April 30, 2016: Legacy of Accountability

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 121  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of the group singing The Basics of Life, declaring reality that the Church needs to get back to the basics of the faith as we have drifted from the truths of Christ’s Gospel truths.

 
Highlight Passage:  2nd Chronicles 24:1-2, 17-18 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Joash, the King of Judah, did right in God’s sight as long as he was accountable to God’s ways through the mentoring of a Spirit-led Priest, Jehoiada.
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Highlight Context – 2nd Chronicles 24:1-22 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… The story of Joash, a young King of Judah who lost his way without the accountability of a Spirit-led mentor.
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Reference Passage #1 - Proverbs 3: 5-6 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … 
… Whatever it takes to remain accountable to God’s will and His ways, we will travel God’s righteous road.

Reference Passage #2 - Jeremiah 17:9 [NKJV] …  
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; … who can know it? 
…Without the accountability of God’s truth, we are, as human, vulnerable to the wickedness and deception of our own hearts.

Reference Passage #3 - Luke 9: 23 [NKJV] …  
2  Then He [Jesus] said to them all [His followers], … “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” 
… Our accountability is always to our Lord first and foremost.

Reference Passage #4 - Romans 1: 18-32 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … 
… Paul, led by the Spirit, shows what will happen when God’s people turn away from God’s way and do life their own way.

My Journal for Today:  Our Daily Bread author, Amy Boucher Pye, used a story from the OT to remind me of the importance of the legacy of accountability to God’s will and His ways … so that we can remain on track in our walk of following Christ.

And it was the story of a seven-year-old King of Judah, Joash [see 2nd Chronicles 24 linked above], who for 40 years, under the accountability and guidance of a Priest, Jehoiada, led God’s people back to the ways of the Lord. However, at the end of Joash’s reign, when the King’s mentor, Jehoiada, died, the young King, without any accountability, diverted from the basics of the faith and God’s people were led back to idol worship and away from God’s ways, which ultimately led to their demise and destruction.

If that pattern sounds familiar, one need only take in today’s linked song above, where the group 4Him pleads with Christians to get “back to the basics” of the faith … back to God’s will and His ways, spelled out in His word, … as we read in the reference Scriptures above.

Lack of accountability to God’s will and His ways is what led the young King Joash astray and God’s people to demise. And if we, His Church, remain on the spiritually destructive path we’re on in this post-modern era, God will (as He lays out in Romans 1:18-32) let us destroy the legacy of His protection.

And so, each of us need to do all we can to remain accountable to God’s will, following His ways, from His word. … And that’s why I’m here today, as every day, doing all I can to remain true to basics of the faith. … Are you with me? 

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … Help me, and any here with me, Lord, to remain accountable to You through Your word, … seeking Your will and following Your ways. Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 29, 2016: Living Fragrance for God

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 120  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of Daniel O’Donnell, singing the praise song Surely The Presence of the Lord, declaring the presence of the Lord in the hearts of all who surrender to His peace and love.

Highlight Passage:  2nd Cor. 2:15 [NKJV] … 
15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 
 … A beautiful image for which Christians should aspire.
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Highlight Context – 2nd Corinthians 2:14-17 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… The lives and witness of true believers sharing God’s love with others are a sweet smelling aroma for God
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Reference Passage #1 - Exodus 30:1, 7-8 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … 
… In the OT Tabernacle, Aaron and the Priests were to burn an offering of sweet-smelling incense daily to show their love to God.

Reference Passage #2 - Romans 12:1 [NKJV] …  
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. 
… In the New Covenant our lives are to be the sweet-smelling living sacrifice of praise for God.

Reference Passage #3 - Ephesians 5:2 [NKJV] …  
2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
 … Our lives of living sacrifice (see also Rom. 12:1) become a sweet-smelling aroma for God.

My Journal for Today:  Our Daily Bread author, Marion Stroud, taught about the sacrifice of incense which was to be burnt for God on the altar just outside of the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle (see Exodus 30 linked above); and how, in the New Covenant ,our lives, lived as living sacrifices (see Romans 12:1) become that sweet smelling aroma for God (see also 2Cor. 2:15 and Eph. 5:2).

And when we take in today’s ODB entry [see link below], the attached photo, and Daniel O’Donnell singing the linked song, I would hope that any reading here are as convicted as am I to do more - this very day - to be a sweet-smelling aroma of living sacrifice to/for our Lord. And, … I don’t think I need to complicate this with any more words, do I?

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … Today, may all that I think, say, and do be a sweet-smelling aroma for You. Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 28, 2016: Trusting God, No Matter What!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 119  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of Cece Wynans and Andre Crouch, at a Gaither gathering, singing the old hymnThrough It All, singing of the trust we can - and must - have in Jesus, no matter what our circumstances. … And THEN TO THIS LINK to hear Big Daddy Weave singing a contemporary arrangement of the old hymn, Trust and Obey .

 
Highlight Passage:  Malachi 1:2 [NKJV] … 
2 “I have loved you (Israel),” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?” …” 
… Why can’t we just trust our Lord? Doesn’t He have a good enough track record?
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Highlight Context – Malachi 1:1-10; 4:5-6 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
 … Malachi prophesying for God to Israel upon their return to rebuild the Temple from Babylon in the days of Nehemiah
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Reference Passage #1 - Proverbs 3: 5-6 [NKJV] …  
5 Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. 6 In ALL your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. 
… Don’t we so often have trouble really believing in the reality of Whom we serve?

Reference Passage #2 - John 14:21 [NKJV] …  
21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” 
… Jesus tells His Disciples how we must love Him to have Him manifest in/through us.

Reference Passage #3 - Romans 8: 28 [NKJV] …  
28 All things work together for the good for those who love God and are the called according to His purposes. 
 … True!; … but do we really believe it … and live by its truth?

My Journal for Today:  Our Daily Bread author, Dave Branon, used the historical times when God’s remnant were allowed to return from Babylon to Jerusalem, in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah, to rebuild the Temple and the walls around the City of David. In those times the Prophet Malachi brought a word from God to the people of His everlasting covenant love for His people; but in Malachi 1:2, we read how the people balked at returning God’s love, … forgetting how often God had saved them and provided for them so many times over the years.

We’re that way as disciples of Christ, aren’t we? … Something goes wrong, perhaps bringing turmoil or pain into our lives; and our trust in our Lord waxes or wanes. What we need is the kind of love Jesus asked of His Disciples in the Upper Room [see John 14:21] or the kind of trust/love sung about in the linked songs above.

For several days in a row now, I’ve been making reference to the same passages from God’s word in my journal (blog) entries; because the redundancy of truth in these verses teaches us to hold onto our trust in our Lord - NO MATTER what our circumstances may be dealing out in our lives. That’s my prayer for all of us here today.

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … we do trust in You, Lord. Help us to trust and obey, because, as the old song says, “there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey!” Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 27, 2016: Jesus Is In The Boat

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 118  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of Marty Goetz singing his rendition of Psalm 23, with singer’s arrangement of the classic Davidic song, declaring how we are comforted by the truth of where our Good Shepherd will ultimately lead us.

 
Highlight Passage:  Matthew 8:27 [NKJV] … 
27 So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” 
… And Jesus’ disciples were astonished at His power on display in the wind/waves.
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Highlight Context – Matthew 8:23-27 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… Jesus demonstrates His divine power to His disciples, controlling even the waves in a storm. 
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Reference Passage #1 - Proverbs 3: 5-6 [NKJV] …  
5 Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. 6 In ALL your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. 
… Like Jesus’ disciples, so often we have trouble really believing the reality of Whom we serve.

Reference Passage #2 - John 16:33 [NKJV] …  
33 “… In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” 
… Jesus warns of our troubles, yet gives His promise of control.

Reference Passage #3 - Romans 8: 28 [NKJV] …
  28 All things work together for the good for those who love God and are the called according to His purposes. 
 … True!; … but do we really believe it … and live by its truth?

My Journal for Today:  Our Daily Bread author, David Roper, made a teaching reference in today’s entry of one of my favorite true stories in the NT, … the scenario in Matthew 8 [linked above] where Jesus is taking a nap in the back of a fishing boat out on the waters of Lake Gennesaret (i.e. the Sea of Galilee) with His disciples. And a violent storm rages with Jesus just continuing to sleep thru the storm. But the disciples, even the fishermen, like Peter, fear for their lives; and they wake up Jesus, … Who proceeds to wave his hand and the sea is calmed. And the Disciples were blown away (bad pun!) by the specter of the Man they had been following having control over even nature.

Don’t you just love it when Jesus shows up and shows off like that in the New Testament, … where we can realize the reality of the One and only God-Man, the One Who was (and is) 100% man, … yet 100% God. And my wife and I have a painting of the Matthew 8:23-27 scene in our living room [see attached photo], reminding us of our Lord, … Who is ALWAYS in control … of EVERYTHING. 

But sometimes it’s tough for us, even though we know and believe the truth of the story depicting Jesus calming the storm, to really believe in the messages of Psalm 23, so beautifully sung by Marty Goetz (linked above), … or to trust God in “ALL” things, as Solomon wrote into Prov. 3:5-6, … or in the truth of Paul’s pronouncement in Romans 8:28, … that ALL things work together for our good as Christians.

 Where’s your storm today; and is Jesus in the back of your boat. If so, which He is for all Christians, … know that He’s in control of the storm today [see John 16:33].

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … Lord Jesus, … take charge in my storm today. Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 26, 2016: Understanding The Spirit

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 117  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …   Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of Kristyn Getty with her husband, Keith, singing their song, Speak, O Lord, singing a prayer that God will speak clearly His truth into the lives of those who Love Him.

Highlight Passage:  Romans 15:5-6 [NKJV] … 
5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
… Understand God’s promise and purpose and live by the unity of faith to glorify Him. 
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Highlight Context – Romans 15:1-6 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… Paul declares God’s hope for all to have one mind of clarity so that we, as the Church, can glorify our Lord with all we think, say, and do.
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Reference Passage #1 - Proverbs 3: 5-6 [NKJV] …  
5 Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. 6 In ALL your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. 
… I believe it; but as I said in my blog yesterday, the only word I have trouble with is “ALL.”

Reference Passage #2 - John 16:13 [NKJV] …  
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 
 … Jesus on the ministry of enlightenment of the Holy Spirit … to bring and teach us God’s truth.

Reference Passage #3 - 1st Corinthians 2:10-12 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … 
… As Christians we have the ever-enlightening, ever-empowering, Holy Spirit to reveal all truth and promise to us. So, we should, … nay, MUST, … listen and live it out in our lives!!

My Journal for Today:  Our Daily Bread author, Bill Crowder, used a personal illustration to teach on how God’s Spirit desires for us to know God’s truth and have faith in His promises. He wrote:  I enjoy visiting museums such as the National Gallery in London and the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. While most of the art is breathtaking, some of it confuses me. I look at seemingly random splashes of color on canvas and realize I have no idea what I am seeing—even though the artist is a master at his craft. 

Crowder was trying to show us that God’s word, the Bible, at times can be like viewing those confusing modern paintings. But God’s intention is for His Spirit, Who dwells in the hearts of all born-again believers, to reveal His truth and share His promises, … clearly … with us. So, … as The Gettys sing above and today’s Scriptures reveal, we can have a unity of understanding of God’s will to be able to live lives which Glorify the Father.

That’s why I’m here right now. That’s why I’m here EVERY DAY. Digging into God’s truth, … in order to have a clear understanding of my Lord’s will and to live in a way which glorifies Him. And I pray that, for all who come here with me today, … to do all we can to clearly understand God’s purpose for our lives and His promises … that we would go forth to live our lives as a reflection of His will [see Romans 12:1-2 - look that one up on your own and MEMORIZE IT!!].

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … may I clearly understand Your will for me today; and then live it so that others can see You in my life clearly. Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 25, 2016: Way Bigger Than Our Mess

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 116  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of Sara Groves singing here song, It’s Going To Be All Right, singing the truth that our God is always there to help us clean up the messes of our life.

Highlight Passage:  2 Samuel 22: 29 [NKJV] … 
29 For You are my lamp, O Lord; … the Lord shall enlighten my darkness. 
… Knowing myself, … this is most encouraging !!
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Highlight Context – 2 Samuel 22:26-37 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… God is always way bigger than the mess we can create in this life.
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Reference Passage #1 - Proverbs 3: 5-6 [NKJV] …  
5 Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. 6 In ALL your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. 
… I believe it; but the only word I have trouble with is “ALL.”

Reference Passage #2 - Lamentations 3: 22-23 [NKJV] …  
22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; … Great is Your faithfulness. 
… And knowing the truth of Romans 3:23; aren’t we glad of this truth.

Reference Passage #3 - 1st Corinthians 10:13 [NKJV] …  
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 
… Remember - the Greek for the word “temptation” can also be translated “test or trial or tribulation or trouble” … all “Ts” which occur in all of our lives; and God is ALWAYS faithful to be there to help us in such messy times.

My Journal for Today:  Our Daily Bread author, David McCasland, wrote the following when teaching today about God always being there to help us clean up our messes. A major theme of the Old Testament book of 2nd Samuel could easily be “Life is a mess!” It has all the elements of a blockbuster TV miniseries. As David sought to establish his rule as king of Israel, he faced military challenges, political intrigue, and betrayal by friends and family members. And David himself was certainly not without guilt as his relationship with Bathsheba clearly showed (chs. 11–12). 

As the ODB author relates, David was both a great hero of the faith and a way big “messer upper.” When he did great things for God, they were great things as with Goliash. But when he messed up, he REALLY messed up, didn’t he, as with Bathsheba? But through it all, God recognized that David’s heart was for his Lord; and God was always there to help David clean up His messes and move on to serve The LORD.

And that’s the God we serve as well; … a God Who is way bigger than our messes; and when we get in the dark, messy places of life, our God will be there to help us clean up and move on (see the reference passages above).

Please take in the attached photo, hear the linked song, and meditate on God’s truth above; and then, if we have some mess in our lives, let’s do all we can do to clean up and then leave the forgiveness part to God; … and then, let’s move on for His glory.

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … thank You, Lord, for being there along my path of life to help me clean up and move one. Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 24, 2016: Ultimate Relief

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 115  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of the Maranatha Singers singing the praise song, Friend of a Wounded Heart, repeating a song from my blog a few days ago with the truth that Jesus can/will bear the wounds/hurts of any who willing to bring our cares to Him.

 
Highlight Passage:  2 Thessalonians 1:3,7 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Encouragement and promise for those who are overburdened or being persecuted.
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Highlight Context – 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… God provides rest for those in trials.
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Reference Passage #1 - Matthew 11:28-30 [NKJV] …  
28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” 
 … Jesus said it, and He means it!!

Reference Passage #2 - Philippians 4:6-7 [NKJV] …  
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. 
… Not difficult to grasp, is it? … Just difficult to do!

Reference Passage #3 - 1st Peter 5: 7 [NKJV] …  
11 Casting all your cares on Him, because He cares for you. 
… So, why don’t we do it?

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Jennifer Benson Schuldt, teaches about God’s promise of relief and help from her highlight Scripture in 2nd Thessalonians, Chapter 1, where Paul was writing to fellow Christians who were being deeply oppressed and persecuted. 

Perhaps some, reading with me here today, are feeling overburdened by some stress or pressure or issue in your life. Well, besides trying to help with my journaling here today, I also wrote some thoughts, making reference to most of the same reference scriptures above as well as the linked song by the Maranatha Singers. You can go back to read that journal entry by USING THIS LINK.

But once again today, as I wrote on 4/21/16 and I’m reasserting here today, that Jesus has promised that He’s available to help us carry our burdens and to go to Him when we’re feeling oppressed or hyper-stressed [see Matt. 11:28-30]. So, why don’t we do it? … Well, I think it’s mostly a matter of pride, isn’t it? We’ve been conned by our culture and our secular world to think that we should rely on our independence, or our position, or science, or the government, or some medication to relieve our stress or carry our burdens. And maybe some of us have fallen prey to this culture of entitlement. 

Dear one; … fellow disciple of Christ, … let’s be disciples; … and let’s do what Jesus promises. Let’s do what Peter said to persecuted Christians (see 1st Peter 5:7) and give our burdens over to our Savior. Sure, we’ll have to do whatever we can do; but then, … as promised by Paul in Philippians 4:6-7, let’s take our wounded heart to God in prayer and seek His peace that surpasses all understanding, which God promises to all of us with wounded hearts here today.

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … I pray for Your grace to heal the wounded hearts who've come here today; and thank You for giving me Your peace to heal mine. Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 23, 2016: God’s Unchanging Word

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 114

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of the Maranatha Singers singing the praise song, Thy Word, declaring the reality of God’s unchanging trustworthy word in an ever-changing, challenging world.

Highlight Passage:  Psalm 119: 89-90, 105 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God’s word is unchanging and lights our path thru an every changing world.
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Highlight Context – Psalm 119 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… God, thru this unknown Psalmist, declares the power and promise of His unchanging word.
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Reference Passage #1 - Joshua 1: 8 [NKJV] …
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. 
 … God’s promises Joshua that his dedication/discipline in God’s word would guide him to success in carrying out God’s will.

Reference Passage #2 - Isaiah 55:11 [NKJV] …
11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; … It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper the thing for which I send it. 
… God, thru Isaiah, declares the power and the promise of His word.

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Dennis Fisher, told a story about a building standing through the bombing of WW2 to illustrate the permanence of God’s word. He wrote: At the beginning of World War II, aerial bombings flattened much of Warsaw, Poland. Cement blocks, ruptured plumbing, and shards of glass lay strewn across the great city. In the downtown area, however, most of one damaged building still stubbornly stood. It was the Polish headquarters for the British and Foreign Bible Society. Still legible on a surviving wall were these words: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away” (Matt. 24:35). 

And as ODB author Fisher points out, that latter statement from Jesus was made in response to His disciples asking about the end of the age, with Jesus trying to show them the permanence and power of His word in an ever-changing … ever-unpredictable world.

Somebody, once said, “The only thing thing we can count on is change;” … and when it comes to this fast-paced, information age, we’re continually bombarded with changing and challenging times, aren’t we? So, what do we rely upon? And the Psalmist who penned Psalm 119 answered that question for himself (and other believers) by declaring, over and over again, how much we can rely upon God’s word, … God’s book of the Law, … His truth … to stabilize and guide our lives.

And when Joshua’s life was sent spinning by the death of Moses; and he was charged with God’s will to take the chosen ones into the promised land, God told Joshua (as He would us) to stay in and rely upon God’s word (see Joshua 1:8); because as God declared, through His Prophet, Isaiah, … His word will never be void and will ALWAYS accomplish what God intends for it [see Isaiah 55:11]. 

That’s why, dear ones, I’m here every morning, delving deeper and deeper into God’s unchanging and truth-bearing word. It’s my GPS for life (hear the song linked above and take in Psalm 119: 105); and I know I can always trust God’s truth to be my guide in this ever-changing world (see the attached photo).

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … Show me the light from Your word, dear Lord, and I will follow You. Amen

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 22, 2016: Special Delivery

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 113  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of Francesca Battistelli singing the praise song, Holy Spirit, declaring our dependence and need for God’s Spirit to intervene on our behalf before God, The Father, … especially when we don’t know how to pray.

 
Highlight Passage:  Romans 8:26-27 [NKJV] … 
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.  
 … God’s Spirit is ALWAYS there for us when we just don’t know what/how to pray.
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Highlight Context – Romans 8:19-27 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… Paul helps Christians understand that we have the ever-present power of our Advocate before the Father to intervene on our behalf, especially when we don’t know how to pray.
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Reference Passage #1 - Psalm 116:1-2 [NKJV] …  
1 I love the Lord, because He has hear My voice and my supplications. 2 Because He has inclined His ear to me, … therefore, I will call upon Him as long as I live. 
… The Psalmist shows his faith that God bends down to hear the heart of those who come to pray to Him.

Reference Passage #2 - John 16:13-14 [NKJV] …  
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 
… Jesus tells His confused and fearful disciples about the coming of His Spirit to intercede as our “Comforter” and Spirit-guide in times of confusion and doubt.

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Marvin Williams, teaches us about the intervention of God’s Spirit by illustrating how difficult it once was in Ireland for mail to be delivered accurately without postal codes. The mail often became confused and was mis-delivered; but now with a postal code system to intervene mall to many, many with common names like “Patrick Murphy“ can get their mail accurately. 

And the illustration holds for our prayer life, doesn’t it? Sometimes we just feel like our prayers are not getting through, … that we pray and God just doesn’t seem to get the message. But the psalmist in Psalm 116, the Apostle Paul in Romans 8, and Jesus Himself in John 16 assure us, who are in Christ, that God’s Spirit intervenes to not only bend down to hear us, but to intervene and interpret our hearts to the Son of God in Heaven. The Holy Spirit is our “paraclete,” intervening to provide “special delivery” of the message of our hearts to our Abba Father.

Perhaps you have some issue which has you feeling like you don’t know how to pray today; but be assured that you can come before God’s throne of grace and pray to have God’s Spirit read your heart and take your feelings, with His SPECIAL DELIVERY, directly to God with clarity and power.

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … Holy Spirit … thank You for being my paraclete before my Abba Father. Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 21, 2016: He Cares !!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 112  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir singing Friend of Wounded Heart, declaring that Jesus can/will bear the wounds/hurts of any who willing to bring our burdens to Him

Highlight Passage:  John 11:35-36 [NKJV] … 
35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”  
… Even knowing what He was about to do in raising Lazarus, Jesus joined those who were grieving His loss by weeping with them.
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Highlight Context – John 11:1-44, [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… Jesus demonstrates His power even over the finality of death when He raises His dear friend, Lazarus, from the dead.
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Reference Passage #1 - Matthew 11:28-30 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… Jesus invites us to bring our burdens to Him; … so why do we so often want to carry them all ourselves.

Reference Passage #2 - 2nd Corinthians 12:9 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… And, when Jesus will not relieve out hurts/burdens, we must realize that our pain is needed for us to receive His enabling/empowering grace.

Reference Passage #3 - 1st Peter 5:7 [NKJV] …  
7 Casting all your cares on Him because He cares for you. 
… Sometimes following Christ doesn’t seem fair; but is for our good as Christians.

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Poh Fang Chia, used the victorious story from John, Chapter 11 [linked above] of Jesus raising His dear friend Lazarus from the dead. And though this story is so wonderful showing Jesus’ followers His power even over death, the scene, reported by another beloved friend of Jesus, the Apostle John, shows just how much Jesus cares for any who are wounded or hurting or grieving.

As the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir so gloriously sings in the song linked above, Jesus truly is the “Friend of a Wounded Heart;” and He invites all who believe in Him to bring our burdens and our hurts to Him [see Matthew 11:28-30].

But … all too often we feel we must try to do all we can first to carry our burdens ourselves. Common on, admit it! We do, don’t we? Or we come to Him with our hurts, praying as Paul did in 2nd Cor. 12: 9, EXPECTING that He will take our burdens away, when we actually need the pain and the weakness to receive, in humility, His enabling grace. But no matter what, bringing our wounds and burdens to God FIRST is always the best strategy [see Peter’s plea in 1st Peter 5:7].

So, if any reading with me here today have any burdens or wounds, let’s all take them to our Savior … right now! … and He’ll weep with us today.

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … I come to You, Lord, because I know that You’ll weep with me and then help me carry my burden. Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 20, 2016: Going It God’s Way

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 111  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of three friends, Clay Crosse, Bebe Wynans, and Bob Carlisle singing I Will Follow Christ, declaring, the desire of the faithful Christian to do life Christ’s way - NO MATTER WHAT!!

 
Highlight Passage:  Numbers 7:9 [NKJV] … 
9 But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because theirs was the service of the holy things, which they carried on their shoulders.   
… To one group of Levites, the sons of Kohath, God called them to carry a special and very personal burden.
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Highlight Context – Numbers 7:1-9 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… To some God asks that His offerings be carried with more personal challenges.
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Reference Passage #1 - Luke 9: 23 [NKJV] …  
23 Then He (Jesus) said to them all (His followers), “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. ..."  
 … Sometimes following Christ means setting aside my way and doing life His way.

Reference Passage #2 - Romans 8: 28 [NKJV] …  
28 All things work together for god to those who love the Lord and are the called according to His purposes. 
… Sometimes following Christ doesn’t seem fair; but is for our good as Christians.

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Marion Stroud, told a personal story to illustrate his teaching; and he relates his family taking on two foster children. And when it came time to decide their future direction, it became obvious that God was calling the author’s family, who already had three children, to adopt these two foster children. This had not been their original plan; and it seemed like an unfair and undo burden to take on.

Then the ODB author made reference to today’s highlight passage and wrote: “I wonder how the Kohathites felt?” Amy wrote. “All the other priests had ox-carts [see attached photo] to carry their parts of the tabernacle through the desert. But the sons of Kohath had to trudge along the rocky tracks and through the burning sand, with the ‘holy things for which they were responsible’ on their shoulders. Did they ever grumble inwardly, feeling that the other priests had an easier task? Perhaps! But God knows that some things are too precious to be carried on ox-carts and then He asks us to carry them on our shoulders.” 

Jesus, told those who were following Him [see Luke 9:23] that being His disciple would come at a cost [see also Romans 8:28], many times a personal cost of self-denial and maybe even carrying a cross; but as my friend Clay Crosse and his buddies sing in the linked song above, NO MATTER WHAT the cost, we, who are “real-deal” Christians are called to follow Him; … and that may mean doing what seems unfair - from human terms - for His glory.

So, dear one … are we in for the long haul? … I say, we go for it!!

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … Show us the way, Lord, and even if the burden is heavy, we will follow!! Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 19, 2016: A Heart’s Longing

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 110  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of Don Moen leading an ensemble singing As the Deer, declaring, from Psalm 42, the hunger in the heart of all for the One and only One who can satisfy the longing of our heart.

Highlight Passage:  Psalm 42: 1 [NKJV] … 
1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.  
… The desire in every man's (or woman's) heart which can only be filled by God.
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Highlight Context – Psalm 42 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… God show what He can/will do for His chosen who served and surrender to His glory.
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Reference Passage #1 - Proverbs 23:7 [NKJV] …  
7 As a man thinks in his heart, so is he … 
… Our “heart” (i.e., our mind and will) is a reflection of our desires; and our desires lead to our choices and behavior.

Reference Passage #2 - Matthew 5:6 [NKJV] …  
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled … 
… And I’m one of them!!!

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Keila Ochoa, told of a 15th century Mexican ruler, Nezahualcoyotl, who was a profound thinker and a poet; and who, dissatisfied with the “gods” who were a part of his people’s religion, knew - somehow - there was a God who, in his words, “… paints things with beauty.” Down deep, in his heart, this pagan ruler knew that there was a great God Who led him do such things as ban living sacrifices; … a God Who ruled over all man-made Gods.

And that’s the attitude of desire written into the highlight passage for today’s ODB entry, Psalm 42; … that desire for God, … I call it the “love-hole,” … which is fashioned into the heart of every man/woman; and that is the desire which, as the Psalmist wrote, pants like the desire of the deer for water (see attached photo and the linked song).

We all have that “love hole” in our hearts; and God is the only One who can fill it up. He’s the only One who can provide us with His living waters; and quench our thirst for Him. The question is - ALWAYS - are we doing what it takes to drink from His satisfying streams today and everyday?

My friend, that’s why you find me here at this stream of living waters - i.e., God’s word - every day, drinking from God’s unending supply of truth and filling my heart with His love.

Come drink with me, my dear one!!

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … I drink today and all days from Your living waters. Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 18, 2016: Miracles Do Happen!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 109  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of Chris Tomlin singing How Great Is Our God, declaring the greatness of the God we serve.

Highlight Passage:  2nd Chronicles 20:12 [NKJV] … 
15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.  
… When we TOTALLY depend on our Lord, He shows up to win the battle.
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Highlight Context – 2nd Chronicles 20:1-30 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… God show what He can/will do for His chosen who served and surrender to His glory.
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Reference Passage #1 - 2nd Corinthians: 12:9 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK ... 
… Then why do we keep trying so hard to do life on our own?

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Tim Gustafson, helped me remember a miraculous sports incident which occurred at the Lake Placid winter olympics in 1980. Perhaps many readers here will remember Al Michaels, who was covering the ice hockey venue on TV, declaring pridefully, “Do you believe in miracles!” … when the USA Ice Hockey team pulled off one of the greatest upsets in sports history, defeating the USSR ice hockey juggernaut.

Well, I’m not here to be the one to declare that great incident a miracle of God’s intervention; but those kind of incredible occurrences seem to help believers believe more readily and more easily in the greatness of a God who certainly has shown Himself in biblical history to intervene and protect His chosen people, … much like the incident our ODB author highlighted from 2nd Chronicles, Chapter 20 [linked above].

Truly, as Chris Tomlin leads a worshipful audience in singing “How Great Is Our God!” … we, who know what God did for us sinners on Calvary, agree that we believe in, surrender to, and serve a God Who shows up when we come to Him needing His mercy and grace. And I may not know whether the 1980 ice hockey victory was truly a MIRACLE of God; but I do know one miracle and victory which occurred in my own life; … and that was that day in 1983 when my great God swooped down and brought me out of the pit of death into His kingdom and family forever.

And so, … with confidence, … I can sing along with Chris Tomlin today.

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!! Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 17, 2016: The Chameleon Church

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 108  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of the hesitant walk of a chameleon and it’s ability to change colors … and THEN THIS LINK  to hear Chris Tomlin leading in worship and singing Here I Am To Worship,… declaring confidently, with the body of Christ coming together to worship the God of the universe

Highlight Passage:  Acts 2:46-47 [NKJV] … 
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.  
… The early church grew in spite of persecution and doubts.
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Highlight Context – Acts 2:42-47 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… The church, right after Pentecost, marched forward, though carefully in persecution, but confidently, growing steadily.
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Reference Passage #1 - 1st Corinthians, Chapter 1 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK  ...  
… By the time Paul was planting new churches throughout the word on his journeys, the church began to falter, as we read when he wrote to the church he had helped found in Corinth.

Reference Passage #2 - Hebrews 10:19-25 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK ... 
… God exhorts the church to move forward - in faith - with confidence in the Gospel and in the body of Christ

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Lawrence Darmani, creates an interesting word picture in his devotional entry for me this morning, comparing the modern-day church to a chameleon’s crawl (see the attached photo and the first You Tube video above). Darmani pictures today’s church, like the chameleon, walking hesitantly through the world, changing colors as needed to blend into the worldly colors it encounters.

The early post-pentecostal church, however, … though moving forward cautiously after Pentecost, due to Roman persecution, walked confidently in their faith in the Gospel and Christ, meeting daily and sharing the Gospel message with others in the known world at the time (see the highlight passages from Acts, Chapter 2 above). And they grew steadily and robustly in their walk.

However, by the time the Apostle Paul was writing many of his epistles to the early churches, many of which he helped found, some chameleon-like hesitancy had crept into the church, fostered by false teachers and Jewish legalism. And so, as one reads in the first chapter of 1st Corinthians, linked above, Paul was urging the early church to unite in the Gospel of Christ. And we read in the letter written by the Author of Hebrews [see Hebrews 10 above], the early church was being exhorted by God to gather in unity as the body of Christ and encourage one another.

But now, in this post-modern era, we see a body of Christ, acting like and walking like the chameleon … blending in with the world and walking so hesitantly, trying to avoid being seen as different from its surroundings.

 My friends, we need to take in the exhortations of Paul and the Author of Hebrews … to march forward CONFIDENTLY as the body of Christ, standing out as different - WAY DIFFERENT - from the world, and stepping forward, marching to the drumbeat of the Gospel, doing all we can to brazenly follow Christ (see my oft quoted passage in Luke 9: 23 - look that one up yourself!).

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … help Your body to come together and walk confidently in your Kingdom-building gospel truth. Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 16, 2016: The Apple of His Eye

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 107

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a video of Chris Tomlin singing his song Jesus Loves Me,… declaring the reality of God’s love for us. … Yes, we are truly the apple of Jesus’ eye … for eternity.

Highlight Passage:  Zechariah 2:8 [NKJV] … 
8 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. …”  
… God’s proclaims that His chosen people are the “apple of His eye.”
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Highlight Context – Zechariah, Chapter 2 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… God, thru the Prophet, Zechariah, proclaims His love for His people.
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Reference Passage #1 - Psalms 17:6-9 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK  ...
… During a time of oppression, David prays in song to remain as the “apple of God’s eye” and to be hid under His wings [see verse 8].

Reference Passage #2 - Proverbs 7:2 [NKJV] …
2 Keep my commands and live, and my law as the apple of your eye. 
… God’s prophesy of His plans for His chosen ones, … the “apple of His eye.”

Reference Passage #3 - Jeremiah 29:11 [NKJV] …
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 
… God’s prophesy of His plans for His chosen ones, … the “apple of His eye.”

Reference Passage #4 - John 3:16-17 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK  ...
… God’s love given to all of us who believe in Him and repent of our sins. And when we do, we become the apple of His eye.

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Amy Boucher Pye, told a story about a friend in trouble to illustrate just how much God loves us; and Ms. Pye’s ODB blog was titled the same as my journal here today. She wrote: A friend’s baby was suffering seizures, so they sped to the hospital in an ambulance, her heart racing as she prayed for her daughter. Her fierce love for this child hit her afresh as she held her tiny fingers, recalling too how much more the Lord loves us and how we are “the apple of His eye.” 

And then the ODB author today referred to her highlight biblical example of God’s love for His people, when Zechariah, prophesying to the Tribe of Judah, returning to Jerusalem after decades of slavery, referred to God’s chosen as “the apple of His eye.” And that latter reference to how God sees all of His chosen ones (hey, friend, that’s you and me!) tells us just how much God loves us.

And we see that phrase being used when David prayed that he would remain protected as the “apple of God’s eye” (see Ps. 17:6-9). And David’s Son, Solomon, also turned that phrase around into the eyes of believers, when he declared that we should see our Lord as the apple of our eye through His word (see Proverbs 7:2).

As the attached photo implies, we should be holding Jesus as the “apple of OUR eye” because we are the apple of HIS eye. Why else would God send His Son to die for us and to save us (John 3:16-17). My friend, … we know that ultimately, when our Lord comes again for us, He has internal plans for the “apple of His eye” (see Jer. 29:11), i.e., His chosen ones.

So, dear one, rest assured, as Chris Tomlin sings (linked above), that …. JESUS LOVES YOU and me!! And I just can’t help … AGAIN … declaring HALLELUJAH!!!

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … it’s overwhelming to realize that I’m the apple of Your eye. And I pray, everyday that you’ll be mine as I feel Your presence here in Your word. Amen

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 15, 2016: Our Life Saver

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 106  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …   Please take the time to take in a video of the Gaither Band singing the great Gaither classic He Touched Me,… declaring the reality of what happens when our Savior rescues a sin-deadened life to a healed life eternal.

Highlight Passage:  Hebrews 10:14 [NKJV] … 
14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.  
… Through the Lord’s one sacrifice those who receive His saving grace are rescued from the death of their sin forever.
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Highlight Context – Hebrews 10:5-18 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… Jesus, our Messiah, came to rescue mankind from the death of our sins.
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Reference Passage #1 - John 3:16-17 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK  ...  
… God’s love given to all of us who believe in Him and repent of our sins.

Reference Passage #2 - Romans 10:9-13 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK  
… Jesus’ finished work on the cross rescues any/all who’re willing to believe in Him enough to repent of our sins and receive His saving grace.

Reference Passage #3 - Galatians 1:3-5 [NKJV] …  
3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to Whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 
… Paul’s prayer that and/all who believe in Christ would be rescued from this evil age.

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Bill Crowder, told a story of sacrifice and rescue which happened on the Titanic. He wrote: W. T. Stead, an innovative English journalist at the turn of the 20th century, was known for writing about controversial social issues. Two of the articles he published addressed the danger of ships operating with an insufficient ratio of lifeboats to passengers. Ironically, Stead was aboard the Titanic when it struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912. According to one report, after helping women and children into lifeboats, Stead sacrificed his own life by giving up his life vest and a place in the lifeboats so others could be rescued. 

And such a sacrifice to save others becomes a picture - a shadow - of what our Lord did on the cross with His one-time, ultimate sacrifice, so that sinners like me could be brought from death to life … i.e., rescued unto eternity by His blood. Yes, as Bill Gather wrote in his classic song, [linked above] He Touched Me and made me whole.

 So, take in the song and the image of our Life Saver above, meditating on His word, to celebrate, with thanks giving, our rescue today. My friend, Jesus is our Rescuer, … our Redeemer, … the One Who has rescued us from death to life. And for that I proclaim (maybe you too) a resounding … HALLELUJAH!!!

My Prayer Today:  O, Heavenly Father, … thank You for sending Your Son to rescue me from my sin and give me eternal life. Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 14, 2016: The Son Rises in God’s Word

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 105

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a video of an anonymous group of kids singing in worship This Is The Day,… declaring what the author of Psalm 118 sang … and THEN TO THIS LINK to hear the blind singer, Gordon Mote, singing Don’t Let Me Miss the Glory, expressing my joyous desire this day to worship my Lord and see His glory in the day He has given me.

Highlight Passage:  Psalm 118: 24 [NKJV] … 
24 This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.  
… The oft quoted song of our daily worship of God.
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Highlight Context – Psalms 118:19-29 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… The Psalmist sings of our everyday experience of worship for our God.
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Reference Passage #1 - Romans 12: 1 [NKJV] …
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. 
… Jesus gives his fool proof method for avoiding the trap our sin nature.

Reference Passage #2 - Ephesians 4: 1 [NKJV] …
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, … 
… Paul saw himself as a slave/prisoner of Christ’s … and therefore, EVERY DAY was an opportunity to serve his LORD.

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, David C McCasland, uses as his highlight Scripture, Psalm 118, where the unknown Psalmist declares his desire to worship His Lord … every day of his life, … which I’m assuming is the desire of anyone reading here with me today.

And tho the truth-filled expressions of the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:1 and Ephesians 4:1 are pertinent to today’s ODB entry, … really, all I needed this morning, in solitude with God’s word, were the expressions of Psalm 118, the two songs linked above, and the glorious sunrise which I can imagine as I have opened God’s word this morning, … to fully empathize with the Psalmist who wrote, "This is the day that the Lord has made, … let us (me) rejoice and be glad in it!" 

Do I sense an “Amen” from anyone with me here today? … Or maybe even a resounding ”Hallelujah,” which of course is Hebrew for “PRAISE THE LORD!”

My Prayer Today:  Heavenly Father, … and yes, LORD, … I say HALLELUJAH!!! … You have made this day for me; and I sing along with Gordon Mote, don’t let me miss Your glory! Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 13, 2016: Our Desires = Our Choices

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 104  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a video of the group, Hillsong, leading in worship and singing Lord, I Give You My Heart,… declaring that our desires to worship our Lord are wrapped up in our choices.

Highlight Passage:  Luke 12:34 [NKJV] … 
6 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.   … As we make choices, we reveal our desires. 
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Highlight Context – Luke 12:22-34 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… Jesus … on how our choices reflect our heart.
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Reference Passage #1 - Matthew 6:33 [NKJV] …  
33 Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things [our worldly needs] shall be added to you. 
 … Jesus gives his fool proof method for avoiding the trap our sin nature.

Reference Passage #2 - John 14:21 [NKJV] …  
21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” 
 … What, or whom, do we love? Well our choices will reveal our desires.

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Joe Stowell, uses a personalized word picture to make here devotional point. He wrote: A When commuting into Chicago on the train, I always followed the “unwritten codes of conduct”—such as, no conversations with people sitting next to you if you don’t know them. That was tough on a guy like me who has never met a stranger. I love talking to new people! Although I kept the code of silence, I realized that you can still learn something about people based on the section of the newspaper they read. So I’d watch to see what they turned to first: The business section? Sports? Politics? Current events? Their choices revealed their interests. 

And there’s a lot of truth and reality there, isn’t there? I heard someone say once, “Just show me your calendar and your checkbook, and I’ll show you where your heart lies.” And that really, in essence, was what Jesus was saying to his followers (and disciples) in today’s ODB highlight Scriptures, as well as in Matthew 6:33 and John 14:21.

And I don’t really think we need a stronger or more clear exhortation than from Jesus, do we, to show that our choices do, in truth, reflect our heart-felt desires. And all too often we find ourselves making selfish choices, showing our very human nature, rather than choosing, as Jesus also said, “to deny our selves … and follow Him.” (Yes, as I site so often from Luke 9:23!)

So, what will I choose today? Will it be for my self or my Savior?

My Prayer Today:  Heavenly Father, … As Hillsong sings, “I give You my heart Lord; … have Your way in me!” Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 12, 2016: Beware, the Trap of Self!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 103  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a video of Nichole Nordeman singing her poignant song, Finally Free,… declaring the reality that we, as Christians, need not fall prey to our human default of sin … that we can finally walk free in Christ.

 
Highlight Passage:  Genesis 4:6-7 [NKJV] … 
6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”   
… Cain falls prey to the trap of his own sinful anger.
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Highlight Context – Genesis 4:1-8 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
 … Cain was not able to resist the call to obedience; and it resulted in death.
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Reference Passage #1 - Matthew 6:33 [NKJV] …  
33 Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 
 … Jesus gives his fool proof method for avoiding the trap our sin nature.

Reference Passage #2 - 2nd Corinthians 12:9 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… Jesus tells Paul of the grace the Apostle has available to overcome his trials.

Reference Passage #3 - 2nd Timothy 2:22 [NKJV] …  
22 Flee also youthful lusts, but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
 … God, thru Paul, shows Christians how we can flee the trap of human sin … by choosing righteousness.

Reference Passage #4 - 1st Peter 2:11 [NKJV] …  
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, … 
… Peter, this time, exhorting Christians to avoid the trap of fleshly lusts …

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Jennifer Benson Schuldt, uses an interesting word picture to make here devotional point. She wrote: A Venus flytrap can digest an insect in about 10 days. The process begins when an unsuspecting bug smells nectar on the leaves that form the trap. When the insect investigates, it crawls into the jaws of the plant. The leaves clamp shut within half a second and digestive juices dissolve the bug. 
This meat-eating plant reminds me of the way sin can devour us if we are lured into it. Sin is hungry for us. Genesis 4:7 says, “If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you.” God spoke these words to Cain just before he killed his brother Abel. 

Schuldt nailed the truth, didn’t she? Life these days operates much like the venus fly trap … with its alluring multifaceted sin traps, using the siren call of sex, money, power and the like to tempt us into its deadly clutches. And when we bite on the trap, … SLAM, … we find ourselves being devoured by our own sin nature. It was that way for Cain when he fell pray to his own deceitful heart (see also Jer. 17:9) and let his disobedience take him into death’s trap [see the highlight passage above].

But as Paul and Peter, and no less than Jesus, Himself, tell us in today’s reference passages above, we don’t need to fall pray to the trap of our sin nature and the ploys of this world and Satan. No, … in Christ we can (and should) CHOOSE to flee our youthful/sinful passions, as Paul advised a young missionary, Timothy. And we need to do as Jesus exhorted us … to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Because when we do, as Nichole Nordeman sings, we’ll be able to walk free from our selves and follow the Savior out of the valley of the shadow of death and into God’s garden of glory (see Psalm 23).

My Prayer Today:  Heavenly Father, … Lead me away from my self, Lord! Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.

April 11, 2016: God’s Ways, Not Mine!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 102  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a video of the group 4Him singing their poignant song, The Basics of Life,… declaring the reality that we, Christians, need to do all we can to return to the basics of our faith, balancing the challenges of work, play, family, etc.

Highlight Passage:  Proverbs 16:24 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … 
5 The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. 6 Better a handful with quietness than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.  
 … In other works, as the song, linked above, sings … “we need to get back to the basics of life!” 
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Highlight Context – Ecclesiastes 4:4-16 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… After blowing a good portion of his adult life on excesses, Solomon (under God’s inspiration and conviction) writes of how we must balance the essentials of life.
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Reference Passage #1 - John 14:21 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
 … Jesus, Himself, gives us His formula for living a balanced, successful Christians life. Could it be any clearer?

Reference Passage #2 - Ephesians 4:1-2, 5:15-17 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… God, thru Paul, gives Christians great advice on how walk carefully and wisely, following the will of God for our lives, … and seeking to follow God’s ways of balancing life … not our own.

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Poh Fang Chila, tells a story illustrating his teaching. He wrote: Henry worked 70 hours a week. He loved his job and brought home a sizeable paycheck to provide good things for his family. He always had plans to slow down but he never did. One evening he came home with great news—he had been promoted to the highest position in his company. But no one was home. Over the years, his children had grown up and moved out, his wife had found a career of her own, and now the house was empty. There was no one to share the good news with. 

The author’s point is pretty clear, isn’t it? In our human condition we have a prideful tendency to work for self gratification or for some worldly image of success rather than living for what the song above sings … for the basics of life, which conform to God’s will and His ways.

Jesus clearly told His Disciples (and you and me by extension) that when we live to express His commandments in our lives, we will manifest Himself to others [see John 14:21]. But therein lies the rub, doesn’t it? As with Solomon, we so often default in life to selfish motives and worldly ideas of success, rather than seeking God’s will and His ways. Hence, as did Solomon, we live, as he wrote in his journal in Ecclesiastes [see highlight passage above], for vanity rather than for God’s glory.

The Apostle Paul also chided Christians (see Ephesians 4:1-2 and 5:15-17) to do all we can to our lives wisely and circumspectly, seeking God’s ways and acting on them.

And the question I deal with EVERYDAY is … “AM I ?!”

My Prayer Today:  Heavenly Father, … Help me, Lord, to discern Your will and walk in Your ways. Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, 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.