November 7, 2017 … God of 2nd Chances

Berry Patch Devotions in 2017 - Day 311 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …   Please take the time to take in a YouTube video and lyrics from Natalie Grant singing her song of deliverance and cleansing … Clean … poignantly singing of how we are given a second chance by our merciful, loving, and grace-giving God.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Ruth 4:17 [NLT] … 17 The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.
… Naomi’s second chance at life and motherhood, which gave birth to a son who would be King David’s grandfather.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Ruth 4:13-17 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Naomi experiences God’s redeeming grace and a second chance at motherhood, which led to the lineage of our Savior.
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Reference Passage [NLT] : … Psalm 86:15 [NLT] … 15 But You, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. 
… Yes, our God is a forgiving God of mercy and grace and love.

Reference Passage [NLT] : … Lamentations 3:22-23 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Nehemiah, declares His faithful, forgiving and merciful nature.

Reference Passage [NLT] : … Micah 7:18 [NLT] … 18 Where is another God like You, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of His special people? You will not stay angry with Your people forever, because You delight in showing unfailing love. 
… And that’s our God of 2nd Chances!!!

Reference Passage [NLT] : …John 15:5 [NLT] … 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 
… Jesus promises we can be fruitful … IF … we remain (i.e., abide) in Him.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Keila Ochoa, related a story of a “Linda,” who was given a second chance from a prison cell to make a life which honored God. The ODB author wrote: By making some wrong decisions, Linda had ended up in jail in a country not her own. For six years she remained in prison, and when she was set free she didn’t have anywhere to go. She thought her life was over! While her family gathered money to buy her ticket home, a kind couple offered her lodging, food, and a helping hand. Linda was so touched by their kindness that she willingly listened as they told her the good news of a God who loves her and wants to give her a second chance. 

Linda’s second chance from God reminded the ODB author of Naomi in the Bible whom God gave a 2nd chance to care for a son … Ruth’s son … named Obed, who became the grandfather of King David in the birth line of our Savior. 

And today, yours truly is remembering how my God gave me a second chance at life ... after years lived in bondage to sin, which included a deep addiction to pornography. God’s saving and sanctify grace allowed me to walk with my Lord everyday in freedom from myself. ... Can you sense my ”HALLELUJAH?!” as I share scriptures above which proclaim that I (and hopefully we) have surrendered to a God of second chances.

PLEASE take the time to listen and meditate on the linked song; and you’ll sense my gratitude for the second chances given to me by our Lord. Perhaps our God of second chances has set you free as well. I pray so!!

My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … I’m praying for those reading here to recognize, as have I, as we praise You for Your saving and redeeming grace. … 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.