Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from the group Avalon singing … Testify to Love … powerfully singing of Jesus’s calling for us to be His witnesses to the world.
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Highlight Verse[s]: John 1:6-8 … [NLT] …
6 God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light.
… God sent John the Baptist to be a witness to the truth of the Messiah, Who had come to be the Light of the world.
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Highlight Passage [context]: John 1:6-14 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… The Apostle John testifies about John the Baptizer, who came to be a witness to the coming of the Messiah in his time.
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Reference Passage #1 [NKJV] : … Matthew 5:13-16 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus calls us to be “salt and light” as witnesses to His grace.
Reference Passage #2 [NKJV] : … Acts 1:8 [NLT] …
8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
… Just before His ascension, Jesus called all His disciples, using the power of God’s Spirit, to be His witnesses to to a lost world.
Reference Passage #3 [NKJV] : … 2nd Timothy 2:1-2 [NLT] …
1 Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. 2 You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.
… Paul calls Timothy (and all Christians) to share (i.e., testify) to what we know to be THE TRUTH.
Reference Passage #4 [NKJV] : … 1st Peter 2:9 1 [NLT] …
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.
… Peter calling on all Christians to share the light of Christ [i.e, the Gospel Truth] with a dying world.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Lawrence Darmani, uses a rather common word picture of God’s desire for His chosen ones to be His witnesses in the world [see photo of witnessing to the truth in court]. The ODB author wrote: During court proceedings, witnesses are more than onlookers or spectators. They are active participants who help determine the outcome of a case. The same is true of our witness for Christ. We are to be active participants in a matter of absolute importance—the truth of Jesus’s death and resurrection.
I hope all who read here have taken in God’s call, thru His word, for all of us to be salt and light in the world, i.e., witnesses to His gospel truth, as Jesus Himself called us to be (see Matt. 5:13-16 and Acts 1:8). And both Paul and Peter strongly exhorted their fellow Christians to carry the torch of truth, i.e., the Gospel, to this lost/dying world (see 2Tim. 2:2 and 1Peter 2:9).
So the challenge from today’s ODB to me (and you) is quite simple. Are we doing what Avalon sings in the linked song … i.e., testifying to God’s love in our lives? If not, my friends, let’s go out and share the best thing that ever happened in our lives (i.e. receiving God’s grace) with others.
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … dear Lord, … Give me an opportunity, even today, to share Your love with others. … 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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