Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube of images and lyrics from the group Casting Crowns singing their song … If We Are The Body … poignantly singing of how Christians must play their roles in the kingdom of God, working in unity to serve His purposes as the Body of Christ.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Matthew 7:11 [NLT] … 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
… If my earthly father would give me good gift, wouldn’t my Heavenly Father give me a far better gift; … and He has … in His Son!!
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Highlight Passage [context]: Matthew 7:7-11 [NLT]… USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus teaches on how our Heavenly Father will give us what we need to serve Him in His family.
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Reference Passage : … John 3:16, 17 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… What a gift our Heavenly Father has given us!!! And we must use it for His glory.
Reference Passage : … Romans 12:1-8 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, instructs His body to use our gifts - TOGETHER - to serve His kingdom purposes as a living sacrifice for the Father’s glory.
Reference Passage : … Ephesians 4:1-4 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Similarly, as in Romans 12 above, God calls His family to use our gifts to be worthy of our calling as disciples of Christ.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Adam Holz, used a family situation to illustrate how we all play roles in God’s kingdom. The ODB author wrote: Some problems have Daddy’s name written all over them. For instance, my kids recently discovered bees had moved into a crack in our front porch [see photo]. So, armed with bug spray, I went out to do battle. And I got stung … five times.
I don’t like being stung by insects. But better me than my kids or wife. Taking care of my family’s well-being is at the top of my job description after all. My children recognized a need, and they asked me to address it. They trusted me to protect them from something they feared.
In our family, taking care of those bees would have been my role as “the dad.” And in God’s family, as the Body of Christ, we each have roles to play, using the gift[s] He has given each of us to serve Him and HIs purposes (see Rom. 12:1-8). That’s what Jesus was preaching about in His Sermon on the Mount (see the highlight passage and Matthew, Chapters 5-7).
On any good football team, each of the 11 players on the field has a designated role to play; and it’s only when EACH of them, individually, do their thing - TOGETHER - that they will be successful as a team. And similarly, Christ’s Body (i.e., the Church) needs to function in much the same way.
Each of us, individually as Christians, has been given at least one Spiritual gift; and together, we are part of God’s team - His family; and today’s linked song cries out a call to each of us in the Lord’s “Body” to do our part for His glory. And in the unity and power, given to His Body thru God’s Spirit, we can accomplish what the Father has for us to do.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You for giving my gifts which I can use for Your glory in surrender to Your purposes.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Express Yourself today thru the gifts You’ve given me, Lord, 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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