Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song and lyrics with Steven Curtis Chapman singing His Strength Is Perfect … poignantly singing of how we must rely on God’s strength to cover our weakness and allow Him to lead us thru life.
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Highlight Verse[s]: James 4:14 [NLT] … 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.
… Our illusion of self control can often lead us into a fog (see photo).
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Highlight Passage [context]: James 4:13-17 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… James exposes how we can let our feelings of self confidence lead us in wrong directions in life.
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… We must trust and follow God’s way in life … no matter what we encounter.
Reference Passage : … Luke 9:23 [NLT] … 23 Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me. ..."
… Jesus commands His followers to deny ourselves and be willing to closely follow Him.
Reference Passage : … 1 Corinthians 11:1 [NLT] … 1 And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
… Paul had learned - and exhibited - a confidence of following Christ and leading others to surrender to Christ’s lead as well.
Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul had learned - as should we - that God’s grace is always sufficient to provide us the strength to move when we feel weak or lost.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Remi Oyedele, used the results of a scientific study to show that we really don’t have as much control in life as we think. … The ODB author wrote: Ellen Langer’s 1975 study titled The Illusion of Control examined the level of influence we exert over life’s events. She found that we overestimate our degree of control in most situations. The study also demonstrated how reality nearly always shatters our illusion.
Langer’s conclusions are supported by experiments carried out by others since the study was published. However, James [see highlight passage] identified the phenomenon long before she named it.
If a reader has ever driven from clear weather into dense fog [see photo], you probably recall the feeling of losing control. As Langer’s study revealed [in the ODB entry today], we humans can have an illusion of self control; when actually we don’t have the strength and control we may feel we have.
And that’s the reason why Jesus (in Luke 9:23) commanded His followers to avoid trying to follow their own way and to follow none by His. It’s what Paul had learned, and exhorted fellow Christians [in 1Cor 11:1 and 2Cor 12: 9-10], … to surrender to God’s grace and let the Lord lead us thru life rather than trying to go it on our own.
Because, we only can have the strength and vision to traverse this life clearly and fruitfully if we trust and follow God and let Him give us the strength when we’re weak (as Steven Curtis Chapman sings in the linked song). I pray we do so today … and tomorrow as well.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for showing us the way to go home.
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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 surrender to God’s grace and let Him give us the strength and vision to move on today. … 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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