Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in YouTube song and lyrics from Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing … He’ll Do Whatever It Takes … poignantly singing of how nothing can separate us from the unconditional love of God which will do whatever it takes to bring us to Himself in glory.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Hosea 11:8a [NLT] … 8 “Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go?
… God’s unconditional love for His people is FOREVER.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Hosea 11:1-11 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru the Prophet Hosea, shows that His love for His chosen people is so great that He will never abandon those who love and seek to obey Him.
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Reference Passage : … John 10:14-16 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus is our “Good Shepherd,” and He would die that God’s flock be brought into gate of heaven.
Reference Passage : … Romans 8:38-39 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, clearly lays out how we are to live for others first, rather than just for ourselves.
Reference Passage : … Philippians 1:6 [NLT] … 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
… God never gives up on one of His kids.
Reference Passage : … Hebrews 13:5 [NLT] … 5 … For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” [Deut. 31:6, 8]
… A NT author quotes God from the OT, showing that His promise to hold us in His care is forever.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Poh Fan Chia, asks an interesting question from a radio host to challenge us to think about what is most precious to us. The ODB author writes … “What’s one thing you can’t give up?” the radio host asked. Listeners called in with some interesting answers. Some mentioned their families, including a husband who shared memories of a deceased wife. Others shared they can’t give up on their dreams, such as making a living in music or becoming a mother. All of us have something we treasure dearly—a person, a passion, a possession—something we can’t give up.
How would you answer that question, fellow Christians? … I have a letter laminated and stored in a special place which my father wrote to me at age 72 declaring that he had prayed to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. I had witnessed to him for almost five years, knowing that he was lost; and finally God’s Spirit brought him to a place where he could see the truth of His need of God’s love and grace. If there was a fire in our home, I would want to save that letter.
But now that I’ve thought more about that question asked in the ODB entry today, I can see that the thing which is forever mine which is MOST PRECIOUS to me is my abiding relationship with Christ and His unconditional love and grace which has saved me and is NOW transforming me into His own image. That’s what all of the scriptures above point to; and I pray we call all declare a loud, ”Hallelujah!” to that reality.
Yes, ... no matter what we’ve done in our past, if we’ve come to our Lord with a humble and repentant spirit and, in faith, received His saving grace, as the linked song declares, God’s Spirit will never leave us and will do all that it takes to bring us to Himself in glory.
And I for one, loudly, declare … “Thank You, Jesus!”
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for Your unconditional love and grace.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all reading here can, and will, join me to praise our Lord, Whose love us our ours FOREVER if we come humbly seeking His sanctifying grace! … 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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