Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from the group Casting Crowns singing… Thrive … poignantly singing of how God plants the seeds of His glory in our hearts and we live to thrive in Him.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Mark 4:29 [NLT] … 29 And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”
… Jesus tells of the harvest of His field.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Mark 4:26-29 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus’ parable of the planting, growing, and harvesting of God’s kingdom.
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Reference Passage : … Matthew 28:19-20 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… When we plant the seeds of the Gospel, and help them to sprout and grow, we do so for God’s glory.
Reference Passage : … 1st Corinthians 3:7 [NLT] … 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.
… Someone plants the seeds in those who receive His nutrients, possibly from many others, so that we can grow in Him and for His glory.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Xochitl Dixon, uses a botanical picture to illustrate how we may not know who has planted the seeds of salvation in our souls, nor do we understand how it works; but when we receive His living waters, we will thrive in and for His glory. … The ODB author wrote: One day, I noticed an unexpected splash of yellow to the right of our driveway. Six stalks of daffodils, sandwiched between two large stones, bloomed bright and tall. Because I hadn’t planted, fertilized, or intentionally watered the bulbs, I couldn’t figure out how or why the flowers had sprouted in our yard.
Over 35 years ago, someone noted that I was dead in myself; and he loaned me a seed of the Gospel in the form of a tape, which I listened to one day and died to myself, … just as a seed dies to itself in order to grow and thrive, … just as those daffodils did.
Then, over time, others in my life watered those seeds with their discipling of this foundling in Christ; and as the song sings, … so I could “thrive” and grow for God’s glory. Others who had known me as a lost soul, were just as surprised to see me growing in Christ as the author who saw the surprising daffodils.
And so, when we share the effects of the Gospel on us with others; and they are exposed to the watering from the Commission (Matt. 28:19-20), who knows they may sprout and thrive for God’s glory. We may not be there to see the flowers bloom; but we can be there to plant the seeds of eternal life and let God do the rest.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You for those who planted Your seed of salvation in my soul when I was dying to myself.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Today I thrive in Your grace because of those who nurtured me to grow and bloom for Your glory. … 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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