Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song and lyrics with the group Casting Crowns singing … If We Are The Body … poignantly singing of how we as the body of Christ, the Church, must come together to be Christ’s witness, His light, in this world.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Hebrews 10:24 [NLT] … 24 Let us think of ways to motivate ONE ANOTHER to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting TOGETHER, as some people do, but ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
… Notice the call to God’s people coming TOGETHER to life ONE ANOTHER up and work TOGETHER to do HIs good work in the world.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Hebrews 10:19-25 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God’s call for His church to come together and be His body in the world, working TOGETHER to be his witness in the world.
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Reference Passage : … Matthew 5:14-16 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… We, as His body, should be His light in the world.
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.”
… Christ calls us, individually and collectively (as His Church) to be His witnesses in the world; and we can do it with HIS Spirit-power.
Reference Passage : … 1 Corinthians 12:27 [NLT] … 27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
… God, thru Paul, calls the church to pull together for His glory.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, David C McCasland, used a modern day competition trend to illustrate how the church needs to use teamwork to do God’s business in this world. The ODB author wrote: Why do more than five million people a year pay money to run several miles over an obstacle course where they must ascend vertical walls, slog through mud, and climb up inside a vertical pipe with water pouring down on them? Some see it as a personal challenge to push their limit of endurance or conquer their fears. For others, the attraction is teamwork where competitors help and support each other. [See photo]
But this cultural competition fad is a fairly good cultural picture of what Christ has called His church to be in this world. We, the Big-C “Church,” are Christ’s body in the world. And we are called to come TOGETHER (see 1Cor. 12:27 and Heb. 10:24-25), … to use His power and be His witnesses (Acts 1:8), … and to shine His light into a very dark world (Matt. 5:14-16).
As Christ’s body, we, the Church, are to be exact what the group Casting Crowns sings in the linked song; and shamefully our denominational divisions and our personal prides and biases have caused us to be weakened as our Lord’s witnesses. So, let us go forth and be His team, helping one another, as in the photo, over the barriers and trudging thru the mud holes of life.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You bringing us as Your body together to serve Your kingdom.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Help me to be a functioning and effective part of Your body, doing all I can to shine your life and use my gift(s) to serve 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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