Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from the group Mercy Me singing … Even If … poignantly singing of how we can find God’s fruit of joy … yes, EVEN IF we’re faced life’s trials and tribulations.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Galatians 5:22a … [NLT] … 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, JOY, peace, …
… Even in the midst of trials we can choose to express the fruit of the Spirit, … which includes joy.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Galatians 5:22-26 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul reveals the fruit of the Spirit which we as surrendered Christians can choose to share in the character of Christ.
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… No matter what the circumstances of life, we must trust that God will lead us thru.
Reference Passage : … Habakkuk 3:16-19 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God’s prophet, even in the midst of fear and horrible circumstances learned that he could choose to share the joy of his relationship with God.
Reference Passage : … John 15:1-8 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus shows disciples how we can experience the fruit of His Spirit; … and that is by abiding in Him.
Reference Passage : … 2Corinthians 12:9 [NLT] … 9 Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
… Jesus promises Paul (and us) that His empowering grace will always be there to give us His strength in our times of weakness.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, David H Roper, uses a personal experience involving his family to show that we can CHOOSE to pursue the joy of victory EVEN IF life is challenging. And the ODB author wrote: One of our sons, Brian, is a high school basketball coach. One year, as his team was dribbling its way through the Washington State Basketball Tournament, well-meaning folks around town asked, “Are you going to win it all this year?” Both players and coaches felt the pressure, so Brian adopted a motto: “Play with joy!”
It’s easy to be joyful when the ball is going thru the nets (see photo); but when defeats come our way, can we find the joy found our relationship with Christ?
In the Old Testament, I’ve always loved the story of Habakkuk, who came to God with confusion and doubt as God’s people were rebelling against God’s ways (see Chapter 1 of Habakkuk’s journal). But God helped His Prophet see that he could find joy in the midst of trials by simply trusting God (see Habakkuk 3:16-19) … yes, as the group Mercy Me sings, … we can choose joy … “EVEN IF” things are going bad.
I’m stopping to pray that all reading here have learned to lean on and look to our relationship with Christ, … trusting Him only, … yes, EVEN IF things are going wrong. Because our Lord, even in the midst of pain will supply us His empowering grace to be fruitful (see all the reference passages above). And I pray we all believe and live in that truth.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for Your grace to endure the challenges of life and be fruitful as You have promised we will be when we choose Your way in life.
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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 choose to share in the fruitfulness of 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.
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