Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of Glen Campbell singing Try A Little Kindness, from an old popular song of the 60s, which relates how we, as Christians, should live our everyday lives.
Highlight Passage: James 1:27 [NKJV] …
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
… As Glen Campbell sings (linked above) … “Just try a little kindness!”
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Highlight Context – James 1:22-27 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Thru Jesus’ brother, James, God teaches about the essence or true religion.
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Reference Passage #1 - Matthew 5:14-16 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK ...
… Jesus on how to share His love with the world … shining our light of kindness for all to see Him in us.
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 - and only how - others will see His love manifest in us.
Reference Passage #3 - Ephesians 4:32 [NKJV] …
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
… Paul, trying to share God’s message of shared love and kindness [see the attached photo].
My Journal for Today: … Our Daily Bread author, Tim Gustafson, relates a rather complex story involving - would you believe - chili peppers, which is a bit too long to copy here. But you can read the story USING THIS LINK . Gustafson’s point was that in order to have true “religion,” we must do what Jesus’ half-brother, James, taught in the highlight scripture passage, from James 1:22-27, and share Christlike kindness with others.
And as you can read in today’s ODB, a simple act of kindness from the congregation of an African church to a single mother and a doubting son ultimately led to the son coming to Christ and building over 20 churches in his adult years in Africa. And it raises the question for us … are we sharing Christ’s love - on a daily basis - with others, … shining the light of Christ for others to see Him thru us (see Matthew 5:14-16)?
Question?!! … Are we doing what Glen Campbell sings in his popular song from the 60s. And, after we take in the attached photo, the linked song above, and the truth from God’s word in the reference passages provided, … why don’t we do what Glen sings and “just try a little kindness,” by sharing a little of God’s love with others today?
My Prayer Today: O, Heavenly Father, … Help me go out and share some kindness with someone today, … shining a bit of Your light into a very dark world. 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.
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