Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in YouTube with images and lyrics from Laura Story singing her song … Grace Abounds … poignantly singing of how, when we, as Christians, reach out with God’s goodness, it changes the lives who receive His grace from us, thereby glorifying Him in the process.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Ephesians 2:10 [NLT] … 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
… God placed the goodness and grace in His elect before the dawn of time so that we could glorify Him thru our good works.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Ephesians 2:6-10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God thru Paul exhorts His people (that’s us, folks!) to reflect His glory thru the works He puts in us to do for His glory.
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Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 9:8 [NKJV] … 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 extends His enabling grace to us so that we can extend it to others.
Reference Passage : … Galatians 6:9-10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… When we sow God’s goodness and grace, we can expect Him to return it into our lives.
Reference Passage : … Philippians 2:3-4 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, repeats His charge for His children to extend His love to others by extending His grace thru the way we help others.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Leslie Koh, uses a personal story to illustrate how one’s attitude about the circumstances of life can change drastically when someone reaches out to share the love/grace of God with us. The ODB author writes … When a burly stranger approached my wife and me on a street abroad, we shrunk back in fear. Our holiday had been going badly; we had been yelled at, cheated, and extorted from several times. Were we going to be shaken down again? To our surprise, the man just wanted to show us where to get the best view of his city [see photo]. Then he gave us a chocolate bar, smiled, and left. That little gesture made our day—and saved the whole trip. It made us grateful—both to the man and to God for cheering us up.
What had made the man reach out to two strangers? Had he gone around with a chocolate bar the entire day, looking to bless someone with it? It’s amazing how the smallest action can bring the biggest smile—and possibly direct someone to God.
The ODB story gives life to the truth of how God is glorified when we share His love/grace with others. So, as readers here with me take in the song and the scriptures, … how many times does God have to say, thru the Apostle Paul, to us as His chosen family, to be willing to reach out and share what God has given us - i.e., His love and grace - with others?
So, I pray that we all pray for opportunities, even today, to share a smile of assurance with someone or to see a need and do all we can to fill it. Because, when we do, our God will be glorified by His goodness extended thru our deeds.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for the grace and love you extend to me to be able to share it with others.
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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 pray for God-anointed opportunities today to share His goodness with 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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