June 20, 2014 … Forgotten Memories

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 171

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go to this You Tube video link to hear Barbara Streisand singing the beautiful and pertinent song from the musical, Cats … Memory, reminding us that though the night falls with our memories … so dawns a new morning with God richly reminding us of His promises. … And THEN TO THIS LINK … to hear Chris Rice singing the classic hymn, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, reminding us of God’s promise in Lamentations 3: 22-23 [see below], something we should never forget.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Psalms 103: 2 [NKJV] …  
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.
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Highlight Passage #2 – NKJV: Psalms 103: 8 [NKJV] …
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, … slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. 
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Psalms 103: 1-8 [NKJV] … Go to this link …  
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Reference Passages #1 Psalms 105 … Go to this link …  … God wants His people to remember Whom they serve …

Reference Passages #2 Exodus 34: 6-7 … … And the Lord reminds Moses Who He is …  
6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

Reference Passages #3 Lamentations 3: 22-23 … And the weeping Prophet reminds us all of God’s faithfulness …  
22 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness.

My Journal for Today: Traveling down the road of life (see attached photo), we do need to keep our eyes vigilantly fixed on the road ahead, knowing from our plans where we’re going. However, at the same time, we need to use our rear-view mirrors to know what is behind us. And often, is it not the truth, that knowing our past can help us travel forward?

And God wants us to remember Him, and what He has done for us, as we travel the road of life; and that is the subject matter of my Our Daily Bread devotional for today. And when I read it, I was taken – by my memories (as it were) – to go back and listen to one of my favorite songs from the musical, Cats, in this case with the lovely and lilting voice of Barbara Streisand (use the link above) singing “Memory.” And then – also from memory – I went back to hear Chris Rice sing the classic old hymn, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, another song which is pertinent to the ODB message today. I hope any reader here has taken the time to use the links I’ve provided to hear these songs.

And all of this reminds us that as we travel the road of life, God wants us to remember Who He is and Whom we serve. He wanted that of His children in the Old Testament (see the passages above); and it’s especially true of those of us who have the account, in the New Testament, of Him sending His Son to save us. And it’s when we remember all of this that we can move forward in life, knowing that our God is ALWAYS faithful and He will guide us down the road of life.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, I remember what You have done for me and I see You to lead me even today. … 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.

June 19, 2014 … Our Shepherd

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 170

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go to this vimeo video link to hear Marty Goetz singing a modern day version of Psalm 23, where God, through David, wrote of the Good Shepherd, … Our Good Shepherd.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Ezekiel 34: 11 [NKJV] …  
I, Myself, will search for My sheep and seek them out.

Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Ezekiel 34: 11-16 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
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Highlight Passage [Context] #2 – NKJV: Ezekiel, Chapter 34[NKJV] … Go to this link …
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Reference Passages #1 Psalm 23 … Go to this link …   Our Lord is our Good Shepherd !!

Reference Passages #2 Isaiah 53: 6 … 
6 All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Reference Passages #3 John 10: 7-21 ... Go to this link …
Jesus is our Good Shepherd; … He called us and we come!

Reference Passages #2 2nd Timothy 3: 16-17 …   
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

My Journal for Today: When I was under the mentoring of a Godly leader in our church years ago, He one day asked me, “Bill, do you believe in what it says in 2nd Timothy 3: 16-17?” Well, not knowing that scripture said, I responded by saying, “Sorry, I don’t know what it says; … let me look it up?” And he immediately pointed out that he didn’t ask me to tell him what it said; … he had only asked me if I believed in what it said. And in that little interlude, my mentor also taught me that I also needed to know what it said as well; because that one verse says volumes about why we can say – without doubt – that ALL of what God says in His word is truth and we can believe in ALL of it for our good.

So, by now, I hope we all know what that passages says; but even if we don’t was can say that what it says is truth!

And in that regard, today’s Our Daly Bread devotional has a marvelous lesson we all need to hold onto for living our lives with Jesus as our “Good Shepherd.” Long ago, from the same mentor, I also learned that when God uses a word picture over and over again, especially when the picture can be found in both the Old and New Testaments, we need to pay attention to it, because in such repetitive imagery God is trying to paint a picture to which we need to model and follow in our lives.

And as you can see in all of the imagery of my journal entry today, God showed us over and over again, from His Old Testaments Prophets (see the writings of Ezekiel and Isaiah and David above) and from the words of Jesus, Himself (see the John 10 passage above), that God was going to send a Good Shepherd to lead his people from the valley of the shadow of death into His good pastures (hear the song linked with Marty Goetz singing Psalm 23, also linked for meditation above).

But this begs the question … Is Jesus my Good Shepherd? … Because if He is, I will follow Him today; and allow Him to lead me, quite possibly from a shadowy place, into His good place. How about it, fellow Christian; … are we going to follow our Good Shepherd today?

My Prayer for Today … Lord, lead me; … You are my Shepherd; and I will follow 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.

June 18, 2014 … Smile !! … It’s our choice!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 169

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go the first video link to hear Kirk Franklin singing a song many of us may need right now, I Smile!, proclaiming something we all can do to honor our God – and that is to SMILE, especially when we remember His loving smile on mankind in bringing Christ to us. … And so, GO TO THIS LINK and hear baby Micah laugh and get a good smile going for today …
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Numbers 6: 25 [NKJV] …  
25 The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; …
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Highlight Passage – NLT: Numbers 6: 25 [NLT] … 25 May the LORD smile on you, and be gracious to you; …
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Numbers 6: 22-27 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
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Reference Passages #1 Lamentations 3: 22-23 … Go to this link   … If you’ve got this one memorized and internalized, we should be smiling right now because our God’s mercies are new every morning!!

Reference Passages #1 John 3: 16 … … You know it, don’t you? … Does it make you smile? … It should!! …

Reference Passages #2 Romans 8: 28 … I hope you know this one – if not, go look it up and believe it; because it’s true!! And if we do really believe it, it should make us all smile!

My Journal for Today: I challenge you to use the links above for the song and the little You Tube piece of a baby laughing; and if you do it, I’d bet you’ll come out smiling – if not laughing. There’s just something about seeing someone else smile or a baby laugh which cause us to have a reaction of joy.

Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional was one of those “Thanks, I needed that!” messages from God. I’ve been a bit overwhelmed by some negative circumstances in my life of late. Perhaps you’re in one of those funky times right now, too. And if we look at the status of the world around us, it’s pretty easy to get in a downer mood, isn’t it? … Well, I hope you can realize that a smile is a choice. We can – RIGHT NOW – choose to frown or to smile. Try the latter. SMILE for me … Common, do it! Smile.

It makes you feel better, doesn’t it?

 Medical research has shown that choosing to voluntarily smile lowers the blood pressure and releases endorphins and serotonin which are natural pain relieving brain chemicals. Go to this link  and read a short article arguing 10 benefits of choosing to smile. And I’m just sitting here right now, choosing to smile; … and I feel better.

Try it.

And I hope you know John 3: 16 by heart … If not, … go find it in your Bible and read it out loud three times while you’re choosing to smile. You feel better now, don’t you? So, what’s all this say to us – as Christians? Well duh!!! If we can’t figure out the message, I’m afraid there’s little hope for our attitude today. As for me, I’m starting out this day with a smile, remembering how much God loves me; and I’m going to do all I can – all day - to smile.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, You give me a smile today. Thanks!!! … 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.

June 17, 2014 … The Lamb Is The Light

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 168

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go the first video link to hear a group a group of children, worshipping God and singing the poignant and pertinent song You Are the Light, proclaiming Christ is the LIGHT OF THE WORLD!!
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Revelation 21: 23 [NKJV] …  
23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Revelation 21: 14-27 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 John 8: 12-36 … Go to this link … He told them WHO He was; but they wouldn’t believe Him …

Reference Passages #2 Matthew 5: 14-16 …  
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. …”

My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread [ODB] reminded me, with conviction I might add, that the Jesus I follow is the LIGHT OF THE WORLD; and He has commanded me (see Matthew 5: 14-16 above) to go out and shine His light into an ever darkening world. And IF the kids in my video song link for today can get that, certainly I ought to be able to get it.

The ODB today took me to the promise and prophesy of Revelation 21 (see above copy and link), with the reality that one day in glory, Jesus will be the Light He promised when he was confronted by the religious leaders (see John 8 linked above); and He told them clearly that He was the Lamb of God as well as being ”light of the world.” But like so many today, living in darkness, the people of Jesus’ day couldn’t see His light shining … even right in front of them.

I was that way a few decades ago, refusing to even try to see that Jesus was, is, and always will be, the light of the world. But PTL, He cast the blindness from my eyes and allowed me to see THE TRUTH, and as He promised in John 8: 32, the light of THE TRUTH (Who is Jesus) set me free. And today – every day here in this quiet place - I seek more of His light, His truth, and His way; and He shines His light for me to see and follow Him. And one day, in Heaven, He will shine that light so brightly that He will light my way into forever.

But, now, … today, … I pray that we do all we can see as much of His light as we can seek and to follow it forward, shining His light for others to see Him, seek Him, and to follow Him into eternity.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, as I pray almost daily, shine Your light so brightly that I can’t help but see it and follow Your path into eternity. … 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.

June 16, 2014 … Just Do it !!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 167

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go the first video link to hear Kathy Trocolli singing the poignant and pertinent song I Will Choose Christ, reminding all Christians that our life is our worship and workmanship, reflecting the sacrifice which our Lord gave to us that we might be His forever.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: James 1: 22, … 25 [NKJV] …  
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. … 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. 
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: James 1:22 – 2:26 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 John 14: 21 …  
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 Romans 12: 1-2 …  
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.

Reference Passages #3 Ephesians 2: 10 …  
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional focuses on the practical brother of Jesus and his logo-like phrase “… be doers of the word,” which, from James 1: 22, exhorted Christians to take their faith into the arena of life and to make it a “walk-the-walk” faith, rather than just a “talk-the-talk” type of faith.

In 1988 the sports equipment company Nike came up with their now famous “shoosh” logo along with the motto, “Just DO it!!” And the marketing campaign which followed took them from an also-ran in sports marketing to the top of the field. The Nike marketing emphasis was to call the sports enthusiast to come out from just being a fan to being a participant; and of course, to participate the newly activated couch-potato fan would have to purchase shoes, tennis rackets, golf-clubs, and all kinds of equipment to get involved; … and they did, … buying Nike equipment, and taking them from sales of less than a billion per year to over 9 billion in one year. And the Nike market-share has grown to one of the top sports companies in the world.

Today, my devotional photo is of that famous trademark Nike logo and motto; and the song, linked above, is Kathy Trocolli, singing I Will Choose Christ, which points the believer to choose to become a servant … to get out of the easy-chair of life and to get out their and become a “DOER” of the faith. It’s what Jesus commanded in Luke 9: 23 and (above) John 14: 21. It’s what the Apostle Paul exhorted believers in Romans 12: 1-2 and Ephesians 2: 10. And … it’s what Nike proclaimed in their famous motto. “JUST DO IT!” 

And the “IT,” in this case, is to live out our faith in the arena of everyday life. Now, the question which comes from my dip into the letter from James, … Jesus’ brother, … is … am I a couch-potato Christian; or am I out there – in the game – living out my faith in the worship and the witness of everyday life? Am I witnessing to my Lord’s sacrifice for me with my sacrifice of good works in His Name?

Yes, my fellow Christian, today let’s be in the game, wearing Christ’s uniform; and let’s “JUST DO IT” for our Lord!!!

My Prayer for Today … Lord, I’m in the game, for You everyday! … 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.

June 15, 2014 … Dads Being Godly Dads

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 166

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go the first video link to hear Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing the poignant and pertinent song I Want To Be Just Like You, reminding dads – on this Father’s Day – that we need to become the fathers our kids for us to be … and then to this link to hear the same group singing the song, How Deep The Father’s Love reminding all Christians just how deep was our Heavenly Father’s love to give His only Son for His love for His children.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Ephesians 6: 4 [NKJV] …  
4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Ephesians 6: 1-11 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 Deuteronomy 6: 4-7 …  
4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

Reference Passages #2 Proverbs 22: 6 …
 6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Reference Passages #1 1st Timothy 3: 2-4 …  
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. 

My Journal for Today: I know that this journal is read by some overseas; so if you’re reading this in Europe or another continent, please know that it is “Father’s Day” here in the USA; and this day is set aside to honor Dads in our families. And given the state of this world, especially here in America, the question comes up on this Dad’s Day, … ”What would this world be like if fathers were the fathers which are called upon by God’s word to be?” … And I dare say that our world would be a far different world – a far better world – if Dad’s were Dads as God leads them to be.

The images I’ve called up in this blog [see the photo and the songs] are those which follow God’s commands for fathers from His word. And right from Moses in Deuteronomy, … onward by Solomon in Proverbs; … and then in the New Testament from the Apostle Paul, all from scriptural admonitions, we fathers (and yes, I am one) are called upon to raise up our children “… in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

In fact, if you read Paul’s words, later in his ministry, where he was trying to help a younger Timothy to lead a church, Paul taught him that no man should be an Elder (or leader) in Christ’s Church unless he had a track record of being a good and Godly father in his own home (see 1st Timothy 3: 4).

Here in the USA we have a crisis of absentee fatherhood; and the social consequences have been painfully apparent – gangs, violence, and growing child endangerment. Kids are growing up without dads and the society is falling apart at the seams. So, I ask again .. “What would the world be like if dads were the Godly dads as they are called – by God - to be?”

My Prayer for Today … Lord, help me to be the dad you’ve called me to be. … 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.

June 14, 2014 … Rock Solid

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 165

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go the first video link to hear a description of The Old Man of the Mountains, the solid rock image cut in the mountains of New Hampshire, which became the image of the State but fell to a rock slide in 2003 … and then to this link  to hear a choir singing the old hymn, Rock of Ages reminding all believers that we can always rely on Jesus as THE ROCK upon Whom we can build our lives.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Psalms 34: 15 [NKJV] …  
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Psalms 34: 15-22 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
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Reference Passages #1 1st Samuel, Chapter 21 [NKJV] … Go to this link … The story of David falling to deception to cover his human failure …

Reference Passages #2 1st Peter 2: 4-6 …  
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 
6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” [Isaiah 28: 16]

My Journal for Today: In today’s edition of Our Daily Bread the author tells the quaint story of the natural stone monument which became the emblem of the State of New Hampshire, the so-called "Man of the Mountains,” which fell to nature and the weather in 2003.  You can read the devotional account below: but the story is also recounted in the You Tube story, linked above.

ODB: ”It was a sad day in May 2003 when ‘The Old Man of the Mountain’ broke apart and slid down the mountainside. This 40-foot profile of an old man’s face, carved by nature in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, had long been an attraction to tourists, a solid presence for residents, and the official state emblem. … Some nearby residents were devastated when The Old Man fell. One woman said, “I grew up thinking that someone was watching over me. I feel a little less watched-over now.” 

That feeling of being watched over by something permanent and strong is the message of the old hymn, Rock of Ages, which is often played at funerals, because our Lord is THE ROCK of ages; and the One upon Whom we can build our lives as the “cornerstone” described in both the Old and New Testaments (see scripture above).

It’s hard for us when someone we rely upon – a steadying influence in our lives – fails and falls to weakness. The true story of the anointed King David, when, running from the then King, Saul, had to rely on deception and guile (see the 1st Samuel, Chapter 21 story) is an example of the weakness of all humanity. But, when we build our lives on “The Rock of Ages,” we can rely on the truth that we’ve built on the CORNERSTONE; and our lives can stand no matter what storms come against us.

Oh, how I pray that your life, as has mine, is built upon our Rock of Ages.

My Prayer for Today … Oh, my Lord, on You I build my life. … 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.

June 13, 2014 … Totally Safe

BLOGGER NOTE! ... BIG DAY ... 49 years ago TODAY Elly I and were married.  ...  PTL!!!

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 Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 164

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go the first video link to hear Fernando Ortega singing, Beyond the Sky, reminding us that one day our hope will be realized in heaven.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: 1st Peter 1: 3-4 [NKJV] …  
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, … 
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: 1st Peter 1: 3-5 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 John 3: 16 …[You know it, don’t you? But focus in on the concept of “EVERLASTING life,” which would have no meaning if we could lose our salvation. Our salvation is safe – forever – because of God’s saving grace and our faith in His finished work.] …  
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 

Reference Passages #2 John 10: 27-29 [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.

Reference Passages #3 1st John 5: 13 [NKJV] …  
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

Reference Passages #4 1st John [NKJV] … Go to this link …

My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread addressed the deep-heart question which many Christians may have had at some time as to the assurance of our salvation. Have you ever wondered if you can lose your salvation? Well, to address this, ODB uses the word picture of Fort Knox, by this description of the country’s fortress of wealth [see the attached photo].

"The United States Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, Kentucky, is a fortified building that stores 5,000 tons of gold bullion and other precious items entrusted to the federal government. Fort Knox is protected by a 22-ton door and layers of physical security: alarms, video cameras, minefields, barbed razor wire, electric fences, armed guards, and unmarked Apache helicopters. Based on the level of security, Fort Knox is considered one of the safest places on earth.” 

Fort Knox is one of the safest places on earth, for sure; but it’s safety fades with the infinite safety of any born-again Christian’s wealth and safety in heaven when that believer surrenders – in hear-felt faith – to the finished work of Christ on the cross and receives The Savior as his/her Lord. So, if you’ve given your heart and life over to Jesus as your Lord, in His own words above (see Romans 10: 29), … no one can snatch you out of the Savior’s hand.

And if you have any doubts as to the safety of your salvation, I suggest you go back and read the entire first epistle written by the Apostle John, linked above, because as he writes, the epistle was written to Christians to help them (us) KNOW that we are truly saved (see 1st John 5: 13). And when you do, you’ll come away with the assurance that nothing, no nothing, … NOTHING!!! … can take away your salvation; and you’ll know, that you know, that you KNOW that heaven is yours FOREVER!!!

My Prayer for Today … Lord, I do KNOW that I will be with you FOREVER. … 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.

June 12, 2014 … He is our blessed assurance

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 163

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go the first video link to hear a worship group singingBlessed Assurance, reminding us to praise our Savior all the day long for the assurance we have in Him as our Rock of salvation …
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Ezra 5: 11 [NKJV] …
  11 And thus they returned us an answer, saying: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed.
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Ezra 5: 7-17 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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 Reference Passages #1 Matthew 16: 18 [NKJV] …   
18 “…on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 

Reference Passages #2 Hebrews 6: 19-20 [NKJV] … 
  19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread helped me to realize, recognize, and remember that Jesus is the Rock of my salvation; and no matter what happens in my life I can know that He will prevail … just as our Lord promised His chosen ones in the Old Testament (see the Highlight passages) and as Jesus promised His disciples (see Reference passages).

Our Lord is our blessed - and only - assurance. And I don’t have to write a long journal entry here to claim, hold on to, and share this truth with others here.

Our (my) only question for reflection and meditation today is … “DO WE BELIEVE THESE TRUTHS?!!”

My Prayer for Today … Lord, You are my blessed assurance … FOREVER!! … 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.

June 11, 2014 … When INTEGRITY Reigns

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 162

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go the first video link to hear the group 4 Him singingThe Basics of Life, reminding Christians that we need to return to the Truth of God’s Basics as the right way – THE ONLY WAY – in life.
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 Highlight Passage – NKJV: Psalms 15: 1-2 [NKJV] …  
1 LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? … 2 He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart;... 
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Psalms 15 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 ... Psalms 1 [NKJV] … Go to this link …

Reference Passages #2 ... 1st Chronicles 29: 17 [NKJV] …   
17 I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You.

Reference Passages #2 ... 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 Passages #3 John 8: 31-32 [NKJV] …   
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

My Journal for Today: Would you agree with the premise of the song, ”Back To The Basics,” presented by the group 4HIM and linked above, … that we need to get back to God’s basics as our only hope for revival in this world? Do I sense a consensus of “AMEN!” to my exhortation? Because I certainly believe in the truth espoused by the reality that only when INTEGRITY reigns in our world will we find God being able to heal our world (see 2nd Chronicles 7: 14 quoted above).

As my Our Daily Bread devotional for today declares, in no uncertainly terms, that we have broken from God’s “basics” in our world today; and as Jesus Himself declared, … only when we “… know the truth,” will The Truth (which, of course, is Jesus Himself) “… set us free.”

So, today’s exhortations from God’s word (i.e., “His truth”) challenge each of us to ask ourselves if we are living with INTEGRITY. Many of us know the definition of “integrity” (see photo #1). However, when we realize that the concept is the intersection of what we believe, what we say, and how we act (see photo #2), we are backed up to the wall of truth, aren’t we?

Well, at least I am. I’ll leave you and your conscience to deal with these challenging truths today.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, pour Your grace into my life to help me live with integrity every moment of every day. … 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.

June 10, 2014 … Crowning Glory

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 161

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go the first video link to hear Chris Tomlin singingCrown Him [Majesty], proclaiming that our Lord was crowned for eternal glory and all who come to Him in faith will share in His throne.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: John 19: 2 [NKJV] …  
1 So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. 2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe.
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: John 19: 1-8 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 1st Corinthians 9: 23-25 [NKJV] … Go to this link …

Reference Passages #2 1st Thessalonians 2: 19 [NKJV] …  
19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?

Reference Passages #3 2nd Timothy 4: 8 [NKJV] …   
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.

Reference Passages #4 Revelation 3: 11 [NKJV] …  
11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

My Journal for Today: As my journal picture depicts and the highlight passage declares, Christ was given a crown of thorns to wear as He did His crowning work on the cross so that anyone in faith, like the young man in the picture, might one day wear a crown of glory when Jesus comes back to claim His Bride.

What about you? Will you one day wear such a crown?

Paul declared over and over to the faithful of his day (see the passages above) that any who have come to a saving relationship with our Lord and Savior will one day wear a crown given to that one by our Lord, Jesus, Himself. Paul knew that he would one day wear such a crown; and so can we have such confidence. Jesus even declared this truth to His faithful Bride in Philadelphia (see Revelation 3: 11).

So, I pray that you join me in the confident hope that one day we will be with our Lord in glory and He will place on our heads the crown that He has waiting for us, declaring, “Well down my good and faithful servant!!”

My Prayer for Today … Lord, as Chris Tomlin sings, “Crown Him with many crowns!!” … 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.

June 9, 2014 … Way more!!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 160

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go the first video link to hear Phillips, Craig, and Dean singingGreat, Great God, reminding us that in Christ we serve a GREAT, GREAT God; and there is no one like our God!!
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Ephesians 3: 20 [NKJV] …  
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, …
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Ephesians 3: 14-21 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 John 10: 10 [NKJV] …  
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Reference Passages #2 Romans, Chapters 7-8 [NKJV] … Go to this link …

My Journal for Today: Every day as I reflect in this journal on my Our Daily Bread, I try to find a visual image and a song to reflect on the subject matter about which I’m writing; and if you’re reading here with me today, I hope you’ve taken the opportunity to reflect, not only on the scriptures to which I was led to meditate but also on the photo and song I’ve provided; because the whole package this morning reminds Christians that we’ve probably given our God the short change.

My friend, our God is WAY BIG!! … Yes, He’s likely WAY BIGGER than we give Him credit for being; and as our highlight passage declares, He has given us WAY MORE than we likely have credited Him.

Often, when God has given me the opportunity to mentor younger, lesser-mature, Christians, I take them to the chapter in Paul’s letter to the Romans, written from a prison, where the Apostle wrote the greatest victory chapter in all of His epistles, … i.e., Romans 8. And you’ve probably read and reflected on the glory which exudes from this declaration of the greatness of our God which we have in our relationship with the risen Savior. However, just before that glorious chapter, in Romans, Chapter 7, the Apostle Paul writes about how defeated he was in his own humanity; and he reflects on how down any of us can be when we go inward into our selves rather than – as Paul did in Romans 8 - we surrender to the “WAY BIG” God Who has saved us and given us a life with Him in eternity.

The question today, as is the question everyday, is … are we going to choose to live in Romans 7 or will we choose to live in the truth of Romans 8? And … are we going to recognize the truth of our highlight passage of Ephesian 3: 20 or the reference passage of John 10: 10b, both copied above?

I’ll leave you to ponder that one, as I have asked myself today; because the answer will yield a life surrendered to either SELF or the SAVIOR; and it will produce either the abundant life … or an awful one.

We choose!!

My Prayer for Today … I choose You, 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.

June 8, 2014 … The Lesson from a Toothache

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 159

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go the first video link to hear a song I often use in my journaling, the biographical song by Laura Story singing Blessings, reminding us that the blessings of life often come through pain and tears.
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 Highlight Passage – NKJV: Hebrews 12: 7, … 11 [NKJV] …  
7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? … 
11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Hebrews 12: 3-11 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 Deuteronomy 8: 5 [NKJV] …   
5 You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you.

Reference Passages #2 2nd Samuel 7: 14 [NKJV] …   
14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.

Reference Passages #3 Proverbs 3: 12 [NKJV] …   
12 For whom the LORD loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.

My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional reminded me of a lesson which was taught over and over again in scripture (see today’s highlight/reference passages); and it’s the lesson of a toothache. In fact today’s ODB refers to this lesson taught by C.S. Lewis in his classic book, Mere Christianity; and I quote:  

“When I was a child I often had a toothache; … and I knew that if I went to my mother she would give me something that would deaden the pain for that night and let me get to sleep. But I did not go to my mother — at least not till the pain became very bad; . . . because, I knew she would take me to the dentist the next morning. . . . I wanted immediate relief from pain, but I could not get it without having my teeth set permanently right.” 

We humans seldom go for the long term relief. We’re here-and-now creatures, aren’t we? We almost always will first go for the quickie relief. No, … the long-term cure often requires some serious pain and discipline. Who wants to hear you doc say, “You’re going to have to lose 20 pounds?” Or… the orthopedic surgeon saying, “… that knee pain will require surgery; and the rehab is going to be painful for six months.”

No, as God’s children, we often recoil from hearing the truth … that His blessings often come, just as the correction for a toothache, with some degree of pain or the discipline of corrective action. Laura Story had to learn this lesson the hard way to allow her to write the powerful song linked above, ”Blessings!” Her new husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which ultimately required a number of surgeries; but the outcome was his life and they now have the blessing of a new baby because of what they went through.

I personally have to be reminded of this lesson time and time again. God is a loving Father; and all too often His love has to come with some pain attached.

Ouch!

My Prayer for Today … Be merciful, dear Father. … Amen

June 7, 2014 … Who Are We, Anyway?

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 158

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Two songs today, expressing the two signs of our reality … Please go the first video link to hear Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing He’ll Do Whatever It Takes, reminding believers that God’s love is patient and will be there no matter what we’ve done to grieve His spirit; … and then to this link  to hear Avalon sing the song of the surrendered Christian, Everything To Me, where our Lord comes to become our all in surrender to His pursuit of our soul.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Psalms 73: 25 [NKJV] …  
25 Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Psalms 73: 1-3; 21-28 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 Job 21: 15 [NKJV] … Which path will we follow? …  
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’ 

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 Luke 9: 23 [NKJV] … [Memorized yet?]…  
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. …” 

Reference Passages #4 Hebrews 11: 6 [NKJV] …   
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

My Journal for Today: Do you ever wonder who you are as a Christian? And I think the feelings of Asaph, one of King David’s worship leaders, in Psalm 73 captures some of my schizoid faith at times. If you go to the highlight passages, linked above, you’ll see that we often waver, as believers, between the weakness of our human desires and our pursuit – in faith – of our relationship with God. And don’t you feel – at times – that duplicity of emotions?

And so, what about the picture I’ve attached to signify the meaning of my journal entry here from Our Daily Bread for today? Well, Jesus, Who came walking out on the water in the storm for His disciples, depicts for me the so-called “hound of Heaven,” our Lord, Who’ll do, as the first song linked above declares, “Whatever It takes,” to come after His beloved ones, … the ones who pursue a completed relationship with Him. And when we can come, in total surrender to Him, as expressed in the second linked song above, Jesus can/will give His all to us.

So, I challenge you to take in all I’ve brought here today, the photo, the songs, and the Scriptures to help us all realize the truth of Whose we are in our faith. We are Christ’s; and He has given His all for us.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, I am Yours; and You are everything to 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.

June 6, 2014 … The JESUS D-Day

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 157

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go this video link to hear my friend Clay Crosse, and his two friends Bob Carlisle, and Bebe Wynans singing I Will Follow Christ, reminding Christians of the ultimate D-Day in life … to follow The Christ or not.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Joshua 24: 14-15 [NKJV] …  
14 “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Joshua 24: 2, 13-18 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 Proverbs 3: 5-6 [NKJV] … Which path will we follow? …   
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 #2 Luke 9: 23 [NKJV] … Our choice; do we follow the Lord … or NOT! … 23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. …”

My Journal for Today: Seventy years ago today, as depicted in the attached photo, thousands of men, under the battle planning and orders of the Allied Command in Europe, stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, in an attempt to enter Europe and defeat Hitler and His well entrenched Third Reich. Thousands died that day because of that decision; but they took the beaches and ultimately Europe, defeating the tyranny and evil of Adolf Hitler.

April 13, 1983 was my D-day, .. my “Jesus D-day,” because that was the day I decided to do what my friend Clay Cross and his two friends sing about in the linked song today, I Will Follow Christ. That was the day when, as a broken man, I surrendered my life to Christ as my Lord, as described in Prov. 3: 5-6 and Luke 9: 23. And that really was what Joshua was charging God’s people to do late in His life as, in today’s highlight passage, the leader of God’s people, Joshua, was charging them to make the decision to follow the Lord just as Joshua and his family had decided to do.

When was your Jesus D-day, my friend? When in the course of your life did you decide to storm the well-fortified beachhead the enemy has in this world in the Name of Christ? When did you decide to quit doing life your own way and to surrender to the Lordship of Yeshua HaMashiach [Jesus, The Messiah]?

Because if you really haven’t made that decision – the ultimate Jesus D-day decision – today could be your D-day; and all you have to do – in faith – is to do what Joshua and Jesus have commanded of the followers of God; and that is to surrender your life to Him. And if you have made that decision and you’ve been following self, rather than your Savior, today is the day to do what Joshua commanded God’s people to do and that is do what my friend Clay Crosse sang in the linked song above by saying, I will follow Christ!!

My Prayer for Today … You know, Lord, I follow You today and all days! … 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.

June 5, 2014 … On Eagles’ Wings

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 156

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go this video link to hear the Mark Harris singing the poignant song of God’s watchcare in Find Your Wings, reminding Christians how God watches over His children until they can find their wings and fly free …
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Deuteronomy 32: 11-12 [NKJV] …  
11 As an eagle stirs up its nest, 
Hovers over its young, 
Spreading out its wings, taking them up, 
Carrying them on its wings, 
12 So the LORD alone led him, 
And there was no foreign god with him.
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Deuteronomy 31: 7-12 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
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Reference Passages #1 Romans 5: 6-11 [NKJV] … Go to this link … God’s new covenant extends to all who would believe in Christ’s work on the cross …

Reference Passages #2 Acts 17: 26-28 [NKJV] … Go to this link …

My Journal for Today: Have you had the opportunity to watch, through modern webcam technology, the habits of eagle parents as they tend their nest and the young eaglets? Today’s Our Daily Bread references that wonder of God’s creation as the parent eagles watch over and tend their nest (see the attached photo). It’s amazing to watch them prepare the nest, feed their young eaglets, and then, when the eaglets are with wings and ready to fly free, it’s remarkable to see how the parent eagles take the padding from the nest to make it uncomfortable for the eaglets. And then, finally, the parent eagles bump the young birds out of the nest, causing them to fall from the heights; and even catching them and flying them back to the next if they don’t unfurl their wings and fly. But finally, the young eagle will, when falling from the nest, open their wings and fly free, never to return again to the nest.

And it’s amazing that Moses knew of this scenario from nature as he wrote His song in Deuteronomy 31: 30 – 32: 43, from which this morning’s highlight devotional text is drawn (see Deut. 31: 11-12, copied above). Moses knew that God had His watch-care on His covenant children, … just as eagle parents watch over and care for their growing young; and that extends to God bringing His Son into the world and on to the cross … to care for and redeem his sinner-children (see Romans 5: 6-11 and Acts 17: 26-28 linked above).

Our God is like the eagle parents, watching over his chosen eaglets from their re-birth in Christ until the time when they can fly free from His nest, witnessing the love of God to other children of God.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, thank You for watching over me until I could fly free. … 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.

June 4, 2014 … Jesus - Our “Room and Board”

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 155

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go this video link to hear the group Hillsong singing the poignant song of surrender to Christ Jesus, You’re All I Need, reminding all who’ve surrendered to Christ’s Lordship, that He’s all we need in this life and the eternal next.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: John 14: 2 [NKJV] …  
2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: John 14: 1-11 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 John 6: 35 [NKJV] …  
35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. … “

Reference Passages #2 John 14: 21, 23 [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. … 
23 If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread shows all its readers that Jesus is OUR DAILY BREAD (and more). The devotional uses a description of the old English term, ”Room and Board” to show us that. as Hillsong sings in the linked song above, Jesus Is All I Need or anyone needs for that matter. In essence. He is our physical, emotional, and spiritual everything – our eternal “ROOM & BOARD.”

And that’s what Jesus was trying to get across to His twelve disciples in that upper room just hours before He would be leaving them and going to the cross to give His all for them and for mankind. In that Upper Room Discourse (see John, Chapters 13-17), Jesus was trying to quiet the fears of His Disciples by showing them that He was their sustenance (i.e., their bread of life) and that He was going to prepare a place for any/all who would believe in His Kingship [see the passages from John 14]. He was trying to give them the truth of His “sufficiency,” that concept, defined in the attached photo.

The question for any who’re reading with me in this journal entry is, Do we see Christ as our eternally sufficient “Room and Board?” Because if we don’t believe that, … we’re going to be continually trying to live life under our own sufficiency; and I think most have learned – as have I – that we, in our humanity, are not sufficient to deal with Satan, his world, and our own deceit-ridden flesh.

No, Christ is my eternally sufficient “room and board;” and in Him I will rest my hope and eternal future.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, You feed me and in You I long for my eternal home. … 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.

June 3, 2014 … Our Wifi Faith

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 154

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go this video link to hear Laura Story singing her biographical song Blessings, reminding Christians that blessings can be found in the greatest challenges and trials of life.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Deuteronomy 8: 2 [NKJV] …  
2 And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Deuteronomy 8: 1-3; 11-16 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 Deuteronomy 31: 8 [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 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 Passages #3 2nd Peter 1: 2-4 … Go to this link …

My Journal for Today:

 “Why me, Lord?!!” …

Ever been in a place, maybe when you feel you’ve bottomed out in life, that you felt that God was nowhere to be found; … maybe that He had abandoned you all together?

Laura Story, the award winning Christian singer/song-writer, was there a few years ago when her new husband was found to have a brain tumor. But from the series of brain surgeries and the rehab that followed, Laura and her hubby came to learn the true meaning of Romans 8: 28; and she and her husband – together – learned that God’s blessings are not always the “warm-and-fuzzies” of life, which we Christians so often characterize God’s “BLESSINGS” to be. And the Storys now know that some of God’s greatest “blessings” come from the hardest and lowest places in our life. So, I hope you’ve taken the time to hear – or re-listen – to the wonderful song linked above. It sure helped me to remember this truth at a time, right now, where I’m going through one of those low places in life.

That’s what God had to teach His chosen people as they wandered through the wilderness for 40 years before entering into His Promised Land (see the highlight passage linked above in Deuteronomy 8); and it is often the hardest lessons that we must learn in life as Christians; … that our God, Who has promised never to leave us or to even go ahead of us (see Deuteronomy 31: 8), often teaches us our greatest lessons and gives us His greatest blessings in the midst of the toughest times of our life.

And don’t you just love (or maybe hate) the truth in the picture I found to illustrate the faith it takes to live out the truth of Romans 8: 28 … i.e., our “wifi faith.”

My Prayer for Today … Lord, thanks for the reminder in my time with You this morning. I needed that!! … 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.

June 2, 2014 … Walking Carefully

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 153

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go this video link to hear The Gettys, Keith, writing and Kristyn singing By Faith, reminding Christians we must walk by faith and not by sight in following Christ - every step carefully following His path in life.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Ephesians 5: 15 [NKJV] …  
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. … 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Ephesians 5: 1-17 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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 Reference Passages #1 Proverbs 3: 5-6 …  
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 #2 … Yes … AGAIN!! … Luke 9: 23 …  
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. …“

Reference Passages #3 Ephesians 5: 1-2 …  
1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Reference Passages #4 2nd Corinthians 5: 6-8 …  
6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. 

My Journal for Today: My Our Daily Bread devotional for this date took me back to a reminder of a very important truth in Christian living; and that is … we must walk carefully in this world. And I can just sense some of you – right now - saying … “Duh, who doesn’t know that?!” And you’d be right if you’re feeling that way. It’s an evil world we live in; and Satan is going to do everything he can to trip us up or misdirect us along our path in life.

The word picture I often use to remember this reality is of being forced to walk through a minefield where some live mines may be dangerously buried in the field. And I ask anyone, given this scenario, … “Would you want to be the first one to walk through the minefield; … OR … would you rather follow someone who has a mine detector?” Well, again, “DUH!!” … It’s a no brainer, right?! And even if one was following another with a mine detector, we’d walk very carefully, wouldn’t we?

And that’s essentially what Paul was trying to get across to the believers in Ephesus as he was exhorting them to “walk circumspectly” in those evil times, which is a warning that is extremely, if not more, pertinent in these times in which we live. I say again, don’t we know that Satan is going to do all he can to divert us, misdirect us, or get us to follow him rather then for us to seek out and follow God’s ways? Of course he is! So, we’ve got to do all we can to walk by faith as Kristyn Getty sings in the song linked above. [see also 2nd Cor. 6: 7 above]

And when you take in all the truths from Scripture reference above, I will pray we all walk carefully today through the minefield we will have to navigate today.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, may all of us who walk by faith, walk that walk ever so carefullly by following You today! … 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.

June 1, 2014 … Kangaroos and Emus

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 152

Devotional Song: Go to this link  … Please go this video link to hear the group Selah, singing In Jesus Name, We Press On, reminding Christians to press on no matter what our past has been.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: Philippians 3: 13-14 [NKJV] …  
13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, … forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Philippians 3: 12-18 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passages #1 Luke 9: 23 … [I hope you have this one memorized by now!] …  
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. …”

Reference Passages #2 Ephesians 1: 3-10 … Go to this link …

Reference Passages #3 2nd Peter 1: 2-4 …  
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional opens with an interesting reference. Let me just copy and paste it here for your consideration …  

ODB 6/1/14: Two of Australia’s indigenous creatures, kangaroos and emus, have something in common; … they seldom move backward. Kangaroos, because of the shape of their body and the length of their strong tail, can bounce along with forward movement, but they cannot shift easily into reverse. Emus can run fast on their strong legs, but the joints in their knees seem to make backward movement difficult. Both animals appear on Australia’s coat of arms [see photo attached] as a symbol that the nation is to be ever moving forward and making progress. 

It’s fascinating to me that Australia chose these two creatures, engineered by God to move primarily forward as the symbols of their nation. Just as the USofA chose The Eagle because it flies high and free, Australia wanted (and now wants) to make a statement that it will keep moving forward no matter what it’s past has been; and that’s the lesson that my devotional reminds me of today from the highlight text as well as the reference verses from God’s word.

It has been said – and rightfully so – that one can’t drive a car by using only the rear-view-mirror. We have to keep our eyes on the road ahead and only glancing in the rear-view mirrors occasionally to be safe. No, we don’t want to repeat past mistakes; but one cannot go forward unless we, as the kangaroo and emu are created, move ever forward, as the Apostle Paul exhorts, keeping our eyes on the prize ahead, which is the path created for us by Jesus Christ.

My friends, if you’re here reading with me and you know Christ as your Lord, as do I, we must be ever moving forward, keeping our eyes on our Savior, following Him as our Good Shepherd. That’s what he commanded (see my oft quoted passage in Luke 9:23); and we can only follow Him if we keep our eyes on Him and the prize He has set before us (here the song today – linked above).

Here’s praying that we move ever forward to follow Christ and let Him lead us to the prize which awaits us in Heaven.

My Prayer for Today …Lord, I follow 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.