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.
=============

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.
============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 2nd Timothy 4: 1-9 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
=============

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.
=============

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.
============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 10: 1-22 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
=============

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.
=============

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.
===========
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.
============
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
=============

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.
=============

 Highlight Passage – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 2: 2 [NKJV] …
2  I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
============
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. 
==============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 4: 1-6 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
=============

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.
=============

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..
=============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 6: 9-11 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
=============

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.
=============

Highlight Passage – NKJV: Proverbs 4: 23 [NKJV] …  
23 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. 
 =============
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
=============

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..
=============

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.
=============
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.
=============

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.
============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 11: 23-32 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
=============

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!
=============

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.
=============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Psalms 107 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
=============

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.
=============

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.  
============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Ezra 9: 5-9 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
============
Highlight Passage [Context] #2 – NKJV: Ezra 10: 1-4 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
=============

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.
=============

 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.” 
============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Matthew 8: 1-4 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
 ============

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.”
============
Highlight Passage [Context] #2 – NKJV: 2nd Corinthians 12: 7-10 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
=============

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.

April 30, 2014 … Sorry, … Too Late?

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 120

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear the group, Third Day, singing the old hymn Blessed Assurance, which reminds all believers that we can have assurance of spending eternity with Christ, lost in His love, … IF … and only if … we have received His saving grace by faith in His shed blood on Calvary.
=============

Highlight Passage – NKJV: Hebrews 4: 1 and 11 [NKJV] …  
1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. … 
11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 
============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Hebrews 4: 1-11 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
=============

Reference Passages #1: Matthew 7: 21-23 [NKJV] … Go to this link … Jesus warned His followers that there will be some – actually many – who even called Him “Lord” who will not be recognized at the final judgment because they had not completely surrendered their will to His …

Reference Passages #2: Romans 10: 9-13 [NKJV] … Go to this link … God through the Apostle Paul gives the final formula for salvation and the opportunity to receive God’s saving grace and spend eternity with Him …

My Journal for Today: Today, from my Our Daily Bread devotional entry, I was reminded of a dream I used to have while in school, both college and grad school. I dreamed that I was just about to receive my diploma and graduate; but I got a notice from the school officials that I had missed one class, and it was always a French class for some reason; and because I missed out on that registered class, I would not graduate. And many times I would awake in a sweat imagining that I had not gotten my degree because of my oversight.

You know, ... that dream is much like the proclamation of the author of Hebrews [see Hebrews, Chapter 4 linked above]; because this writer was trying to get his fellow Jews to realize that they would miss out on Heaven if they had not chosen, by their obedient submission in faith to Christ, to believe and be obedient to Christ’s finished work on the cross. And we know that Christ proclaimed that message to His followers as well with his strong pronouncement in Matthew 7: 21-23 … that in the final day of judgment, many would come before Him and be rejected – even some who called Him “LORD” – because they had truly surrendered and received His saving grace in faith.

That’s why I love the old hymn, Blessed Assurance, linked for you to hear above, with those strong lyrics of promise for all who have truly received God’s saving grace by surrendering fully – in faith - to His Lordship and finished work on the cross. My dear fellow reader, God gave the absolute formula for salvation and eternal life in Heaven when the Apostle instructed potential Christians what it takes to be saved [see Romans 10: 9-13]. So, not wanting to assume that any who read here might miss out on glory by not conforming to that formula for the assurance of salvation, I plea that any who read here with me have believed in your heart that Jesus’ finished work on Calvary was your ticket into heaven and knowing of your sin and surrendering to Christ’s will, you have received Him into your heart as your Lord and Savior and you have declared that openly to others.

Because if you have done that, and you live in obedience to Christ as your Lord, you – as do I – have the blessed assurance of eternity with Christ. … Glory, GLORY, GLORY!!! 

My Prayer for Today … Thank You, Lord, for the blessed assurance that I am saved and will spend eternity with 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.

April 29, 2014 … The Anchor Holds

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 119

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Lawrence Chewning giving the story behind the song he wrote The Anchor Holds, also singing the song which declares that our faith in Christ is the anchor which holds our boat of life afloat in the midst of any of the storms of life.
=============

Highlight Passage – NKJV: Mark 4: 40 [NKJV] …  
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Mark 4: 33-41 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
=============

Reference Passages #1: Psalms, Chapter 23 [NKJV] … Go to this link … Jesus is always there to bring us through the valley of the shadow of death – yes, even when we don’t feel His presence …

Reference Passages #2: 2nd Corinthians 12: 7-10 [NKJV] … Go to this link … Paul discovered that Christ’s strength is available to any believer who remains faithful and humbles himself to receive God’s grace.

My Journal for Today: I really needed the message in today’s Our Daily Bread [ODB], which reminded me that even when one is going through the storms of life, God is there; and He is the rock to which our anchor of faith will hold … IF … we but attach that anchor and let Him hold on to us through the storm.

I needed to hear Rev. Lawrence Chewning’s story behind writing the song, The Anchor Holds; so, if you’re reading along with me here, I hope you take the 12+ minutes and use the link above to hear the song writer’s story and then to his touching song. Prayerfully it will bolster your faith anchor as it has mine this morning.

The highlight Scripture passage in this morning’s ODB devotional was from Mark, Chapter 4 … that story of Jesus in the storm with His disciples, with the lives of all in that boat in jeopardy; and Jesus sleeps in the back of the boat. Then, when it seems that the boat is about to be lost on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus is awakened and calms the storm by simply waving His hand to rebuke the storm; and the Disciples are dumbfounded, realizing that this man, Jesus, had authority even over nature. And yet, as we see after subsequent miracles, these men still have trouble grasping the divinity in their presence. And take note of this scene depicted by the Dutch Master, Rembrandt, who painted the scene and even painted a likeness of himself in that boat.

We all have trouble believing in Christ’s presence and His power, don’t we, … especially when we’re facing the storms of life?! … We have trouble believing that the anchor, which is the faith about which Lawrence Chewning writes in song, is truly affixed to THE ROCK, our Lord, which will always hold us in those storms of life. And right now I’m going through one of those storms. Perhaps you are too; or maybe you can remember such a storm of life where your faith in God brought your through that storm to a more peaceful place, as is written about in Psalm 23 or 2nd Corinthians 12. 

But today I needed to be reminded that as long as my anchor of belief is affixed to Christ, … my ROCK, it will hold; and I will come through this storm.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, my anchor is my faith; and it is strongly affixed to You, my Rock. Hold on to me, dear Jesus!! … 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.

April 28, 2014 … A Question of Faith

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 118

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Steve Green singing the Find Us Faithful, reminding Christians that we have a faith worth contending for and remaining faithful in spite of the challenges we might incur as believers.
=============

Highlight Passage – NKJV: 1st Peter 3: 15-16 [NKJV] …  
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.
============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 1st Peter 3: 8-17 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
=============

Reference Passages #1: Matthew 5: 14-16 [NKJV] … Go to this link … Jesus challenges His disciples to shine He light in the world …

Reference Passages #2: Acts 17: 10-15 [NKJV] … Go to this link … The Bereans challenged the Apostle Paul’s claims by going to the Scripture …

My Journal for Today: In today’s Our Daily Bread the author relates the story of General Lew Wallace, the famous civil war general who was encountered on a train by Colonel Robert Ingersol, who was an agnostic and challenged Lew Wallace’s faith in Christ. Embarrassed by his inability to defend his faith, Gen. Wallace, went back to the Scriptures and other sources to bolster his witness of Christianity; and the result was the book, Ben Hur - A Tale of the Christ, which was made into an Academy Award winning movie.

The story illustrates an important point to which the Apostle Peter addressed in his letter to the early church and more specifically in the highlight passages copied/linked above where Peter exhorts believers to be able to contend for the faith when we are challenged by those who have questions.

And my journal entry today challenges any reader to BE PREPARED, as the old Boy Scout motto declares, to give an answer when we of faith are challenged. Very early in my new walk with Christ, I was led to a mentor; and the first question he asked me was, “Bill, are you saved?” And when I fumbled to answer but answered somewhat positively, my new mentor challenged me to prove that I was saved to him. I learned that day that any Christian should KNOW they we are saved; and we should be able to defend the reality of our salvation … with evidence.

It has been asked, “If someone indicted you as a Christian, … would there be enough evidence from your life or testimony to convict you?” And I’ve learned that the way we live as Christians and our life story (i.e., testimony) of how believing in Christ changed the way we live is the strongest way to witness to the reality of our faith.

But if you’re challenged by someone claiming to be an atheist or agnostic, and even after hearing your testimony of transformation in Christ, they want to challenge you further, it might be best to refer them to books written by former atheists who were challenged to examine the evidence for Christ and Christianity and became believers because of their examination of the facts. Books like Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell; … or Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis: … or the best one in my estimation, The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel; … all were solid defenses of Christianity from men who were staunch unbelievers but all who, after researching and delving deeply into Christ’s claims and His life, as reported in the Bible and by extra-biblical sources, wrote about their surrender in faith to Christianity.

But no matter what others have written, all of us, who call ourselves “Christians” need to be ready to defend our faith in Christ by at least being willing to give a strong testimony about how our faith in Christ guides us on this path we call life. So, fellow Christian, are you ready today to defend your faith?

My Prayer for Today … Lord, I will defend You and testify to anyone how my faith in Your has changed 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.

April 27, 2014 … Love Remains

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 117

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Collin Raye singing the Love Remains, reminding us that throughout all of life, when we have love – especially the love of God – we have all that we need
=============

Highlight Passage – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 13: 4-8 [NKJV] …
  4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. … 8 Love never fails.
============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 2nd Chronicles 12: 1-8 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
=============

Reference Passages #1: Matthew 22: 36-40 [NKJV] … Go to this link … Jesus, when asked about the law, responded …

Reference Passages #2: John 3: 16 [NKJV] …  I won’t insult you by copying this very familiar text, since I’m sure you know it.

Reference Passages #2: John 13: 34-35 [NKJV] …  
34 "... A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

My Journal for Today: For the Christian, one of the most challenging lessons to live out in our lives is the truth of one of the most quoted and memorize passages in all of the Bible; … and that is the lesson of John 3: 16. Learning and living that God’s love remains when all else fails is not an easy task for fallen mankind. But when we have the Spirit of God deeply embedded in our hearts as born-again believers, we can not only rely on God’s love being with us; but we can share it, through God’s grace, with others.

By nature, we humans are not loving creatures, even though we were originally created in the image of God. No, … as fallen humans, all you have to do is observe a child and see that, by nature, we are sin-bearing heathens. But when we surrender our selves to the Savior and He becomes the Lord of our lives, we can – AND DO – choose to show love to others.

So, as I’m one the road and pressed a bit for time as I journal this, I exhort you to take in the attached photo, the song link, and the referenced scriptures above, and see that when all else seems to fail in our life God’s love prevails and never fails. And I pray that we’ll share His love with someone today.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, I so rely on Your love. … 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.

April 26, 2014 … Humility Is The Key

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 116

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go this video link to hear Daniel O’Donnell singing the Here I Am Lord, declaring the humble desire to be available to serve God faithfully.
=============

 Highlight Passage – NKJV: 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. 
============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 2nd Chronicles 12: 1-8 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
=============

Reference Passages #1: Proverbs 3: 34 [NKJV] …  
God resists the proud; but gives grace to the humble.

Reference Passages #2: Philippians 2: 5-11 [NKJV] … Please seek, read, and meditate on this passage about the humility of Christ.

My Journal for Today: Today my Our Daily Bread reminded me that God’s key to His enriching, enlightening, enabling, and empowering grace is Christ’s character trait of humility. And every one of the Scripture passages to which you are either linked or can read above attests to that truth.

Here’s what it all boils down to. If we, as the people called by God’s Name (i.e., “Christians”), as 2nd Chronicles 7: 14 proclaims, desire to seek out and receive God’s grace for our lives, especially in dealing with the rough times we will undoubtedly encounter, we must be willing to humble ourselves before His throne of grace, coming to our Lord and praying for Him to pour that grace out to save us from ourselves.

As I am time pressed today at the time of this posting (shame on me!!) … I pray we, as Christians, can personalize and internalize this truth.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, I come humbly to You … BEGGING for Your grace this 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.

April 25, 2014 … The Word Became Flesh

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 115

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go to this video link to hear the Maranatha Celtic singers singing the classic hymn Fairest Lord Jesus, reminding us that God needed to become flesh, even in the lowest form, a babe in a manger, so that man could see and identify with the Messiah; and then GO TO THIS LINK to hear Brian Doerksen sing Creation Calls with much the same message – that the creator of all we see in nature had to become flesh so that mankind could behold their Creator.
=============

Highlight Passage – NKJV: John 5: 14 [NKJV] …  
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 
============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: John 1: 5-14 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
=============

Reference Passage #1: Malachi 3: 1 [NKJV] …
1 “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the LORD of hosts.

Reference Passage #2: Romans 1: 20-21 [NKJV] …  
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 

Reference Passage #3: Philippians 2: 5-8 [NKJV] … 
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

My Journal for Today: As a reader in meditation with me here I hope you take in the breadth of what I’ve posted above in photo, songs, and narrative; because the message is enormous!! It tells the story that mankind was a part of God’s creation; but man couldn’t see God in and through His creation, … which He brought into being through His Word.

No, … because mankind couldn’t behold THE TRUTH in the form of creation, The Lord had to prophesy and then send THE WORD in the flesh, first in the form of a babe, setting aside His, the Lord’s, glory so that mankind could see and identify with Him in the flesh. God became flesh; and as it declares in the first chapter of John and Philippians 2, He dwelt among us, even humbling Himself to die on a cross so that we, through our faith in His finished work, could dwell with Him forever.

Do you get the message, fellow human?!! Do you believe the messenger, who was John, the Baptist, a message which was foretold seven centuries before he, John, came (see Malachi 3 above)? Do you believe in the One whom the messenger declared was THE ONE, … the Messiah, … the Lamb of God? Do you believe that this God Man came and died on a cross and was raised again defeating death forever? Do you believe that this same One, Who died on a cross, is the One Who created the universe and everything in it?

Do you believe?!!

Because if we do so believe, we will be with Him forever! ... And that, my friend, is the GOSPEL truth!!

My Prayer for Today … I do believe, 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.

April 24, 2014 … Mercies New Every Morning

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 114

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go to this video link to hear Cece Winans singing of Great Is Thy Faithfulness, reminding us that God’s mercies never end … no matter what we might encounter in life. … And GO TO THIS LINK  for a very special acapella version of this old hymn.
=============

Highlight Passage – NKJV: Lamentations 3: 22-23 [NKJV] …  
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.
============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: Lamentations 3: 13-26 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
=============

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

Reference Passages #3: Romans 8: 28 [NKJV] …
28 All things work together for those who love the Lord and are the called according to His purposes.

Reference Passages #4: Hebrews 13: 8 [NKJV] …
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

My Journal for Today: Sometimes, when things are not going our way, and life takes a bad turn in the road, we can tend to get the feeling that God has abandoned us. But if we’ve taken in the highlight and reference scriptures above – and we really BELIEVE them – we have faith and know that God will never abandon us. And not only is this God’s unfailing truth, His mercies are new EVERY MORNING and His faithfulness, as Cece Winans sings in the You Tube piece linked above, is FOREVER.

I don’t think I need to say anymore here, do I? We either believe and live in these truths, or we don’t.

I pray we do!!

My Prayer for Today … Lord, in the past couple of weeks I’ve needed to be reminded of Your faithfulness … that Your mercies are new every morning; and You’ve been there to lift me up, time and time again. Hallelujah!! 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.

April 23, 2014 … Death? … Not a problem!!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 113

Devotional Song: Go to this link …  Please go to this video link to hear the group Hillsong leading in the singing of Jesus, You’re All I Need, reminding us that Jesus’ resurrection and His sacrifice are all we need to know that death has no sting in our life.
=============

Highlight Passage – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 15: 54-55a [NKJV] …  
54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” [Isaiah 25: 8] … 55 “O Death, where is your sting? [Hosea 13: 14] 
============
Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 15: 50-58 [NKJV] … Go to this link … 
=============

Reference Passages #1: John 14: 1-3 [NKJV] …  
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 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. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Reference Passages #2: 2nd Corinthians 5: 8 [NKJV] …   
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: In today’s Our Daily Bread devotional issue, I was reminded by the highlight Bible passage from the Apostle Paul’s teaching in 1st Corinthians, Chapter 15 that any Christian should have no fear of death. Because even as the Old Testament prophets taught and foreshadowed, “death has no sting” over one who puts his faith in The Messiah (see Paul’s quote of the Prophets Isaiah and Hosea in 1st Cor. 15: 54-55).

Fellow Christian, have you ever gone to a funeral or memorial service for a non-believer and then compared the atmosphere to such a service for a born-again Christian? Totally different, isn’t it? In the funeral for the non-believer there is a pall of doom and gloom; but in the service for the Christian, there is a celebration of life and the reality of how Christians totally believe in the truths of God’s word where Jesus told His disciples that He would prepare a place in Heaven for them; and what Paul wrote about to the church in 2nd Cor. 5: 8 … that to be absent from the body (in death) is to be present with the Lord (in Heaven).

 Do I sense a “Hallelujah!” from any reading with me here?! … Well, if you haven’t said it, say it now with me … HALLEUJAH!!!  ...

Really, there is nothing more that needs to be said; and I would just charge you to go back and listen to the song to which I’ve linked you above, where Hillsong leads us in singing that Jesus is all we need. He did it all on the cross; and our belief in His finished work has taken all the sting out of death and points us toward His glory.

My Prayer for Today … Yes, Lord …in You death has no sting. … 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.