October 4, 2023 … Finding Life In Christ …

October 4, 2023 … Finding Life In Christ …   

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from Kristyn Getty singing … In Christ Alone … Poignantly singing of how mankind can only find eternal life by believing in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  

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Highlight Passage: … 1John 1:1  [NLT] … 

1 We proclaim to you the One who existed from the beginning, Whom we have heard and seen. We saw Him with our own eyes and touched Him with our own hands. He is the Word of life.  

…John’s testimony of finding eternal life only thru faith in Christ as the “Word of Life.”  

              

Highlight Passage (Context): … 1John 1:1-5  [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK …  

… God’s word proclaims the truth that we find eternal life only by believing in His finished work on the cross to save us from our sins.                                                                                              

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Reference Passage: … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God’s word, thru Solomon, teaches that we must trust God with ALL our hearts and avoid trusting in our own feelings and perceptions. .    

Reference Passage: … John 1:12 [NLT] …  

12 But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God.  

… John teaches truth about accepting and giving life ONLY to those who believe and accept Christ as their (our) Messiah. 

Reference Passage: …  2Corinthians 5:17 [NLT] … 

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 

… The Apostle Paul taught that finding and follow Jesus as The Christ allows Christians to find a new life.                 .          

Reference Passage: … Galatians 2:20  [NLT] … 

20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  

…Paul testifies to fellow Christians that dying to self and believing in Christ as LORD gives him (and all Christians) new life.             

Reference Passage: … Ephesians 4:21-24  [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… The Apostle Paul teaches fellow Christians the truth about putting off the old - sinful - self and putting on the new life in Christ.       

                                                                              

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Dave Brandon… AT THIS LINK …   tells of Brett, a young student who was attending a Christian college and about hearing a sermon which showed him that he had not truly surrendered his life to Christ; and once he did, his whole life changed to live for the Lord.  

And so, … what about you and me?  Do we truly live, having COMPLETELY surrendered our heart to CHRIST ALONE?   I’ll leave it to you to answer that question.  But, … as for me, … a little over 40 years ago when I gave my heart over to believe what Jesus did on the Cross to save ALL who truly believe in and follow Christ as LORD, my life changed completely;  and I now trust in Jesus as my Lord and Savior and testify here (as in Galatians 2:20) that I live for Him. 

 

My THANKFULNESS:: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for saving me from myself when I surrendered my will to follow You.                          

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to do our best to live for You, Lord, … ALWAYS!    … Amen

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Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

October 3, 2023 … I Will See You Clearly …

October 3, 2023 … I Will See You Clearly …   

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from Zach Williams, singing … Face-To-Face … Powerfully singing of how heaven will be ours when we, as born-again Christians, see Jesus face-to-face. 

"I can see you !!"  

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Highlight Passage: … 1Corinthians 13:12  [NLT] … 

12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity..  All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 

…The Apostle Paul teaches truth to fellow Christians about how, one day in heaven, we’ll see what God’s love is all about. 

              

Highlight Passage (Context): … 1Corinthians 13:4-13  [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK …  

…Paul teaches fellow Christians of the reality of seeing and knowing what love truly is all about.  

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Reference Passage: …Genesis 32:30 [NLT] …  

30 Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.”   

… Jacob, having wrestled with God, knew that he had seen the face of God yet was blessed to still be alive.    

Reference Passage: … John 1:18 [NLT] …  

18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, Who is Himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us..  

… John teaches truth about God revealing Himself to believers thru our relationship with Christ. 

Reference Passage: …  2Timothy 3:16 [NLT] … 

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.. 

… We see God most clearly thru His word.                .          

Reference Passage: … 1John 4:12  [NLT] … 

12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us to others..  

…We Christians come closest to experiencing God when we love others as He loves us.            

Reference Passage : … Revelation 22: 3-4  [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… God reveals, thru John,  what it will be like in heaven when we see the Lamb of God face-to-face.     

                                                                              

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Xochitl Dixon … AT THIS LINK …   tells of a very young boy being fitted for his first pair of glasses (like the young boy in they photo), seeing the face of his father CLEARLY for the first time, hugging his father and saying … ”I can see you!”

And that story calls to mind what those of us who truly know Jesus as our Lord and Savior will want to say when we are in heaven for the first time, … seeing the face of our Lord and being able to say, with all our hearts, “I can see You, Lord!”  Personally, I can’t wait; … but I will wait, … because i know of His promises, thru His word (see Scriptures above), of what it’s going to be like when we we Christians see Jesus … as Zach Williams sings in the linked song , … “Face-to-Face” …    

      

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for Your promise of being with You and seeing You when You call me home.                        

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to one day see You clearly, Lord, when You call us to be with You in heaven.   … Amen

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Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

October 2, 2023 … God’s Masterpiece In Me …    

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from Danny Gokey, singing … Masterpiece … Powerfully singing of how God is creating a masterpiece of His recreation in all born again Christians.   

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Highlight Passage: … Ephesians 2:10  [NLT] … 

10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.. 

…The Apostle Paul teaches truth to fellow Christians about how our God remakes all born-again Christians into Christ’s images.                            

               

Highlight Passage (Context): … Ephesians 2:1-10  [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK …  

…Paul teaches fellow Christians how we are made over into the image of Christ.                         

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Reference Passage: … Psalm 139:13-14  [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… King David sings of how God has fashioned us in our mother’s womb into a masterpiece of His love and grace.     

Reference Passage: …Isaiah 64:8 [NLT] …  

8 And yet, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You are the Potter.  We all are formed by Your hand.  

… God, thru Isaiah, shows that our God fashions us as a potter does His clay.

Reference Passage: …  Ephesians 4:24 [NLT] … 

24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.. 

… Paul exhorts fellow Christians to put on the new nature where God has recreated His chosen ones to be like our Lord.              .          

Reference Passage </u>: … Philippians 1:6  [NLT] … 

6 And I am certain that God, Who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.  

…Paul encourages fellow Christians that our God will complete His work in us to remake us into the masterpiece of Christlikeness.           

Reference Passage: … 2Timothy 2:21  [NLT] … 

21 If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work. 

… We are recreated to be pure and useable tools, … used for Christ’s good works.    

                                                                              

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread< author, Kenneth Peterson … AT THIS LINK …  describes how Arthur C. Brooks, described how  in guide in the National Palace Museum Taiwan asked visitors, including Brooks, …“What do you think of when I ask you to imagine a work of art yet to be started?” Brooks said, “An empty canvas, I guess.” The guide replied, “There’s another way to view it: The art already exists, and the job of artists is simply to reveal it.” 

And if my readers today have meditated on the Scriptures above, we see that God’s word clearly reinforces the image of our God recreating in all born-again Christians the ability to use our new, Christlike, nature for His good works.  And that is my prayer today for all of us who’ve surrendered to our Lord;  i.e.,  … to be made-over in Christ’s image … to be His masterpiece, … used for His glorious works.    

      

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for remaking me in Your images for Your glory.                        

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to be used for Your glorious works, dear Lord.    … Amen

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Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

October 1, 2023 … God’s Perfect Design …

October 1, 2023 … God’s Perfect Design …   

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from Brian Doerksen, singing … Faithful … Poignantly singing of how we see God all around us in His creation. 

The Swift in flight ... 

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Highlight Passage: … Genesis 1:21  [NLT] … 

21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. 

… God’s glory and His goodness is on display in His creation.                           

               

Highlight Passage (Context): … Genesis 1:14-23  [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK …  

…Creation shows us God’s glory.                                                                                                    

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Reference Passage: …  Psalm 19:1  [NLT] … 

1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.  The skies display His craftsmanship.  

… King David sings of God’s glory on display in His creation.     

Reference Passage: …  Nehemiah 9:6  [NLT] … 

6 “You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship You. 

… God’s people pray to honor God’s glory in His creation.            

Reference Passage: … John 1:3 [NLT] …  

3 God created everything thru Him, and nothing was created except through Him.  

… The Apostle John recognizes that EVERYTHING we see was created in, through, and by our Lord. .          

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

… Everything we see in creation was created by and for our Lord.         

Reference Passage: … Revelation 4:11  [NLT] … 

1 “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power.  For You created all things, and they exist because You created what You pleased.”  

… John is given revelation of those worshiping God for His creation.     

                                                                              

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Jennifer Benson Schuldt … AT THIS LINK …  describes an international research team trying to design a drone which could mimic the flight of a swift (see photo), a high-flying bird in nature.   However, all the efforts of the research team would fall short of the incredible natural design of the natural design of the swift.   

And I pray that all my fellow Christians, reading with me here today, look around and see the glory of God reflected in and on display in what our Lord has created.  So, my friends, … take time today to revel in and praise God for what He has created for all of us.  We may try to recreate God’s work; but His creation will always be greater than what we can create to mimic His glory.  

      

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for showing off for me everyday in Your creation.                         

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to look around and see Your glory in creation, Lord.    … Amen

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Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.