Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images from Glen Campbell singing his hit song … Try A Little Kindness … poignantly singing of how we all should do all we can to do the supernatural and offer God’s love and compassion to others before satisfying our natural selfishness.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Ephesians 4:29b [NLT] … 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
… Paul’s charge to us to avoid negative, discouraging words and to do all we can to use our words to build up and encourage others.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Ephesians 4:20-31 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul trying to exhort (and encourage) Christians to live like Christ.
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Reference Passage : … Matthew 7:12 [NLT] … 12 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.
… Christ’s GOLDEN RULE of kindness and love to others.
Reference Passage : … Philippians 2:3-4 [NLT] … 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
… God, thru Paul, exhorting Christians to reach out and help others before self.
Reference Passage : … Galatians 6:9-10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK ...
… Paul charges us to never grow weary of doing good for others.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Anne Cetas, used a story about an observation of human interaction to teach on becoming more like Christ. The ODB author wrote: The young man fidgeted as he sat down for his flight. His eyes darted back and forth to the aircraft windows. Then he closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to calm himself—but it didn’t work. As the plane took off, he slowly rocked back and forth. An older woman across the aisle from him put her hand on his arm and gently engaged him in conversation to divert his attention from his stress. “What’s your name?” “Where are you from?” “We’re going to be okay,” and “You’re doing well” were a few things she whispered. She could have been irritated with him or ignored him. But she chose a touch and a few words. Little things. When they landed three hours later, he said, “Thank you so much for helping me.”
Would you, fellow Christians, agree that it’s not natural to be kind to others? But since reaching out in kindness is the Christlike way of living … driven by His Spirit, which now abides in us, … we certainly have God’s grace in us to live as Jesus taught and Paul exhorted in the Scriptures above.
But it’s still not our natural M.O., is it?! We have to intentionally CHOOSE to be kind to others, reaching out beyond our natural selfish instincts to help others or to encourage them with our words.
How we doin, my fellow Christian?
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You for giving us the grace to be kind to others.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Give me the opportunity to be like You today, Lord, and to encourage or hep someone. … 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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