is no water. 

… The heart of King David who longs for God as he was being pursued by his son in the wilderness.                                        

Highlight Passage (Context): …  Psalm 63 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK … 

…  King David escaping the threatening pursuits of his son shows his heart longing for God’s protection and guidance.                                                                                                                  

===============                                                                     .                                 

Reference Passage: …  Psalm 84:2  [ESV] …  

2  I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord.  With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God..  

… The psalmist sings of his longing to dwell in the house of our God FOREVER.

Reference Passage: …  Proverbs 3:5-6 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK ... 

… God, thru Solomon, calls on believers to trust the Lord with ALL OUR HEARTS.as we seek His guidance in life.          

Reference Passage: …  Ezekiel 36:26 [ESV] …  

26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 

… God promises, thru Ezekiel, that one day He will give all true believers new hearts, totally devoted and seeking the Lord.      

Reference Passage: …  Matthew 5:6 [ESV] …  

6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice [or “righteousness”], for they will be satisfied.  

… Jesus promises His followers that He will bless and satisfy those who hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness.  

<b><u>Reference Passage </u>: …  Matthew 6:33 [ESV] …  </b>

33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.  

… Jesus promises that God will provide all we need in life if His believers will seek after His kingdom above all else. 

                                                                                

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, James Banks … AT THIS LINK … Relates the true story of “Bobbie, the wonder dog,” who’s heart for his owners motivated the dog, lost on a vacation, to travel over 2500 miles across the country (see photo) to be reunited with the dog’s owners.      

And the ODB author used the story to illustrate how, we, who espouse to be “disciples” of Christ, should have a heart of worship for our Lord that drives us to long for God as King David longed for Him In the highlight passage or to receive the blessing of our Lord promised by Jesus in Matthew 5:6 and 6:33.  

Our challenge from this ODB entry is whether we have that heart of worship, which is reflected in how we live our lives for the Lord … OR NOT.  Personally, I’m convicted to seek more longingly after a heart like Bobbie which will do whatever it takes to seek after my Lord and follow Him all the way to the home He has promised for me in Heaven.   How about you?                       

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for calling me to follow You, Lord, all the way Home to be with You.        

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to have a heart to follow You, Lord, wherever you all us to go.     .… Amen

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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  subscribe to the blog via email at that site.