June 16, 2021 … Following His Light …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 167 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics by Don Moen singing … Trust and Obey … poignantly singing his version of the old hymn about trusting in God by being obedient to His word. 

Jesus' chair for Tami's devotional ... 

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Highlight Passage:  John 8:31-32 [ESV] …  

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 

… Jesus teaches that those who believe and abide in His commands (i.e., His word) are His true disciples who’ve been set free from their sin nature.      

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Highlight Passage [Context]: … John 8:27-32 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus speaks truth to believers about Who He really is … the Messiah!! 

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Reference Passage: … Psalm 119:105  [ESV] … 

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

… Those who follow God’s word are following His light to freedom from out of the darkness. or our sin nature.  

Reference Passage: … John 14:15, 21 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK … 

…  True disciples of Christ who love Him will keep His commandments (i.e., follow His word). 

Reference Passage: … Luke 6:46-49 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus shows what it’s like to be obedient to His word.  

Reference Passage: … Romans 6:16 [ESV] … 

6 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 

… Paul shows that we become slaves to the one we obediently follow; … so, are we following Jesus or ourselves … or the world … or Satan?  

 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Dave Branon, AT THIS LINK   … writes about two friends at a bible study, with one having trouble getting a personal attachment to God’s word.  So, this friend, Tami, devised a way to have her morning quiet time in God’s word by setting up a chair with a chalk board (see photo) where she would invite Jesus to join her in following God’s word by writing the morning study passage on a chalk board on the chair.  And it helped Tami to feel that Jesus was there with her - which Hs was, of course - as she studied and did her best to obediently follow God’s word. 

I think we get the point of the ODB story, don’t we; … that we invite God into our lives … to follow Him obediently … when/if we are obedient to God’s word.  It’s what Jesus told His disciples and followers again and again.  And it’s what He tells us thru His word (see Scriptures above), either Himself [see highlight passage or Luke 6:46-49] or from disciples like Paul [see Romans 6:16]. 

My fellow disciple of Christ, … I pray that we all believe the truth of <b><u>Ps 119:105</b></u>, copied above … that when we follow God’s truth, thru His word, we’ll be following His light out of the darkness of selfishness and sin into His light of truth.  And that’s why you find me here … every morning, … starting my day by taking up His torch (i.e, Hie word) to use it to light my daily path. 

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … showing me THE LIGHT from your truth to follow each day. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to seek out the Light of our Lord, … His word, … to follow obediently today and tomorrow.    … 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.

June 15, 2021 … He Takes Good Care of Me …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 166 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics by Cory Asbury singing … Sparrows … poignantly singing of how our God takes good care of all His children. 

God watches over His sparrows ... 

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Highlight Passage:  Matthew 10:29, 31 [ESV] …  

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. …  31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

… Since God takes care of even the sparrows, will not God take even more care for His precious children.      

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Highlight Passage [Context]: … Matthew 10:16-20, 26-31 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus charges His disciples not to worry about their future being undergirded by God’s Spirit. 

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Reference Passage: … Genesis 29:15  [ESV] … 

15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 

… God promises Jacob, in a dream, to ALWAYS watch over His chosen people as they move toward His promised land; and that includes us. 

Reference Passage: …Matthew 6:25-34 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK ... 

…  Jesus teaches on God caring for all under His creation and control. 

Reference Passage: … Romans 8:28 [ESV] … 

8 And we know that for those who love God ALL THINGS work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.

… God, thru Paul, promises to take care of our every need as Christians. 

Reference Passage: … Philippians 4:19 [ESV] … 

19 And my God will supply every need of Yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 

… God, thru Paul, promises to take care of our every need as Christians.

Reference Passage: … 1Peter 5:6-7  [ESV] … 

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7  casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. 

… God will always take care of His children when we’re willing to humble ourselves under His mighty and caring hand. 

 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Elisa Morgan, AT THIS LINK  … told of taking care of a sparrow which had been hit by the author’s car, … know of just how much more our God watches over and cares for us, just as God has promised to do for His chosen ones (see Scriptures posted here).  

The question from this ODB entry is simple … Do we really believe that our God watches over us and provides for what we need as He does for the sparrows He created (see photo)?

I have to admit there are times, … especially when things are NOT going “my way,” that I wonder how much my circumstances are under God’s Romans 28 watch-care. In fact, as I was writing the previous sentence, there was a power outage which caused me 45 minutes to restore my journaling.  Go figure; ,,, but it’s ALL under God’s providence; and I realized that it was a “WHY WORRY” moment.  And so, … we move on … don’t we?  

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … helping me to realize that You’re watching over and caring for every moment of my life.  

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to rest in the assurance that You, Lord, are watching over and caring for every moment of our lives.  … 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.

June 14, 2021 … We Need His Help …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 165 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics by Don Moen singing … God Is The Strength of My Heart … poignantly rely on God as our help in times of trouble or turmoil. 

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Highlight Passage:  Psalm 121:1-2 [ESV] …  

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?  2 My help comes from the Lord,  who made heaven and earth.

… God’s people singing of relying on God’s strength for their help.      

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Highlight Passage [Context]: … Psalm 121 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God’s people sing that their help comes from the Lord. 

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Reference Passage: … Proverbs 3:5-6  [ESV] … 

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 will direct your paths.  

… God, thru Solomon, calls on us, as His people, to trust Him always to lead us on the right path in life. 

Reference Passage: … Isaiah 41:10, 13 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God’s promise, thru Isaiah, to HIs people that He would always be there to lift us up when we need His strength. 

Reference Passage: … Matthew 11:28-30 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK ... 

…  God’s promise, thru Jesus’ Himself, that He came to give us His strength to yoke us to His power when we’re feeling over-burdened. 

Reference Passage: … Ephesians 3:20-21 [ESV] … 

20 Now  to Him Who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.  Amen. 

… Paul’s acknowledgement in prayer that our God can do FAR MORE with His power to help or lift us up than we could ever imagine.  

 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Anne Cetas, AT THIS LINK  … tells of how a couple’s doctor, helping to deliver a baby which was a surprise pregnancy for the Christian couple and the doctor fostering the confidence of the couple by praying to God for His strength and help during an emergency C-section.   

When we’re overwhelmed or highly stressed by life, it really helps, for us believers, to know and believe in the truth of God’s promises to be there for us (see Scriptures above) … that He will be our strength and our help.  So, … I pray as my born-again believers join me to take in the linked song by Don Moen, that we all stop today and pray for God’s help as we take on the challenges of life today.  

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … giving me Your strength, Lord, when I’m feeling weak - as I am today.

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to rely on God’s strength to help us when we feel weakened to face the day.  … 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.

June 13, 2021 … Faith Like a Child …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 164 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song by a worship duo singing … A Childlike Faith … poignantly singing of we must have a childlike faith to be true children of God.  

Children of God ... 

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Highlight Passage:  Mark 10:14 [ESV] …  

14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them [His disciples], “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. … “  

… Jesus rebukes any who would prevent His children coming to Him in faith, especially His children.          

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Highlight Passage [Context]: … Mark 10:13-16 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus’ teaching that we must have faith like a child to come to Him and enter His kingdom.

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Reference Passage: … Proverbs 22:6  [ESV] … 

6  Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

… We, especially parents, are to do all we can to show our children the Lord’s way in life so that they will know and follow Him as His children. 

Reference Passage: … Matthew 19:13-15 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Matthew’s account of Jesus and the little children being brought to Him.

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

12  But to all who did receive Hm, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,  

… God receives all who believe in Jesus as Lord/Savior as His children.  

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

1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that <b>we should be called children of God; and so we are.  

… God sees born-again believers as His children.  

 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, John Blasé, AT THIS LINK  … tells of the author’s mother who diligently taught little children for 55 years of her life and fought to insure that her church supported ministry to help introduce children to the Lord at a young age. 

And that was the attitude and calling of Jesus as well, … wasn’t it?   Our Lord saw the little ones as HIS children; and rebuked those who might prevent any from coming to Him (see highlight passage and Matt. 19:13-15).  In truth, Jesus told His followers that any of them [and that’s us too!) must have faith like a little child in Him as their (our) Lord and Savior to enter the kingdom of God as God’s children (see Scriptures above).   I pray we do.  

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for accepting me as Your child. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to come to our Lord with the faith of a little child.   … 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.

June 12, 2021 … Called By Name …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 163 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from the Maranatha Singers singing … He Knows My Name … poignantly singing of how our God knows everything about us, including our name, … the one we have now and the one we’ll have in heaven. 

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Highlight Passage:  Isaiah 43:1 [ESV] …  

1 But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 

… God’s promise of redemption even tho His people had abandoned Him.           

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Highlight Passage [Context]: … Isiah 43:1-7 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God’s promise, thru Isaiah, that God knows His people by name and He promises to be with them FOREVER. 

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Reference Passage: … Psalm  139:1-7 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK ... 

… King David sings of God’s presence with His chosen ones … EVERYWHERE and ALWAYS.  There’s no where we can go to escape His all-seeing and all-knowing presence. 

Reference Passage: … Matthew 28:20b [ESV] … 

20 … And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

… Jesus’ promise to be with His true disciples ALWAYS. 

Reference Passage: … John 10::14-15 [ESV] … 

14 I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own and my own know Me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

… Jesus declares that, as our Good Shepherd, He knows His sheep and was willing to die for us. 

Reference Passage: … Romans 8:28, 38-39 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK ... 

… Paul declares and teaches the truth that EVERYTHING in our lives is overseen by our God and that NOTHING can separate His born-again disciples from His love. 

 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Patricia Raybon, AT THIS LINK   … tells of she and her husband coming back to a church they had left earlier and feeling welcomed with love; and quoting Kate DiCamillo, an author who wrote, … “Reader, nothing is sweeter in this sad world than the sound of someone you love calling your name.”

That’s true, isn’t it?  And to know - and believe - all the truth of the Scriptures above.  And isn’t it wonderful, my dear fellow Christian, to KNOW … beyond doubt … that God knows EVERYTHING about us … the good, the bad, and the ugly; … and He still loves us and promises never to leave us or forsake us.  

What a “KNOW IT ALL” our God is; and don’tcha just love it!!! 

So, take in the linked song and revel today in the realization that our God not only knows our names; but He’s calling our names to join Him in heaven.  … Oh, HALLELUJAH !!! 

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for being our know-it-all God. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to praise our Lord for calling us to Himself by name.  … 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.

June 11, 2021 … Unseen - All-Caring God …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 162 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Jaron and Katherine Kamin singing … Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise … poignantly singing of how we, as disciples of Christ, have access to and all-knowing, all-caring, .. yet, unseen God. 

 

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Highlight Passage:  1Peter 1:8-9 [ESV] …  

8 Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 

… Peter writes of the reality of salvation coming from our faith in an unseen, yet all-caring God, our Lord and Savior, King Jesus.           

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Highlight Passage [Context]: … 1Peter 1:3-9 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God, thru Peter, shows that our faith in an unseen God produces salvation.  

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

18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, Who is at the Father's side, He  [Jesus] has made Him [the Father] known. </i> 

… John writes of Jesus allowing us to know and have faith in our unseen God, the Father, thru our faith in God, the Son. 

Reference Passage: … Hebrews 11:1, 6 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK ... 

… God shows the reality of having faith in an unseen and yet, … all caring … God.  

Reference Passage: … 1Peter 5:6-7 [ESV] … 

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, 7 <b>casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. 

… Peter shows that we can humbly bring our cares to an unseen, yet all-caring God.

Reference Passage</u>: … 1John 4:12 [ESV] … 

18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, Who is at the Father's side, He has made Him known.  

… John writes truth about our Lord, Jesus, making our unseen God known to us thru His caring love for us.  

 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Mart DeHaan, AT THIS LINK  … writes of an elderly lady friend with dementia, who in a moment of lucidity wrote poignantly of looking out of her window at a lake in Michigan and writing in a notepad so clearly about her faith in God.  Please use the link above to read what she wrote.   

And when even a demented soul can have faith in an unseen God, … the God sung about in the linked song, … we who have our full mental faculties ought to be able to find the brain power to have faith and follow our unseen, yet all-knowing and all-caring God (see the scriptures above).  Because if we don’t, we’re lost in this very visible, but uncaring world. 

So, I pray today that all us, who claim to be followers of Christ, can - AND WILL - bolster our faith in our all-knowing and all-seeing God, by relying on our faith in the One Who made God, the Father, known to us; and that is our faith in His Son, Jesus, Who died on a cross so that we could, thru our faith in Him, come to know the unseen, but all-caring Father. 

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for giving me the faith in Your Father thru my faith in You, His Son.      

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to humbly bring all our cares to You, Lord, even if we can’t see You, … yet knowing that You hear us and care for all of our needs. .  … 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.

June 10, 2021 … Whom Do They See In Me? …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 161 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Joy Williams singing … Do They See Jesus In Me … poignantly singing of how we, as disciples of Christ, should seek to have others see us as God sees us, … with them seeing Jesus in the way we live. 

Whom do I see in my mirror? 

 

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Highlight Passage:  Ezekiel 32:2 [ESV] …  

2 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: … “You consider yourself a lion of the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you burst forth in your rivers, rouble the waters with your feet and foul their rivers.   

… Ezekiel charged with showing the king of Egypt what God sees ahead for him.           

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Ephesians 4:11-16 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God, thru Ezekiel, the Prophet, shows the Pharaoh what God sees in him.    

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Reference Passage: … 1Samuel 16:7 [ESV] … 

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”   

… God shows that He does not look at outward appearance .. but rather at our hearts. 

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

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 

… Being born-again, in Christ, we are being made new in Him. 

Reference Passage: … 1Peter 2:9 [ESV] … 

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

… Peter declares the truth that we have been called out of the darkness of self and the world into His light of life. 

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

1  See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 

… Often, …  we look into a mirror as born-again Christians <b>(see photo)</b>, and we don’t see our selves as God sees us.  He sees us covered in the Christ’s robes of righteousness, not in our rags of sin. 

 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Mike Wittmer, AT THIS LINK   … relates a story about how he saw himself in the image on a Zoom call and was distracted by what he felt he looked like to others.    

And the ODB entry today points to the question of how - or rather WHOM - we see when we look into a mirror or how we imagine others see us as we live out our lives.  Often, I’m afraid we don’t see ourselves as God see us, do we?  

But we need to come out of ourselves and do our best to realize that - according to God’s truth (see Scriptures above) - God sees us - who are truly born-again Christians, covered in the robes placed upon us by our Lord, Who has covered our rags of sin with His robes of righteousness.

So, I’m praying today that we ask what Joy Williams asks in the linked song; and then we do all we can to go out and let others see the light of Christ shining thru us into the darkness of this world. 

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for letting me wear Your robes so that others see You in me rather than my rags of sin.      

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to do all we can to put on Your robes of righteousness, Lord, and let other see You in the way we live today.  … 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.