Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and thoughts from Natalie Grant and Dennis Jernigan singing his song … You Are My All In All … poignantly and powerfully singing of the reality that without our Lord, we are nothing!
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Highlight Verse[s]: 1st Corinthians 11:8 [NLT] … 9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.
… Even when Paul compared himself with his fellow Apostles, he recognized his own weaknesses.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 1st Corinthians 15:1-11 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Note the opinion Paul had about himself realizing that without Christ, he was NOTHING!
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Reference Passage : … Psalms 25:5, 145:4 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… The psalmists description of whom we are with/without our God.
Reference Passage : … John 15:4-5 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus showed His disciples without an abiding relationship with Him they could not be fruitful in their lives.
Reference Passage : … Galatians 2:20 [NLT] … 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.
… Paul recognized (and taught) that he (we) must die to self so that we can serve the One Who died so that we might live in/for Him.
Reference Passage : … 2nd 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.
…Jesus reminded Paul that his strength could only come thru His humble surrender to His Lord.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Mart DeHaan, used a story about Arturo Toscanini to show how we must always think of ourselves dependent on our relationship with Christ, … always an attitude of humble surrender to His grace. The ODB author wrote: As one of the most celebrated orchestral conductors of the twentieth century, Arturo Toscanini [see photo] is remembered for his desire to give credit to whom credit is due. In David Ewen’s “Dictators of the Baton,” the author describes how members of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra rose to their feet and cheered Toscanini at the end of a rehearsal of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. When there was a lull in the ovation, and with tears in his eyes, Arturo’s broken voice could be heard exclaiming as he spoke: “It isn’t me . . . it’s Beethoven! . . . Toscanini is nothing.”
The great conductor’s attitude toward Beethoven, according to our ODB author, was much like that which the Apostle Paul held for himself when he was comparing himself to the other Apostles (see 1Cor. 15:8) or most certainly with His Lord and Savior (see Gal. 2:20). Paul knew the truth of what Jesus taught His Disciples in John 15:4-5 … that without an abiding, surrendered relationship with our Lord, WE ARE NOTHING!
But with that humble relationship, we can receive His enabling/empowering grace [see 2Cor. 12:9] to overcome our humanity and become fruitful in/for God’s kingdom.
And that is my prayer for myself and all who read here today.
My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … O Lord, help us to be fruitful for Your glory as we humbly surrender to follow 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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