Sept 30 2026… Worship Christ Alone

Sept 30 2026…  Worship Christ Alone 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK  …      and PLEASE take the time to listen to music and lyrics from Kristyn Getty singing … In Christ Alone… asserting God’s desire that believers in Christ worship only Him, avoiding the rituals of this world. 

"Zozobra" annual tradition in Santa Fe, NM 

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Highlight Passage: … Colossians 2:8 [NLT]

…   8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 

… Paul calls on Christians to focus their (our) worship on Christ alone.    

Highlight Passage: …  Colossians 2:6-15 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… The Apostle Paul teaches truth to fellow Christians, warning against worshipping worldly rituals and focusing on worshipping Christ alone with their (our) lives.

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Reference Passage: …  Deuteronomy 18:9 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …              

… God, thru Moses, calls on God’s people to avoid being influenced by worldly rituals and religions.

Reference Passage: …  Isaiah 1:13 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

…  God, thru the Prophet Isaiah, declares His disgust for worldly philosophies and offerings.

Reference Passage: Matthew 15:8-9 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus quoting from the Prophet Isaiah, showing God’s disgust for empty worldly rituals and worshipping false gods. 

Reference Passage: Mark 7:6-8 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… Mark also quotes Jesus, Who teaches from Isaiah about God hating worldly rituals which which honor false gods.  

Reference Passage: …  Romans 12:2 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …                         

… The Apostle Paul teaches fellow Christians to avoid following worldly rituals which turn their (our) attention away from the one true God.     

Reference Passage: 1John 2:15-16 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …      

… The Apostle John exhorts fellow Christians to avoid the rituals and traditions of this world which turn our attention away from Christ.

My Devotional Journal: Today’s Our Daily Bread from Marvin Williams…  USE THIS LINK    tells about an annual tradition in Santa Fe, NM, where the people construct a 50 foot effigy which they label, “Zozobra,” (see photo), which is stuffed with paper notes expressing the fears and anxieties of the locals, which the ODB author feels expresses the desire of all people, … i.e.,  to rid themselves (ourselves) of all the worries of this world.  

But if my readers have taken in the ODB entry, the linked song, and the Scriptures shared above, I’m praying we all take in God’s warning that His faithful followers avoid any worldly rituals, like the one in Santa Fe, which seek relief from the challenges of the world by using ungodly rituals or the worship of idols.   Personally, that’s why you find me here, beginning each day by seeking my direction from God thru His word.    Are you with me?

My Thanksgiving: … Oh, King Jesus, thank You … for show us THE way, … Your way, … by following Your word.  

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, … thank You, Lord, … for helping us to focus our worship on YOU … and only YOU.    …  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.

Sept 29 2026 … Let My Words Be Few

Sept 29 2026 …  Let My Words Be Few 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK  …     and PLEASE take the time to listen to music and lyrics from the group  Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing … Let My Words Be Few … asserting God’s desire that we listen intently to God and use few words to express our love for our Lord. 

Speak less ... listen fast ... 

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Highlight Passage: … Judges 11:29 [NLT]

…   2 Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few.

… Solomon teaches God’s desire that we listen first and speak less in our search for God’s direction.    

Highlight Passage: …  Ecclesiastes 5:1-5  [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …                     

… Solomon, God’s “teacher,” calls on believers to listen intently for God, … speaking few words.

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Reference Passage: …  Exodus 14:14 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …                

… God, thru Moses, calls on God’s people to be quiet and trust that God will fight their battles 

Reference Passage: …  Psalms 46:10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

…  God’s psalmist sings of God’s people knowing and trusting that God is God. 

Reference Passage: Proverbs 10:19 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …                           

… Solomon exhorts believers to keep silent and listen for God.  

Reference Passage: Proverbs 17:28   [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …

… Solomon teaches that even fools look wiser when they keep their mouths shut. 

Reference Passage: …  Ephesians 4:29 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …        

… The Apostle Paul teaches fellow Christians to avoid unGodly words and to speak only to help and support others.     

Reference Passage: James 1:19-20 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …                   

… Jesus brother, James, calls on fellow Christians to be quick to listen and slow to speak, avoiding anger at all cost.

My Devotional Journal: Today’s Our Daily Bread from Kenneth Petersen …  USE THIS LINK    writes about… a TED Talk, where Celeste Headlee outlines “10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation” and quotes Steven Covey, who said, “Most of us don’t listen with the intent to understand. We listen with the intent to reply.” 

And the point made by Covey was actually a teaching from the Bible, where God, thru multiple authors, teaches us, as followers of God’s truth, to listen to God more intently and speak less.   And if my readers take in the linked song and the Scriptures shared above, i think you will be convicted, as am I, to listen more intently in our prayer time with God and speak less.  Are you with me?  

My Thanksgiving: … Oh, King Jesus, thank You … for calling me, Lord, to listen more intently for You.  

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, … thank You, Lord, … for Your call for us, Your chosen, to listen more intently for Your truth and to avoid getting our own words in the way of following You.  …  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.

Sept 28 2026 … Rejected By Many

Sept 28 2026 …  Rejected By Many

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK  …     and PLEASE take the time to listen to music and lyrics from Matt Maher singing … Your Love Defends Me … assuring fellow Christians that God’s love will defend the faithful because of God’s love reaching out to take in all who love The Lord.   

Doctor Harold Moody ... 

  

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Highlight Passage: … Judges 11:29 [NLT]

…  29 At that time the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and from there he led an army against the Ammonites.  

… God uses Jephthah, rejected by many, to fight against the enemies of Israel.    

Highlight Passage: …  Judges 10:17-11:8, 29 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …                 

… Jephthah, a mighty warrior is rejected by family and friends but is used by God to defeat the enemies of God.

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Reference Passage: …  Psalms 27:10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …   

… King David’s confidence that even if rejected by his family, God would NEVER turn him away. 

Reference Passage: …  Mark 3:6 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

…  The religious leaders plotted to kill Jesus.  

Reference Passage: Mark 6:1-6 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …                                         

… Jesus was rejected by the people in His hometown.  

Reference Passage: Mark 15:13   [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… The people of Jerusalem, after earlier claiming He was Messiah, called out to Rome to “crucify Him.”  

Reference Passage: …  John 6:61-66 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …            

… Jesus recognized that some of His Disciple were ready to abandon Him.     

Reference Passage: John 7:1-5 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …                    

… Even Jesus’ blood brothers didn’t believe in Him as Messiah before He was resurrected.

My Devotional Journal: Today’s Our Daily Bread from Karen Huang …  USE THIS LINK    related the true story about Dr Harold Moody (see photo) who, long after the early 20th century, where the doctor practiced medicine in London, was labeled as the “British Martin Luther King.” And this courageous doctor  got this label because Moody even opened a practice in his own home to treat patients who were rejected by British doctors because of their race.   

And the ODB author compared Dr. Moody’s rejection to that of men like Jephthah in the Old Testament, or later in the NT …  Jesus; … men who were rejected by the world but used mightily by God for His purposes and glory.   Oh, … how I desire to be accepted and used by God for His glory, in spite of being rejected by others in this world.   How about you? 

My Thanksgiving: … Oh, King Jesus, thank You … for accepting and using me for Your glory.  

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, … thank You, Lord, … for Your desire to use even those who are rejected by the world for Your glory.   … 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.

Sept 27 2026 … One Hundred and Fifty-Five

Sept 27 2026 …  One Hundred and Fifty-Five 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK  …     and PLEASE take the time to listen to music and lyrics from Steve Green singing … People Need The Lord … calling on any/all who believe in Christ as Lord to repent and surrender to God’s saving grace.   

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Highlight Passage: … Matthew 18:12  [NLT]

…   12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost. … ”   

… Jesus shows God, as the Good Shepherd, Who desires that all His sheep be under His care. 

Highlight Passage: …  Matthew 18:10-14 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …              

… Jesus uses a parable about a shepherd and a lost sheep to show how much God desires all to be saved. 

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Reference Passage: …  Deuteronomy 30:19 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …        

… The choice that God’s people have to choose life or death by following God’s covenant … or not. 

Reference Passage: …  Ezekiel 33:11 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

…  God, thru Ezekiel, reminds His people how they have a choice to live by obeying God’s covenant.  

Reference Passage: John 3:16-17 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …                                  

… Jesus tells Nicodemus about God’s willingness to send His Son to die to save them from their (our) sins.

Reference Passage: 1Timothy 2:3-4   [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… Paul teaches Timothy, and all Christians, that God desires that all live in peace with God.

Reference Passage: …  2Peter 3:9  [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …               

… Peter shows fellow Christians that God is patient for all to repent of their (our) sins and be saved by their (our) belief in Christ as Lord and Messiah.    

Reference Passage: 1John 2:2 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …                        

… The Apostle John teaches of Christ being the atonement for the sins of the world.

My Devotional Journal: Today’s Our Daily Bread from Mike Wittmer …  USE THIS LINK    used the story in the movie, Sully, to illustrate how the main character, the pilot, “Sully,” who landed his disabled plane, with 155 on board, on the Hudson river was so concerned for the lives onboard his plane.  And later when Sully was being examined in a hospital, he demanded that the authorities tell him of the fate of ALL 155 souls on board.

And the ODB author compared Sully’s deep concern for his passengers and crew to God’s concern for mankind, which is born out in the linked song and the Scriptures shared above. Personally, it is uplifting for me to know how much God cares for us all … so much so, … that He would send His Son to save us.  Wow, … I’m in for that!   How about you? 

My Thanksgiving: … Oh, King Jesus, thank You … for giving up Your Son. my Lord and Savior, to save me.  

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, … thank You, Lord, … for being willing to send Your only Son to save all  who believe in You as Messiah and Lord.   … 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.