September 30, 2018 … The “Mystery” of the Gospel

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 272 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …   … Please take the time to take in a YouTube of images and lyrics from Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing … Your Grace Still Amazes Me … poignantly singing of the mystery of God’s grace and love offered to all who surrender to His salvation.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Ephesians 3:1-2, … 6 [NLT] … 1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, … 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, … 
... It was God’s plan thru all time that ANYONE who would believe on Christ as Lord, Gentiles and Jews alike, would receive salvation thru the Good News of Jesus, the Messiah and Lord. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: Ephesians 3:1-12 [NLT]… USE THIS LINK …
… Paul, writing to Christian Gentiles expresses his continual amazement of the calling given to him to share the mystery of the Gospel with Gentiles as well as Jews.
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Reference Passage : … Genesis 1:27-28 [NLT] … 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that [b]moves on the earth.” 
… It was God’s plan all along to bless mankind with His salvation and the blessings of His creation.

Reference Passage : … Micah 4:1-3 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… From the Prophets of old, like Micah, it was prophesied that many nations (both Gentiles and Jews) would come to be saved by the one true God.

Reference Passage : … John 3:16 [NLT] … 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 
 … It was really never a mystery that God would save more than the Jew; but mankind couldn’t see God’s plan of love unfold until Jesus came to show the amazing grace of His love for ALL.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Dave Branon, uses a cute personal story about shoes to illustrate how God’s Gospel plan of salvation for all mankind was a mystery for such a long time in history. The ODB author writes … When I came home from work one day and saw a pair of lady’s high-heel shoes next to the driveway [see photo], I was sure I knew whose they were. So I put them in the garage to give to my daughter Lisa when she returned to the house to pick up her children. But when I checked with Lisa, I found they didn’t belong to her. In fact, no one in our family claimed them, so I put them back where I’d found them. The next day, they were gone. … So mysterious!! 

For such a long time in history the Jews thought of themselves as the exclusive chosen few who would receive God’s salvation thru a Messiah; and when He came, born as a baby and dying on a cross, they could not fathom the mystery of His Gospel, which came to save all mankind. But even their own prophets (like in Micah 4:1-3) had prophesied that a Messiah would come to save many nations, not just the Jews.

And Paul opened up this mystery of God’s plan of salvation to the Gentiles … and he, … Paul, … was always in awe (see highlight passage) of the fact that he had been chosen by God to open up the mystery of God’s plan for the salvation of all mankind thru Jesus, the Messiah, Who had come to save ANYONE (see John 3:16) who would believe on this Jesus as Lord.

I so pray that all who read here know, … beyond any mystery, … that Jesus is our Messiah, our Lord, and the One who saves us all from our sins. And if you read this and know that, … can I get a resounding HALLELUJAH!!!!

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for being our Savior and saving ME!
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that those who’re reading here are of those who believe in and follow You as LORD and Savior. … 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.

September 29, 2018 … God’s Grace Provides

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 271 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube of images and lyrics from Laura Story singing her story … Grace Abounds … singing poignantly of how God’s grace provides what we need even in our most needy moments.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Ruth 2:1-2 [NLT] … 1  There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. 2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” 
 … Ruth’s willingness to humble herself and seek the gleanings of God’s field [see photo] were rewarded and eternity benefitted.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Ruth 2:1-12 [NLT]… USE THIS LINK …
… Ruth’s faith and willingness to seek God’s favor was rewarded by the Lord.
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Reference Passage : … Leviticus 19:9-10 [NLT] … 9 ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God. 
… In the OT God made provision for feeding the needy by commanding that those harvesting grain would leave “gleanings” around the edges their fields to be gathered by the poor.

Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 9:8 [NLT] … 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 
… God will supply our needs from His grace in ALL things.

Reference Passage : … Philippians 4:19 [NLT] … 19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 
… God will supply our needs … IF … we’re willing to trust Him for them.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Amy Boucher Pye, uses the Biblical reference to Ruth to teach on our willingness to what we can to help the poor/needy. The ODB author writes … A Tanzanian friend has a vision for redeeming a piece of desolate land in the capital city of Dodoma. Recognizing the needs of some local widows, my friend Ruth wanted to transform these dusty acres into a place for locals to keep chickens and grow crops. Her vision to provide for those in need is rooted in her love for God, and was inspired by her biblical namesake, Ruth. 
God’s laws, in the days of Ruth, allowed the poor or the foreigner to glean (harvest) from the edges of the fields (Leviticus 19:9–10). 

And I’ve always been convicted, by the account of Jesus’ ancestor, Ruth, to be willing to humble myself and do what it takes to be an agent of God, as our Provider, to help others in need. I know He is our provider thru His grace; but now, as I look back on my life, perhaps I haven’t been willing to do enough to provide some extra to help others.

And so my devotional today points me to be willing to do more to be an agent of God’s grace and provision to others in need. How about you?

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for being our Provider when we are in need.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that those of who’ve been given more than we need do what we can to help those who can’t. … 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.

September 28, 2018 … Seeking God’s Way

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 270 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube of song and lyrics from Katheryn Scott leading in worship and singing … I Have Decided To Follow Jesus … singing triumphantly of the decision to follow Jesus, wherever it will lead.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalms 37:4, 23 [NLT] … 4  Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desire. 
 … 23  The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
… When we seek God’s way and His will, our choices will lead us down His path. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 37:3-7, 23-24 [NLT]… USE THIS LINK …
… The Psalmist shows that following our Lord will lead us to the desires of one who seeks His will. 
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God will lead us when we see to follow His way.

Reference Passage : … Romans 8:28 [NLT] … 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 
… No matter what our choices may be, as long as they are to seek righteousness and God’s will, they will ALWAYS be choices for our good and His glory … even if we stumble and fall along the way.

Reference Passage : … Philippians 4:6-7 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… We need not worry when we humbly seeking God’s way; because His peace will guard our hearts as we seek His will.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Alyson Keida, uses a personal story of how well intentioned good can be misinterpreted in our attempt to help a friend. The ODB author writes … Early in our marriage, I struggled to figure out my wife’s preferences. Did she want a quiet dinner at home or a meal at a fancy restaurant? Was it okay for me to hang out with the guys, or did she expect me to keep the weekend free for her? Once, instead of guessing and deciding first, I asked her, “What do you want?” 
“I’m fine with either,” she replied with a warm smile. “I’m just happy you thought of me.” 

All too often, as Christians, we anxiously fret when we’re confused as to how to make important decisions. We want to follow Jesus’ way (see photo); but we worry that we’re going to make the wrong decision. But God’s word is clear; and if readers have meditated on His truths above, we will see that whatever decision we make, as long as it doesn’t clearly go against God’s word, it will be for our good … and ultimately for His glory [Rom. 8:28].

So, let’s all just pray - and yes, do pray! - that we honor the Lord with our decisions; and then move ahead on His path when we feel that we have His peace in making our decisions [see Phil. 4:6-7]. 

And, my friends, it’s going to be alright!!

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for leading me on Your path to glory.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that we'll always be seeking to follow Your path, which leads us to Your will and 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.

September 27, 2018 … Reaching Out To Help

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 269 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube of images from the group Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing … He’ll Do Whatever It Takes … singing just how much Jesus will do for us and how much we must be willing to do to help others.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Galatians 6:9-10 [NLT] … 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. 
… We’re challenged and charged by God’s word to persist in doing the right thing and let Him have the benefit of the harvest of good.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Galatians 6:1-10 [NLT]… USE THIS LINK …
… Paul exhorts us to do the right thing in helping others, even when it may be misinterpreted. 
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Reference Passage : … Philippians 2:4 [NLT] … 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 
… As Christ’s disciples we’re to continually, and often exhaustingly, look beyond our own self interests to help bear the burdens of others.

Reference Passage : … Hebrews 10:24 [NLT] … 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 
…We’re to do all we can to “stir up” love and good works.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Alyson Keida, uses a personal story of how well intentioned good can be misinterpreted in our attempt to help a friend. The ODB author writes … Sometimes trying to do the right thing can be exhausting. We may wonder, Do my well-intentioned words and actions make any difference at all? I wondered this recently when I sent a prayerfully thought-out email meant to encourage a friend, only to have it met with an angry response. My immediate reaction was a mixture of hurt and anger. How could I be so misunderstood? 
Before I responded out of anger, I remembered that we won’t always see the results (or the results we desire) when we tell someone about how Jesus loves them. When we do good things for others hoping to draw them to Him, they may spurn us. Our gentle efforts to prompt someone to right action may be ignored. 

Have you ever tried to help someone, as the ODB author describes, knowing you’re doing the right thing; but the gesture of love is misinterpreted or rejected. It can be exhausting, can’t it, especially when you reach out repeatedly to help?

Remember, in moments like that, Jesus would never give up on any of His children, just as in the song linked above. So, if we know of someone who needs for us to reach out in love, even if it’s to help someone in a very bad place, … we must in Jesus’ Name.

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for reaching out to help me. 
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that I’d be wiling to reach out with Your love when I know someone else needs it, especially a brother/sister in Christ. … 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.

September 26, 2018 … Eternal Grace from God

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 268 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube of images and lyrics from Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing … Your Grace Still Amazes Me … poignantly singing how God’s mysterious and wondrous grace will always amaze those of us who don’t deserve it but receive it every day.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Jonah 4:2b [NKJV] … 6 … for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. 
 … But Jonah didn’t want God to exercise His grace to save the wicked Gentiles in Nineveh. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: Jonah 3:10-4:4 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… God is gracious enough to forgive even our most selfish sins.
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Reference Passage : … Lamentations 3:22-23 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God’s grace extends to us every morning … and never ends.

Reference Passage : … 2Corinthians 12:9 [NKJV] … 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 
… Jesus showed Paul, in a time of great weakness, that God’s grace will always be sufficient to give us the strength in our times of weakness.

Reference Passage : … 2Peter 3:9 [NKJV] … 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 
… God, in His mercy/grace desires that all who would repent, come to Him for His saving grace.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Tim Gustafson, uses the ironic story of man saving a great whale to illustrate just how much more gracious God is with us sinners. The author wrote … Sighted numerous times off the coast of Australia’s South Queensland, Migaloo is the first albino humpback whale ever documented [see photo]. The splendid creature, estimated at more than forty feet long, is so rare that Australia passed a law specifically to protect him. 

{With tongue in cheek …} How wonderful the grace of mankind to do all we can to protect this great mammal in spite of centuries of killing whales for human consumption to the point of almost eliminating certain species of these beautiful creatures. It’s an interesting paradox of mankind’s selfishness and God’s grace which is born out in the story of Jonah [see highlight passage].

Jonah had it in for the sinners of Nineveh; and God calls the Prophet to take a message of grace and salvation to these Ninevites. But Jonah so hated these Gentiles that he tried to escape his calling, ending up in the belly of that great fish, repenting, and praying for life, … which God, in His mercy, granted. Then, after finally preaching repentance and salvation to Nineveh, those hated peoples were saved by God’s mercy. But Jonah could not let his selfishness and hatred go, leading him to become depressed and suicidal over seeing God’s grace and mercy in action.

It all shows us that we’ve got to let our past (or current) selfishness go, … repenting, and letting God’s sufficient and amazing grace lead us to follow His way rather than seek our own ways. God’s mercies will always be there for us (see Lam. 3:22-23 and 2Pet. 3:9); and His grace will always be sufficient to overcome and cover our human weaknesses (2Cor. 12:9).

But as Phillips, Craig, and Dean sing … we must be willing to relent and repent to allow God’s amazing grace to overcome our humanity. Today is a good day for all us to let our selfishness go and respond to God’s grace.

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for Your wondrous and sanctifying grace, which is new every morning.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Oh Lord, … I pray that all who read here, along with Yours truly, receive and use Your grace to rise above ourselves and show all around us Your mercies by our Christlikeness. … 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.

September 25, 2018 … Shining His Light

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 267 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube of song and lyrics from Jason Gran singing … Glow In The Dark … joyfully sining how we can [and must] shine Christ’s light into a very dark world by the way we live.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Mark 14:6, … 9 [NKJV] … 6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. … 9 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” … God graciously gives us the choice to follow His way. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: Mark 14:3-9 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… A woman does a beautiful thing for Jesus, much to the chagrin of those around them. 
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Reference Passage : … Matthew 5:14-16 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus on shining His light for all to see His glory thru the way we live.

Reference Passage : … 1Corinthians 15:58 [NKJV] … 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 
… Paul shows that anything done to magnify the Name of Christ or His kingdom is never something done in vain.

Reference Passage : … 1Peter 3:3-4 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Peter preaches of being willing to show the wondrous beauty of Christ thru the way we live.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Keila Ochoa, tells of a missionary who chose to shine the light of Christ in Africa rather than showing off her talents as an artist to the world. The author wrote … Just before her death, artist and missionary Lilias Trotter looked out a window and saw a vision of a heavenly chariot. According to her biographer, a friend asked, “Are you seeing many beautiful things?” She answered, “Yes, many, many beautiful things.” 
Trotter’s final words reflect God’s work in her life. Not only in death, but throughout her life, He revealed much beauty to her and through her. Although a talented artist [see photo], she chose to serve Jesus as a missionary in Algeria. John Ruskin, a famous painter who tutored her, is said to have commented, “What a waste,” when she chose the mission field over a career in art. 

If we do do anything to shine the light of Christ into this ever dreary/darkened world, it will never be something done in vain. That’s God’s word on it (see above), not mine!

The woman, in the Mark 14 passage, who poured expensive perfume on Jesus to honor Him, much to the chagrin of all in attendance, is a great example of one who shines the light of Christ into a dark world; … or as Jason Gray sings in the linked song, one who lives their life to glow Christlikeness, … one who will never be a life (as 1Cor. 15:58 declares) lived in vain.

So, how can we shine the Light of Christ for others to see His glory in this ever darkening world? Simply by living for others and sharing His love; … and I will pray that we all do just that! 

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for giving me Your light to shine thru the way I live for You.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Oh Lord, … I pray that all who read here, along with Yours truly, will do all we can to shine Your light brightly into this dark world. … 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.

September 24, 2018 … My Way or God’s?

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 266 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube of song and lyrics from Ellvis Presley singing … My Way … sadly singing how we can choose that we can choose to do life our own way … or there is another choice … USING THIS LINK … and that is to choose to follow Christ as sung with lyrics by Clay Crosse, Bob Carlisle, and Bebe Winans.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Isaiah 30:21 [NKJV] … 21  Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” … whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.
… God graciously gives us the choice to follow His way.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Isaiah 30:15-21 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Isaiah, shows God’s people the choice they have … to be obedient and follow His way or to choose to go their own way.
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 139:23-24 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
... My prayer everyday … that God will show me His way so that I can avoid taking the wrong way - my way!

Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
... If we but trust God and avoid following our own feelings or the worlds ways, God will show is His way … THE WAY!

Reference Passage : … Luke 9:23 [NKJV] … 23 Then He said to them all [Jesus’ followers], “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." 
… Jesus clearly shows us the way to go in life … to avoid our own way and follow His.

Reference Passage : … Romans 12:1-2 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
... God, thru Paul, warns us to avoid following the world’s ways and to be a living sacrifice for Him in the choices we make.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Adam Holz, used personal example to show how easy it is to take the wrong route and follow the world’s ways or our own. The author wrote … “We’re going this way,” I said as I touched my son’s shoulder and redirected him through the crowd to follow his mom and sisters in front of us. I’d done this more often as the day wore on at the amusement park our family was visiting. He was getting tired and more easily distracted. Why can’t he just follow them? I wondered. 
Then it hit me: How often do I do exactly the same thing? How often do I veer from obediently walking with God, enchanted by the temptations to pursue what I want instead of seeking His ways? 

If you take in the photo and just a few minutes to listen to both of the linked songs above, you’ll see the choice which God graciously gives us in life; … and that is to follow the ways of the world, our flesh, or Satan; … or … to take the route God would have us go; … and that, of course, is the way of Christ … GOD’S WAY!

And … if one takes in the Scriptures above, do I really need to write any more here to give us God’s clear picture of where He wants to lead us? No, … the choice is clear, isn’t it?

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for showing me Your way to follow in life to avoid the pitfalls of the world and my own flesh.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray everyday, Lord, from Psalm 139:23:24, my plea that You clearly show me Your way to follow today, tomorrow, and always. … 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.

September 23, 2018 … Wisdom from Others

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 265 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube of images and lyrics from Gordon Mote singing … Hold Me Up … poignantly singing how we often need to find strength and wisdom from God’s agents … brother/sisters in Christ who have more of God’s direction and wisdom in confusing times.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Matthew 18:19-20 [NKJV] … 19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” 
… Seeking out the wisdom and advice of other, wiser, brothers in the faith will gain God’s wisdom and discernment in a difficult or confusing issue.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Matthew 18:15-20 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus’ instruction on dealing with brothers who’ve gone astray in the Church.
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 1:5, 19:20 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
... God’s wisdom to all who seek light in the darkness of confusion … to seek God’s wisdom from others.

Reference Passage : … 1 Peter 5:5 [NKJV] … Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for … “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 
… Peter, quoting Prov. 3:34, with advice to lesser mature Christians … to humbly seek wisdom from their elders in the faith.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Arthur Jackson, used a teaching example which many of us can identify. The author wrote … “You need to listen to me, … I’m your brother!” The plea came from a concerned older brother in my neighborhood and was directed to a younger sibling who was moving farther away from him than the older child was comfortable with. Clearly the older child was better able to judge what was best in the situation. 
How many of us have resisted the wise counsel of a brother or sister? If you’ve had to face the consequences of resisting the good advice of someone more mature, you’re not alone. 

Fellow Christian … have you ever been in a place of darkness or confusion, seeking a way up or out as Gordon Mote sings in the linked song? Of course we’ve all been there in times of confusion or weakness, haven’t we? And for those of us who believe in a merciful/loving Savior, we often pray, again as in the song, for God to HOLD US UP.

Well, God’s word gives us His “GPS,” in those times, [see Scriptures above] directing us first to go to more mature and discerning brothers/sisters in the faith to help be our Godly “GPS” in times of confusion or darkness. And I pray here that all reading with me have some one(s) to go to in such times, … someone, as in the photo, who can lift us up or give us Godly, discerning direction to help us out of our darkness or confusion.

I’ve been blessed in my life to have Elders, mentors, and a very intuitive wife who’ve been my “GPS” in the confusing times of life. I hope you have people like that to give you God’s direction today out of the fogginess of life. If not, I pray you’ll seek someone in God’s family, wiser than you, who can hold you up.

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for brothers/sisters in the faith who’ve often given me Your direction in times of confusion.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that You will help those here who need Your direction to find a wiser brother/sister to show them Your path. … 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.

September 22, 2018 … Uplifting Encouragement

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 264 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …Please take the time to take in a YouTube of images and lyrics from Steve Green singing … People Need the Lord … poignantly singing how we need to be willing to share the love of God with others … EVERYDAY!

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Highlight Verse[s]: Acts 9:26-27 [NKJV] … 26 And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. 
 … God uses Barnabas’ support of Paul to accept him as a brother in Christ in spite of their fears of the former Saul of Tarsus.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Acts 9:26-31 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… Barnabas encouraged the Disciples to accept the calling and friendship of Paul whom they had heard when Paul was persecuting the Jews.
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Reference Passage : … Exodus 17:8-17 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK ... 
… Moses gets the uplifting support of Aaron and Hur before the battle with the Amalekites.

Reference Passage : … 1 Thessalonians 4:9a, 11 [NKJV] … 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. … 11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. 
… God, thru Paul, exhorts (i.e., encourages) Christians to comfort and lift up one another.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Lisa Samra, used the life of King George VI and his wife (see photo) who encouraged her husband, the King of England during WW2. The author wrote … The 2010 movie The King’s Speech tells the story of England’s King George VI, who unexpectedly became monarch when his brother abandoned the throne. With the country on the brink of World War II, government officials wanted a well-spoken leader because of the increasingly influential role of radio. King George VI, however, struggled with a stuttering problem. 
I was especially drawn to the film’s portrayal of George’s wife, Elizabeth [see photo]. Throughout his struggle to overcome his speech difficulty, she was his constant source of encouragement. Her steadfast devotion provided the support he needed to overcome his challenge and rule well during the war. 

I have a wife like that, who’s always been my encourager .. my cheerleader. When I’m needing uplifting support, she’s always been there for me during our 54 years of marriage. Oh, how I hope readers here have a spouse, or a friend, like that, … one who can be a Barnabas to you as that Christian brother was for Paul (see highlight passage). And perhaps you, my fellow Christian readers, will have a chance to encourage someone today.

Moses needed uplifting help from Aaron and Hur when the he went up against the Amalekites (in Exodus 17. The Apostle Paul needed the encouragement of Barnabas [whose name means “Son of Encouragement”) on several occasions as in the highlight passage. And God’s word (in 1Thess. 4:11) is clear that we, as disciples of Christ, are to comfort or edify others as Steve Green sings in the linked song.

Yes, … most certainly … “People Need the Lord!”. So, let’s pray that God gives us the opportunity to be a Barnabas for someone today.

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for the uplifting encouragement You have provided for me along the path of life from others.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that You will give me the opportunity today and down the road of life to encourage and edify 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.

September 21, 2018 … Unexpected Voice

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 263 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube of images and lyrics from a lovely, buy anonymous soloist singing … Still Small Voice … poignantly singing how we need to listen for God’s quiet voice coming to us often in unexpected ways.

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Highlight Verse[s]: 1 Kings 19:11-12 [NKJV] … 11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 
 … God shows Elijah [and us] that He can be present or speak to us in very unexpected ways. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: 1Kings 18:38-39, 19:1-12 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… God can - and often might - speak to us or show up in very unexpected ways.
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Reference Passage : … Deuteronomy 4:29-31 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
... God’s promise to His people who retain their belief and trust in Him, … that he will ALWAYS be present for those who seek His voice.

Reference Passage : … Psalm 116:1-2 [NKJV] … 1 I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. 2  Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. 
… God even bends down to heart the voice of a humble/trusting believer; but we must be patient and seek His voice as well.

Reference Passage : … John 6:63 [NKJV] … 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 
… At least we Christians now have the words of Jesus in HIs word; and we should seek His word to hear His truth.

Reference Passage : … John 14:9 [NKJV] … 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 
… Jesus shows Phillip (and us) how to know God, the Father … by seeking and knowing Him.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Mart DeHaan, cited a remarkable story of an unexpected result in a terrible situation. The author wrote … In 1986, five-year-old Levan Merritt fell twenty feet into the gorilla enclosure of England’s Jersey zoo. As parents and onlookers cried out for help, a full-grown male silverback, named Jambo, placed himself between the motionless boy and several other gorillas [see photo]. Then he began to gently stroke the child’s back. When Levan began to cry, Jambo led the other gorillas into their own enclosure as zoo-keepers and an ambulance driver came to the rescue. More than thirty years later Levan still talks about Jambo the gentle giant—his guardian angel who had acted in a shockingly unexpected way, changing his perception of gorillas forever. 

Sometimes God intervenes in very unexpected ways, doesn’t he, as in the story above? And that was what happened for Elijah when he was escaping Jezebel and he sought God’s presence and protection (see highlight passages). The Prophet had seen God bring fire down from heaven; but in his perilous escape from the King and Queen, Elijah lost sight of God, Who came to him in a very unexpected way.

Today, perhaps someone reading here, besides myself, is needing a “still small voice” to give you a word of encouragement or direction or even conviction. And if so, I would encourage you to use the link above to hear (and see) a prayer which might fit your needs right now.

I come here to this quiet place every morning; and I often listen for God to give me just a quiet whisper of Himself to lift me up. And as He did with this linked song and His word today, He has quietly spoken just enough of Himself from His word to move me onward to seek Him more. So, listen for His voice from His word, my friends. … It will ALWAYS be there for those who love the Lord and seek Him thru His word.

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for Your often unexpected whisper of truth from Your word.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all who read here seek Your still small voice which so often comes from Your word. … 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.

September 20, 2018 … Hope = Jesus

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 262 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube of song and lyrics from Crowder with Tauren Wells singing … All Our Hope … poignantly singing of the hope all Christians have in our faith and trust in Jesus.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Romans 5:5 [NKJV] … 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 
… Paul assures us Christians that our hope in Christ will never disappoint or fail us. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: Romans 5:1-11 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… Our victory … our freedom … our peace … our hope are all found in our relationship with Christ. 
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Reference Passage : … Romans 8:35-39 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
... Our hope is in Christ because NOTHING can separate us from His love.

Reference Passage : … Galatians 5:22 [NKJV] … 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, … 
… Christ’s love + joy + peace = hope!

Reference Passage : … Philippians 4:6-7 [NKJV] … 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 
… We have no reason to worry because all our hope and God’s peace are found in an abiding relationship with King Jesus.

Reference Passage : … 1 Peter 5:6-7 [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. … We must be willing to humbly give our cares to Jesus if we desire the hope only He can provide. My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Anne Cetas, wrote of a friend, Elizabeth, who found hope in Christ and was delivered from addiction. The author wrote … Elizabeth struggled for a long time with drug addiction, and when she recovered wanted to help others in return. So she started writing notes and anonymously placing them throughout her city. Elizabeth tucks these notes under car windshield wipers and tacks them on poles in parks. She used to look for signs of hope; now she leaves them for others to find. One of her notes concluded with these words: “Much love. Hope sent.” 
Hope with love—that’s what Jesus gives. He brings us His love with each new day and strengthens us with that hope. 

For almost two decades now, I’ve been called to lead dear brothers out from their past shackles of shame and habitual sin into the hope and freedom found in an abiding relationship with Christ. Some of them will read my journal entry today; and I pray that they all - and others reading here - would lift up a hearty “PTL!!” to what is sung in the linked song today.

And really I don’t need to add much to the message of that song because when we surrender and respond to the fruit of the Spirit, being truly born again Christians, and we’re willing to bring our cares to Jesus, … His love, joy, and peace will guard our hearts with those fruit and His grace. That’s what the truth of the reference scriptures above declares.

Our question today is … DO WE BELIEVE HIS WORD and find all our hope in Jesus?

So, I will pray today that all who read here live in the faith and trust of which Crowder and Tauren Wells sing, … “that all our hope is in Jesus!”

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for the love, joy, peace … and HOPE … we have in You.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all who read here find the hope in You that I have found. … 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.

September 19, 2018 … Always a Time … His Time

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 261 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube of song and lyrics from Jeremy Camp singing … There Will Be A Day … powerful singing of the reality of our having to deal with the events in time which God gives or allows us to live.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Ecclesiastes 3:1, … 11a [NKJV] … 1 To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.  … 11a He has made everything beautiful in its time. … 
… God purposes all time for our good and His glory.  
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Highlight Passage [context]: Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… There is a time - in God’s timing - which allows us to choose to live for Him - or NOT! 
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Reference Passage : … Romans 8:28 [NKJV] … 28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 
… We do all we can as Christians to honor God with our choices; but in reality ALL things are for our good as His disciples, in His good time and for His will.

Reference Passage : … Ephesians 5:15-16 [NKJV] … 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 
… As Christians, God, thru Paul, exhorts Christians to do all we can to make our choices in time to glorify our Lord, especially in these evil times we live.

Reference Passage : … Philippians 1:6 [NKJV] … 6 … being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; … 
… As Christians, God, desires that all things in our lives be used to reshape us into His image and for His glory.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Kirsten Holmberg, wrote of a time of transition in her life with her daughter going off to college (see photo). The author wrote … Yesterday I purchased an airline ticket to send my firstborn child to college. I’m surprised the keyboard on my computer still functions, given the waterworks my eyes unleashed on it during the flight selection process. I have so enjoyed my eighteen years of daily life with her that I am saddened by the prospect of her departure. Yet I wouldn’t rob her of the opportunity that lies ahead simply because I’ll miss her. At this juncture in her life, it is fitting for her to embark on a new journey to discover adulthood and explore another part of the country. 
As this season of my parenting draws to a close, another one begins. It will undoubtedly bring both new challenges and new delights. 

As God, thru Solomon in Ecclesiastes, charged believers, … there is a time in life for all things [see highlight passage]. And as God, thru the Apostle Paul charged Christians, we must do all we can, especially in these evil times, to use the time God gives us for His glory (see Eph. 5:15-16), remembering always that all things which occur in the life of Christ’s disciples [that’s us, my friends!] are for our own good (Rom. 8:28) to reshape us in His image (Phil. 1:6).

So, today let’s just do all we can to make choices, given God’s timing and His good will, which deal with life’s events in a way that will honor our Lord and bring us into a closer walk with Him. 

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for the time You give me to glorify You with my choices.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, I make choices which with edify me and glorify 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.

September 18, 2018 … Lines In My Palms

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 260 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube of song and lyrics from Crowder singing … Forgiven … poignantly and powerful singing of God’s promise of forgiveness fulfilled by Jesus who took the nails in His hands/feet so that we who put those nails in His hands.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Isaiah 49:15b-16a [NKJV] … 15 …Surely they may forget,Yet I will not forget you. 16  See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; … 
… The nail scars in HIs hands are the evidence of His willingness to die for our forgiveness. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: Isaiah 49:14-18 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… God’s promise of forgiveness which was to be nailed into His hands to give us His saving grace. 
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Reference Passage : … Numbers 23:19 [NKJV] … 19  “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? 
… God is not like man … He ALWAY keeps His promises.

Reference Passage : … Revelation 21:3 [NKJV] … 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 
… God will keep His ultimate promise and come again so that we can dwell with Him forever.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Amy Boucher Pye, wrote of Charles Spurgeon’s teaching about God’s promise of redeeming His people and bringing them to be with Him in Heaven. The author wrote … In Charles Spurgeon’s many years at his London church during the 1800s, he loved to preach on the riches of Isaiah 49:16, which says that God engraves us on the palms of His hands. He said, “Such a text as this is to be preached hundreds of times!” This thought is so precious that we can run over it in our minds again and again. 
Spurgeon makes the wonderful connection between this promise of the Lord to His people, the Israelites, and God’s Son, Jesus, on the cross as He died for us. Spurgeon asked, “What are these wounds in Your hands? . . . The engraver’s tool was the nail, backed by the hammer. He must be fastened to the Cross, that His people might be truly engraved on the palms of His hands.” As the Lord promised to engrave His people on His palms, so Jesus stretched out His arms on the cross, receiving the nails in His hands so we could be free of our sins. 

Open your hands (as in the photo) and look into the lines etched in your palms; and then realized that these can - and should - be reminders of Gods’ promises, which were nailed into His hands by our sins on the Cross. And His scars are permanent reminders that God ALWAYS keeps His promises [Num. 23:19); and He will ultimately keep His promise to return again and bring all the redeemed to Himself in heaven [Rev. 21:3].

I was (and you were) the one who put those scars in His hands; but His blood, shed from those wounds, are what has redeemed me by my (and your) faith that He has kept, is keeping, and will aways keep His promises. Glory be that His promises are etched into my palms forever. 

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for Your promise of redemption which my faith in Your finished work on the cross has wrought.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all who read here can look at the lines in our palms and remember the scars in Yours. … 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.

September 17, 2018 … Passing It On!

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 259 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube of images and lyrics from the group 4Him singing … The Message … poignantly and powerful singing of how our lives as Christians become a message with is a legacy of Christ for others to see in our lives.

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Highlight Verse[s]: 2 Timothy 1:4-5 [NKJV] … 4 … [Paul] greatly desiring to see you [Timothy], being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, 5 when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. 
 … A legacy of Christlikeness had been passed along to Timothy from his family and from Paul. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: 2 Timothy 1:1-5 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… Paul’s mentoring of his spiritual “son,” Timothy, was a legacy and message of Christ’s love passed on to Timothy from his family and from Paul.
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Reference Passage : … Matthew 5:16 [NKJV] … 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. 
… Christ commands us, as His disciples, to shine His light thru the way we live as His gospel message of love for all to see.

Reference Passage : … Acts 1:8 [NKJV] … 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 
… We are charged by Jesus Himself to be His witnesses, carrying His legacy of love/grace to the world, especially to those in our sphere of influence, such as our family/friends.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, James Banks, used a personal story of how his family left him a legacy of hope/love from their faith in Jesus which became a lasting message of love to be shared onward in his family. The author wrote … I was paging through my great-grandmother’s Bible when a treasure fell into my lap. On a small scrap of paper, in a young child’s handwriting, were the words, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:3–4). Scribbled beside those verses in wobbly cursive was my mother’s signature. … 
When we encourage those close to us to have hope in Jesus, we offer them a legacy of love. Through a simple note, my mother left evidence of my great-grandmother’s love for her Savior and her family. Oh, to share Him with those who come after us! 

Do my readers today have any kind of a legacy of Christ’s love which has been passed on to you which you feel called to share with others, … especially your children, friends, or others who need to know Jesus more intimately?

When I was a new, baby, Christian [at about age 45], I was led to a mentor, who recognized that I needed what he called the 3Ds of discipleship - a Disciplined Daily Devotional life. And so he took the time to help me learn how to spend a very intimate, personal time with God EVERY MORNING. And now, some 25+ years later, you find me here, journaling [for any who might read] what I believe God’s Spirit gives me each morning to share with others from the time I devote getting to know my Lord from His word.

What I write here - each morning - is God’s message (as in the linked song) to me and thru me … as a legacy of His love to pass on to others. Prayerfully all who’re reading here now have a legacy of love and grace which we all can share with others in our family or with anyone who needs to get God’s “message” of love.

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for Your message of truth from Your word today which I can share here today with others.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that what You share with me here can be my legacy of love shared with others in writing each morning. … 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.

September 16, 2018 … Prayer - Sorta Important!

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 258 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube of Red Marlow singing his original song … I Pray … poignantly singing of how his (and our) prayer opens us up for God’s amazing grace to flow into our lives.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Matthew 6:5-6 [NKJV] … 5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 
… Jesus felt that we needed to know the importance of prayer and how to be in prayer to Abba Father.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Matthew 6:5-15 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount teaching on how to pray.
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  Reference Passage : … Philippians 4:6-7 [NKJV] … 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 
… Paul exhorted us, as Christians, to bring anything and everything to God in humble/thankful prayer.

Reference Passage : … 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 [NKJV] … 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 
… The Apostle Paul exhorted Christians to have a 24/7 attitude of thankful prayer.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Xochitl Dixon, strongly teaches on the value of prayer and how to make it effective for God’s glory. The author wrote … I admire people who record prayer requests in journals tattered from daily handling, those who keep track of every prayer and praise and then faithfully update their lists. I’m inspired by those who gather with others to pray and whose kneeling wears out the carpet at their bedsides. For years, I tried to copy their styles, to emulate a perfect prayer life, and to imitate the eloquence of the so-much-more-articulate-than-me folks. I strived to unravel what I thought was a mystery, as I longed to learn the right way to pray. 
Eventually, I learned that our Lord simply desires prayer that begins and ends with humility (Matthew 6:5). He invites us into an intimate exchange through which He promises to listen (v. 6). 

Is our prayer life important to our worship and devotion to God. Well, DUH!! … Of course it is. For no other reason than Jesus specifically taught His disciples/followers on the importance and the “how to” of prayer in His Sermon on the Mount (see highlight passages). And the Apostle Paul exhorted fellow Christians to bring their (our) prayers to God with a thankful/humble heart … ANYWHERE and ANYTIME … we had anxious concerns (see reference passages).

So, does this ODB entry say anything to you about our prayer life? It does for me; and PRAYERFULLY it does for you as well.

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for You hearing our prayers … ALWAYS!!
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that we all have a deep/abiding prayer life, humbly bringing our concerns to you today and tomorrow and ALWAYS. … 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.

September 15, 2018 … God’s Positioning System: His “GPS”

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 257 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube of images and lyrics from the group Mercy Me singing … Word of God Speak … poignantly singing of the power of God’s word to speak meaning, purpose, and power into the lives of those who believe it’s truth.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 119:68 [NKJV] … 68  {GOD}You are good, and do good; … Teach me Your statutes. 
 … God’s goodness is reflected in/thru His word.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 119:65-72 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… This entire song is dedicated to the goodness of God expressed thru His living word. 
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Reference Passage : … 2Timothy 3:16-17 [NKJV] … 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 
… The Bible is God-breathed inspiration to give us all we need to live for His glory.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Dave Branon, teaches on the infinite goodness of God’s word to guide us in our lives. … Because I like dark chocolate, I once Googled “Is dark chocolate good for you?” I got a variety of results—some good, some bad. You can do the same for almost any food product. Is milk good for you? Is coffee good for you? Is rice good for you? There is a dizzying array of answers to these questions, so you have to be aware that the search itself may not be good for you. It may give you a headache! 
But if you’re looking for something that’s one-hundred percent good for you all the time, can I recommend the Word of God? 

For those who might come here to read what I believe God gives me to share from His Spirit and His word, … why do you think I do all I can to be here, digging into God’s truth and doing what I can to get His word into my heart?

I do it because God’s word [use the links below to read the passages] …
… Gives me God’s purpose for my life (Isaiah 55:11)
… Shines a light unto my path in life (Ps. 119:105)
… Is the sword of the Spirit to do battle (Eph. 6:17)
… Is absolutely trustworthy (Prov. 30:5)
… Helps me grow closer to my God (1Pet. 2:2)
… Gives me God’s blessing everyday (Luke 11:28)

 I think that’s reason enough to be in God’s word deeply every morning, don’t you? How about it, fellow reader; … have you dived into God’s truth today and let our Good God saturate your spirit? Come on … jump in … that water’s wonderful!!

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for Your living, powerful word to be our “GPS” in life.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all reading here are bathing in Your word daily and being nourished by Your truth. … 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.

September 14, 2018 … Living Waters and Bread of Life

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 256 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube of images and lyrics from the Kristyn and Keith Getty playing/singing … Living Waters … poignantly singing of how only Jesus with His living waters can satisfy the longing in our hearts for satisfaction. … And THEN ON TO THIS LINK to hear the Sidewalk Prophets sing Come To The Table with Jesus’ invitation to come to His table of love/grace and to fill our hearts with His living waters and bread of life.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Isaiah 55:2 [NKJV] … 2  Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. 
… Only God can provide us with what satisfies our thirst and hunger.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Isaiah 55:1-7 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… God’s promise to give His beloved satisfaction thru the Messiah who would bring His living waters to a dry and thirsty people.
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Reference Passage : … Jeremiah 2:13 [NKJV] … 13 “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water. 
… God’s people abandoned their only source of living waters, … their obedience to their God and created their own methods of self satisfaction.

Reference Passage : … John 6:35, 7:37 [NKJV] … 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. ... 
7:37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. … 
… Jesus declares that He is our only source to satisfy our longings for satisfaction and to quench our insatiable thirst.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Linda Washington, refers the desire of a young boy to fill himself with sweets (see photo) to illustrate our seemingly unquenchable thirst for self satisfaction. … As we distributed snacks for children at a Bible School program, we noticed a little boy who devoured his snack. Then he also ate the leftovers of the children at his table. Even after I gave him a bag of popcorn, he still wasn’t satisfied. As leaders, we were concerned as to why this little boy was so hungry. 
It occurred to me that we can be like that boy when it comes to our emotions. We look for ways to satisfy our deepest longings, but we never find what fully satisfies us. 

I call it “the love hole,” … which God has planted in the hearts of all of us, leading us to try to quench this thirst/hunger with so many things which only make us thirstier and hungrier.

And prayerfully, we finally come to the realization that the only thing which can fill that hole in our soul is the love (and grace) of God. And when we’re willing to receive that filling from our Savior, Jesus comes into us with His Spirit and makes His living waters and bread of life available to satiate our soul.

Think of how many today who are trying to fill that “love hole,” like the boy in the photo, with things like opiates or alcohol or P0RN or money or power. And NOTHING will fill us up except Jesus’ love and grace. When, as the Sidewalk Prophets and the Gettys sing, in the linked songs, will we come, at Jesus’ invitation, to His table and be filled with His living waters and the bread of life?

Every morning you read here as I’ve come in my morning quiet time to have my thirst filled and my hunger satiated with my Lord’s love from my time I am with Him in His word. I pray your “love hole” is being filled today too.

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for Your grace which fills my soul with Your living waters and bread of life.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all reading here find their filling, as I do, from Your living waters and bread of life. … 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.

September 13, 2018 … Name Above All Names

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 255 

Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube of song and lyrics from the Maranatha Singers singing … Jesus, Name Above All Names … poignantly singing of how Jesus’ name declares exactly Whom He is … “glorious Lord!”

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Highlight Verse[s]: Matthew 1:21 [NKJV] … 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 
… Jesus, in Hebrew, “Yeshua,” means “Jehovah saves!”
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Highlight Passage [context]: Matthew 1:18-25 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… The angel told Joseph not to fear Jesus’ coming because He would live up to HIs name and save man from his sins.
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Reference Passage : … John 20:31 [NKJV] … 30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. 
… Believing on the name of “Jesus,” as our Messiah, brings salvation in His Name.

Reference Passage : … Acts 4:12 [NKJV] … 12  “… Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” 
… Following or believing in one by any name other than “JESUS,” The Christ, cannot save us from our sinfulness.

Reference Passage : … Romans 10:13 [NKJV] … 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 
… God, thru Paul, declares from His word that anyone who calls, and believes, on the Hame of “Jesus” will be saved.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Bill Crowder, used an historical reference to show that names don’t have the same significance in our day as they did in Bible times. … “Gip” Hardin, a Methodist preacher, named his son after the famous preacher John Wesley, reflecting Gip’s hopes and aspirations for his baby boy. John Wesley Hardin, however, tragically chose a different path than his ministry-minded namesake. Claiming to have killed forty-two men, Hardin became one of the most notorious gunfighters and outlaws of the American West of the late 1800s [see photo]. 
Though not so today in our culture, … in the Bible, as in some cultures today, names hold special significance. Announcing the birth of God’s Son, an angel instructed Joseph to name Mary’s child “Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The meaning of Jesus’s name—“Jehovah saves”—confirmed His mission to save from sin. 

As indicated in the ODB entry, names today in our culture generally don’t have the same character description that they did in Jesus’ culture and times. John Wesley Hardin’s name certainly didn’t live up to his name, did it [see photo]?

But very personally, my name, ”WILLIAM”, has a Germanic origin, and it means “Warrior.” And tho my parents didn’t envision that I would become a warrior, it turns out that I’m founder and director of a ministry which is on the front lines of spiritual warfare, entitled “Battle Plan Ministry.” [use this link]   Go figure, … I actually did, in a sense, live up to my given name.

But JESUS was named by God’s angel (see highlight passage) to announce that He was (and is) The Messiah, … THE One sent by God to be THE CHRIST, the One - and only One - who could (and would) save mankind from his (our) sins. And the truth is in His Name, isn’t it?

And I pray that anyone reading here with me has done what God’s word says (see reference verses) … and you have trusted in the reality of Jesus’ Name so that He (i.e., we) can (and will) be saved. 

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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for your Name, as the song sings, the “Name above all names!”
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all reading here believe on Your Name and we have been saved forever from ourselves 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.