May 19, 2014 … Interruptions ... Really?!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 139

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Nicole C Mullen singing his powerful song One Touch, reminding us to look at every incident in our lives as a touch of God rather than an purposeless accident.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Mark 5: 30 [NKJV] …  
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Mark 5: 21-34 [NKJV] … Go to this link …

Highlight Passage [Context] #2 – NKJV: Matthew 9: 18-26 [NKJV] … Go to this link …

Highlight Passage [Context] #3 – NKJV: Luke 8: 40-56 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 Psalms 33: 11 [NKJV] …  
11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever; the plans of His heart to all generations.

Reference Passages #2 Romans 8: 28 ….  
28 And we know that ALL things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Reference Passages #3 James 1: 17 [NKJV] …  
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

My Journal for Today: Often things in our lives happen and seem so purposeless, so random, … merely interruptions in the flow of our day-to-day existence. But today’s Our Daily Bread helped to reinforce and remind me that it’s all part of God’s design; but so often we just can’t see His purpose or plan for our lives.

Today’s highlight example is that marvelous story, told by three of the synoptic Gospel authors (see links above) about the woman with a chronic bleeding disorder who reached out – seeming randomly in a crowd with Jesus passing by – and touched the Savior’s garment; and immediately Jesus responded to what He felt had happened.

Jesus’ purpose in being on this earth was set by God; and nothing that happened during His walk to the cross was an “accident.” And this touch of the woman, He knew was purposed to heal and to save, two of His missions while He walked this earth (see Luke 4: 18-19). So the touch of a woman, seemingly a random incident, had great purpose, … that woman being sent to Him by the Father so that Jesus could stop and use this incident to show His disciples and the people that He was there to heal and save. And all of these events happened in the midst of a whole series of other seemingly random “interruptions” in Jesus’ walk, all of which were very much a part of the plan of God, the Father, to use the power of God’s Spirit through His Son, Jesus.

And this morning, as I write this, I needed to be reminded that everything I encounter today has been foreseen by my God and will be a part of His plan and purpose for my life. I may not see it at the time; but I’m reminded here to try my best to accept that God has a plan for Bill Berry and all of the seemingly purposeless incidents – the interruptions - in my walk will be part of God’s sanctifying plan for my life.

Well, since that’s the case, let’s go see what happens and have faith that God is in it all.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, help me to see Your purpose in today for me … but even more for You. … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 18, 2014 … Our New Bucket List

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 138

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Chris Rice singing his powerful song Go Light the World, reminding us to use our spiritual gifts to light the world with our good works … a new kind of bucket list of good works to glorify our Heavenly Father.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Romans 12: 10-13 [NKJV] …  
10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Romans 12: 6-21 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #2 Matthew 5: 16 [NKJV] …  
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. … “

Reference Passages #1 Ephesians 4: 7-16 …. GO TO THIS LINK

Reference Passages #2 Philippians 2: 3-4 [NKJV] …  
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

My Journal for Today: I think you probably know what a “bucket list” is … like the one illustrated in the attached photo – things one wants to accomplish before they die. Well, the Apostle Paul had a different kind of list which he felt compelled to accomplish from God’s calling on his life; and he did his best in his missionary travels and his epistles to help other, especially newer, Christians develop a CHRISTLIKE bucket list which focused on OTHERS rather than on self.

Paul was trying to live out what Jesus taught in His sermon on the mount (see Matt. 5: 16 above), … to use our good works, focused on others, to shine God’s light in our every darkening world. It’s God’s kingdom thinking which turns a selfish, inwardly directed, bucket list, like the one pictured, into a list which utilizes the gifts given to us when we become Christian (see Romans 12 and Ephesian4 passages above) to give back to others – FOR GOD and His glory!

May I be so brazen (but with every ounce of humility I can muster) to share the top four from my Christian bucket list …
1. Be the loving husband called for in Ephesians 5 … 
2. Walk in humility as exemplified by Jesus in Philippians 2: 6-11 … 
3. To use God’s gifts of teaching and encouragement to shine God’s light every day … 
4. Help as many men as possible during my life to walk free from the bondage of habitual sexual sin … What’s your bucket list for Jesus look like?

My Prayer for Today … Lord, shine Your light through my bucket list for Your glory. … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 17, 2014 … Surfacing for Air

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 137

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Michael W Smith leading in worship and singing his powerful song Breathe, helping us to realize that what we all think, say, and do is from our Lord and for our Lord … just as we breathe in the oxygen we need to live.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Colossians 1:16 [NKJV] …  
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Colossians 1: 15-23 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
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Reference Passages #1 John 15: 5 [NKJV] …  
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. …”

My Journal for Today: Philip Yancey, the rather well-known Christian writer, was the author of today’s Our Daily Bread devotional; and to make his key point, he used the picture of whales who must dive deeply into their domain of the deep to take in their food; but before they dive, they breathe enormously deeply, taking in as much oxygen as they can store in their prodigious lungs,often creating the spouts of water like that seen in the attached photo. Here’s what Yancey wrote about this …  

" Despite having its own lively habitat of marine plants and sea creatures, the whale must surface for oxygen from time to time or it dies. Though it knows little about the world above, it needs vital contact with it to survive. … I sometimes feel like that whale, coming up for spiritual air at regular intervals to stay alive. But there is no neat division between the natural and the supernatural. The world we live in is not an either/or world. What I do as a Christian—praying, worshiping, demonstrating God’s love to the sick, needy, and imprisoned—is both supernatural and natural.”

What Yancey is getting at with his word picture, is that Christ has given all born-again Christians the ability to breathe spiritually, as Michael W Smith sings in the linked song today, anywhere and at any time. As with whales, we don’t need to surface to breathe in our relationship with Christ in some special place or at some specially needed time. As our Lord’s Spirit dwells within us as Christians, we are completely connected to Him (see today’s key passage as well as that in John 15); and we can breathe in His essence wherever we are and whenever we must.

So, join me today and let’s breathe in Christ and then go move and thrive in His being.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, I breathe in You. … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 16, 2014 … Wise Counsel

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 136

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go to this video link to hear an anonymous acapella singing a powerful and beautiful arrangement of the old hymn , Be Thou My Vision, … helping us to remember that God is the first source of all wisdom … though as scripture leads us (below) to seek Godly counsel of others with reputable Christian experience
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Proverbs 15: 22 [NKJV] …  
22.. Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established.
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Proverbs 15: 16-21[NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 Exodus 18: 13-27 [NKJV] … Go to this link … Jesus, the Good Shepherd prays for His flock …

Reference Passages #2 Proverbs 3: 5-6 [NKJV] …  
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; … 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Reference Passages #3 Philippians 4: 6-7 [NKJV] …  
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Reference Passages #4 James 1: 5-6 [NKJV] …  
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

My Journal for Today: Any time we have a significant problem or question, it is not wise to tackle the challenge with a Lone Ranger attitude. Therefore, I’ve learned from some painful episodes in my life, to throw up a red flag of warning anytime my spirit feels like “I can do this!” And another emotion I try to be wary of is the “No sweat; this is easy!” syndrome.

The highlight scriptures from Proverbs, mostly written by Solomon at a time in his life when he was humbly receiving and sharing God’s wisdom with his sons and other believers, clearly says (see highlight passages and other proverbs), that it is truly wise to seek out the advice of other Godly-wise counselors before taking action, especially when the circumstances are confusing (see photo).

Obviously we need to see God’s wisdom as James wrote about from God’s inspiration (see James 1: 5-6); but getting informed input from other trusted, Godly sources can be used by God to bring His wisdom and direction to bear in any prickly situation.

And in the process of seeking out God’s wisdom and direction, besides seeking Godly counsel, I’ve learned to use the direction of Phil. 4: 6-7, seeking God’s peace as a sign-post of direction to know if my choices are clearly from God. And anyone reading here who would like for me to send them a “how-to” use this process, just email me @ billb13@bellsouth.net; and I’ll be glad to send you instructions on how to use the Phil. 4: 6-7 protocol to make difficult decisions.

But for now, let’s just lean on God (see Prov. 3: 5-6), avoiding prideful self-indulgence and seek the counsel of wiser, more mature, Christians when we’re trying to find our ways through the morass and minefields we encounter in this life.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, as the song sings today, “Be Thou My Vision!” … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 15, 2014 … Slow Healing

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 135

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Crystal Lewis and Ron Kenoly singing the poignant but powerful song Beauty For Ashes, reminding all in Christ that that, no what we’re going through, God provides His healing grace for those who need it.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Revelation 21: 3-4 [NKJV] …  
3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” 
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Revelation 21: 1-8 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 John 17: 20-23 [NKJV] … Go to this link … Jesus, the Good Shepherd prays for His flock …

Reference Passages #2 Romans 8: 28-29 [NKJV] …  
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Reference Passages #3 Philippians 1: 6 [NKJV] …  
6 … being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; …

My Journal for Today: Yes, if you noted my journal entry for yesterday, you’ll see that many of the same reference scriptures are cited today, even though the subject is slightly different. Today my Our Daily Bread devotional deals with the reality that healing IN THIS LIFE can often be slow and even agonizing.

As the devotional points out, if one sustains a physical or emotional trauma in life, sometimes it takes months, if not years (or maybe even an entire life) to be in rehab or recovery, dealing with the outcomes of the injury or wounding. Almost 15 years ago now God called my wife and I to cofound a ministry to help men walk free from the bondage of habitual sexual sin. And in this calling, my wife leads efforts to help wives have been wounded in their marriages by the reality of a spouse who has been unfaithful. And God has used our ministry to help couples find personal and marital healing following the relational damage which occurs in a marriage when the husband has been unfaithful. But these wounds take time in healing. The photo attached, however, represents the healing which can (and will) come from God; but the process many times takes years. Take it from two who know; because my wife and I have experienced God’s healing grace; … but it took years for God’s grace to be received and used for healing; and now God uses His grace through our ministry to help other couples to find such healing.

But we recognize from God’s promise in today’s highlight passage from Revelation 21 that there will be a day in glory when all wounds will be healed and all tears will be tears of joy. However, now, in this life, we must deal with God’s here-and-now promises of His healing grace being there for all who need it and those who truly believe in the truth of the passages from God’s truth cited above.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, Your healing grace is there for all who need it. … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 14, 2014 … Inside Out

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 134

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Queen Latifah singing the simple but powerful song Fix Me Jesus, reminding all in Christ that our main goal in life is to surrender to His transforming power to fix us from the inside out.
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[Click on photo to enlarge]

Highlight Passage – NKJV: Matthew 23: 25 [NKJV] …  
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. …”
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Matthew 23: 23-31 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 Micah 6: 8 [NKJV] …  
8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Reference Passages #2 John 17: 20-23 [NKJV] … Go to this link … Jesus, the Good Shepherd prays for His flock …

Reference Passages #3 Romans 8: 28-29 [NKJV] …  
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Reference Passages #4 Philippians 1: 6 [NKJV] …  
6 … being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; …

My Journal for Today: My Our Daily Bread devotional for this morning reminded me that Jesus had strong words for the religious leaders during His walk on earth, as evidenced by His strong exhortation to the Pharisees in Matthew 23 [see copy/link above]. But down deep, Jesus wanted these men to be sanctified from the inside out rather than from the outside in as they lived to show off their religious piety by the way they behaved and lived.

“Sanctification” is one of those big theological words that we really need to understand in the context of the way and the why of how we live our lives. The attached picture is a diagram of how sanctification works for the believer. Once we’re saved (i.e., justified), we live our lives being made over from the inside out by God’s Spirit, until one day the make-over is complete, and we are glorified in heaven.

And it’s this process of sanctification which Jesus prayed about for His disciples in John, Chapter 17. And Queen Latifah sings about this in the hauntingly beautiful song to which I link you above, as she sings, Fix Me, Jesus!. And sometimes we know that the fixing is not an easy process (see the passages above from Micah 6: 8 and Romans 8: 28). In fact our sanctification can be downright painful at times. But it is God’s promise (see Romans 8: 28 and Philippians 1: 6) that in the end, He’s going to make us over into Christ’s image; and it will be complete (see the attached diagram) when we are with Jesus in heaven.

So, let’s move out today, praying the prayer of today’s song, … ”Fix me Jesus, … fix me!”

My Prayer for Today … That’s my prayer today, Lord. Fix me! … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 13, 2014 … The Babe Who Changed Everything

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 133

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Mark Lowry singing the classic Christ-child song Mary Did You Know, reminding all of the Baby Who changed the world.
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See video of “Baby Laughing” at this link - …

 
Highlight Passage – NKJV: Psalms 139: 13 [NKJV] …  
13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Psalms 139: 7-16 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 John 3: 3-8 [NKJV] … Go to this link … Being born again changes everything …

Reference Passages #2 1st Corinthians 15: 42-58 [NKJV] … Go to this link … Being born again changes everything …

My Journal for Today: The Our Daily Bread for this date related a story which took me back to a tender time in my own life when my earthly dad was housed in a nursing care facility where my dear sister could do the watch-care required as he was totally in need of 24/7 care due to multiple maladies which rendered him almost helpless. But I remember the times I would come to visit him; and often there would be babies from various families who would be brought into the lounge area where the residents were gathered. And when such an infant – especially a new-born – would come into their midst, all would stop with all attention going to the child. All of these aged ones wanted to see this freshly born, cooing, smiling creature. It was fascinating to watch.

Today, I’ve copied a picture of a little, smiling babe; and I’ve also linked you to a short video of a baby laughing almost uncontrollably at a silly little repetitive action on the part of her daddy. What are your feelings as you see the photo or watch the video? I don’t think I’d miss it far if I thought you smiled when you saw the photo of the pretty little baby; and you probably at least giggled a bit with joy as you saw/heard the baby laughing. Babies expressing joy or laughter just make us feel good; don’t they?

[Please listen to the linked song above] What do you think it must’ve been like for the blessed mother of Jesus to look in the face of her Babe, the baby boy, as Mark Lowry sings in the linked video above, Who would change the world? Wow! That must’ve really been something, giving that Mother Mary a feeling of unmatched joy.

But back to my father in that nursing-car facility. And I recall him, every time I visited him, wanting me to read him a passage from the Bible (see the 1st Cor. 15 link above). And when I read that passage, talking with him about it’s meaning, he would smile almost like he did when a baby came into his midst; because he knew that one day, being born-again in Christ, he would not have to experience the pain he was experiencing at that time. Hearing this truth, my dad knew that one day he would have a new, incorruptible, body, which, dear friend, is the reality of where he is now. Because, right now, my father awaits that new body, and he has no pain, … just like a baby in the womb of his mother, as he is being nourished in the presence of the Savior. And one day my dad, in his new body, will rise again to be with Jesus forever.

And I’ll be there to join him. And in this reality, all I can say is … HALLELUJAH!!

My Prayer for Today … Oh, yes, Lord, HALLELUJAH!!… 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 12, 2014 … Words To Live By

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 132

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear an anonymous vocal ensemble singing the old hymn Trust And Obey, reminding all true believers that there’s only one way to walk in this life and that is in trusting God’s word and obeying it completely.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Deuteronomy 4: 5 [NKJV] …  
5 “Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. … “
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Deuteronomy 4: 1-10 [NKJV] … Go to this link …

Highlight Passage #2 – NKJV: Joshua 1: 8 [NKJV] …  
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
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Highlight Passage [Context] #2 – NKJV: Joshua 1: 1-9 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1: John 14: 21 [NKJV] …  
21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

Reference Passages #2: 1st John 3: 18-22 [NKJV] … Go to this link … We are commanded to live as Christ lived and to love as Christ loved …

My Journal for Today: When will mankind get it?!! I’m afraid the prognosis is pretty grim. Old Testament into the New, God commands His people to obey; and what do we do? Isaiah said it (see Isaiah 53: 6). We’re like stupid sheep who wander off, unwilling to follow their shepherd; and they wander willfully to their peril.

As we read in both of the highlight Old Testament verses which came from my Our Daily Bread today, God specifically gave, first through Moses and then through Joshua, the command to obey His word; and then under Christ’s New Covenant, we read through the Apostle John’s writings, some of it even in Jesus’ words, that only those who obey God’s commandments are the ones who truly love the Lord.

BUT … (and it’s a big “but”) … what do we so often do? We wander off and want to go it our own way; and what is the predictable result … DISASTER?!!

I don’t think I need to write any more here today. The attached devotional picture and the linked song really say it all; but God’s word is even clearer above. If we expect to walk through this world and succeed in God’s will for our lives, there’s really only one way to walk … and that is to “Trust and Obey!”

My Prayer for Today … I do, Lord. That’s why I’m here this morning … to trust and obey Your word. … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 11, 2014 … Crossing the Finish Line

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 131

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Sara Groves singing her poignant song Keep Your Eyes On The Prize, reminding all believers that life is a marathon and we must keep our eyes on finish line and not as much on the agony of running the race.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: 2nd Timothy 4: 6-8 [NKJV] …  
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 2nd Timothy 4: 1-9 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
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Reference Passages #1: Matthew 25: 21 [NKJV] …  
” 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ … :

Reference Passages #2: 1st Corinthians 9: 25 [NKJV] …  
25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.

My Journal for Today: Today is Mother’s Day and in the Our Daily Bread for this date, there is a touching story of a mother who passed away finishing her life strongly in the faith; and to honor her passing, her son trained for and ran a marathon. And as he finished the race, much like the winner of the Boston Marathon pictured in the attached photo, the young man, honoring his mom, pointed to heaven, knowing that his mother had finished her life as a marathon, winning the prize God had for her in heaven.

It is said that life is more like running a marathon than a sprint; and as we live our lives, as Paul wrote to Timothy just before he was executed in a Roman prison [see 2nd Tim. 4: 1-8 linked above], we need to treat life much as the runner who runs a marathon, and as Sara Groves sings in the linked song today, we should keep our eyes on the prize which God will have for us when we cross the finishing line of life. And when we do cross that finishing line of life, we definitely want Christ to place the crown of victory on our heads as He said in the parable of the talents, declaring, “Well done, … good and faithful servant.”  

That’s why I ask myself today if I’m running my marathon with my eyes on the prize which the Lord has waiting for me one day as I cross the finish line, … which, who knows (?), could be today.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, help me keep my eyes on Your prize as I run the race for You. … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 10, 2014 … No Temptation ??

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 130

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Steven Curtis Chapman singing the poignant song His Strenght Is Perfect, reminding all believers that we need His strength to cover our weaknesses and to give us direction when we’re confused in life.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 10: 13 [NKJV] …  
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 10: 1-22 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1: Deuteronomy 31: 7 – Moses to Joshua [NKJV] … ” … 
8 And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” 

Reference Passages #2: Proverbs 3: 5-6 [NKJV] …  
 5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on our own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.

Reference Passages #3: 2nd Corinthians 12: 9-10 [NKJV] …  
9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Reference Passages #4: James 1: 12 [NKJV] …  
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

My Journal for Today: Hey Christian! Ever been confused, befuddled, felt lost, or just plain overwhelmed by life? Maybe you can identify with the attached photo, either now or sometime in the past. Well, in such circumstances perhaps you’ve had a well-meaning fellow Christian say something like, “Don’t worry, God never allows us into any of life’s circumstances that we can’t handle.” And when you heard that bit of advice, you, like me, probably just wanted to scream … “BALONEY!!!”

Well, your well-meaning, but misguided, friend may have been giving his/her advice based on a misinterpretation of the highlight scripture passage from today’s Our Daily Bread, … 1st Corinthians 10: 13, which is a passage that many have memorized and try to use to help believers realize that the “temptations” (or the Greek word can also be translated, “tests, trials, tribulations, or troubles”) of life are experienced by everyone. And, though we experience these trials, the truth is that God is always faithful to be there with us and to help us deal with those circumstances. In other words, as Steven Curtis Chapman sings in the linked song above, God will provide us with His strength to handle life when our strength is gone.

But don’t let anyone tell you that God never allows His children into anything that we cannot handle; because our Lord allows things like that to happen all the time, doesn’t He? He often allows such things to occur just to show us how much we need to depend on Him. What about Job; … or there was David after the Bathsheba incident? Or what about the Apostles out there in the storm on the Sea of Galilee or the confusion Peter felt after he had denied Jesus and watched His Lord be crucified? Or there was Paul when he prayed and prayed for that painful thorn to be taken from him; but God just wouldn’t do it (see 2nd Cor. 12: 9-10).

So, I think we know that God will allow temptations or trials or troubles into our lives which we cannot handle on our own. And that’s His strategy to show us that we need rely on Him for the grace to handle these trials or to follow Him from confusion to clarity. And when we do surrender to receive His enabling/empowering grace, He’s certainly able and very willing to provide us the strength or direction to handle the challenges of life. Just meditate on the reference Scriptures quoted above which came to my mind today in writing this blog, and you’ll realize that God will truly never forsake us; and in fact, He even goes ahead of us to provide us with the challenges which reshape us into His image.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, thank You for being there for me in my times of weakness or confusion. … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 9, 2014 … The Covenant of Faith

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 129

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Kristyn Getty with the music of her brother Keith singing the poignant song By Faith, reminding all believers it is by faith we stand a children of God’s promise.
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Click on Photo to enlarge

Highlight Passage – NKJV: Genesis 15: 17 [NKJV] …  
17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Genesis, Chapter 15 [NKJV] … Go to this link …

Highlight Passage #2 – NKJV: Romans 4: 23-25 [NKJV] … 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.
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Highlight Passage [Context] #2 – NKJV: Romans 4: 9-25 [NKJV] … Go to this link … http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+4%3A+9-25&version=NKJV
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Reference Passages #1: Jeremiah 31: 31-34 [NKJV] … Go to this link …

Reference Passages #2: John 10: 27-30 [NKJV] …  
27 “… My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”

Reference Passages #3: Galatians 3: 26-29 [NKJV] …  
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

My Journal for Today: Well, today my study and mediation in the Our Daily Bread devotional got a bit heavy into Old and New Testament covenant theology [you can take in the ODB devotional for May 9 yourself by going to this link .

In the Old Testament, of course, God established his forever binding covenant with Abraham; and old Abe’s faith in that suzerain covenant made by God (see Genesis 15 linked above) allowed Abraham and his faithful progeny to be accounted unto righteousness.

Then, enter Jesus unto God’s people; and He became the messianic embodiment of the NEW COVENANT, which, like the old, was cut in blood by His death on the cross and sealed when Christ, the Messiah, rose from the dead. And in that New Covenant any/all who have come to believe, by faith, in Christ’s finished work on the cross are, like Abraham, accounted unto righteousness and will be given life eternal in heaven.

Yes, it’s very complicated theology; but it’s a very simple and easy to understand promise from God. So, if you – TODAY – believe that Christ’s blood on the cross was shed in atonement for your sins, and you have declared – by faith - that He is your Lord and Savior, you will be with Him in Heaven as He has promised (see Romans 10: 9-13 and John 3: 16).

It’s God’s promise through Jesus, Who was and is the New Covenant fulfillment.

Do you believe it?

My Prayer for Today … I do, Lord!!! … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 8, 2014 … Talking Christ … And Christ Alone!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 128

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear a group of worshippers singing the poignant song In Christ Alone, the lyrics reminding all believers that it is Christ alone Who is our Lord and Savior and it is Christ alone we proclaim to a lost world.
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 Highlight Passage – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 2: 2 [NKJV] …
2  I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 1st Corinthians, Chapter 2 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 

Highlight Passage #2 – NKJV: 2nd Corinthians 4: 5-6 [NKJV] …  
5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 4: 1-6 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1: Isaiah 40: 29 [NKJV] …
29 He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.

Reference Passages #2: Philippians 4: 13 [NKJV] …  
3 I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength.

My Journal for Today: My Our Daily Bread reminded me why I think so much about Jesus everyday; and why I want others to find the same strength He gave me to deal with my sin nature, … why I’m so compelled to have others discover and use that strength (see the two reference verses above). The devotional pointed me to two passages written by the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians Christians, where he expressed his compulsion to share Christ so obediently (see the highlight passages above).

Let me ask you. If you were the woman at the well whom Jesus encountered (see John 4); and He had changed your life forever, Whom would you speak of for the rest of your life? … If you were the sullied woman who was thrown at Jesus’ feet [see John 8] and He had said to you, “Go, and sin no more,” about Whom would you be telling others for the rest of your life? … If you were the Apostle Paul who was thrown down on the road to Damascus and your life focus was changed forever (see all of Paul’s Epistles), Whom would you be speaking about for the rest of your life?

Well, duh!! In each instance it’s Jesus, isn’t it? And Whom do you think I’m writing about every morning when I come to my place of solitude here, seeking to know my Lord more intimately? … Jesus, of course!!

Yes, from the time I discovered, on April 13th, 1983, that Jesus was the strength I was lacking [see attached photo above]; … that He, and only He, was the One Who could fill up the hole in my soul; … that He, and He alone, was my everything, I’ve been on a quest to share His strength, … His love, … His grace with anyone and everyone who will listen.

How about you? Is He your all-in-all? Is Christ alone the reason for you to live and move and have your being? Is He worth sharing with someone else today?

My Prayer for Today … Oh, my Lord, … my Savior, … You are my everything!! … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 7, 2014 … New Creature

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 127

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing the poignant song He’ll do Whatever It Takes, reminding all sinners that God will do whatever it takes, as the hound of Heaven, to see that broken sinners become part of the family of God. The question is whether we can look into his mirror of truth and see ourselves as members of His Family.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 6: 11 [NKJV] …  
11 And such were some of you. BUT you were washed, BUT you were sanctified, BUT you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God..
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 6: 9-11 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1: 2nd Corinthians 5: 17 [NKJV] …
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Reference Passages #2: Galatians 2: 20 [NKJV] …  
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

 Reference Passages #3: 1st Timothy 1: 12-17 [NKJV] … Go to this link  … Paul’s thankful prayer that God was willing to save a sinner such as he counted himself.

My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread reminded me of just how much the Apostle Paul, who reveled in the transformation God had made in his own life (see 1st Timothy 1: 12-17 linked above), wanted other lost or confused souls, like those in Corinth, to see how their receiving Christ’s saving grace would change their lives. Hence, in the highlight passage in 1st Cor. 6, he writes to Christians, reminding them of how their lives had been transformed from sinners to Saints in their relationship with Christ. And in 2nd Cor. 5: 17 (as well as Gal. 2: 20) Paul teaches of God’s transforming and sanctifying grace which the surrender to Christ’s Lordship brings about in the life of the Christian.

Don’t you just love the photo attached of the little kitten looking into the mirror and seeing himself as a lion? It’s a wonderful image of how we can (and should) see ourselves as we look into God’s mirror of truth (i.e., the Bible), which will show us whom we have become being crucified with Christ (again meditate on Galatians 2: 20).

Therefore, I will pray this morning that all who read here know of the transformation which has taken place in Christ as well as the completion of that sanctification which is found in our ongoing walk with the Lord (see Philippians 1: 6).

My Prayer for Today … Lord, may all who come here join me in our thanks for Your saving and sanctifying. … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 6, 2014 … Heart Healthy

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 126

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go to this video link to hear Keith Green leading in the singing of Create In Me A Clean Heart, singing the words of David in Psalm 51 as King David, with a repentant spirit, prayed in song for God to clean his heart so that he could be restored in spirit to the joy of his salvation.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Proverbs 4: 23 [NKJV] …  
23 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. 
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Proverbs 4: 20-27 [NKJV] … Go to this link … http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+4%3A20-27&version=NKJV
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Reference Passages #1: Psalms 51: 10 [NKJV] …  
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Reference Passages #2: Proverbs 23: 7a [NKJV] …  
7 So, as he [i.e., any person] thinks, in his heart, so is he …

Reference Passages #3: Matthew 5: 8 [NKJV] …  
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

 Reference Passages #4: Titus 1: 15 [NKJV] …  
15 To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. 

My Journal for Today: Today the Our Daily Bread devotional entry reminded me of the incredible function of the human heart as a biological organ, pumping blood, often for decades, through our veins and arteries to sustain life. But the blog also reminded me of the concept of the spiritual “heart” in the Bible, where , according to ODB, “ … the word heart represents the center of our emotions, thinking, and reasoning. It is the ‘command center’ of our life.”

Certainly we know that when the physical heart is treated poorly for long periods of time, such as with improper diet or lack of exercise, bad things can result such as a heart attack. And if we choose to mistreat our spiritual “heart” with unGodly thoughts our choices, our spirits will be impacted, often with very bad outcomes.

King David, though he had “a heart for God,” chose to mistreat his spiritual “heart” with the episode involving Bathsheba and the cover-up killing of her husband, Uriah; and about a year later, David had to go through a repentant cleansing of his spirit so that God would restore a right spirit within the king (see the Psalm 51 passage). And we know that David’s son, Solomon, in the first nine chapters of Proverbs, writes warnings his son and for all believers to protect their “hearts” (or spirits) so that they would retain a right relationship with God (see the Proverbs 4 passages, linked above). And Jesus, Himself, pronounced God’s blessing on all who maintain the purity of our “hearts;” for it is one who does this who will see God [see Matthew 5: 8].

Again Solomon and the Apostle Paul (see Proverbs 23: 7 and Titus 1: 15 above) exhort all believers to do all we can to retain the purity of our spiritual hearts, knowing that when/if we do this, we can retain a pure relationship with our Lord. However, the opposite is most certainly true; … when/if we allow our “hearts” to be defiled by unGodly choices and habits, the results will be deathly.

We know it, don’t we? But do we live with and for a pure heart? Will we today?

My Prayer for Today … Lord, help me to keep my “heart” pure … for You! … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 5, 2014 … Who Get’s the Credit?

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 125

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear the group, Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing, I Choose To Believe, reminding all Christians that we must humble ourselves and choose to believe especially when things seem to be out of control, humbly holding on to the search for God’s ways over our own ways..
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Jeremiah 9: 23-24 [NKJV] …  
23 Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24 but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. for in these I delight,” says the LORD.
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Jeremiah 9: 23-26 [NKJV] … Go to this link … http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+9%3A+23-26&version=NKJV =============

Reference Passages #1: 1st Corinthians 3: 18-23 [NKJV] … Go to this link …  Paul gives warning to avoid the wisdom of the world and to humbly seek out the wisdom of God.

Reference Passages #2: James 4: 6-10 [NKJV] … Go to this link …  James quotes Prov. 3: 34 in a warning about the evils of pride in the soul of mankind.

Reference Passages #3: 1st Peter 5: 5-7 [NKJV] … Go to this link …   Peter also invokes Prov. 3: 34 in his warning for Christians to avoid pride and adopt humility.

My Journal for Today: From how many different authors does God have to send the same message for us to get it? Well, the Our Daily Bread devotional entry for today hammers home one point I need to keep hearing over and over again; and that is that ”pride goeth before a fall.”

Today I was reminded of this from no less than five different Scripture writers – Jeremiah and Solomon in the Old Testament and then Paul, James, and Peter from the New Covenant writings. And the message is simple: … to avoid pride and embrace humility. Well, duh! I think most Christians know, as Solomon wrote in the oft-quoted proverb: ”God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (Prov. 3: 34) But how many of us live out that truth in our everyday lives?

It’s a message that keeps being drilled into my awareness over and over again; and so, … I get the picture, God! … I need to hear it!! And I do; because one of my primary human weaknesses is my desire to be seen by other humans as competent or of worth; and it’s nothing other than my default weakness of pride. But I think my weakness is shared by all humans, going all the way back to Adam and Eve.

Am I right, or what?!!

And that’s why this mirror of truth from God’s word, the message of Proverbs 3: 34, is repeated by so many different voices from God in Scripture. And if we don’t get it, the outcomes are clear. Because God’s ultimate model of humility showed the way (see Philippians 2: 5-11). Jesus was the hallmark of humility and the absence of pride; and Paul in Phil. 2: 5 said that we must become like our Savior; and if we don’t, the message is simple and clear - we will fall! But if we do, the message is also clear - we will be raised up.

Personally, as today’s song link points me, I choose to believe God’s word and to pursue the latter!

My Prayer for Today … Lord, I know it’s a dangerous prayer; but help me to be humble. … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 4, 2014 … Our Lord's Supper

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 124

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Chris Tomlin singing, Amazing Love, reminding all Christians to honor our Lord and Savior for what He did on that cross; … truly it was amazing love that we should remember until He comes for His Bride.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 11: 26 [NKJV] …  
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 11: 23-32 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1: Luke 22: 14-23 [NKJV] … Go to this link …   Luke also describes the institution of the Lord’s Supper

Reference Passage #2 : John 3: 16 [NKJV] … You know it!!! Reference Passage #3 : Romans 12: 1-2 [NKJV] … Hopefully we all know this one too … and live it every day ... 
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

My Journal for Today: This morning’s Our Daily Bread devotional reminded me of the seriousness of the Eucharist, the ordinance in which we Christians participate to honor, worship, and remember the sacrifice of our Savior on the cross to atone for our sins. As Chris Tomlin sings in the song to which I’ve linked readers today, Christ’s sacrifice truly was Amazing Love, which we celebrate when we take the bread and the juice (or wine). And as Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians 11 and Romans 12: 1-2, the Eucharist should help us to live our lives as to worship our Lord and remember His sacrifice for us.

I’m an Elder in my local church; and each Sabbath we offer The Eucharist as a reminder of Christ’s sacrificial love for us; and, as I'm serving the elements each Sunday, I’m always touched by those who come to the table, obviously taking the elements with genuine emotion, maybe even in tears, remembering what our Lord did on that cross to redeem us from our sins. Taking the bread and the juice (wine) is serious business; and if you read about the institution of the Ordinance of Communion, in either Luke 22 or especially Paul’s account in 1st Corinthians 11, one has to be impressed as to how serious Christ meant for this remembrance to be. Roman Catholics actually believe that the bread becomes the Body of Christ and the wine actually is wonderfully and miraculously transformed into His blood. And though Protestants believe that the bread and the juice are symbols of Christ sacrifice; all Christians should recognize and remember, in the Eucharist, what Christ did on that cross for you and for me.

So, the next time we Christians take the Lord’s Supper, maybe even today because it’s the Sabbath, I pray we all do so with the reverence the ordinance deserves; and then we make a commitment to live our lives in remembrance for the amazing sacrificial love of our Savior.

My Prayer for Today … Yes, Lord, I do live in remembrance of You; and may my life be a living sacrifice for what You did for me.  … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 3, 2014 … Life Changer

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 123

Devotional Song:  Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Big Daddy Weave singing, Redeemed, reminding all Christians that we are redeemed by the blood of Christ; and as does Big Daddy, we need to proclaim that reality to witness for our Lord. Our lives have been changed forever in Christ. Tell someone about it!
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Highlight Passage : Psalms 107: 1-2 [NKJV] …  
1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, …
Highlight Passage : Psalms 107: 1-2 [NLT] …  
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. 2 Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies.
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Psalms 107 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
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Reference Passage #1 : Acts 1: 8 [NKJV] … Jesus as He ascended into heaven after the resurrection commands believers …  
8 … But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Reference Passages #2: 2nd Corinthians 5: 18-21 [NKJV] … Go to this link …   God has given all Christians a ministry of reconciliation and we are to be His ambassadors, trumpeting that truth to the world

My Journal for Today: In my Our Daily Bread devotional for today, the author tells the story of how, when Steve Jobs, the visionary creator of Apple computers died, there were millions of testimonies, which were published online and elsewhere, about how this man and his company changed the lives of these witnesses. And the question this raises about our Christian lives is … WHY aren’t we, whose lives have been so drastically changed by Christ, out there proclaiming that transformation to the world … everyday?!!

The Psalmist in Psalm 107, verses 1-2 [copied and linked above] proclaims that all believers in the One True God, Who has created all and has given life to us all, should be out there telling that story to all. Jesus even commanded His disciples to be His witnesses as He ascended into Heaven after His resurrection (see Acts 1: 8).

Psalm 107: 2 … ”Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!”

Personally, I’m here today to declare that, as pictured in the attached photo, I’m one of those whom Jesus has redeemed and my faith in this redemption by His blood on the cross has set me free from my past chains of sin. Will you join me today in declaring our redemption in Christ to any/all who will listen?

My Prayer for Today … Lord, You freed me from my chains. Please give the opportunities to share that with others today and tomorrow.… 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 2, 2014 … The Tree of Rest

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 122

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear the group 4 Him singing, Back To The Basics of Life, reminding today’s believers that we need to return, as the remnant of true believers in Christ, to a faith that is firmly rooted in our relationship with Christ.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Ezra 9: 9 [NKJV] …  
9 For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.  
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Ezra 9: 5-9 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
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Highlight Passage [Context] #2 – NKJV: Ezra 10: 1-4 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passage #1 : 2nd Chronicles 7: 14 [NKJV] …  
14 If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Reference Passage #2 : Nehemiah 1: 8-9 [NKJV] …  
8 Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; [Lev. 26: 33] 9 but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’ [Deut. 30: 2-5]

Reference Passages #3: Romans 1: 18-32 [NKJV] … Go to this link …  … yes, even when God leaves His people to their own selfish evil, He will bring a remnant through to reap the benefits of His covenant of mercy.

Reference Passage #4 : Romans 11: 5 [NKJV] …  
5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional entry related an interesting bit of rural history in 19th century America. Apparently in those days when agriculture was dominant in the early history of America, farmers would clear the land to create the fields for their crops; but in doing so, they would leave one large tree, usually on the edge of the land, for the farmer who was working the field to have rest from the hot sun; and as pictured in the attached photo, this tree would be called “the tree of rest.”

Well, in the days of the Old Covenant (i.e., Old Testament), we know that God’s people were established as a “tree of rest” in the midst of sinful mankind, … a remnant of faith to follow God’s law and to show mankind, in obedience, that God held out a “tree of rest” (i.e., salvation) for the remnant of God’s people who were obedient to His covenant. However, we also know that the Israelites, even thought they were God’s chosen people, failed over and over again, falling back into their sinful ways. But from Old Testament history, there was always a remnant of steadfast believers which God brought through to be the place (i.e., the tree of rest) for others to see the results of thier faithfulness (see the Ezra and Nehemiah passages and 2nd Chronicles 7: 14 above).

Even under the New Covenant promises after the resurrection of Christ and the establishment of God’s New Testament church, God’s word documents that mankind will become engulfed in the evils of Satan, the world, and the flesh (see Romans 1: 18-32). But no matter how far mankind drifts from God’s will and His ways, there will always be a remnant who will come back and be the “tree of rest” for mankind (see Romans 11: 5).

I pray that all who read here are a part of that remnant tree of rest.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, keep me rooted in Your will and Your ways as a steadfast tree of rest for others to see You in me. … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

May 1, 2014 … Mayday!! … Mayday!!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 121

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear the group Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing the first of two songs, He’ll Do Whatever It Takes, which tells the plaintive truth that God’s grace extends to the most broken of us; and God will do what it takes to lift us up in our brokenness; … and then to this link  to hear the group sing Your Grace Still Amazes Me where we can revel in God’s AMAZING GRACE which is extended to any who humbly come to receive it.
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 Highlight Passage – NKJV: Matthew 8: 2 [NKJV] …  
2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” 
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Matthew 8: 1-4 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Highlight Passage #2 – NKJV: 2nd Corinthians 12: 8-9 [NKJV] …  
8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
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Highlight Passage [Context] #2 – NKJV: 2nd Corinthians 12: 7-10 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1: Lamentations 3: 22-23 [NKJV] … Go to this link …  where Jeremiah provides believers with a clear picture of God’s mercies, which are new every morning; and the declaration that God is always faithfully willing to extend these mercies. …

Reference Passage #2 : Romans 8: 28 [NKJV] …  
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Reference Passage #3 : 1st Corinthians 10: 13 [NKJV] …  
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

My Journal for Today: “Mayday!! Mayday!!” is the cry of planes or ships which are out of control and in need of rescue; and today happens to be May Day, the first of May, as I’ve gone to my Our Daily Bread devotional published for this date. And from this May first blog, I was led to one story, from Matthew 8: 1-4, where Jesus was confronted with a Leper who desperately desired the healing touch that this “untouchable” believed could heal his incurable condition. And it did!

And then my own past brokenness caused me to realize and remember the second highlight scenario, where the Apostle Paul was stricken with a very painful “thorn,” about which he prayed and prayed and prayed to be healed. And the recollection of these two stories helped me to realize the truth of the three reference scriptures which bubbled up from my memory; and it’s the reality that in God’s faithfulness to those who believe in Him, the Lord doesn’t always take away the physical or emotional maladies under which we suffer.

Yes, sometimes He heals the malady; as Christ did with the Leper in Matthew 8; but in His faithfulness and amazing grace, sometimes God chooses not to take away the suffering or the physical symptoms which cause emotional pain, as the Lord did when Paul was faced with that horribly painful “thorn” in 2nd Cor. 12: 7-10. But in both scenarios we must realize the fact that God’s mercy and His grace are at work in both stories, calling us to be challenged in faith to recognize and internalize the truth of Romans 8: 28, probably one of the most difficult scriptures to hold onto in the face of physical or emotional pain.

So, perhaps today you’re feeling the brokenness of life’s circumstances; and you’d desperately desire to be healed as the Leper was in Matt. 8. Perhaps you feel like the young man in the attached photo, the need to be lifted up by the loving arms of our Savior. Or maybe you’d like to experience what Phillips, Craig, and Dean sing about in the two songs to which I’ve linked readers today. But no matter where we are - even if we’re crying “Mayday, … Mayday!!!” - God is always there to hold us up … maybe to heal us … maybe to carry us.

But no matter the circumstances, they are meant to provide us with the grace we need to go on and to deal with the challenges of life [see 1st Cor. 10: 13 above].

My Prayer for Today … Yes, Lord, Your grace always amazes me – even when I have trouble seeing or felling it. … 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 [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.