Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from the group Unspoken singing their song … Call It Grace … poignantly singing of God’s grace which is always there as God knows all we need from Him .
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Highlight Verse[s]: John 1:14a [NLT] …
14 So the Word became human and made his home among us.
… The Living Word became flesh.
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Highlight Passage [context]: John 1:1-18 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God empathizes because He was one of us.
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Reference Passage [NLT] : … Matthew 6:8 [NLT] …
8 Don’t be like them [i.e., unbelievers], for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
… Nothing escapes our God’s watch care!
Reference Passage [NLT] : … Romans 8:26-27 [NLT] …
26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers[l] in harmony with God’s own will.
… God’s Spirit, dwelling in us, knows what to pray even when we don’t.
Reference Passage [NLT] : …2 Corinthians 12: 9 [NLT] …
9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
… God’s grace will cover us in our times of weakness because our Lord knows exactly what we’re feeling.
Reference Passage [NLT] : … Philippians 2:6-8 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God set aside His divine privileges to become a man so that He could identify with those He would save.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Jennifer Benson Schuldt, used a story of a police chaplain going thru academy training to be able to empathize with his fellow officers. The ODB author wrote: John Babler is the chaplain for the police and fire departments in his Texas community. During a twenty-two-week sabbatical from his job, he attended police academy training so that he could better understand the situations law enforcement officers face. Through spending time with the other cadets and learning about the intense challenges of the profession, Babler gained a new sense of humility and empathy. In the future, he hopes to be more effective as he counsels police officers who struggle with emotional stress, fatigue, and loss.
I think we all know that we may have feelings for someone who is struggling in life. But if we’ve been thru the struggle they are living, we have EMPATHY for them; and we can minister to their needs, knowing exactly what they’re feeling. And that’s the primary reason why the God of the Universe set aside His glory and became a man … so that He would know all that man feels when He would go to the cross to save us (see Philippians 2:6-8).
My friends, we worship a God Who ALWAYS knows exactly what we’re feeling [see Matt. 6:8]; and He has given us His Spirit to dwell in believers to help us relate with God even when we don’t understand what we’re feeling or going thru (see Romans 8:26-27). So, today, … when we pray to our Lord, know that He is on His throne, empathetically praying for us, knowing exactly how/what we feel and being able to provide all the grace we need when we’re weak (hear the linked song and see 2Cor. 12:9).
My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Dear Lord, … I know You know what I’ve feeling today. Please help me in my weakness. … 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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