Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video with images and lyrics from Laura Story singing her song … Grace Abounds … poignantly singing of the grace we can receive anytime we go to our Lord for the hugs of His grace.
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Highlight Verse[s]: 1 Peter 4:9-10 [NKJV] … 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
… Exhorted to be helpful, loving, and hospitable to all, ministering to others with the gifts we have been given.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 1 Peter 4:7-11 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Peter, exhorts us (Christians) to be hospitable and minister to one another’s needs.
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Reference Passage : … 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… All Christians have been given at least one Spirit-imparted gift. Are we using it for God’s people and His glory.
Reference Passage : … Hebrews 10:24 [NKJV] … 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, …
… We should be looking to stir up love and good works with our giftedness and providence.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Dave Branon, used a personal reflection of a friend’s ability to make others feel welcomed and loved. The ODB author wrote: “Who will hug everybody?”
That was one of the questions our friend Steve asked after he got the news that he had cancer and realized he would be away from our church for a while. Steve is the kind of man who makes everyone feel welcome—with a friendly greeting, a warm handshake, and even a “holy hug” for some—to adapt an application from Romans 16:16, which says, “Greet one another with a holy kiss.”
And now, as we pray for Steve that God will heal him, he is concerned that as he goes through surgery and treatment—and is away from our church for a time—we will miss out on those welcoming greetings.
Perhaps not all of us are cut out to greet one another as openly as Steve does, but his example of caring for people is a good reminder to us.
If you’re a Christian, you have been given a special gift by God’s Spirit [see 1Cor. 12:4-7], maybe more than one. Steve’s gifts - from the OBD story - were obviously encouragement ,and likely hospitality, exhibited in his desire to give out hugs to others, showing and sharing the love and grace of God.
And the question blasting from this ODB entry is obvious, isn’t it? Am I using my spiritual gifts to stir up love and good works (see Heb. 10:24) or to help meet the needs of others, sharing what God has given me to spread God’s grace?
And when we do that, as with Steve and his hugs, we’ll experience what Laura Story sings about in the linked song. So, let’s all share a few “hugs of grace” with others today.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You for giving me gifts which I can share with others to help them and glorify You.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit ... Help me to have the discernment and courage to use my gifts today to help others. … 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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