December 31, 2013 … Starting Over

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 365 ... Tomorrow is a new day, new year, and new life.

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – to hear Queen Latifah singing, Fix Me, Jesus, … with a prayer for newness in Christ
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Highlight Passage #1 - NKJV: Philippians 1: 6 …  
6 “ … being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; … "
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Highlight Context - NKJV: Philippians 1, Chapter 1, Verses 3 - 11… GO TO THIS LINK … 
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 Reference Passage #1: John 17: 20-23 … [NKJV] … [Jesus’ prayer for His disciples – that’s you and me, too!] …
“ … 20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Reference Passage #2: Proverbs 3: 5-6 … [NKJV] … [God’s promise of His strength to lift us when we’re carrying His load.] …  
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 
6 in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

My Journal for Today: Each year on December 31st, my computer prompts me to call up a poem which I have digitally stored for contemplation and meditation for the New Year. And if you’ve followed me during this year of devotional journaling, you may have also seen that I’ve used this poem, on occasion, to give me a restart when I needed to get back on track with my relationship with Christ. … Well, I’ll not go on with my own verbosity here. I just charge you to take in the photo, the song, and the scriptures which I’ve made available to you above; and then READ ALOUD the poem below, created by Woodrow Kroll; and meditate on where God needs to lead you into 2014. I’m sure you’ll agree that we can all use a restart into the New Year.

Start Over --- Woodrow Kroll 

When you've trusted Jesus and walked His way,
When you've felt His hand lead you day by day,
But your steps now take you another way …
START OVER.

When you’ve made your plans and they’ve gone awry,
When you’ve tried your best 'til there’s no more try,
When you've failed yourself and you don’t know why …
START OVER.

When you’ve told your friends what you plan to do,
When you’ve trusted them but they’ve not come through,
Now you’re all alone and it’s up to you …
START OVER.

When you’ve failed your kids and they’re grown and gone,
When you’ve done your best but it turned out wrong,
And now your grandchildren have come along …
START OVER.

When you've prayed to God so you’ll know His will,
When you’ve prayed and prayed but you don’t know still,
When you want to stop cause you’ve had your fill …
START OVER.

When you think you’re finished and want to quit,
When you’ve bottomed out in life’s deepest pit,
When you’ve tried and tried to get out of it …
START OVER.

When the year's been long and successes few,
When December comes and you’re feeling blue,
God gives a January just for you …
START OVER.

Starting over means victories won,
Starting over means a race we run,
Starting over means the Lord’s “Well done," … so don’t just sit there ..
START OVER.

And my prayer is for all of us is that we go deeper into our relationship with Christ this next year than ever before.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, help me, and any who read here, to know You more, love You more, obey You more, serve You more, and be blessed by You more than ever before in this New Year. … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 30, 2013 … The weight of witness

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 364

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – to hear Steven Curtis Chapman singing, His Strength Is Perfect, … reminding us that we so often need God’s strength to carry us as we’re call to witness in His Name.
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Highlight Passage #1 - NKJV: Matthew 1: 19-20 …  
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ..."
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Highlight Context - NKJV: Matthew, Chapter 1, Verses 18-25… GO TO THIS LINK … 
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Reference Passage #1: Acts 1: 8 … [NKJV] … [It often takes God’s strength to cover our weakness as His witnesses.] … “ … 
 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 Passage #2: Isaiah 41: 10 … [NKJV] … [God’s promise of His strength to lift us when we’re carrying His load.] …  
10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Reference Passage #3: 2nd Corinthians 12: 9 … [NKJV] … [Lest we forget; … God’s always there when we’re feeling too burdened.] …  
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.

My Journal for Today: Oh, here we are … about to move into a New Year; and Os Hillman helped me to remember a lesson that is so difficult to hold onto when our lives get burdened by the challenges of life, especially as we try to witness our faith in a world so hostile to our Savior. And Hillman used the Mary-Joseph dilemma to remind me of this truth, trying to say, “Happy New Year,” as we are called to witness to the Gospel message in 2014.

Mary and Joseph were really in a pickle, weren’t they, as the angel came to each of them to remind them that God would be there to lift them up as they carried the witness of being the earthly parents of the Son of God? Oh, we need to remember this lesson; because being God’s witness in this world often brings a carrier burden which is just way too much to bear at times.

But as the attached photo and Steven Curtis Chapman’s song helps me today, God’s enabling and empowering grace is ALWAYS there for me as was declared proudly and loudly by the reference Scriptures above, all of which bubbled up in my consciousness this morning in my quiet time with the Lord.

Yes, we’re called to be Christ’s witnesses [Acts 1: 8 above], just as were Mary and Joseph. Oh, maybe not by carrying or parenting the Son of God; but most certainly in being His witness to this dark world, we’re often confronted with a great burden or weight, … many times too heavy for us to bear. But as God declares through the Prophet Isaiah in Is. 41: 10, … or the Apostle Paul in dealing with the thorn he incurred in 2nd Cor. 12: 7-10, … we often must yield our egos to rely on God’s strength to lift us up to carry us through times of weakness or trial.

Therefore, as we enter the New Year, are you remembering that God’s grace will always be there to give us HIS strength when we’re burdened by His witness?

My Prayer for Today … Lord, carry me. I need Your strength to cover my weakness. … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 29, 2013 … Responding to the poor

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 363

Devotional Song: Go to this link   – to hear Sara Groves singing, Without Love, … declaring the effects of seeing the needs of others and how we become the way God reaches out to meet the needs of those who need Him.
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Highlight Passage #1 - NKJV: Leviticus 19: 9-10 [My way or God’s way?]  
9 ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
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Highlight Context - NKJV: Leviticus, Chapter 19… GO TO THIS LINK … … [Our choice – God’s way or mine! ] … 
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Reference Passage #1: Malachi 3: 10-13 … [NKJV] … [God has a plan for helping the poor.] …  
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD Almighty, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you! 11Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not shrivel before they are ripe,” says the LORD Almighty. 12“Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the LORD Almighty.

  Reference Passage #2: 1st Corinthians 13: 3 … [NKJV] … [Taking care of the poor without love as the motive means nothing.] …  
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

My Journal for Today: Dealing with the poor in our world is truly a social conundrum, isn’t it? How do we deal with the poor and down-trodden in our world? Not well … FOR SURE!!

But if we love God and desire to live by His purposes, how does He plan for us to deal with the poor? Are government-managed social welfare programs the answer? Well, if the past and our social history in this country are any evidence, a big “NO” would be the answer to that challenge, wouldn’t it?

But the Bible is where we can find God’s answer – IF – we’re willing to use God’s plan for dealing with the poor as THE answer to the problem. If you go all the way back to the highlight passage from Os Hillman’s devotional today, we see that letting God’s people deal with the poor can be handled by God’s people if we’re willing to give – with love – from the excesses from our fields or businesses to those who are allowed to glean what they need from those excesses. It’s pictured in the way Boaz allowed those in need to glean from his harvest (see the photo attached and the highlight passage from Leviticus, Chapter 19).

Actually, if we’d believe it and use it, God has a very effective plan for dealing with the poor in our land; but it is the church and not the government which is charged with dealing with those in need. It is the tithing system from within the church which – if activated properly – could take care of all the needs of the poor in the church as well as those needy who don’t seek after God’s ways. The Leviticus passage is one way for the marketplace to help the poor; and that is to allow them to feed on the excesses of marketplace profits. But it is said that if 50% of those in God’s church in the modern day world were to tithe, there would be so much money to feed the poor that there would be no need for government operated welfare systems.

 Right now, it is said that about 4% of Evangelical Christians tithe to their churches and denominations. And it’s quite obvious that we’re not fulfilling God’s plan for taking care of our poor, are we? And most certainly anything we do to help the poor, if we’re not spreading God’s love in the process, as it says in 1st Cor. 13: 3, it’s all meaningless and worthless.

So, we Christians have much to consider in fulfilling God’s plan for helping the poor. And I’m convicted personally in this to continue to at least tithe and then to give beyond the tithe as God so leads.

How about you?

My Prayer for Today … Lord, consecrate and activate Your church to be Your vehicle to help the poor. … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 28, 2013 … His way or mine?!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 362

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – to hear Daniel O’Donnell singing, Here I Am Lord, … a prayer of surrender of self to the way of the Savior; … and GO TO THIS LINK  – to hear the alternative way of self over Savior, with Frank Sinatra singing My Way. It’s our choice – His or ours.
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Highlight Passage #1 - NKJV: Numbers 20: 7-8 …11-12 [My way or God’s way?]  
7 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” … 
11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. 12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”  
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Highlight Context - NKJV: Numbers, Chapter 20, Verses 1-13… GO TO THIS LINK … … [Our choice – God’s way or mine! ] … 
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Reference Passage #1: Luke 9: 23 … [NKJV] … [Jesus's choice – His way or my way..] …  
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. …”

My Journal for Today: Today’s lesson by Os Hillman for the in-the-trenches, born-again, believer has recurred several times during his year of devotional studies; and it is a lesson I personally know all too well from my life experience. And I’ve titled the lesson as above: ”His way or mine?!” And I give it this title because 24/7 of each day – actually every moment of every day – we’ve been given a choice by God, just as He gave the choice to Moses in Numbers, Chapter 20.

You probably know the story well. Moses was given God’s charge to show His recalcitrant peoples how God will provide for them out of their obedience to Him; and God gave some very explicit instructions to Moses to speak to the rock which would allow God to provide the water that His children needed. However, either in his pride or anger, Moses struck the rock with the wondrous rod God had given to him; and God, in his mercy, provided the water; but Moses’ disobedience cost him dearly, … because he was not allowed to set foot in the promised land, himself, because of Moses doing life his way rather than God’s.

This is a simple lesson, isn’t it? Jesus articulated it clearly in the passage - Luke 9: 23 - that I’ve likely repeated more this year than any other, where Jesus basically says, ”It’s MY way or the highway!!” However, this is a lesson that even the great follower, Moses, had trouble grasping; and because he had a moment of weakness and disobedience, it cost him dearly.

 My friend, sin, especially that of disobedience, ALWAYS has consequences; and I’m praying today that knowing the truth of this lesson, I’ll just live in surrender to my Lord, … following His way, no matter where He will lead me.

My Prayer for Today … Oh Lord, You show me the way … YOUR way; … and I will follow. … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 27, 2013 … Kings and Priests

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 361

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – to hear the group, Hillsong, once again singing, Here I Am To Worship, … a reminder that our lives are to be a 24/7 witness of worship to our God and that we are God’s priesthood of believers.
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Highlight Passage #1 - NKJV: Revelation 5: 10 [God wants us to take and hold His high place in battle.]
9 And they [i.e., those worshipping the Lamb of God] sang a new song, saying: … “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.”
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Highlight Context - NKJV: Revelation, Chapter 5… GO TO THIS LINK …  [The "kings and priests" in God's kingdom. ] … 
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Reference Passage #1: Luke 22: 24-30 … Go to this link [NKJV] … [Jesus taught His disciples a new type of kingdom rule of kings and priests.] …

 Reference Passage #2: 1st Peter 2: 9-10 [NKJV] … [Recognizing our place in God’s kingdom.] …  
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Reference Passage #3: Romans 12: 1-2 [NKJV] … [When we live to worship God, living our lives 24/7 as a living sacrifice and avoiding worldly influences, we will show His perfect will to others and become His living priesthood of believers.] …  
12 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: Fellow Christian, … when you read of “kings and priests,” in Rev. 5: 10 above, do we realize that in John’s wondrous revelation, that’s US he’s talking about!! And so how does that translate into the here-and-now life?

Well, when we read of those “KINGS,” we’re sure not talking about the Bill Gates types of this world; are we? And when John writes of the “PRIESTS,” he’s not referring to the Billy Grahams or to Pope Francis, is he? No, his vision includes you and me worshipping, by the way we live, at the throne of the Lamb of God. WE – i.e., you and me – are those kings and priests; and our lives (in the here and now) are lives which project our worship of the Lamb of God.

I’m afraid Os Hillman is right on target in his devotional today by writing about how we, so-called common believers, come to see mighty political or corporate leaders as the “kings” of this life; and we too often view the Pastors and Priests of our church as the “priests” written about in Rev. 5. But the truth is much more personally convicting than that view of how God sees His priesthood and kingly leaders. As my attached photo illustrates, we, the ones who are sitting in the pews on Sundays and live out our lives on Mondays, are God’s designated priesthood.

If you go to Jesus’ teaching on this in Luke 22 [linked above] or Peter’s teaching in 1st Peter 2: 9-10, it is clear that ALL BELIEVERS are God’s royal priesthood and that we all will (and do now) occupy a position – along with Christ – on His throne of grace. The question is … do we worship God at His throne as Paul wrote about in Romans 12: 1-2, making our very lives – 24/7 – as our “living sacrifice” to the Lamb of God?

Are we fulfilling God’s ordained role as kings and priests as we live our lives today? That’s why I’m convicted to answer that question by the way I live for my Lord - TODAY.

I’ll leave your answer to you.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, may I live in the role as King and Priest as You have gifted me to live … for You!! … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 26, 2013 … Seeking God Wholeheartedly

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 360

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – Please take your time to see a video that I often link my fellow Christian pilgrims to here … with Steve Green singing the powerful song Find Us Faithful reminding us of our heritage of faithfulness in seeking God and following His ways to lead others by the success of our pursuit of our Lord; … and then GO TO THIS LINK  – to hear the group, Hillsong, singing, Here I Am To Worship, … a reminder that our lives are to be a 24/7 witness of worship to our God.
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Highlight Passage #1 - NKJV: 2nd Chronicles 31: 20-21 [God wants us to take and hold His high place in battle.]  
20 Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and true before the LORD his God. 21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered.
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 Highlight Context - NKJV: 2nd Chronicles, Chapter 31… GO TO THIS LINK … … [No room in the Inn. ] … 
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Reference Passage #1: Joshua 1: 8-9 [NKJV] … [Seeking God’s way to follow His will comes from seeking Him through His word.] …
8 “ … This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 

Reference Passage #2: Jeremiah 29: 12-13 [NKJV] … [God will listen when one seeks Him will all his heart.] …  
12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Reference Passage #3: Romans 12: 1-2 [NKJV] … [When we seek God, living our lives 24/7 as a living sacrifice and avoiding worldly influences, we will show His perfect will to others.] …  
1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

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

My Journal for Today: It’s the day after Christmas; and I’m finding myself feeling so deeply grateful for God’s perfect gift and His desire that I succeed in life by following Him and His purpose for my life. How about you? As we move toward a New Year, are you getting into a “show me the way, Lord” mode of surrender?

Today, Os Hillman, in his devotional study helped me gear up for making some New Year’s resolutions by referring me to the story of King Hezekiah in the 31st Chapter of 2nd Chronicles, linked above for your study. In this not-so-often read book of the Bible, we read of Hezekiah, who followed many bad kings in Israel, living a life pleasing to God and doing all he could to seek and find God’s ways as he was called to lead God’s people. And in the highlight verses for the day, from 2nd Chron. 31: 20-21, we read how God prospered Hezekiah’s wholehearted surrender to God’s will in following His ways from God’s word. And therein, for any of us, we have the secret to success in the Christian life.

Really, … Joshua was another Old Testament example of one to whom God gave His simple, but very challenging, secret for success; and in Joshua: 1:8 we read of God telling Joshua that he would succeed in the formidable task of taking God’s people into the Promised Land as long as Joshua sought God’s way by staying in and following God’s word. [Joshua 1: 8 is a passage which we would all do well to memorize and internalize in our lives!!]

And then, when we move to the New Testament and God’s New Covenant was of living, following Christ’s way, God gives us the same prescription for successful Christian living through His wondrous convert, the Apostle Paul, who became the zealot of seeking God and following His ways, leading all Christians into the seeking posture he wrote about in Romans 12: 1-2 and Philippians 4: 6-7, both passages teaching the reality of seeking God with all our hearts, just as God had taught his people through lives like Jeremiah, Hezekiah, and Joshua in the Old Testament.

So, as we move into a New Year, my fellow Christian, how are we going to set ourselves up for success in seeking and following God’s will in 2014? Well, today’s study and my journaling here have given me the clear picture which God is proclaiming for me … along with the songs to which I listened to above.

So, I’m pumped for the New Year; and I will do all I can – yes, ALL I CAN – to seek after God’s will and to follow His ways by seeking to know my God more – day-by-day – by being in God’s word.

And perhaps we’ll cross paths during the year as we seek our God with all our hearts.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, show me YOUR will through YOUR word; and I will follow YOUR ways. And I pray for the privilege of leading others closer to you as I move through the New Year. … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 25, 2013 … Divine Arrangements

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 359

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – Please take your time to see a video today of my favorite Christmas song … Mark Lowry, singing the poignant and powerful song Mary Did You Know reminding us of the fateful birth of the great I AM in a lowly manger to a teenage mother who barely grasped the reality of he becoming the ark of the New Covenant; … and then GO TO THIS LINK  – to hear Steve Green singing, People Need The Lord, … a reminder tha reality that unaware we pass people everyday who need a divine appointment with Jesus.
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Highlight Passage #1 - NKJV: Luke 2: 7 [God wants us to take and hold His high place in battle.]  
7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 
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Highlight Context - NKJV: Luke, Chapter 2… GO TO THIS LINK … … [No room in the Inn. ] …  ============

Reference Passage #1: Philippians 2: 5-11 [NKJV] … GO TO THIS LINK ... [God’s divine appointment with mankind, humbling Himself to become a man, … a servant, … our Lord.] …

Reference Passage #1: John 3: 16 [NKJV] … [That first Christmas was God’s perfect gift of love to mankind.] …  
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

My Journal for Today: What a scenario!! … A baby born in a manger to a teenager who had traveled on a donkey for two days with her divinely arranged husband to give birth to the great I AM. Wow [!], and the Inn keeper, when he put them out into a stable, really missed a business opportunity, didn’t he? Could you just see the promo ops for the future: “Come stay in the Inn where God’s Son was born!!!”

But God arranged the scene quite differently, didn’t He, … a LOWLY Jewish maiden gives birth to the Son of God, the King of kings, … the Lord of lords, betrothed to a LOWLY Jewish carpenter, who was driven by God-ordained legal circumstances to take his wife to LOWLY Bethlehem, where a LOWLY inn-keeper, was forced to put the couple into a LOWLY cave-manger where God’s Son was born and then announced by God’s angels to LOWLY shepherds. Yes, what a scenario!! It was truly a divinely arranged CHRIST-mass, wasn’t it?

Just to contemplate what God went through to arrange all of this to fulfill all the promises He had made to His chosen people is astounding. Over 300 prophesies and promises made to Israel about the coming King, … the Messiah: … and they were all fulfilled in the birth, life, death, and later resurrection of the babe born that day in a manger. Just the mathematics of all of that is mind boggling, for sure? But in that manger scene, depicted in the attached photo and sung about in the song sung by Mark Lowry today, we are all reminded, … well, at least this humble Christian, of the lengths God went through to bring His Son to us as the Christmas gift of the ages (see John 3: 16).

But on this day, so impacted by human commercialism and cultural biases, do we see that, as Steve Green sings about in the 2nd linked song today, every day we pass by people who need the gift of salvation brought about by the one who God laid in a manger that first Christmas morning? So, today I pray that God helps me see the divine appointments and arrangements He presents to us so that we can share His glorious gift with others as we move into this new year.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, help me share the nativity with any and all who need the saving gift of Your Son. … Amen
  
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 24, 2013 … Take the High Places!!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 358

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – Please take your time to see a different type of video today … one of the famous scenes in the movie Star Wars of Luke Skywalker risking his life to destroy the “high place” of the enemy, the death star; … and then GO TO THIS LINK  – to see the famous “see you on the beach” scene from Saving Private Ryan where the allies risk it all to overtake the beachhead established by the enemy on Omaha Beach.
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Highlight Passage #1 - NKJV: Deuteronomy 33: 29 [God wants us to take and hold His high place in battle.]  
29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, The shield of your help and the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, and you shall tread down their high places.” 
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Highlight Context - NKJV: Deuteronomy 33: 26-29… GO TO THIS LINK … … [For Moses song to the tribe designated to take down the high places of the enemy.] … 
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Reference Passage #1: Exodus, Chapter 3 [NKJV] …GO TO THIS LINK ...  [God draws Moses to His high place to show the way that God’s people are to be saved.] …

Reference Passage #2: 1st John 4: 4 … [NKJV] … [We have the power to take the high places established by our enemies.] …  
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Reference Passage #2: Ephesians 6: 10-20 … [NKJV] … GO TO THIS LINK ...  [God’s exhortation, through Paul, to fight the good fight in His Name. ] …

My Journal for Today: Today, my blog uses a slightly different approach to illustrate the point which God made to me today through Os Hillman’s journaling. Instead of using a song or two to illustrate my highlight point today, I’ve taken to You Tube segments from famous movies to help me make the point that God desires us to destroy the high places, which we’ve relinquished to the enemy, and to take them in God’s Name and for His glory.

Most of you have probably seen these two movie segments where the forces of good risk it all to destroy the enemy’s stronghold; and today’s highlight passage [from Deuteronomy 33: 29] has God proclaiming the same message to His people, … i.e., for them to take down the “high places” established for worship of God’s enemies so that He will be glorified.

 And Hillman asks his readers to identify those strongholds – or high places – in our lives, … i.e., those places where we’ve allowed the enemy to take and hold. … i.e., … places where we worship the evil one rather than taking and holding the high places for us to worship our God. Perhaps you have allowed God’s spiritual enemies to establish “high places” or strongholds of sin in your life. There are many which are prominent in our culture/world these days, … the high place of p0rnograpy, … the worship of the almighty dollar, … or the power of holding high political office. All of them – and others – are beachheads where we Christians have allowed Satan to have a foothold in our world.

 But, seeing the photo attached, just as God brought Moses to His high-place on Mount Moriah to show Moses the way to do battle against the enemy, our Lord wants us to do battle in His Name and with His power [see 1st John 4: 4] to tear down the high places established by our giving power over to the enemy [see Ephesians 6: 10-20].

Yes, my friend, … we can do battle – with God’s power – to take the high places which we have relented to God’s enemies; but we have to realize that God has given us THE power – HIS POWER - to take the beaches and bring down Satan’s strongholds in God’s Name and for His glory.

So, my friend, “I’ll see you on the beaches” today as we go forth to do take and hold the high places in God’s Name.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, I’m taking the beaches for Your glory today!! … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 23, 2013 … Unity Is Power!!!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 357

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – Please take your time to see a video of a worshipful song, sung by an anonymous worship group, singing Find Us Faithful , leading us to worship in faithful unity as Christians and to shine God’s light in this ever darkening world.
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Highlight Passage #1 - NKJV: John 17: 22-23 [Jesus’ prays for Christian unity.]
22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 
23 I in them, and You in Me; ... that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 
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Highlight Context - NKJV: John, Chapter 17… GO TO THIS LINK … … [From Jesus’ priestly prayer for His disciples] …
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Reference Passage #1: Matthew 5: 14-16 [NKJV] … [Jesus exhorts a unified Church to shine His light for the world to see His way.] …
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket: … but on a lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Reference Passage #2: John 13: 34-35 … [NKJV] … [Jesus commanded unified love in His Name.] … 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.”

Reference Passage #3: Acts 1: 8 … [NKJV] … [Jesus seeks for us to be unified in our faithful witness throughout the world.] …  
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.”

My Journal for Today: Os Hillman pointed out today in his devotional that there are over 24,000 Christian denominations, growing by hundreds every year. … What’s that all about when Christ Himself prayed for and commanded His disciples to faithfully join together, witnessing to His love and shining His light in an ever darkening world?

Who said, “United we stand, divided we fall?”  … I don’t know; but whomever it was, he or she was right on!! 

Why can’t we get it, fellow Christians? Every one of the passages Os Hillman and I have shared above were red-letter quotes from Jesus, … either of Him praying for His disciples of Him preaching to or exhorting His followers to join together, unified in the power of the Holy Spirit to shine His light brightly – TOGETHER – in a lost and sin-ridden world that so needs His light of love.

Yet, even with Jesus’ strong word and the example He set for us, we default to selfishness and disunity, running like cockroaches into the darkness of our sin, … not being willing to let His power of love shine through a unified church. So, how will I – being one of His disciples – join with others and shine His love light today? How will I promote unity in Christ’s body and help my fellow Christians to shine His light as brightly as we can – TOGETHER – in this world.

I’ve got to answer that for myself today; but how will you answer it for our Lord yourself today?

My Prayer for Today … Lord, help us to unify faithfully in Your love to shine Your light more brightly today. … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 22, 2013 … God’s Kingdom is NOW!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 356

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – Please take your time to see a video of a worshipful song, sung by the group, Hillsong, singing You Are All I Need , leading us to worship – 24/7 – the One who brings God’s kingdom right into our hearts – here and now!
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Highlight Passage #1 - NKJV: Matthew 6: 9-10  
9 In this manner, therefore, pray: … Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done … on earth as it is in heaven. 
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Highlight Context - NKJV: Matthew, Chapter 6… GO TO THIS LINK … … [Jesus’ sermon on kingdom liveing] … 
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Reference Passage #1: Matthew 6: 33 [NKJV] … [Jesus reveals the Kingdom is now.] …  
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

 Reference Passage #2: Mark 1: 14-15 … [NKJV] … [Jesus preached the kingdom Gospel was for now.] …
  14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Reference Passage #3: John 10: 10 … [NKJV] … [The abundant life is for NOW!] … 
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

My Journal for Today: If we could give all born-again (real-deal) Christians an anonymous survey and ask the simple question, ”Where is the kingdom of God?”, what do you think would be the answer? I think the great majority would say, “In heaven;” … but this was not the reality which Jesus’ life and teaching brought to His disciples, was it?

No, if you’ve actually studied through the Scripture passages I’ve cited above, which are all taken from the teachings of Jesus, the inescapable answer to my survey question above is … “NOW!” And that is what is depicted by the attached photo, isn’t it?

My fellow Christian, If you’re looking for the place where God’s gospel kingdom resides, it is populated by YOU and it is found in your heart. And that’s why, when Jesus’ disciples asked Him how to pray, He showed them to pray that God’s kingdom would come in the here-and-now, not just for their coming eternal life with God in heaven. And Jesus went on – over & over – preaching that His followers must live with kingdom values in the here and now. That’s what the Sermon on the Mount was all about, wasn’t it? He said [in Matt. 6: 33], flat out, that you and I are to seek first the KINGDOM OF GOD, while we are yet living, … not just to wait for God’s kingdom to come in heaven.

Think about it, fellow believer, why would anyone want to live if we could not have the “abundant life” promised in John 10: 10 unless that life is for living NOW? And Os Hillman uses an interesting metaphor to illustrate how many Christians live. He says that many – if not most – Christians drive through life like they’ve never used a car and we’re driving at 20 miles per hour because we have the emergency brake on and we don’t even know it’s engaged. We’re blissfully driving toward heaven with our brakes on because we don’t recognize that we could drive with so much more power if we’d just release the brakes we put on ourselves by sinful and selfish living.

That’s why Jesus wants us to pray – here and now – to our Heavenly Father, “Your kingdom come; … Your will be done, … on earth as it is in heaven!”

My Prayer for Today … Lord, help me to live out my life – full on - for You because, as Hillsong sings this morning, “You’re all I need!” … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 21, 2013 … Giving To “The Poor”

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 355

Devotional Song: Go to this link – Please take your time to see a video of a poignant song, performed by Crystal Lewis and Ron Kenoly, singing Beauty for Ashes , reminding believers how much God gives even when we cannot or will not give of ourselves.
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Highlight Passage #1 - NLT: Mathew 25: 40  
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me!’ … "
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Highlight Context - NLT: Matthew, Chapter 25… GO TO THIS LINK … … [Jesus’ parables about Kingdom living] … 
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Reference Passage #2: Matthew 26: 6-13 … [NLT] GO TO THIS LINK … [Jesus teaching on the priorities of giving] …

Reference Passage #2: Matthew 5: 1-12 … [NLT] GO TO THIS LINK … … [Jesus’ beatitudes on kingdom living.] …

Reference Passage #3: Luke 9: 23 … [NLT] … [Jesus teaching on discipleship] …  
23 Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. …"

My Journal for Today: Have you ever driven by a beggar with a sign that reads something like – “POOR … Homeless … need money for food!” ?? Tugs at your heart as a Christian, doesn’t it? But if you’re like me, when I see such beggars on the streets or byways, I also bristle with a bit of human cynicism at the same time, having been burned by such begging in the past.

 One example (and there are many others!), was our family giving to a man with a “homeless” sign on the streets of Salt Lake City, … the sign read … “HOMELESS, Please help so we can eat!” … So, my family and I stopped and bought a rather substantial meal which would feed a family; and then we stopped by and gave it to him on the street. He feigned being thankful; and after we pulled around in the traffic, we observed the man going behind a building to dump the meal in a trash can and then come back to the begging spot where he had been trying to solicit hard cash. How he would have used the cash, if we had given money is only speculation; but I’m afraid all to often it is used to purchase drugs or alcohol.

Oh, forgive my feelings of cynicism, LORD!!

And I pray today that genuinely, as I read and meditate on the passages which Os Hillman called to my attention for study today (see above), especially the quote from Jesus in the Matthew 25 parable, I don’t get too cynical about helping those in need. It’s really hard to have the discernment to live and give like Jesus talked about in His teaching; isn’t it? It’s hard in these dark times of greed to be discerning enough to help those who REALLY need help. That’s why my wife and I have decided – for the most part - to give to and through our church; where we know that discerning Christians will do their best to give and help those who really need the assistance.

Oh, I will continue to try to give to those who reach out for help on the streets; but my “rule-of-thumb” is never to give cash and then to do all I can to try to meet the expressed need circumstances of those who are begging for help. In the past, when I saw someone begging for money for food, I’ve tried to take the person to sit with me and eat. If someone has begged money to buy gas, I’ve offered to use a gas can I carry in my car to take them to their vehicle (which often is not with the person) and give them the gas. If they refuse the help in lieu of the cash, I’m pretty sure they’re not sincere.

 It’s not a perfect system of discernment; but I do my best to keep my attitude in line with Jesus’ teachings on giving to the poor.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, help me to be a discerning steward of Your providence … with a heart willing to help the poor. … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 20, 2013 … Following the Good Shepherd

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 354

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – Please take your time to see a video of a poignant recitation of The 23rd Psalm , which speaks of our deliverance from the valley of the shadow of death into the meadows of the Good Shepherd when we, His sheep, hear His voice and follow Him. … And then, from the sublime, to the ridiculous, GO TO THIS LINK   – to hear Frank Sinatra singing the theme song of selfish living, … the song most identified with Old Blue Eyes, My Way!
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Highlight Passage #1 - NLT: John 10: 14-16  
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to My voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.  ... " 
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Highlight Context - NLT: John, Chapter 10… GO TO THIS LINK … 
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Reference Passage #1: Isaiah 53: 6 … [NLT]
 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on Him the sins of us all.

Reference Passage #2: Psalm 23 … [NLT] GO TO THIS LINK …

Reference Passage #3: Luke 9: 23 … [NLT]
23 Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. … “

My Journal for Today: This morning Os Hillman, in his devotional blog, led me into the pasture of my Good Shepherd; and I come to this quiet place each morning, following my Lord and Shepherd, to graze in His protected and well-provided place of rest and reflection. And if you’ve listened to the audio presentation of that well-know Psalm 23 linked above and read the Scriptures I’ve provided above, you’ll know why I love to be in this quiet place, sometimes having come through the valley of the shadow of death, to follow My Good Shepherd to this place of solitude and protected love in my quite time with my Lord today … and every day, … doing life HIS way, rather than as Frankie sings, “My Way.”

I’ve always relished and identified with the imagery of following the Good Shepherd. In the photo I’ve ripped from the web this AM, you see how, even in modern times in the middle east, the sheep know the voice and smells of their shepherd; and they follow him. And they also follow him because they know how he will lead them to greener pastures and cool waters as well as to protect them from evil and life-threatening places. As Jesus said in John 10, which is always comforting to read, The Lord’s flock know His voice … and they follow Him.

What about us today? Have we made the decision today to discipline ourselves, hearing His voice, to follow our Good Shepherd; or will we go our own way, as Isaiah 53: 6 and the theme song of old blue eyes sings (also linked above), proclaims. … Oh, how we can be so stubborn and wayward sheep at times, hearing the voice of The Shepherd; but straying to live life our own way.

It’s our choice today. So, … whom will we follow, … the way of the self or the way of the Good Shepherd?

My Prayer for Today … Lord, I choose to follow You as my Good Shepherd and Messiah. … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 19, 2013 … My Friend, Jesus

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 353

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – Please take your time to see a video of the powerful song, performed by Wayne Watson singing Jesus, Friend of a Wounded Heart, tells all who seek THE FRIEND who will always be there to be our beloved healer friend in the midst of our brokenness.
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Highlight Passage #1a - NLT: Deuteronomy 34: 10  
10 There has never been another prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.
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Highlight Context - NLT: Deuteronomy , Chapter 34… GO TO THIS LINK … 
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Reference Passage #1: Exodus 33: 11a … [NLT]
  11 Inside the Tent of Meeting, the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.

Reference Passage #2: Revelation 3: 20 … [NLT]  
20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends….”

My Journal for Today: In his journal (blog) entry for today, Os Hillman made reference to the special friendship which Moses had with the God of Abraham, the living Lord, Yahweh, Who led Moses and God’s people out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and toward the promised land. It took some time, but as Moses’ faith developed through the 40 years of wandering through the wilderness, Moses developed a close – almost face-to-face – friendship with His God. And Moses met with his Friend daily in the Tabernacle; and God related with Moses just as a dear, trusted friend with relate to us.

Do you have a friend like that? Well, maybe not a friend who’s omniscient and omnipotent and one who holds the universe in His hands; but maybe you have a friend whom you know would die for you, … one whom you can trust with anything, … one who has a heart for any problem you might have. If you’ve got a friend like that, you know that you’ll do everything you can to protect that bond; and you’ll also desire to spend time with such a friend daily to keep the abiding relationship protected and nourished.

Yes, all Christians, if they’re [we’re] truly Christians, have a friend like that; and of course, as Wayne Watson sings in the song I’ve linked you to today, He, … Jesus, is the “friend of a wounded heart.” And today I’m reminded that my friend, Jesus, is always there for us, just as He pled with the Laodiceans in Rev. 3: 20; and He’s ALWAYS knocking on the door of our hearts, desiring to come in and relate more closely with us. All we have to do is open the door and let Him in; and He will be there as the friend of wounded heart.

But the photo which I’ve attached above is where the action is [at least for this wounded soldier], because it depicts the place I go EVERY DAY (i.e., every morning) to let my Friend, Jesus, into my life, … that place where I can see my Lord, my Messiah, face-to-face … is His word. I hope all who join me to read this journaling realize that each time we open God’s word, praying to God’s Spirit to give us His grace of enlightenment, we are opening ourselves directly to the Mind and Heart of God.

Jesus, Our Friend, is knocking on the door of our hearts today; and when we open His word with the intent of getting to know Him more intimately … and to pray to Him more abidingly, … He will come in and dine with us and help to heal the woundedness in our broken hearts.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, being in Your word today is dining on Your truth and being healed by the salve of Your love. … 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 blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 18, 2013 … Betrayal

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 352

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – Please take your time to see a video of the powerful song, performed by Point of Grace singing Heal The Wounds, a song which reminds Christians that our past wounds can be healed by a loving God who will leave the scars to remind us of His healing love.
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Highlight Passage #1a - NLT: Psalms 55: 12-13; ... 20-21  
12 It is not an enemy who taunts me — I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me — I could have hidden from them. 13 Instead, it is you—my equal, my companion and close friend. … 
20 As for my companion, he betrayed his friends; he broke his promises. 21 His words are as smooth as butter, but in his heart is was. His words are as soothing as lotion, but underneath are daggers!  
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Highlight Context - NLT: Psalms, Chapter 55… GO TO THIS LINK … 
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Reference Passage #1: Lamentations 3: 22-23 … [NLT]
 22 The faithful love of the LORD never ends His mercies never cease. 
23 Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.

Reference Passage #2: Philippians 2: 6-11 … [NLT] … GO TO THIS LINK …

My Journal for Today: Today, in his workplace ministry devotional, Os Hillman discusses how the believer must deal with something that we all will likely encounter; and that is the betrayal of a colleague, partner, or co-worker; and that is a worthy subject for pondering and discussion (as possibly represented by the attached photo). However, as I meditated on Hillman’s blog, I was stricken by the wounds of shame which are created on the other side of the betrayal, … i.e., if we were the one who was the betrayer, not necessarily the one who was betrayed. Because there will be scars which are left on both sides, especially if the betrayer is a repentant Christian who is wounded by shame and needs forgiveness from the one betrayed to heal the scars left behind from the betrayal.

And this gets personal with me; because, for the first twelve years of my marriage, not being a Christian and one deeply involved in compulsive and recurring sexual sin, I was repetitively unfaithful to my wife, repetitively betraying the vows we had taken during those years. But circumstances led to me having to confess my betrayal to my wife; and then both of us were wounded, … she by my betrayal and me by the shame of my betrayal.

 So, how do people deal with such wounds?

 Well, the first thing we needed to heal in this betrayal scenario was Jesus; and though the story is too long to relate here, a few years after the revelation of my betrayal, first I, then my wife, came to know Christ as our Savior and Lord; and it was only then that the real healing could begin to take place. And over time – it always takes time (God’s time) – the open wounds became scarred over with God’s love and His healing grace (see Lamentations 3: 22-23). And actually, as the song relates, by Point of Grace linked above, the scars which remain after the healing process become reminders of God’s faithfulness and mercy in that restoration.

BUT, isn’t that why Jesus came into this world (see Philippians 2: 6-11)? Isn’t that why God’s Son was willing to set aside His heavenly glory, to humble Himself as a man, and even to die, in humiliation on a cross, to provide us with the ultimate healing grace, the salve which allows a betraying sinner like me the mercy and love to be forgiven and the wounds from my shame to be healed. His acts of love, wrapped up in the Phil. 2 passage, define how one like my wife can find the grace to forgive her betrayer (ME) and to have her trust in me healed as we both sought His mercy and grace over the time necessary to turn wounds into scars.

Oh, how I pray – for both of us today – that we remember and surrender to God’s grace of forgiveness and healing, available every morning for those of us who need it. Both my wife and I desperately needed that healing; and the scars which remain today from the healing and renewal of our marriage testify to God’s love.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, my scars scream out about Your love and healing grace. … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 17, 2013 … Beware of Success

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 351

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – Please take your time to see a video of the powerful song, performed by Sara Groves singing Open My Hands, a song which reminds believers that when we are given much we need to open our hands to help others.
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Highlight Passage #1a - NLT: 2nd Samuel 7: 8-9  
8 “Now go and say to my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! … ‘
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Highlight Context - NLT: 2nd Samuel, Chapter 7… GO TO THIS LINK … 
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Reference Passage #1: Philippians 2: 5-11 … [NLT] … GO TO THIS LINK …

My Journal for Today: What’s the riskiest place to be in life? Well, I think the attached photo says it all in answering that dilemma. … We probably incur the most danger in life when we reach the top. So, when life fills our hands with self-proclaimed success, let it be a warning – DANGER, DANGER, DANGER!!! – to open our hands, as Sara Groves sings so poignantly in the linked song for today.

 When we get to the top or have great success in some area of life, our human default is to try to hold on tightly to what God has allowed us to have; but as the Apostle Paul exhorted in the passage I think best describes what our attitude at Christmas should be (and throughout life as well), … that is to become like Jesus [see Phil. 2: 5]. And what was our Lord’s primary strategy during his life on earth; and if you’ve taken in Philippians 2: 6-11, you know that our Lord was the model of humility and service to others. Having all – and I mean ALL – He didn’t hold onto it in glory. No, He let it all go to become a man and die that we might live.

So, this Christmas, when much is being lavished on us, … when we become prodigals for a day – let us remember that God is calling us to be willing to resist holding on too tightly to what He has given us. That’s what God communicated through the Prophet Nathan to David late in King David’s life (see the highlight passages above). God had allowed David to get to the top, coming from being a lowly shepherd boy; and David learned that with what he’d been given, it would become David’s lot in life to bring the Ark of the Covenant back into the Temple of the Lord and to begin building a kingdom for God. And for this task, God promised David that his legacy would be a forever Kingdom with his seed being The Messiah.

So, yes, we should strive to do all God calls to do; but in the process, we should be willing to let it go to honor the Lord just as God’s Son honored His Father by giving all for us.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, help me to hold on to nothing you give me so tightly that I’m not willing to give it up to glorify You,. … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 16, 2013 … God’s Law of Reciprocity

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 350

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – Please take your time to see a video of the powerful song, performed by Steve Green singing Find Us Faithful, a song which is often repeated for my meditations because of it’s proclamation of God’s law … when we’re faithful to sow His seeds, we will reap His harvest.
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Highlight Passage #1a - NLT: 1st Peter 4: 10  
10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
Highlight Passage #1b - NKJV: 1st Peter 4: 10  
10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Highlight Passage #1c – The Message: 1st Peter 4: 10
10  Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it. 
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Highlight Context - NLT: 1st Peter, Chapter 4 … GO TO THIS LINK … 
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Reference Passage #1: 2nd Corinthians 9: 6-10 … [NLT] … GO TO THIS LINK …

Reference Passage #2: Hosea 10: 11-15 … [NLT] GO TO THIS LINK

Reference Passage #3: Psalms 16 … [NLT] GO TO THIS LINK

Reference Passage #4: Matthew 7: 1-7 … [NLT] GO TO THIS LINK

My Journal for Today: Do you know how the law of gravity works? Do you trust that if you were to jump off a 20 story building, bad things would happen to you? Of course you trust that law! It’s God’s law of gravity. Isaac Newton may have figured it out and explained it; but it was God’s law of gravity long before scientists like Newton figured out how it works. And though we may not be physicists and be able to give the mathematical formula for the law of gravity, we know the law works as God intended it to work.

And the same is true with God’s law of reciprocity, more popularly known as God’s law of sowing and reaping; or maybe you’ve used the colorful phrase, “What goes around, comes around,” to explain what God’s word has spoken of and illustrated over and over and over again. Yet, when it comes to one of God’s inviolate and immutable truths, that law may be THE one law most transgressed by His weakened children.

God gave Adam and Eve all they would ever need; and told them to stay away from the big fruit tree; and what did they do? God gives His children His BIG TEN to help us understand how weak we are in following His law of reciprocity; and do we follow His commandments? Jesus, laid out how His followers were to carry out His heavenly laws in this world in His “sermon on the mount;” and do we, who call ourselves Christians, follow up by living as He commanded?

My friend, I’m not going to write a lot on what I was convicted of in studying the passages I laid out above. I certainly don’t need to expand and expound on what God has put forth as HIS LAW of sowing and reaping. It’s clear enough; isn’t it?

 No, for all of us, especially those of us who declare Jesus to be our Messiah and Lord, it’s still a matter of whether we’re going to live by God’s law of reciprocity; … that we’ll sow what Jesus sowed (see the photo attached); and we’ll reap the love He intends for all of us who love Him enough to sow His love for others to reap His harvest.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, sow in my Your seeds, which I’ll take and re-sow today in Your Name. … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 15, 2013 … God’s Preparation

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 349

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – Please take your time to see a video of the powerful song, performed by Steve Green singing Find Us Faithful, a proclamation of obedience to God’s calling, … and the willingness to seek and walk the narrow way we are led to follow by our Lord.
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Highlight Passage - NLT: Galatians 1: 17  
15 But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by His marvelous grace. Then it pleased Him 16 to reveal His Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being. 17 Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus.
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Highlight Context - NLT: Galatians, Chapter 1 … GO TO THIS LINK … 
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Reference Passage #1: Psalm 37: 7a … [NLT]  
7 Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for Him to act.

Reference Passage #2:  Proverbs 3: 5-6 … [NLT]
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 
6 Seek his will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.

Reference Passage #3: Isaiah 55: 8-9 … … [NLT]  
8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Reference Passage #4: Romans 8: 28 … [NLT]  
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.

My Journal for Today: In the last few days, Os Hillman’s workplace devotionals have reminded me that God often takes His faithful warriors through times of preparation so that their (our) service can be more effective for His plans and purposes in our lives. Today I was reminded by reference to the lives of such biblical luminaries as Moses, Jacob, and Joseph in the OT and the Apostle Paul in this morning’s devotional, all men who spent years of preparation for service to God. In Paul’s case, he was led to spend three years in Arabia (i.e., Asia) after his conversion [see Galatians 1 linked above] to become the powerful missionary to the Gentiles he became.

This has very personal meaning for me; because after God brought me out of my own personal darkness of atheism and habitual sexual sin, He took me through a period of almost seven years of discipleship in my church and under the rigorous tutelage of a mentor before He made it obvious to me – in His perfect timing and methods – that I was to move from my previous career in heath-care into my current work for His kingdom in Battle Plan Ministry [go to this link – http://battleplanministries.org ].

Yes, as all of the Scriptures above attest, as well as the song and photo, it is often God’s PERFECT TIMING which has us go through a period of patience and preparation as He leads us where HE has planned and purposed to follow and serve Him. And sometimes it’s difficult to understand, live out, or accept God’s timing or this preparation process.

Maybe you’re there right now. Perhaps you’ve been through God’s season of preparation and, as I am, you’re able to see why God led you where He did to prepare you for faithful service. But if you’re having trouble being patient in finding God’s way for your life, … keep on keeping on my fellow warrior. It’s worth it; and following Him will often require denying our own ways (see Luke 9: 23).

His timing is perfect; and His way is the ONLY WAY. So, find it and follow it, my faithful fellow warrior.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, Your way is THE way; and Your timing is perfect. … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.

December 14, 2013 … Listening for God

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 348

Devotional Song: Go to this link  – Please take your time to see a video of the poignant calling in song, performed by Daniel O’Donnell singing Here Am I, Lord, a proclamation of obedience to God’s calling, … hearing Him and following His call; … And then to this link ... to hear Kristyn Getty singing, Speak O Lord, exhorting all Christians to obedience to God’s word and His call to purpose in our lives.
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Highlight Passage #1 - NLT: 1st Samuel 3: 7-10  
7 Samuel did not yet know the LORD because he had never had a message from the LORD before. 8 So the LORD called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?” Then Eli realized it was the LORD who was calling the boy. 9 So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, LORD, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed. 10 And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.” 
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Highlight Context - NLT: 1st Samuel, Chapter 3 … GO TO THIS LINK … 
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Reference Passage #1: Isaiah 6: 8-9 … … [NLG]
8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” 9 And He said, “Yes, go, and say to this people, … ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing. …'

Reference Passage #3: John 10: 14-16 … [NKJV]  
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know My own sheep, and they know Me, 15 just as my Father knows Me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to My voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. …”

My Journal for Today: May I assume that any reading here with me today have taken in and meditated on the attached photo illustration, the two songs to which I link any readers here, and ALL of the Scriptural highlights given from Os Hillman in his devotional as well as from my own recollection and memory? Because if you have done this; and as I do every morning, you’ve prayed for God’s Spirit to exercise His ministry of enlightenment in your heart this day, I really don’t need to write much here.

And why is that? Well, it’s because you’re LISTENING FOR GOD; and when we Christians do that, God will speak in some way to give us His grace of enlightenment, enrichment, or enablement, … helping us to find His way through this morass we call life. Today in the OT passages from 1st Samuel and Isaiah, copied above you read of God’s Spirit coming upon two of God’s Prophets of old; and they heard and heeded God’s word. Samuel and Isaiah were two great examples of believers who were willing to listen for God and then to follow Him when they heard Him.

That’s what Jesus wanted for His disciples as well when He spoke to them in parables and preached to them about the Kingdom of God [e.g., in that sermon we know of as “The Sermon on the Mount”]. And some listened to Him and some, looking for Jesus to swoop in and defeat Rome, were not able “to hear” (i.e., to fully grasp) what the Lord had to say. It’s like it was when He spoke to them as their Good Shepherd (see John 10: 14-16 copied above). Some within The Messiah’s earshot were able to really “hear” Him; and some could not. Therefore, some followed the Good Shepherd; and some did not. And we know what happened to those who did and those who would not.

My prayer today is that we’re ALL doing ALL we can to listen for God through His word and in life’s loud messages; and then having heard from our God, … to follow Him (and if you don’t know it, go and re-find Luke 9: 23, and be obedient to Jesus’ calling to us).

My Prayer for Today … Lord, I’m here to hear You this morning. Speak clearly; and I will follow. … Amen

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online blog entitled Today God Is First [TGIF], authored by Os Hillman. If you GO TO THIS LINK  on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read Hillman’s TGIF blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.