Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Dolly Parting singing her song … Hello God … poignantly singing a conversation which the singer had with her God as she called out to Him in need.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Genesis 3:8-9 [NKJV} …
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
… Even when Adam had sinned, God called out to him.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Genesis 3:1-10 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God desires to be heard by even us sinners.
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Reference Passage #1 [NKJV] : … John 3:16-17 [NLT] …
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. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
… God shows how much He loved us … by sending His Son to save us.
Reference Passage #2 [NKJV] : … 1st John 4:9-10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God called out to sinful mankind through His Son.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, James Banks, used a cute personal story about his grandson to teach about God calling out to His children. The ODB author wrote: One morning my daughter gave her eleven-month-old son her cell phone for a moment to entertain him. Less than a minute later my phone rang, and as I picked it up I heard his little voice. He had somehow hit the “speed dial” to my number, and what followed was a “conversation” I will long remember. My grandson can only say a few words, but he knows my voice and responds to it. So I talked to him and told him how much I love him.
The joy I felt at the sound of my grandson’s voice was a reminder to me of God’s deep desire for a relationship with us. From the very beginning, the Bible shows God actively pursuing us. After Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God and then hid from Him in the garden, “the Lord God called” to Adam (Gen. 3:9).
I identify with that story, because I can recall my wife having our little one year old daughter get on the phone and talk to me when I was a resident working at the Mayo Clinic during my graduate school training. It was such a joy to call out her name and have her respond to my call with … “Daddy.” When we call out to our children and they respond to our love by calling back to us, it must be like God feels like when His lost little children respond to His greatest call, … i.e., when He sent His Son to the world to save mankind (see reference passages above).
And when we hear Him calling and we come to Him, He is there with open arms, to love us for eternity. I pray we’ve all heard that call and responded, … running into His arms. And I also pray that we’re in a relationship with God, the Father, which promotes us talking to our God as does Dolly Parton in today’s linked song.
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … Lord, I often hear You call me from Your word; and I know that You ALWAYS hear me calling out to 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.
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