Berry Patch Devotions in 2023 - Day 236
Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... </b> … Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from Graham Kendrick singing … God Of the Poor … poignantly singing of how we serve a God who looks out for the oppressed and disdains injustice and unrighteousness.
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Highlight Passage: … Genesis 4:10 [NLT] …
10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!
… Mankind gives witness to his own injustice in the first murder of Abel by Cain.
<b><u>Highlight Passage (Context)</u>: … Genesis 4:1-11 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … </b>
… God’s word describes the birth of Cain and Abel and gives witness to the first murder of Abel by his brother Cain. .
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Reference Passage: … Psalms 9:9 [NLT] …
9 The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
… When we see oppression or injustice, we can - and we should - run to our Lord for His refuge.
Reference Passage: … Isaiah 1:17 [NLT] …
17 Learn to do good. See justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of the orphans. Fight for the cause of widows.
… God, thru Isaiah, calls on believers to take up the cause of the oppressed.
Reference Passage: … Romans 12:19 [NLT] …
19 Dear Friends, <b>never take revenge.</b> Leave that tot he righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back, says the Lord.
… Paul, in teaching about revenge for oppression, quotes from Deuteronomy 32:35 to leave revenge to God.
Reference Passage: … 1Timothy 5:8 [NLT] …
8 But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.
… Paul teaches Timothy (and us) how we Christians are responsible to take care of the oppressed.
Reference Passage: … 1John 3:12 [NLT] …
12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous..
… God’s word commands we avoid being like Cain, who followed Satan’s ways and killed his brother. We are to be like Abel and do what God calls us to do - the righteous way.
My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Tim Gustafson … AT THIS LINK … referenced a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, entitled Witnesses, which decried the injustice of slavery, the final stanzas which read, . “These are the woes of Slaves, / They glare from the abyss; / They cry from unknown graves, / We are the Witnesses!”
And then the ODB author referenced how Cain killed his brother, Able <b>(see photo)</b> and mocked God by saying “Am I my brother’s Keeper?” But, the reality is … WE ARE! And when we look around us, seeing the injustices done to others, God is calling us, Whom He saved, … to to see the oppression and do all we can to take care of others being oppressed. The question is … will we? Or will become like Cain?
My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, …for calling us, Whom You’ve saved, to reach out, seeing the injustices in this world, and do something about it!
My Prayer Today:: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to reach out and do something to right the wrongs we see in our world. … 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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