December 31, 2019 … New Year’s Planting

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 365 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir singing … The Field of Souls … poignantly singing of how we as Christians are called to work the fields of this world, planing God’s leads of truth from HIs word and praying for a bountiful harvest of souls and service.

 "City Blossoms" ... Inner City Garden Project

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Highlight Verse[s]: Luke 8:11 [ESV] ...   11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 
… Jesus explains that the seeds we plant in the “field of souls” are seeds of truth from God’s word. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: Luke 8:4-8, 11-15 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Jesus explains how we plant God’s seed of truth from His word by living our lives as Christ, praying that the seeds will land on fertile soil and produce much fruit.
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Reference Passage : … John 15:1-5 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… The only way we can bear much fruit for God’s kingdom is to abide in Christ and receive and share His essence from His word with others.

Reference Passage : … Galatians 5:22-23 [ESV] … 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 
… Praying that we all do all we can in 2020 to be more fruitful in/for Christ.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Anne Cetas, uses a poignant and productive illustration of planing gardens in our inner cities to show others how to live more productive and fruitful lives. … The ODB author wrote: “Kids should be able to throw a seed anywhere they want [in the garden] and see what pops up,” suggests Rebecca Lemos-Otero, founder of City Blossoms. While this is not a model for careful gardening, it reflects the reality that each seed has the potential to burst forth with life. Since 2004, City Blossoms has created gardens for schools and neighborhoods in low-income areas. [see photo] The kids are learning about nutrition and gaining job skills through gardening. Rebecca says, “Having a lively green space in an urban area . . . creates a way for kids to be outside doing something productive and beautiful.” 

Well, I don’t think it takes a Ph.D. in worldly living to see what the ODB entry is trying to say to us on this last day of the year. As Christians, Jesus charged us to abide in Him [see John 15] so that we can live fruitful lives. And as we move into 2020, I charge all readers to take a personal inventory, using the “fruit of the Spirit” listed in Gal. 5:22-23, which are the character qualities of Christlikeness.

Let’s ask ourselves if these fruit are growing in us … “love, joy, peace, etc.” … and whether we are abiding in our relationship with Christ intimately enough to be planting seeds of those fruit by sharing God’s truth (i.e., from His word) with others. So, as we move into the New Year, let’s plant those seeds in the “field of souls” (as the Brooklyn Tab sings) and watch them grow in God’s fertile kingdom soil for His glory.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for planting Your seeds in me which will prayerfully grow to share with others.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to sow the seeds of God’s truth in the fertile soil of God’s kingdom to see them become fruitful in the New Year. … 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.</ span>

December 30, 2019 … Relying on God’s Strength

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 364 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song and lyrics from Steven Curtis Chapman singing his song… His Strength Is Perfect … poignantly singing of how our God provides His strength to cover our inherent weaknesses.

Fresh water outside Jerusalem (see post) 

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Highlight Verse[s]: Isaiah 22:11 [ESV] ...   11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.
… We can do all we can to shore up our weaknesses; but there will always be weaknesses from which we need God’s protection.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Isaiah 22:8-11 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God warns God’s leaders to look to the Lord to cover their human weaknesses, which would always be there when they were trying to protect Jerusalem.
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Solomon, exhorts believers to trust the Lord especially when we know we are weak and vulnerable.

Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 12:9 [ESV] … 9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 
… Jesus assures us, thru Paul, that He is always there with His empowering grace to cover our human weaknesses.

Reference Passage : … 1 Peter 5:6-7 [ESV] … 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
… Are we willing to humble ourselves enough to bring our anxieties to God?

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, David H Roper, illustrates how God’s empowering grace is available to us when we humble ourselves to surrender our weaknesses to the Lord. … The ODB author wrote: There’s a natural spring that rises on the east side of the city of Jerusalem. [See Photo] In ancient times it was the city’s only water supply and was located outside the walls. Thus it was the point of Jerusalem’s greatest vulnerability. The exposed spring meant that the city, otherwise impenetrable, could be forced to surrender if an attacker were to divert or dam the spring. 
King Hezekiah addressed this weakness by driving a tunnel through 1,750 feet of solid rock from the spring into the city where it flowed into the “Lower Pool” (see 2 Kings 20:20; 2 Chronicles 32:2–4). 

We all have our personal and inherent weaknesses, don’t we? As humans, as Hezekiah in the references above, we do all we can to cover our weaknesses; but as the linked songs and God’s word declares (in 2Cor. 12:9), God’s strength is there for us when we’re humbly willing to come to Him for His empowering grace.

As we move into 2020, I pray we’re humble enough and willing to take our cares to a caring God (see 1Peter 5:6-7) and receive His empowering grace to carry us onward for His glory.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for always being there for us with your enabling/empowering grace.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to take our weaknesses and concerns to the Lord whenever our weaknesses let us know that we need God’s strength. … 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.</ span>

December 29, 2019 … Laundromat Love

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 363 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Steve Green singing … Find Us Faithful … powerfully singing of how our Lord calls us to faithful service in our lives, helping others thru our works to see the love and grace of God.

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Highlight Verse[s]: James 2:24 [ESV] ...    24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 
… James, Jesus’ brother, couldn’t imagine one having saving faith in Christ without expressing that faith with works that reflect the character of the Savior.
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Highlight Passage [context]: James 2:14-26 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru James, shows that our good works for the glory of God are expressions of our faith in Christ.
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Reference Passage : … Matthew 5:14-16 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus preached that kingdom believers would shine God’s light of faith by the works that reflect His love and grace.

Reference Passage : … Luke 4:18-19 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus’ expressed mission in life should be our mission as well … to reach out in God’s Name and for His glory with works which proclaim God’s love and grace in this life.

Reference Passage : … Ephesians 2:8-10 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul exhorted to Christians that we are saved BY grace THRU faith UNTO good works.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Xochitl Dixon, uses a practical - real life - ministry which expresses the love/grace of God to others by washing the clothes of those who can’t afford a laundromat. … The ODB author wrote: A small church in Southern California recognized an opportunity to express God’s love in a practical way. Believers in Jesus gathered at a local laundromat to give back to their community by washing clothes for those in financial need. [see photo] They cleaned and folded clothes together, and sometimes provided a hot meal or bags of groceries for recipients. 

I think the photo/logo attached aptly expresses the mission and expression of God’s love and grace thru that ministry, doesn’t it? And that’s what Jesus called us to do as disciples of Christ, … didn’t He; … to carry out His mission in life (see Luke 4:18-19) and to reach out to help others, shining God’s light of love in this ever darkening world (see Matt. 5:14-16)

That’s what Jesus’ brother, James, was so adamant about in the highlight passage; … that those who truly have the saving grace of Christ in our lives, will show that faith by our works, thereby glorifying God in the process. And the Apostle Paul, expressed much the same in teaching that we are saved BY God’s grace, THRU our faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross, which ultimately leads to our expressing that faith UNTO good works in HIs name (see Eph. 2:8-10).

So, what will we be DOING today … and into the New Year … to express God’s purpose in our lives by SHOWING others the love of God as did those folks [again see photo] expressing their “laundromat love.”

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving us the opportunity to show Your love for others by the way we live out that love in our lives.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to faithfully fulfill Christ’s mission of love/grace by the way we help others 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.</ span>

December 28, 2019 … Forgotten? … Never!

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 362 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song and lyrics from the group Avalon singing … Orphans of God … powerfully singing of how our God never forgets ALL of His children, as there are no orphans in the family of God.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Isaiah 49:15 [ESV] ...   15  “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. 
… Isaiah relays God’s promise to never forget His people, no matter what the circumstances may be. ==============
Highlight Passage [context]: Isaiah 49:8-16 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru Isaiah promise God’s people (that’s you/me too!) that He will never forget them. 
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Solomon, exhorts believers to trust the Lord even when He may seem distant from us.

Reference Passage : … Matthew 28:20 [ESV] … 20 … And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 
… After Christ’s “Great Commission,” His promise to be with His born-again disciples ALWAYS!

Reference Passage : … Romans 8:38-39 [ESV] … 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
… Paul expresses the confidence we can have as true believers that NOTHING can separate us from God’s love.

Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 12:9 [ESV] … 9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 
… Jesus assures Paul (and us) that His grace is ALWAYS sufficient for us to deal with the challenges of life.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Sheridan Voysey, uses a story of a dedicated school bus driver to show how we can be misguided in our attempts to motivate others toward good works. … The ODB author wrote: Egged on by my children to prove I’d endured years mastering the basics of piano, I sat down and started playing the C Major scale. Having played very little piano in nearly two decades, I was surprised I remembered! Feeling brave, I proceeded to play seven different scales by heart one right after the other. I was shocked! Years of practicing had imprinted the notes and technique so deeply in my fingers’ “memory” that they instantly knew what to do.   
There are some things that can never be forgotten. But God’s love for His children is far more deeply imprinted than any of our fading memories—in fact, God CAN’T forget them. [See photo]

And as the group Avalon sings in the linked song, there are no forgotten orphans in the family of God. So, … if any reader here knows that you are graphed into God’s family as a born-again believer, take heart! … No matter what our circumstances (see 2Cor. 12:9), God’s grace is ALWAYS sufficient, since our Lord is always there for us, … never forgetting us (see Matt. 28:20)!!

And if you feel forgotten today, or doubting your salvation, email me (at billb13@bellsouth.net ). We can settle those issues … FOREVER!!

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for always having us in the palm of Your hand.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to remember that God NEVER abandons a child of God. … 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.</ span>

December 27, 2019 … Following His Word 

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 361 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and song from Clay Crosse, Bob Carlisle, and Bebe Winans singing … I Will Follow Christ … powerfully singing of our commitment and surrender to follow Christ … NO MATTER WHAT!!!

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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 119:105 [ESV] ...   105  Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.  
… The Psalmist shows us that following God's word is a light - His light - to our path in life.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 119:1, 33, 015, 133 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru a Psalmist, declares the commitment of all true believers to follow God’s word on the road of life.
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 139:23-24 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… My prayer every morning … that God will search my heart and eliminate any selfish barriers so that I can follow HIS way on the road in life.

Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Solomon, exhorts believers to trust Him that He will keep our paths straight in life … and He primarily does that thru His word.

Reference Passage : … John 14:21 [ESV] … 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 
… Jesus commands His disciples to follow His commandments (i.e., His word) to show our love for Him.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Sheridan Voysey, uses a story of a dedicated school bus driver to show how we can be misguided in our attempts to motivate others toward good works. … The ODB author wrote: At the BBC in London, Paul Arnold’s first broadcasting job was making “walking sounds” in radio dramas. While actors read from scripts during a walking scene, Paul as stage manager made corresponding sounds with his feet—careful to match his pace to the actor’s voice and spoken lines. The key challenge, he explained, was yielding to the actor in the story, “so the two of us were working together.” 

The ODB author paints an apt word picture of what it’s to do what the linked songs proclaims … to follow Christ so closely that others will see us leading them to Him. They should see (or hear) our steps in total sync with our Lord. And that’s the word picture that the Psalmist who wrote Psalm 119 wrote.

The Psalmist who wrote this acrostic poem had obviously been transformed by following God’s word and Yahweh’s promises very closely. And in this song [i.e., Ps 119], God, thru the song lyrics, calls any/all of us to follow God’s ways and His will by following His word.

And my prayer today, as we move into the New Year, is that we all surrender our way to God’s way by seeking His will daily by following His word. That’s certainly my prayer everyday when I come here, using the daily ODB entry, to let God’s word be my beacon of truth to set my path for each day. Come along; … into 2020 … and let’s follow His word together, … knowing that in doing so, we’ll be following King Jesus into glory.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for shining Your light on my path by following Your word.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to set our course in life by following His “GPS” - i.e., God’s Positioning System - by seeking out and following His word. … 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.</ span>

December 26, 2019 … Misguided Attention

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 360 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from the group, The McCraes, singing … He Knows My Name … poignantly singing of God knows everything about me … so, I don’t need to do anything to impress our Lord.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Ephesians 2:8-19 [ESV] ...   8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.   
… Paul shows fellow Christians that our salvation comes - not by our works - but thru the finished work of Christ on the cross and our repentance and declared faith in HIS works.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Ephesians 2:4-10 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru Paul, teaches truth about salvation by faith - not works!
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Reference Passage : … Matthew 10:30 [ESV] … 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 
… Jesus declares that God knows even every hair on our heads, … therefore, we don’t ever need to get His attention.

Reference Passage : … John 14:21 [ESV] … 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 
… Jesus shows that our works and obedience to God’s commands are only evidence of our love for our Lord once we’re saved by our faith in His finished work on the cross.

Reference Passage : … Romans 8:38-39 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul shows his confidence that NOTHING can separate us in this life from the love and grace of God if we have saving faith in HIs finished work on the cross.

Reference Passage : … Romans 10:9-13 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul shows any/all who surrender in faith to Christ’s finished work on the cross and, in repentance, declare their faith, WILL BE SAVED.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Sheridan Voysey, uses a story of a dedicated school bus driver to show how we can be misguided in our attempts to motivate others toward good works. … The ODB author wrote: In The Call of Service, author Robert Coles, exploring our reasons for serving, tells the moving story of an older woman’s service to others. As a bus driver, [see photo] she showed great care toward the children she drove to school each day—quizzing them on homework and celebrating their successes. “I want to see these kids make it in life,” she said of her motivation. But there was another reason too. 
As a youth, the words of an aunt had shaken this woman to the core. “She’d tell us that we had to do something God would notice,” she told Coles, “or else we’d get lost in the big shuffle!” Worried at the prospect of hell after the “big shuffle” of judgment, this woman had devised ways to “get God’s attention”—going to church so “He’d see me being loyal” and working hard to serve others so God might “hear from others what I was doing.” 

Obviously this school bus driver cared for the kids and wanted them to do well in school. However, her motivation was spiritually mis-guided by a false premise that the way to heaven is attained by doing good works to get God’s attention. And I pray that no one reading with me is motivated by such false teaching, which unfortunately is perpetrated on the world by so many false religions, denominations, and sects.

God’s word is clear on this, isn’t it? As God, thru Paul, teaches in the highlight passage [i.e., Eph. 2:8-9], we are saved, NOT by good works; but by our faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross (see also Romans 10:9-13). And my dear ones, I pray you know that nothing we do or say is going to get “God’s attention.” He already knows every hair on our heads (see Matt. 10:30); and nothing that we can do in life will ever separate us from His love or grace (see Romans 8:37-39).

So, yes, do good stuff, my friends; and let’s show our love for God by being obedient to His word (see John 14:21); but let’s all just trust that God already knows our hearts and knows EVERYTHING about us. We don’t ever need to get His attention by doing ANYTHING.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for knowing everything about me.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to thank God for being there for us and loving us, … no matter what we do. … 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.</ span>

December 25, 2019 … Giving Like God

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 359 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song and lyrics from a fellowship of Christians singing … All To Jesus I Surrender … poignantly singing of we are reminded at this special time of Christmas to give of our lives as Jesus freely give of His.

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Highlight Verse[s]: 2Corinthians 8: [ESV] ...   5 and this [i.e., the giving of fellow Christians], not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 
… Paul shows fellow Christians how our giving reflects the grace of God, giving so freely to us by our Lord.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 2Corinthians 8:1-9 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru Paul, exhorts Christians to extend Godly grace (i.e, our giving spirit) to others just as our Lord extended His saving grace to us.
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Reference Passage : … John 3:16 [ESV] … 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 
… Yes all our eternal hope is in God’s greatest gift, … His Son and our Savior, Jesus. Our Heavenly Father gave His ALL for our everything.

Reference Passage : … Philippians 2:5-11 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… My favorite “Christmas” passage of Scripture, showing what our Lord gave up for us, humbly setting aside His heavenly glory, … to become human, … to walk with us, … and to die for us, that we might live with Him forever.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, James Banks, uses a personal remembrance at Christmas to be reminded that we, who follow Jesus as Lord, must give in our lives as Jesus gave in His - EVERYTHING! … The ODB author wrote: “I got you a present!” my two-year-old grandson shouted excitedly as he pressed a box into my hands. “He picked it out all by himself,” my wife smiled. I opened the box to find a Christmas ornament of his favorite cartoon character. “Can I see it?” he asked anxiously. Then he played with “my” present for the rest of the evening, and as I watched him, I smiled. 
I smiled because I remembered gifts I had given loved ones in the past, like the music album I gave my older brother one Christmas when I was in high school that I really wanted to listen to (and did). And I realized how years later God was still stretching me and teaching me to give more unselfishly. [see photo] 

Sometimes it takes the innocence of a child to remind us, during this Advent season, what the giving of gifts is all about, … remembering that our lives are to reflect the giving example of our Lord, … Who gave His all for our all.

So, I pray, on this Christmas day, that we all give our gifts with the surrendered attitude that Jesus gave for us when he set aside His glory and humbled Himself to come as a Babe in a manger … and walked among us, … even died on a cross for us, … that we might live with Him forever in glory. (see Phil. 2:5-11) Because when we give like He gave, we give our all as He did.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for setting aside Your glory … to give us our eternal glory.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to share our gifts to others as reflections of God’s grace in giving His all for our eternal glory with Him. … 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.</ span>

December 24, 2019 … Waiting for Glory

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 358 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Crowder and Lauren Wells singing … All My Hope … poignantly singing of we have God’s eternal promise of eternal life when we put all our hope in King Jesus.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Luke 2:29-30 [ESV] ...  29 “Lord, now You are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;  30  for my eyes have seen Your salvation. ... "
… Simeon had waited a long lifetime, from God’s promise to live to see the Messiah before he died, to finally hold the Baby Jesus and declare his thanks to God for the promise fulfilled. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: Luke 2:25-33 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… One devout Christian, waiting on the presence of the Lord, finally was able to rest in peace having seen the Baby Jesus in the Temple.
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [ESV] … 5  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.
… Giving the Lord ALL our hearts in faith, will allow Him to lead us to His glory.

Reference Passage : … John 3:16 [ESV] … 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 
… Yes all our eternal hope is in God’s greatest gift, … His Son and our Savior, Jesus.

Reference Passage : … Revelation 3:20 [ESV] … 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 
… All we have to do everyday - really every moment - is open the door of our hearts to trust and follow Him, and He will lead us thru everything in this life onward to His glory in heaven.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Amy Boucher Pye, uses a historical story of desperate prisoners in WW2 holding out all their hope in Christ at Christmas time. … The ODB author wrote: On Christmas Eve 1944, a man known as “Old Brinker” lay dying in a prison hospital, waiting for the makeshift Christmas service led by fellow prisoners. [See Photo]  “When does the music start?” he asked William McDougall, who was imprisoned with him in Muntok Prison in Sumatra. “Soon,” replied McDougall. “Good,” replied the dying man. “Then I’ll be able to compare them with the angels.”  
Although decades earlier Brinker had moved away from his faith in God, in his dying days he confessed his sins and found peace with Him. Instead of greeting others with a sour look, he would smile, which “was quite a transformation,” said McDougall. 
Brinker died peacefully after the choir of eleven emaciated prisoners sang his request, “Silent Night.” Knowing that Brinker once again followed Jesus and would be united with God in heaven, McDougall observed, “Perhaps Death had been a welcome Christmas visitor to old Brinker.” 

I identify with Brinker in this ODB entry. For 39 years of my life I was in emotional chains in my own prison of unbelief and selfish sin. But in 1983, Jesus strangely came into my life (too long a story for now), like He did with old Simeon in the highlight passage in Luke 2, and freed me to realize, that all thru those first 39 years of my life, all I had to do was place my faith in God’s promise to give me His saving grace and lead me thru life … and finally to glory … to live with my King Jesus, … my Messiah, … FOREVER.

Oh how I pray, on this day before our celebration of His birth … and prayerfully the remembrance of His death and resurrection, … we can, like Brinker in today’s ODB story, find peace in putting ALL OUR HOPE in our King Jesus as Crowder and Wells sing in the linked song. So, join me on this Christmas eve to celebrate where Christ’s birth will lead us when we put all our faith in our Lord. 

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, ... coming to us, living with us, and dying for us … to give us Your eternal glory.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to worship the Babe Who came to live and die for us and Who gave us the greatest gift of all. … 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.</ span>

December 23, 2019 … Wearing His Pearls

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 357 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and song from an anonymous worship group singing … Heaven’s Child … poignantly singing of how Mary and Joseph must’ve pondered with wonder, after their baby was born, that this was “heaven’s child.”

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Highlight Verse[s]: Luke 2:19 [ESV] ...  19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 
… Mary ponders and sees what her obedience to God, from the time the Angel came to her until after Heaven’s child was born.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Luke 2:15-19 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Mary, after delivering her Baby, King Jesus, ponders what her obedience had brought about. 
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Reference Passage : … Luke 9:23 [ESV] … 23 And He said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. … “ 
… Jesus commands that His disciples deny themselves and obediently follow Him.

Reference Passage : … John 14:21 [ESV] … 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 
… Jesus charges His disciples (and that’s us too!!) to be obedient to His word if they truly loved and believed in Him.

Reference Passage : … Acts 1:8 [ESV] … 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 
… Jesus’s last command to His disciples as He ascended back to Heaven after His resurrection … and that was to be His obedient witnesses in our time here on earth.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Elisa Morgan, uses an interesting word picture of stringing together obedient “Yeses,” being pictured like wearing a string of lovely pearls to honor our Lord. … The ODB author wrote: One Christmas, my grandmother gave me a beautiful pearl necklace. The beautiful beads glowed about my neck until one day the string broke. Balls bounced in all directions of our home’s hardwood flooring. Crawling over the planks, I recovered each tiny orb. On their own, they were small. But oh, when strung together, those pearls made such an impression! [see photo] 

Interesting word picture, isn’t it [?];… a lovely pearl necklace, signifying a string of “yeses” in obedience to our Lord, as He calls for us to be His witnesses (see Acts 1:8. And then the ODB author illustrates such obedience and love for God (see John 14:21) by telling of Jesus’ mother, Mary, [see highlight passage] who strung together one obedient “YES” after another from the time she was visited by the Angel, Gabriel, until she gave birth to heaven’s child in that lowly manger [see linked song].

The question for us from this ODB entry obviously is … do we love our Lord enough to follow Him (see Luke 9:23) with our yeses, i.e., our string of pearls, … being obedient witnesses to His word, to show our King that we love Him. I pray today that we wear our pearl necklace of yeses as we move into the New Year as obedient witnesses of His love.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, ... for giving is the ability to proudly wear a string of yeses as we witness to Your saving grace and love.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to show off God’s love for us by wearing a lovely string of obedient pearls into this upcoming new year. … 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.</ span>

December 22, 2019 … My Heavenly Father

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 356 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of the group, Hillsong Worship, singing … Who You Say I Am … poignantly singing of how God sets us from from ourselves to be chosen Sons and Daughters of the Living God, … our Heavenly - Abba - Father.

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Highlight Verse[s]: 1 John 3:1 [ESV] ...  1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 
… God’s love by God, the Father, so that we can be His children.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 1 John 3:1-3 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru the Apostle John, declares that anyone who is in Christ has the love of God, our Heavenly Father, … FOREVER!
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Reference Passage : … John 1:11-12 [ESV] … 11 He came to His own, and His own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, 
… If we believe in and receive Christ as Lord, we ARE “children of God” forever.

Reference Passage : … Romans 8:15 [ESV] … 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 
… As children of God, having received His Spirit by adoption of faith, we can always cry out to our “Abba Father.”

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Winn Collier, uses a story of Christians, having had bad relationships with their earthly fathers coming into reconciliation with the Heavenly - ABBA - Father. … The ODB author wrote: Recently, several people within our church—those who had experienced poor relationships with their fathers—asked me to stand in as a loving, father figure and offer a blessing over them. The blessing asked forgiveness for the ways a father can hurt his children by setting expectations that are too high or being distant or failing to offer tender presence and affirmation. It also pronounced delight, admiration, and abundant love. As I shared the blessing, I wept. I realized how I still needed to receive such words, and how much my children need them too. 

I certainly don’t know the Father-Son or Father-Daughter relationships with any reading here with me today. My wife had a rocky, distant relationship with her dad, never really knowing him all her life. I, on the other hand, had a great/close relationship with my dad. But in our relationship with Christ, we both have found an eternal relationship with our Heavenly - Abba - Father, where we know that we’ll be part of His family, as a daughter and son of God … forever!

And I pray that all with me here today can cry out earnestly and eternally to your “Abba Father,” knowing that you are truly a child of the Living God.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, ... for bringing me into Your family as your son.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to thank our Heavenly Father for always being there as our “Daddy” … today and always. … 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.</ span>

December 21, 2019 … My Christmas Card To You

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 355 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of the group, The Martins, singing … Heaven’s Child … poignantly singing of how God’s greatest gift to mankind was born in a manger in Bethlehem, … God’s little baby, His Son, born as Heaven’s Child, given to save mankind as our Messiah.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Luke 2:11 [ESV] ...  11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  
… Angels declare to the shepherds in Bethlehem that God had delivered His promised gift of a Messiah.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Luke 2:4-14 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Luke gives us the account of the birth of our Savior in Bethlehem to fulfill the prophesies of old of God’s gift of THE MESSIAH to all mankind.
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Reference Passage : … Isaiah 9:6 [ESV] … 6  For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 
… 700+ years before the gift came to God’s people, Isaiah proclaimed His coming.

Reference Passage : … Micah 5:2 [ESV] … 2   But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. 
… God, thru the Prophet, Micah, prophesies that the Messiah, the eternal ruler of all Israel, would come from Bethlehem.

Reference Passage : … John 3:16 [ESV] … 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 
… God’s greatest gift proclaimed by Jesus Himself.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Remi Oyedele, uses the gift giving at Christmas to show our homage to the greatest gift ever given in the babe born in a manger. … The ODB author wrote: Remember Tickle Me Elmo? [see photo] Cabbage Patch Kids? The Furby? What do they have in common? Each rank among the twenty most popular Christmas gifts of all time. Also included on the list are familiar favorites such as Monopoly, the Nintendo Game Boy, and Wii. 
We all delight in giving gifts at Christmas, but that’s nothing compared to God’s delight in giving the first Christmas gift. This gift came in the form of a baby, born in a Bethlehem manger (Luke 2:7). 

Each year at Christmas, there seems to be one top gift that parents of young children simply must get and give to their kids. But as today’s ODB entry proclaims, we can’t let a “Tickle Me, Elmo” divert our attention away from what the Advent Season is all about, … the coming of the greatest gift of all, … God’s gift of a Savior, prophesied of old and born in a manger in Bethlehem (see scriptures above); … born as our Messiah and King Jesus, … given in God’s love to save us from ourselves and to provide us, when we receive God’s gift, with eternal life (see John 3:16).

Please take the time to hear what this blogger considers one of the most beautiful Christmas songs ever written and sung to honor the greatest gift of all … “Heaven’s Child.” And please … take this journal entry as my Christmas card to you as we remember God’s greatest gift to us. 

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, ... for giving me (us) the greatest gift of all … our Savior.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to declare our praise and thanks as we recognize our reception of the greatest gift of all time. … 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.</ span>

December 20, 2019 … Standing for Right

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 354 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song and lyrics from Zach Williams singing … Chain Breaker … powerfully singing of how we can stand for God’s will in this hostile world because we follow and serve a “Chain Breaker” in our Lord, King Jesus!

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Highlight Verse[s]: Nehemiah 6:15-16 [ESV] ... 15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. 
… Nehemiah, following God’s calling, and against all odds marshaled God’s people to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem in 52 days; and God was honored by his stand for God’s glory. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: Nehemiah 6:1-16 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Nehemiah stood with God’s calling in spite of so many odds against him in his time. 
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Reference Passage : … Luke 9:23-24 [ESV] … 23 And He said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 
… Jesus’ call to discipleship - no matter what we may face!

Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 11:16-33 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… And we think we have challenges as Christians! … Here’s what Paul endured to share the Gospel with the world in his times.

Reference Passage : … Ephesians 6:13 [ESV] … 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 
… God, thru Paul, calling Christians to stand with Him … following His will and His way even in a hostile world.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Linda Washington, uses a 19th century historical reference to illustrate what it takes to stand for Christ in the world. … The ODB author wrote: “Failure is impossible!” These words were spoken by Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906), known for her immovable stance on women’s rights in the US. Though she faced constant criticism and later an arrest, trial, and guilty verdict for voting illegally, Anthony vowed to never give up the fight to gain women the right to vote, believing her cause was just. Though she didn’t live to see the fruit of her labor, her declaration proved true. In 1920, the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution gave women the right to vote. [See photo] 

Then the ODB author cited the struggle Nehemiah went thru to carry out God’s will to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem, getting the job done for God in a miraculous 52 days (see highlight passage). And that reminded me of all the Apostle Paul went thru to carry out Jesus’ call to discipleship (see reference scriptures above).

And then I had to ask myself, as all disciples of Christ should ask ourselves … “What am I doing to stand strong for Christ?” … Or even more, what can I do today to deny myself, to take up my cross, and follow my Lord? … I’ll leave it to any reader here to deal with that question, especially in light of the “Great Commission” (check out Matt. 28:19-20 - linked here on your own). 

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, ... for forging the way for me to follow You.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to deny ourselves and to follow Your will, in Your way, thru Your word. … 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.</ span>

December 19, 2019 … Writing My Letter Today

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 353 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Joy Williams singing … Do They See Jesus In Me … poignantly singing of how, when we live lives of Christlikeness, others see Jesus in the way we live.

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Highlight Verse[s]: 2Corinthians 3:2 [ESV] ... 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our[a] hearts, to be known and read by all. 
… The Christians in Corinth were exhorted to become open letters of Christlikeness so others could see Christ in them, … just as we should be in our day and times.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 102:11-13, 18-28 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Paul exhorts fellow, but lesser mature, Christians to become letters of recommendation for Christlikeness by the way they live in their lives. =
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Reference Passage : … John 14:21 [ESV] … 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 
… Jesus, to His disciples, on how we can show our love for Him by showing that love by the way we live in obedience to His word.

Reference Passage : … Ephesians 4:1-3 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, exhorts Christians to live lives worthy of our calling as Christians so that we can become letters of recommendation for Christlikeness.

Reference Passage : … Philippians 2:5 [ESV] … 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,… 
… We are to have the mind of Christ so that our lives reflect Christlikeness to others.

Reference Passage : … 1 Thessalonians 5:23 [ESV] … 23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
… Another exhortation by letter to Christians, strongly exhorting them (and us) to live blameless lives which show others what Christlikeness is all about.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Amy Peters, uses a personal reference to writing letters of recommendation for others, like the Apostle Paul exhorted Christians in his time to BE letters which recommend Christlikeness to others. … The ODB author wrote: As a professor, I’m often asked by students to write letters of recommendation [see photo] for them—for leadership positions, study-abroad programs, graduate schools, and even jobs. In each letter, I have a chance to praise the student’s character and qualifications. 
When Christians traveled in the ancient world, they often carried with them similar “letters of commendation” from their churches. Such a letter ensured that the traveling brother or sister would be welcomed hospitably. 

If my readers today have heard the linked song by Joy Williams, which I use often to illustrate my journal entries; and you have meditated on the letters of exhortation, written by Paul and referenced above to the early Christians, I would guess we all have gotten the message that those of us who claim to be Christians need to be letters of recommendation for Christlikeness by the way we live out our lives.

And I’m duly convicted, … as we move shortly into a new year, … that I need to be “rewriting” my life-letters by showing my love for my Lord (see John 14:21) and to be living a more worthy, … obedient, … life, which reflects the way He lived when our Lord walked this earth.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, ... for the letter of recommendation You wrote for me (and my fellow Christians) by the way You lived and died for us. 
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to do all we can today, and in 2020, to be strong letters of recommendation for Christ to 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.</ span>

December 18, 2019 … Forever with Him

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 352 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from the group Third Day singing a contemporary version of the old hymn … Blessed Assurance … poignantly singing of how we live under God’s perfect watch care no matter what we face in life. … And ON TO THIS LINK to hear Matt Maher sing, Because He Lives, declaring that we live forever because He lived and died for us.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 102:28 [ESV] ... 28  The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before You. 
… We, the children of God, will dwell with Him forever.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 102:11-13, 18-28 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God never changes and will always be there for His chosen ones.
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… We must trust God - ALWAYS - even when we can’t see where He’s leading us.

Reference Passage : … Malachi 3:6 [ESV] … 6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 
… God promises, thru Malachi, that we can always deal with the present because God’s promises of His watch care are FOREVER.

Reference Passage : … Romans 8:28 [ESV] … 28 And we KNOW that for those who love God all things work together for good, … for those who are called according to His purpose. 
… We can deal with ALL circumstances because we know, reborn in Christ, that they are for our good.

Reference Passage : … Hebrews 13:8 [ESV] … 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 
… No matter what the present circumstances, we can always trust in Christ because He never changes.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Xochitl Dixon, makes reference to a quote from C.S. Lewis to show how we can always trust God thru tough circumstances because God always remains the same in time. … The ODB author wrote: In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis wrote: “Almost certainly God is not in time. His life does not consist of moments one following another . . . . Ten-thirty—and every other moment from the beginning of the world—is always present for Him.” Still, waiting seasons often feel endless. But as we learn to trust God, the eternal Maker of time, we can accept the reality that our fragile existence is secure in His hands. 

As in the photo information, life changes, never the same from moment-to-moment. However, as we read - and prayerfully believe - in meditating on God’s unchanging, ever reliable, word (see scriptures above and 1Peter 1:25 on your own), we Christians follow a Lord Who never changes. Therefore, as the group Third Day sings in the linked song, we have God’s “Blessed Assurance” that we can trust in Him … ALWAYS … no matter what we encounter in this life.

And I’m praying today that we know - beyond doubt - that even the tough stuff in life is for our good … and God’s glory. And, … as the songs declare … we can KNOW that we live forever because God chose to live and die with and for us … to give us eternal life with Him.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, ... for the reality that You never change and our time now is lived out for Your glory and our eternal future with You. 
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to rest in the reality that our tough times now are lived out for our eternal and glorious future with the Lord. … 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.</ span>

December 17, 2019 … YES! … He’s In Control

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 351 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song and lyrics from Steven Curtis Chapman singing … His Strength Is Perfect … poignantly singing of how God’s empowering grace often carries us thru situations, even when we don’t know He’s there for us.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 18:30 [ESV] ... 30  This God—His way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him. 
… God is our refuge - ALWAYS!
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 18:30-36 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru the Psalmist, shows that He is ALWAYS in control and providing His empowering grace - even when we don’t see it.
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK … … We need to trust God - ALWAYS - even when we can’t see that He’s in control.

Reference Passage : … Romans 8:28 [ESV] … 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. 
… For any/all Christians we must recognize that ALL THINGS which occur in our lives are somehow for our good.

Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul learned from Jesus, as we should, that God’s grace is ALWAYS sufficient to give us His strength in ALL circumstances.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Adam Holz, uses a personal story to illustrate how we often receive the benefits of God’s grace and don’t even see it happening. … The ODB author wrote: I was getting into my car when the glint caught my eye: a nail, embedded in my rear tire’s sidewall. [see photo] I listened for the telltale whistle of air. Thankfully, the hole was plugged—at least for the moment. 
As I drove to a tire store, I wondered: How long has that nail been there? Days? Weeks? How long have I been protected from a threat I didn’t even know existed? … 
We can sometimes live under the illusion that we’re in control. But that nail reminded me we’re not.  

How often have we Christians been the benefit of God’s saving or empowering grace and we don’t even know it? … I”m sure way more times than we’ll ever know.  Because, as the linked song conveys to us, God’s strength and empowering grace is ALWAYS there for us, … even when we can’t see it or feel it.

So, I pray, ... remembering the truth of the reference scriptures above, … the next time we feel frustrated at a red light, when we think we need to be somewhere more quickly than we are, … that we stop and thank God for that hesitation, which may be saving us from some dire circumstance which would have happened without that red stoplight. …

God is ALWAYS in control; and PTL for it !!!

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, ... for the truth of Romans 8:28 in the lives of all of us who know You are in control.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to praise You, God, for the grace which leads us thru life. … the grace which we often don’t see or appreciate. … 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.</ span>

December 16, 2019 … My Worth = His Cross

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 350 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song and lyrics from Chris Tomlin singing the old Advent carol … Joy to the World … poignantly singing of how those who receive God’s gift of saving grace should sing of our joy His eternal gift of life.

God's Gift = My Value

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Highlight Verse[s]: Zechariah 11:13 [ESV] ... 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter. 
… God’s prophesy that He would be thrown aside for less than the price of a slave - 30 pieces of silver.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Zechariah 11:4-13 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God declares that those who reject His love, mercy, and grace will be cast aside for less than the value of a slave.
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Reference Passage : … John 3:16-17 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… This is how much God values each and every one Who receives His saving grace from His gift to us on the cross.

Reference Passage : … Romans 1:18-32 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… We take note of what God will do for those who cast Him aside for selfish gain.

Reference Passage : … Philippians 2:6-11 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Here is what God gave us by becoming a babe in a manger, dying for us as the Lamb of God, and giving us eternal life in a relationship with Him.

Reference Passage : … 1 John 1:9 [ESV] … 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
… And all we have to do to receive our ultimate worth in Christ is to confess, repent, and follow Him.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Mike Wittmer, uses a story of a young woman who felt worthless because of her encounter with evil. … The ODB author wrote: Now an accomplished writer, Caitlin describes the depression she battled after fighting off an assault. The emotional violence cut deeper than her physical struggle, for she felt it proved “how undesirable I was. I was not the kind of girl you wanted to get to know.” She felt unworthy of love, the kind of person others use and toss aside. 

Perhaps there are some reading here with me who’ve felt like this young woman in the past, … cast aside as worthless, … maybe even feeling that now. But today’s ODB entry has reminded me that only those who devalue and cast aside the priceless gift God gave us on the cross (see photo) will be cast aside to find their value only in themselves (see Romans 1:18-32). But rather those who see what God has given to us in His son (see Phil. 2:6-11) will find the joy we receive from that cleansing gift (again, see photo).

Because, … those of us who so see that our value is found in that priceless gift God has given those of us who’ve recognized our sinful nature and have confessed and repented of self, … and have received God’s grace from Christ’s blood, … have found our value only in our surrendered relationship with our Lord and Savior, … King Jesus.

And so, … let us declare a loud HALLELUJAH!! to our Heavenly Father in this Advent season for His gift of priceless value in His Son. For we have value only from His gift.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, ... for giving me eternal value from your anointed incarnation and Your gift of love and saving grace on the cross.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to witness with a ”Hallelujah!” recognizing our value which came from His blood shed on the cross. … 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.</ span>

December 15, 2019 … God’s Living Water

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 349 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song and lyrics from Big the group The Gettys singing … Living Waters … poignantly singing of how we can choose to drink from God’s living waters which we receive from God’s Spirit thru His word.

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Highlight Verse[s]: John 4:13-14 [ESV] ...  3 Jesus said to her [the Samaritan woman], “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. … “ 
… Jesus teaches the Samaritan woman about His living waters.
============== Highlight Passage [context]: John 4:4-14 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Jesus ministers to a Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob and tells her how to receive God’s living waters.
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Reference Passage : … Jeremiah 2:12-13 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Jeremiah, warns His people against building our own cisterns of water rather than partaking of God’s living waters.

Reference Passage : … John 7:37-39 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus teaches those who’re following Him about partaking of God’s eternal spring of living water.

Reference Passage : … John 14:21 [ESV] … 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 
… Jesus teaches that we show our love toward Him by languishing in the living waters of His commands (i.e. His word).

Reference Passage : … 1 John 1:9 [ESV] … 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
… As Christ’s disciples we need to not only drink from His living waters, we need to BATHE in it as well daily.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Alyson Kieda, uses the picture of a ministry to provide pure water in Haiti to illustrate God’s living waters. … The ODB author wrote: Tom and Mark’s ministry refreshes lives. This is clear in the video they share of a group of fully clad children laughing and dancing in the refreshing water of an open shower—their first ever. The men work with indigenous churches to install water filtration systems on wells in Haiti [see photo], easing and lengthening lives as diseases connected to contaminated water are prevented. Access to clean, fresh water gives the people hope for their future. 

As readers here today may come and take in the linked song (and I hope you do!) and meditate on the Scriptures above, mostly from the Apostle John, … I pray that we all have a place where we can come, as does the little Haitian boy in the photo, and partake of God’s pure and clean LIVING waters.

And my friends, I come here, to my quiet place every morning to drink and to bathe in those waters … by taking, and yes, bathing in God’s nourishing waters of truth from His word, … so pure … so clean, … so nourishing … and so refreshing.

And as the Gettys sing in the linked song, I pray you all drink today from those same living waters; … and then we also need to languish in them during the day in prayer, confession, and obedience for the cleansing power of His truth (see 1John 1:9).

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, ... for providing me (us) with Your eternal springs of living waters to sustain us and bathe us in Your truth daily.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to drink from and bathe in Your eternal springs of truth from Your word. … 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.</ span>