June 12, 2018 … Called By Name

Berry Patch Devotions in 2017 - Day 162 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video with images and lyrics from Francesca Battistelli singing … He Knows My Name … poignantly singing of the grace we receive from God in being called out by name to serve The King of kings.

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Highlight Verse[s]: John 20:16 [NKJV] … 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” … She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). 
… Jesus, having been raised from the dead, returns to call our Mary Madeline by name. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: John 20:11-18 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… The resurrected Jesus called Mary Madeline by her name … just as he does each and every one of His sheep.
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Reference Passage : … John 10:3-4, 14-15 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows His sheep by name.

Reference Passage : … 1 Peter 5:7 [NKJV] … 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 
... God wants us to cast our cares on Him because He loves us just that much.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Amy Boucher Pye, used a strategy advertising uses to show the effects of calling one his his/her own name. The ODB author wrote: Advertisers have concluded that the most attention-grabbing word that viewers react to is their own name. Thus a television channel in the UK has introduced personalized advertisements with their online streaming services. 
We might enjoy hearing our name on television, but it doesn’t mean much without the intimacy that comes when someone who loves us says our name. 

Have you ever had some one you admired greatly, perhaps a grandparent, a mentor, or a dignitary call you out from a crowd by name? In such an instance one feels important, don’t we, … being recognized and acknowledged by name?

Well,… when Mary Madeline was so down with agony after Jesus was crucified, the Lord came to her; and when He called her by name, she knew immediately that her Savior was alive and cared deeply for her … enough to call her out by name.

And that’s what our Good Shepherd does for His flock. He calls us out by Name to follow Him; and all we need to do is just that (I hope you know Luke 9:23), knowing that He will lead us to glory. 

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You for knowing my name and seeking me out to follow You.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit ... Help me remember just how much you loved me and now have called me to follow and 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.