Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video with images and lyrics from the group Casting Crowns singing their song … If We Are The Body … expressing in song how we, as the Body of Christ, must keeping moving forward as His body to carry out His mission on this earth.
=============
Highlight Verse[s]: Acts 14:26 [NLT] … 26 Finally, they [Paul and Barnabas] returned by ship to Antioch of Syria, where their journey had begun. The believers there had entrusted them to the grace of God to do the work they had now completed.
… The two missionaries for Christ, no matter how difficult their mission, we so grateful for what was being done for Christ and faithfully what would continue to be done for His glory.
==============
Highlight Passage [context]: Acts 14:21-28 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul and Barnabas didn’t focus on the challenges they had faced; … they simply were grateful for what had been done in the past for Christ and what would be done in the future for His glory.
=============
Reference Passage : … Psalm 150:2 [NLT] … 2 Praise him for His mighty works; praise His unequaled greatness!
… We ALWAYS must praise our Lord for what He has done thru us … what He is doing … and what He will do for His glory.
Reference Passage : … 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.”
… Jesus put the task out in front of us. And we must continue to move forward to witness in His Name.
Reference Passage : … Ephesians 5:16 [NLT] … 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.
… No matter what happens, we, as did Paul, must simply keep moving forward to witness for Him and serve His kingdom.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, David C McCasland, tries to help us realize what God has done, is doing, and what He will do for His glory as we close out 2017. The ODB author wrote: At the end of the year, the burden of uncompleted tasks can weigh us down. Responsibilities at home and work may seem never-ending, and those unfinished today roll into tomorrow. But there are times in our journey of faith when we should pause and celebrate God’s faithfulness and the tasks completed.
My friends, that’s good advice, isn’t it? Sometimes, as Christians, especially as we look ahead into the New Year, it’s easy to focus on all the troubles in the world and also what may not have gotten done in the past year. But as the ODB author exhorts, we should also stop and take note of the check-offs on our TO-DO list for 2017 (see photo).
And then, thanking God for these accomplishments as we witness for Him (see Acts 1:8), we then can pray that He continues to give us His grace and use us in His kingdom service in 2018 and beyond.
That’s what Paul and Barnabas were doing in today’s highlight passage. They had faced many negative challenges in their first missionary journey; but they were grateful for what God had done thru them and focusing forward on what He would continue to do as they witnessed for Him.
And that’s a good model for us all … to do what Paul wrote about in Eph. 5:16 … to make the most of every opportunity in these evil days … and just keep on keeping on in Christ’s Name and for His glory.
=============
My THANKFULNESS: Oh Lord, I’m so thankful for what You’ve done thru our Battle Plan Ministry efforts in 2017 and looking forward to what You will do thru us in 2018.
=============
My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Seeing the check marks of Your grace this past year, I’m excited to anticipate what You’re going to do into the new year and beyond. … 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment