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>
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