Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video with the group Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing … I Want To Be Just Like You … poignantly singing of how being raised by disciplined parents ultimately pays big dividends in their children later in life.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Galatians 6:9 [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.
… We must continue to sow God’s seeds of righteousness here on earth, even tho the benefits may not be obvious now, our rewards being in heaven.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Galatians 6:7-10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul exhorts Christians to keep on keeping on in the faith, sowing seeds of Christlike goodness, because the fringe benefits in glory - our heavenly harvest - is worth the discipline of sowing the seeds here on earth.
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Reference Passage : … 1Corinthians 15:58 [NLT] … 58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
… God, thru Paul, exhorts us to keep on keeping on in the faith, because our work for Christ will never be in vain.
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, thru Paul, promises us, as born-again believers, that His Spirit is working in us, tho not always obvious, to complete us in the image of Christ in glory.
Reference Passage : … Hebrews 10:24 [NLT] … 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
… We must, in faith, continue to perform the disciplines of the faith, even tho the earthly rewards are not always obvious.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Julie Schwab, uses a personal reflection to teach on the values of Christian discipline. The ODB author wrote … A friend and I went for a walk with her grandkids. While pushing the stroller, she commented that her steps were being wasted—they weren’t being counted on the activity tracker she wore on her wrist because she wasn’t swinging her arm. I reminded her that those steps were still helping her physical health. “Yeah,” she laughed. “But I really want that electronic gold star!” I understand how she feels! Working toward something without immediate results is disheartening. But rewards aren’t always immediate or immediately visible.
When I reflect on or teach about the disciplines of our faith, such as maintaining a daily quiet time or a disciplined prayer life, I often use the health disciplines, such as brushing our teeth (see photo), as illustrating behaviors which we maintain even tho the results are not immediately obvious. We brush our teeth ever day to prevent tooth or gum decay, don’t we? And we probably learned that discipline from our parents, just as the linked song reflects. And even tho we don’t see these ultimate long term results after each tooth brushing, we “keep on keeping on,” just as our parents taught us, because we know that the results are for our good down the road of life.
And in many respects that’s why I’m here … in this quiet place this morning, … going thru my daily disciplines of solitude, humble and thankful prayer, and my time, with the help of ODB, to dig deeply into God’s word. Certainly the results of my being here this, and each, morning are not always immediately apparent; but I know that the seeds of faith that I sow here, will be rewarded by God’s Spirit down the road of life and ultimately bring God glory, … impacting my eternal life with my Savior in glory.
I pray that all of us here realize that these works of spiritual discipline, which we carry out in faith now, will pay big … BIG … HUGE … dividends in heaven.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for giving us your divine promises of eternal rewards for our spiritual disciplines sown in faith daily now.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all reading here can, and will, join me and to keep on keeping on in the disciplines of our faith. … Amen
PS: If a reader wants to learn more about the importance of spiritual disciplines, this author would recommend the book, The Spirit of the Disciplines, by Dallas Willard, which a mentor used to help me see the eternal rewards for sowing daily seeds of discipline in my life. The book can be obtained online.
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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