Berry Patch Devotions in 2023 - Day 28
Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Randy Newman singing … You’ve Got A Friend In Me … poignantly singing about how God’s mercy and grace is given out by friends helping friends.
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Highlight Passage: … 2Corinthians 9:7 [NLT] …
<i> 7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. <b>“For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” </b> </i>
… Paul cites Ps 22:8 [in bold above] to encourage fellow Christians to give joyfully and generously to help others in need.
Highlight Passage (Context): … 2Corinthians 9:5-9 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul also quotes from Ps 112:9 (see below) to encourage fellow Christians to share freely and generously to the poor. =============== .
Reference Passage: … Psalm 119:9 [NLT] …
9 They [i.e., those who fear the Lord] share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor.
… God, turn a Psalmist, sings of how the Lord desires to honor those who love the Lord and are willing to give generously to help those in need.
Reference Passage: … Lamentations 3:22-23 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Jeremiah, shows the extent of God mercy, … being new every morning for those who need it.
Reference Passage: … Luke 6:38 [NLT] …
38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.
… Jesus preaches, to many followers, of God’s desire to reward those who give generously and sacrificially to help others.
Reference Passage: … Acts 20:35 [NLT] …
35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
… Paul quotes Jesus’ exhortation that we are blessed more by giving than by receiving.
<b><u>Reference Passage </u>: … Philippians 2:3-5 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … </b>
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+2%3A3-5&version=NLT
… Paul shows fellow Christians that reaching out to help others in need is imitating the attitude and compassion of Christ.
My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Elisa Morgan … AT THIS LINK … tells of how a friend, Brenda, went by a store window and saw a fleecy pink warm coat that a friend would love and needed for the cold winter. Knowing that her friend couldn’t afford the coat, Brenda purchased the coat and had it sent to her fiend, and felt such joy in being able to give to help her friend.
And if my readers have taken in the delightful linked song by Randy Newman and meditated on the scriptures above, I think any Christian would be convicted and directed by God’s word, from Jesus and other Christian authors, that we should be doing everything we can to experience the joy which comes from giving generously and sacrificially to help those we know are in need.
So, maybe we won’t be giving a pink coat to a good friend in need; but what could we - or WHAT SHOULD WE - do to reach out and give to help someone out today?
My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for giving me the means to help others.
My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to reach out give what we can, Lord, to serve You by giving to help others. … maybe today. 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 you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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