March 31, 2020 … Family Forever

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 91 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from the group Avalon singing No Orphans of God … poignantly singing of our status as sons and daughters of the Son of God, … is sealed by our faith in Christ into the family of God forever.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Ephesians 1:5-6 [ESV] ...   In love 5 He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, 6 to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved.  
… We have inherited - thru our faith in the finished work of our Lord on the cross - the right to be heirs of His Kingdom as part of the family of God.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Ephesians 1:3-14 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Paul assures fellow Christians of the blessings we receive when we become sealed into the family of God as joint heirs of King Jesus.
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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. 
 … Once we believe in the finished work of Christ in the cross; and we repent of our sins, …we are blessed to become joint heirs of King Jesus and part of the family of God FOREVER.

Reference Passage : … Ephesians 2:8-9 [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. 
… Once we have repented of our sin nature and receive God’s Saving grace, offered to us by believing in the finished work of King Jesus on the cross, we are sealed forever into the family of God and nothing we can do can unseal that inheritance.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Julie Schwab, used a story of family togetherness to illustrate the forever nature of our inheritance into God’s family. … The ODB author wrote: “Thanks for dinner, Dad,” I said as I set my napkin on the restaurant table. I was home on a break from college and, after being gone for a while, it felt strange to have my parents pay for me. “You’re welcome, Julie,” my dad replied, “but you don’t have to thank me for everything all the time. I know you’ve been off on your own, but you’re still my daughter and a part of the family.” I smiled. “Thanks, Dad.” 
In my family, I haven’t done anything to earn my parents’ love or what they do for me. But my dad’s comment reminds me that I haven’t done anything to deserve to be a part of God’s family either. 

And it’s like that in the family of God, isn’t it? Nothing we can do - or undo - can dissolve the family ties which we have, as joint heirs of King Jesus, … having been grafted into God’s family thru our faith in the finished work - and shed blood - of Jesus on the cross. And once we are part of God’s family, that’s a FOREVER sealed deal, isn’t it?

As the group Avalon so poignantly sings in the linked song, my dear fellow Christian, … “there are no orphans in the family of God.” And as the Apostle Paul purposed and declared in his letters to fellow persecuted Christians [see above scriptures], we can live with the assurance that NOTHING can separate us from God’s family and His love … and that our inheritance to the very throne of King Jesus is assured by His grace … FOREVER!

So, dear reader, … will you join me with a robust ”HALLELUJAH !!” in thankfulness that we are now sons and daughters of the King; and will join Him on His throne in glory?!

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for allowing our faith to seal us into Your family forever.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to say “HALLELUJAH” and praise our Lord for giving us the way be heres to His throne and a part of His family forever. 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>

March 30, 2020 … Broken for Me

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 90 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Chris Tomlin singing At the Cross … powerfully singing of the place where we can all go to be saved from ourselves, … born in sin, … but born-again in Christ !!

Blessed and Broken ... for me!! 

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Highlight Verse[s]: Matthew 26:26 [ESV] ...  26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 
… Jesus breaks and blesses the bread at His last supper before the cross.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Matthew 26:26-29 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… With His disciples in the upper room, Jesus, at His last supper, broke and blessed the bread and the wine to illustrate His body being broken and His blood shed for mankind.
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Reference Passage : … Romans 8:20-22 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, shows that the whole earth, … cursed by sin, … was released from its bondage and set free by the finished work of Christ on the cross.

Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 5:17 [ESV] … 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 
 … In and thru Christ’s blessed work on the cross, we, who believe in that work and repent of our sins, are blessed to become new, … transformed in Christ’s image.

Reference Passage : … Philippians 1:6 [ESV] … 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 
 … The reality of whom we are becoming in our sanctified relationship with Christ, … transformed into His very image.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Glenn Parklam, used story of family identity to show how we are blessed by whom we are and whom we’re becoming in Christ. … The ODB author wrote: When our oldest child became a teenager, my wife and I gave her a journal that we’d been writing in since her birth. We’d recorded her likes and dislikes, quirks and memorable one-liners. At some point the entries became more like letters, describing what we see in her and how we see God at work in her. When we gave it to her on her thirteenth birthday, she was mesmerized. She’d been given the gift of knowing a crucial part of the origins of her identity. 

As Christians, like the young girl in the ODB story, we desire to know whom we are, having been blessed by the saving and sanctifying work of Christ on the cross. Because, it’s in Christ that we have a new, born-again, identity. He created us for His glory. He became a God-man and died on a cross to give us the opportunity to be saved from our sin nature. And when we repent of our sin and truly believe in His finished work, His blood and grace bless us with His salvation and sanctification.

I am becoming whom I was born to be in Christ (see reference scriptures above); and just as my Lord blessed the bread and wine, to illustrate what He was about to do on the cross, He has blessed me with His broken body and shed blood on that cross so that I can be blessed forever in my belief in His finished work for my salvation. I am becoming more like Christ every day because He was willing to die for me. And I pray that this is your blessing as well.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for Your brokenness on the cross and shed blood to save me and transform me into Your likeness.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to thank You, dear Jesus, for Your shed blood to save all who would believe in You for the saving grace You offer us. 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>

March 29, 2020 … Plugged In

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 89 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from a church worship singing Fruit of the Spirit Song … joyously singing of how Christians need to be filled with the Spirit of God to be fruitful in God’s Kingdom and for His glory.

"Plugged In" To the Real Power

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Highlight Verse[s]: John 15:5 [ESV] ...  5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 
… Jesus clearly states that without being connected to Him, we, as His disciples, can do nothing that is fruitful.
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Highlight Passage [context]: John 15:5-8 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Jesus shows His discloses (and us too) that they could only be fruitful in this life if they were (we are) connected to Him by His Spirit.
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… We must trust in our Lord completely to be able to follow His way and His will in life.

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. 
… When we’re truly connected to God’s will and following His way, we will experience and grow in the fruit of His Spirit.

Reference Passage : … Colossians 1:9-11 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, shows that the only way to be fruitful as Christians and walk in a worthy manner with Christ is to be filled with the knowledge of His way and His will.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Patricia Raybon, uses electronic word picture to illustrate how we must be plugged in to Christ to be able to reflect His power (see photo). … The ODB author wrote: A thrift-store bargain, the lamp seemed perfect for my home office—the right color, size, and price. Back at home, however, when I plugged in the cord, nothing happened. No light. No power. No juice. 
No problem, my husband assured me. “I can fix that. Easy.” As he took the lamp apart, he saw the trouble immediately. The plug wasn’t connected to anything. Without wiring to a source of power, the “perfect” pretty lamp was useless. 

When you meditate on the Scriptures above and reflect on the ODB illustration, I hope all readers understand why I write so often in my morning journal entries (such as this one) as to why you will find me here EVERY MORNING, … starting my day by being “plugged in” to the power I receive from God’s word, which is authored by God’s Spirit. And hence the illustration I’ve chosen in the photo attached.

I realize that I can only reflect God’s power and be fruitful as a disciple of Christ, as He clearly stated in the John 15 passage, if I’m connected to and abiding in my Lord thru His Spirit. And the best way I know to do that each day is to start each morning in prayer and meditation, “plugged in” and focusing on God’s truth (i.e., His word). And I pray that all reading here with me have discovered that truth, as did the Apostle Paul, who, in the reference letters he wrote to the Galatians and Colossians cited above, clearly wanted fellow Christians to find what he had found … and that is the secret to fruitfulness as a disciple of Christ.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for showing me the way to receive and reflect Your power in this life.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to get plugged in to the power of our Lord thru 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>

March 28, 2020 … Even the Small Stuff

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 88 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Jeremy Camp singing The Answer … poignantly singing of the hope and answers we have in our relationship with Jesus. But we must take our questions - all of them - to our Lord.

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Highlight Verse[s]: 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. 
… At any time, we, as Christians, are to carry ALL our cares to God, no matter how small, because our Lord cares for us just that much.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 2Kings 6:1-7 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru Elisha’s story, shows us all that God cares about even the smallest issues in our lives. 
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Yes, God says we’re to bring ALL our ways to Him, trusting that He cares for our every need.

Reference Passage : … Matthew 11:28-30 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus invites ANYONE to bring ANYTHING to Him so that He can help carry our burdens.

Reference Passage : … Philippians 4:6-7 [ESV] … 6 do not be anxious about anything, but IN EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
 … Yes, EVERYTHING !!

Reference Passage : … Philippians 4:19 [ESV] … 19 And my God will supply EVERY NEED of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 
 … If we truly believed this truth, why wouldn’t we bring EVERY need to our Lord?

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, David H Roper, uses a rather obscure Bible passage about Elisha to illustrate how God desires that we bring even the smallest issues to Him when we have such needs. … The ODB author wrote: One year when I was in college, I cut, stacked, sold, and delivered firewood. It was a hard job, so I have empathy for the hapless logger in the 2 Kings 6 story. 
Elisha’s school for prophets had prospered, and their meeting place had become too small. Someone suggested they go into the woods, cut logs, and enlarge their facilities. Elisha agreed and accompanied the workers. Things were going remarkably well until someone’s axe-head fell into the water (v. 5). 

Do we really believe the point of this rather obscure highlight passage about Elisha discipling others in God’s ways? And that point is that God desires that we bring even the smallest issues to Him when the needs arise; … yes, even an axe-head breaking.

And I’m challenged in these terrible times, with a very real pandemic surrounding us, to forget that God, thru Solomon, charged us (in Prov. 3:5-6) to trust him in ALL THINGS. And Jesus, the Son of God Himself (in Matt. 11:28-30), challenged us to bring ALL our burdens to Him, promising us to help us carry them. And God, thru Paul and Peter (see the highlight and reference passages), exhorted believers to bring ALL our stuff (i.e., our needs) to our God, Who truly cares for us.

So, … if we believe the truths above, … why, … in the midst of the confusion and concern in these troubled times, are we not bringing our “axe-handles” to God?

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for being there for me for ALL MY NEEDS in the midst of this viral pandemic.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to take ALL OUR NEEDS to You each and every day. 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>

March 27, 2020 … Precious Passing

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 87 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Crowder and Tauren Wells singing All My Hope … poignantly singing of the hope and rest we have in cleansing blood and eternal love our our Savior.

"The Wait" - by Sculptor, Liz Shepherd

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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 116:15 [ESV] ...  15  Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.  
… As God welcomes His precious saints home, He sees it as a priceless moment of eternal reunion. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 116:12-19 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK  ...
… God sees the passing of His own - His children - very differently that we so often do. 
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Reference Passage : … John 11:25-26 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus, to Martha, after the death of Lazarus, to give her (and us) the eternal hope of eternal life we have thru our belief in Him.

Reference Passage : … Romans 8:38-39 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, shows that even death cannot separate us from God’s love.

Reference Passage : … 2Corinthians 4:17-18 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… The temporary afflictions of this life are simply preparation for the eternal rewards of heaven.

Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 [ESV] … 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
 … We hold out for the eternal hope God has promised us for when we leave this body in death, we will be at home with the Lord … FOREVER.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Winn Collier, uses a sculptures depiction of waiting on the death of her father to illustrate how God views the death of His beloved “saints” so differently that we often do. … The ODB author wrote: Sculptor Liz Shepherd’s 2018 exhibition The Wait was described by a Boston Globe correspondent as “evok[ing] the precious, exposed, and transcendent in life.” [see photo] Inspired by the time Shepherd spent at her dying father’s bedside, the exhibition attempts to convey yearning, the emptiness of loss, and the fragile sense that loved ones are just out of reach. 
The idea that death is precious might seem counterintuitive; however, the psalmist declares, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his [saints]” (Psalm 116:15). God treasures the death of His people, for in their passing He welcomes them home. 

When my earthly father was ailing, … with many painful maladies in his final days, he used to revel when I read for him about what God promised for us (in 1st and 2nd Corinthians) about the new body we would have in heaven and how, when we leave this earth, in our corrupted bodies, we would be with the Lord with a new - perfect and painless - eternal body. It gave my dad great relief to hear those promises from God’s word.

And that’s what I pray we all can hold onto in these days … where the fear of a virus, and potential suffering/death, are so pervasive. We need to be sitting in that sculpture’s chair (see photo), waiting patiently for God’s promised - and true - eternal hope, … the hope we have in our relationship with our Lord (as sung by Crowder in the linked song).

Be patient, my dear fellow Christians, … nothing can - or will - ever separate us from God’s love [Rom. 8:38-39].

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for the eternal and heavenly hope we have in You!
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to patiently wait for the promised hope we have in our eternal relationship 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>

March 26, 2020 … Finding Freedom

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 86 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Zach Williams singing Chain Breakere … powerfully singing of how, when surrender our selves to the Savior, He will break us free from the chains of sin nature.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Luke 3:6 [ESV] ...  6  … and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” …   
… Isaiah had prophesied it; and Jesus would fulfill it to allow us to be saved from ourselves and find salvation in the Messiah.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Luke 3:1-6 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Luke shows that John the Baptist showed the way, from Isaiah’s prophesy, that the Messiah would come to see men free from our sin.
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Reference Passage : … Luke 4:18-21 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus, repeating Scripture from Isaiah 61:1-2, clearly declares that He was the One who would fulfill the prophesies of the Messiah coming to set us free from our sin.

Reference Passage : … John 8:34-37 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus shows His followers that HE is the only way they will ever find freedom from their [our] bondage to the slavery of sin.

Reference Passage : … Romans 10:9-13 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, states the way - the only way - to find freedom from our sin and to see salvation come from Christ’s finished work on the cross.

Reference Passage : … Galatians 5:1 [ESV] … 1  For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 
… God, thru Paul, declares where we find freedom from our bondage to sin.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Winn Collier, uses a story of a mother who would do anything to see her son free from gang violence … just as we should see freedom from the bondage of sin. … The ODB author wrote: At fifty-three, the last thing Sonia expected to do was abandon her business and her country to join a group of asylum seekers journeying to a new land. After gangs murdered her nephew and tried to force her seventeen-year-old son into their ranks, Sonia felt escape was her only option. “I pray to God. . . . I will do whatever is necessary,” Sonia explained. “I will do anything so [my son and I] don’t die of hunger. . . I prefer to see him suffer here than end up in a bag or canal.” 

It was April the 13th, 1983, when I surrendered my will to God’s will for me to see my freedom in Christ and to break free from my past shackles of sin. That’s what the mother in the ODB story desired for her son; and it’s what anyone can find if we’re willing to set aside our selfish pride and surrender to the saving grace which He, Jesus, will provide to set us free from our selves.

Oh, how I pray that all reading here have discovered the chain-breaking freedom, sung by Zach Williams in the linked song, and will declare with me that Jesus (see Scriptures above) came as our Messiah to save us from our bondage to sin has set us free by following Him.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for setting me free from myself to follow You to freedom.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to praise our Lord with a robust "HALLELUJAH [!!}” for setting us free from our selves. 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>

March 25, 2020 … Prayer Power

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 85 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Red Marlow singing I Pray … poignantly singing of how, when we’re on the battlefield of life’s trials, the best battle strategy is prayer.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Ephesians 6:18 [ESV] ...  18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 
… Paul, after showing us our weapons for warfare, explains that the most effective battle strategy against our spiritual enemies is prayer.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Ephesians 6:10-20 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru Paul, explains how to do battle daily in the spiritual warfare we call life. 
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 107:28 [ESV] … 28  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. 
… When we encounter the trials and storms of life, the place to go is prayer.

Reference Passage : … Matthew 7:7, 21:22 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus commands His disciples to use prayer, asking Him in faith for what we need.

Reference Passage : … Mark 9:25-29 [ESV]  ... USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus shows His disciples that prayer often is the only battle strategy for life.

Reference Passage : … James 5:13-16 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru James, exhorts those who know of fellow Christians in suffering and sickness to bring them forward to the Elders for the prayer of healing in faith.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Xochitl Dixson, uses a story of the faith of a young girl who recognized the need for prayer. … The ODB author wrote: I pulled into my driveway, waving at my neighbor Myriam and her little girl Elizabeth. Over the years, Elizabeth had grown accustomed to our spontaneous chats lasting longer than the promised “few minutes” and morphing into prayer meetings. She climbed the tree planted in the center of their front yard, dangled her legs over a branch, and busied herself while her mother and I spoke. After a while, Elizabeth hopped down from her roost and ran to where we stood. Grabbing our hands, she smiled and almost sang, “It’s time to pray . . . again.” Even at an early age, Elizabeth seemed to understand how important prayer was in our friendship. 

In my ministry life (USE THIS LINK) we deal with the front lines of spiritual warfare; and we often refer to the highlight passage from ODB today, where Paul taught fellow Christians how to do battle with the full armor of God, the Sword of the Spirit, … and, emphasizing that our strongest battle strategy is taking with high ground by the power of prayer.

And now that we’re all embroiled in this Coronavirus warfare, we ALL need to join in the battle strategy which Red Marlow sings about and the Reference Scriptures call for above; … and that is the power we have, even from the promise of Jesus Himself [see the Matthew passages], to pray for relief and victory from the power we receive when we pray to our Lord.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving us the battle strategy of prayer in this warfare of disease in which we find ourselves.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to pray diligently and daily for God to bring healing to our world. 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>

March 24, 2020 … From Victim to Victory

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 84 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Natalie Grant singing Clean … poignantly singing of God see so much more in our brokenness and failure than we can see, calling us to freedom from our failures which gives Him glory from our witness of victory.

Navy Seals drop out bell ... 

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Highlight Verse[s]: Matthew 16:18 [ESV] ... 8 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  
… Peter could never have seen his later denial of Jesus; but Jesus knew it and still saw the strength Peter would become as His later Apostle.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Matthew 16:13-20 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Jesus saw strength in Peter which Peter himself could not see.
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Reference Passage : … Jeremiah 29:11 [ESV] … 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 
… Even when God’s people were grumbling failures in the wilderness, and later captured into slavery, God promised them that He had a future plan for them … just like He has for us when we fail Him.

Reference Passage : … Luke 22:54-62 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Peter, who had declared he would die for Jesus, fails his Lord and denies Him 3 times as Jesus had predicted.

Reference Passage : … John 21:15-19 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… After the resurrection, Jesus restores Peter’s faith and confidence by calling Peter in love to follow Him to victory as His Apostle.

Reference Passage : … Romans 8:28-31 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, Paul, exhorts us as disciples of Christ to realize that ALL THINGS are for our good and God’s glory, … yes, even those things we see as failures in life.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Evan Morgan, uses a story of the Navy Seals drop out bell to illustrate that any failure in life can be turned into victory when we’re willing to follow Christ’s call. … The ODB author wrote: Jackson dreamed of becoming a US Navy Seal from early childhood—an ambition that led to years of physical discipline and self-sacrifice. He eventually faced grueling tests of strength and endurance including what’s referred to by trainees as “hell week.” 
Jackson was physically unable to complete the exhaustive training, and reluctantly rang a bell [see photo] to inform the commander and other trainees of his choice to leave the program. For most, this would feel like failure. But in spite of the extreme disappointment, Jackson was later able to see his military failure as preparation for his life’s work. 

In my life, having had many selfish sin failures, with weakness and a history of compulsive sexual sin, God saw in me something I could never see back then. And ultimately, when I surrendered to Him, He showed me that I could turn my victimhood to sin into victory for His glory by a calling into ministry to help others walk free from the shackles of shame associated with sexual sin (USE THIS LINK).

Peter was one of the Apostles we know failed Jesus miserably (see Luke 22); but Jesus knew Peter’s future would become a strong witness for the Lord after the resurrection (see highlight passages) and our Lord restored Peter (see John 21) to follow Him, … turning failure into a witness of freedom for Christ.

And anyone reading here can - and will - become freedom warriors for Christ when we’re willing to recognize the truth of Romans 8:28-31 and surrender to the power of God’s Spirit in us as born-again Christians, denying self and following our Lord (see Luke 9:23 on your own).

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving me (us) the opportunity to turn my (our) failures into freedom for Your glory.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to move past our failures when we realize that they are for our good and your glory, moving on to honor You with our witness. 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>

March 23, 2020 … Into His Arms

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 83 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in images, song and lyrics from the group Mercy Me singing I Can Only Imagine … poignantly singing of imagining what it will be like when we are finally separated from the Body and in the presence of our Lord in glory.

Glorious Reunion !!

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Highlight Verse[s]: Revelation 21:3 [ESV] ...  3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. 
… John relates the vision of truth of our glorious reunion in glory with the Lord.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Revelation 21:1-7 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… John shares his vision of what it will be like when we are in the new heaven, gloriously sharing our reunion with our Lord.
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Reference Passage : … Jeremiah 29:11 [ESV] … 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[a] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 
… God, thru Jeremiah, shares His glorious plans for His chosen people, … i.e., the future glory and hope we have in sharing heaven with our Lord.

Reference Passage : … John 14:1-4 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus shares with His 12 Disciples what their hope is one day in heaven when they (we) will be reunited with our Lord.

Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul relays God’s promise for Christians … that to be absent from the body (at death) is to be present with the Lord (in heaven).

Reference Passage : … Philippians 3:20-21 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul encourages fellow Christians that our citizenship on this earth, in these trouble-ridden earthly bodies, is only temporary; … that we await our real citizenship in Heaven.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Alyson Kieda, uses a story of a soldier’s return from duty to surprise his son as a picture of the heavenly reunion we, as Christians, will have with our Lord in heaven. … The ODB author wrote: The little boy excitedly ripped open a big box from his serviceman daddy, whom he believed wouldn’t be home to celebrate his birthday. Inside that box was yet another gift-wrapped box, and inside that box was another that simply held a piece of paper saying, “Surprise!” Confused, the boy looked up—just as his dad entered the room. Tearfully the son leapt into his father’s arms, [see photo] exclaiming, “Daddy, I missed you” and “I love you!” 

I’m alway a sap for scenes like this one, … aren’t you?! However, if we can do what is sung by Mercy Me in the linked song, and - in these troubled and fearful pandemic times - just pause to imagine what it will finally be like to have all the scriptures above realized in heaven; … that we, who have surrendered our lives to Christ, will be reunited with our Lord, King Jesus, in glory. Wow! … What a reunion that will be !!!

And I pray, all reading with me here, will stop and try to imagine what the Apostle John was blessed to be able to see in the highlight passage. And on that day in glory, we will be able to get a big hug from the One Who paid for our ticket to come Home to Glory. Oh, I can only imagine!!l

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving us a glimpse of Your glory in Your word.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to share a glorious HALLELUJAH!! as we imagine what it will be like to be with our Lord in Heaven. 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>

March 22, 2020 … Crying Out Today

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 82 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Ryan Stevenson singing In The Eye of the Storm … powerfully singing of how our God is in control, … ALWAYS with us, … no matter what storm we’re facing.

Migrant Mother Photo

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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 107:6 [ESV] ...  Then they [God’s people] cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. 
… When we, as God’s children, call out to our God in distress, He hears.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 107:4-9 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… When God’s redeemed cry out, God hears and saves.
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 116:1-2 [ESV] … 1 I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. 2  Because He inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on Him as long as I live. 
… God will hear our pleas and distress any time we call out to Him.

Reference Passage : … Lamentations 2:11-12 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… When Jeremiah sees God’s people starving and in dyer distress, he cries out in lament to God, … just as we should in our times of trial.

Reference Passage : … John 16:33 [ESV] … 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” 
… Yes, we will always have times of trial and distress in this world; but Jesus promises that HE has overcome the world.

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. 
… Peter exhorts persecuted Christians to humble themselves and cry out to God for help in their (our) time of despair.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Linda Washington, uses a journalist’s photo to illustrate the despair we sometimes feel when we need to take our cares to God, … Who always hears us. … The ODB author wrote: During the Great Depression in the United States, photographer Dorothea Lange snapped a photo of Florence Owens Thompson and her children. This well-known photograph, Migrant Mother, [see photo] is the picture of a mother’s despair in the aftermath of the failed pea harvest. Lange took it in Nipomo, California, while working for the Farm Security Administration, hoping to make them aware of the needs of the desperate seasonal farm laborers. 

Today’s ODB entry, written and published months ago, could not be more pertinent to the times we’re living thru right now with the scourge of a Coronavirus pandemic growing. And the point of the ODB entry, which used Old Testament Scriptures to illustrate horrible times for God’s people when their Prophets, like Jeremiah, cried out in lament, illustrate exactly what we should be doing these days. 

Jeremiah, in the Old Testament, cried out, as did many of the Psalmists [see above], when God’s people were down an out, … crying out to a God they knew would hear them. Because, as Jesus tells His NT disciples (see John 16:33), … and us today, … HE has overcome the ills of the world; and as Peter exhorted fellow Christians [see 1Peter 5] who were being persecuted, we can - and MUST - cry out to a God Who ALWAYS hears and ALWAYS cares.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for hearing our cries for help in these times of trouble.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to cry out with our lament in this time of pandemic. 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>

March 21, 2020 … Jehovah Jireh

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 81 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in images, song and lyrics from a worship ensemble singing Jehovah Jireh, My Provider … powerfully singing of how our God is our provider; and as the promised of God show below, He can - AND WILL - provide His children with all our needs.

Chirpy, the seagull, flies to his provider, John 

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Highlight Verse[s]: 1Kings 17:6 [ESV] ...  6 And the ravens brought him [Elijah] bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 
… In the face of dro
ught and famine, God was Elijah’s provider.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 1Kings 17:1-6 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Elijah prophesies a sever drought and famine; but provides for Elijah’s needs.
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Reference Passage : … Deuteronomy 2:7 [ESV] … 7 For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.” 
 … God provided for all the needs of His chosen ones as they wondered in the wilderness for 40 years.

Reference Passage : … Matthew 6:25-26 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus shows that His Father will provide the needs of His children.

Reference Passage : … Philippians 4:19 [ESV] … 19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 
… God, thru the Apostle Paul, promises to provide all our needs from His vast storehouse of riches in Glory.

Reference Passage : … 2Peter 1:3 [ESV] … 3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, … 
… God, thru Peter, shows us that God, our Provider, has provided us with all we need from our knowledge and relationship with Christ …

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Kirsten Holmberg, uses a curious story of the relationship between a seagull and the bird’s healer to show how God can bond and provide in wondrous ways. … The ODB author wrote: For twelve years, Chirpy, a seagull, has made daily visits to a man who’d helped him heal from a broken leg. John wooed Chirpy to himself with dog biscuits and was then able to nurse him back to health. Though Chirpy only resides in Instow Beach in Devon, England, between September and March, he and John Sumner find each other easily—Chirpy flies straight to him when he arrives at the beach each day, though he doesn’t approach any other human. It’s an uncommon relationship, to be sure. [See photo] 

And then the ODB author goes on to show a biblical story in reverse [see photo and highlight passage] where God brought food to Elijah during a drought and famine by ravens carrying food to the Prophet. And all of this, including the truth of the Scriptures above, is to show us, as God’s children, that He will always be our “Jehovah Jireh,” The Provider of all our needs according to His riches in glory.

The challenge is, … do we believe it? 

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for providing us with all we need … ALWAYS.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to praise and thank our Lord for providing us with our needs yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 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>

March 20, 2020 … When God Seems Slow

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 80 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Steven Curtis Chapman singing Be Still and Know … poignantly singing of how we all need to trust in God’s ways, … in His decisions, … in His promises … no matter what happens.

David Attenborough Confronts a Sloth 

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Highlight Verse[s]: Nehemiah 9:17 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK …  17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. 
… Nehemiah declaring the truth about God’s patience and compassion in dealing with His people in the wilderness.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Nehemiah 9:13-21 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Nehemiah reminds God’s remnant of His compassion and His unfailing patience in dealing with the grumbling of His people in the wilderness.
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Reference Passage : … Numbers 14:18 [ESV] … 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ 
… God’s promise to Moses that He was slow to carry out His anger against disobedience; but that His wrath would be theirs (or ours) if they were unwilling to repent to receive His saving grace.

Reference Passage : … Psalm 86:15, 103:8, 145:8 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Anytime God repeats a promise or purpose three times, … HE MEANS IT !!

Reference Passage : … Isaiah 35:4 [ESV] … 4  Say to those who have an anxious heart,  “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” 
… God’s promise thru Isaiah that He would save those with faithful hearts in spite of our anxieties about life.

Reference Passage : … 2Peter 3:9 [ESV] … 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 
… Peter reminds us that thru history God has been slow to bring His judgment on mankind because He so wants for many to come to Him in repentance and walk away from their (our) sin.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Mart DeHaan, uses a rather curious illustration of a sloth to make the point that God’s wrath has been incredibly slow in coming to mankind with the selfish sin we have exhibited over time. … The ODB author wrote: In the BBC video series The Life of Mammals, host David Attenborough climbs a tree to take a humorous look at a three-toed sloth. Getting face to face with the world’s slowest moving mammal, he greets it with a “boo!” [See Photo] Failing to get a reaction, he explains that going slow is what you do if you are a three-toed sloth living primarily on leaves that are not easily digested and not very nutritious. 

In the ODB entry, I don’t know about the author comparing God’s slowness to anger against mankind’s selfish sin nature to the slowness of a sloth. But, … when any reader here with me takes in the truths from God’s word above, where God, … over and over and over again, … repeats His promise of patience in dealing with the selfishness and sin of His people, … we ought to be able to at least try to do what Steven Curtis Chapman sings in the linked song … and that is to patiently … “be still and know that He is God!” 

Right now in our lives we’re going thru a time of incredible challenge and anxiety with the Caronavirus Pandemic unfolding; and I can’t help but think, knowing and believing that God is in control, that our Lord is challenging the world to believe exactly what SCC sings in this attached song. So, I pray we take it in, meditate on God’s promises above, and stop to affirm our faith in our God today.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for Your repeated promise to be slow with Your wrath and anger … and to let so many of us come to repentance and faith in Your saving grace.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to willingly surrender to a faithful and patient God for Whom we can wait to receive His saving grace. 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>

March 19, 2020 … Following God’s Truth

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 79

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from The Gettys singing Speak, O Lord … poignantly singing of how just dwell in God’s word to be able to follow His will and His way thru life.

"Tsundoku" => Books to Read

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Highlight Verse[s]: Joshua 1:8 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK …   8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.  
… God’s promise, to Joshua and all believers, that we can only succeed in following His will if we follow and stay in tune with God’s truth (i.e., His word).
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Highlight Passage [context]: Joshua 1:1-9 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God’s encouragement and guidance to help him succeed in the task of leading God’s people into the promised land.
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 1:1-2 [ESV] … 1  Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2  but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on His law he meditates day and night. 
… God’s promise that He, The Lord, will bless the believer who meditates on God’s word … day and night.

Reference Passage : … Psalm 119:9-11 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… If we are to avoid sin in our lives, we must store up God’s word in our hearts/minds.

Reference Passage : … Psalm 119:105 [ESV] … 105  Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 
 … God’s word is His perfect “GPS” (God’s Positioning System) for life.

Reference Passage : … 2Timothy 3:16-17 [ESV] … 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 
… God’s promise that His word will lead us into righteousness and equip us to carry our His work in this world.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Lisa M Samra, uses an illustration of books waiting to be read to illustrate what should be the goal of all Christians, … to read, meditate on, and follow God’s word in life. … The ODB author wrote: Tsundoku. It’s the word I’ve always needed! A Japanese term, it refers to the stack of books on a bedside table waiting to be read. [See Photo] Books offer the potential for learning or an escape to a different time or place, and I long for the delights and insights found within their pages. So, the stack remains. 

We all, as fellow followers of God’s will and His way, likely have a stack of books to read, maybe on a bedside table or desk, waiting to be read, … don’t we? I do; … but I’m a slow reader and it’s likely going to be a long time before I get to read some of those books. But the main reason that stack of books will not be read soon is the reality that God’s word calls to me EVERY DAY … for me to dwell in God’s word so that God can speak to me, as Kristyn Getty sings in the linked song, giving me the guidance I need each day to follow God’s will and His way from meditating on His truth.

So, any reader here with me will find me, any given morning, starting my day - and even dwelling each day - in God’s word as those Scriptures above challenge and charge me to do. God’s word is my compass and my “GPS.” It’s THE way I’m able to follow God’s will and seek out His way in my life. And I pray it is that for you as well.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for showing me the way to follow You in/from Your word.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to do what God encouraged Joshua to do (see Joshua 1:8) so that we can find God’s will and be successful in following 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>

March 18, 2020 … All Our Hope in Him

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 78 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Crowder and Tauren Wells singing All My Hope … poignantly singing of how we can put all our hope in Jesus for our eternal well being … even when we feel imprisoned by life’s trials.

All our hope is in JESUS !! 

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Highlight Verse[s]: 1Peter 1:8-9 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK …  8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
… Tho we can’t see Him, our eternal hope and joy lies, not in our circumstances, but in the promises which come from the hope we have in Jesus.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 1Peter 1:3-9 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Peter writes to persecuted Christians about the blessed hope we have for an eternal life insured by Christ’s finished work on the cross.
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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. 
… Only when we trust in our God and His promises can we find any joy in following Him thru life.

Reference Passage : … Habakkuk 3:17-18 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God helped a confused and despondent Prophet learn that our hope and our joy only come from Him, … not from the world’s circumstances.

Reference Passage : … John 5:24 [ESV] … 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 
… Jesus’ promise that our belief and faith in His finished work on the cross is our only eternal hope.

Reference Passage : … Hebrews 11:1, 6 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God shows believers that, tho we cannot see our God, we can trust Him for our internal rewards.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Sheridan Voysey, uses a story of a man unjustly convicted to die in prison and who spent 3 decades on death row but never lost his faith or hope in Jesus. … The ODB author wrote: In 1985 Anthony Ray Hinton was charged with the murders of two restaurant managers. It was a set up—he’d been miles away when the crimes happened—but he was found guilty and sentenced to death. At the trial, Ray forgave those who lied about him, adding that he still had joy despite this injustice. “After my death, I’m going to heaven,” he said. “Where are you going?” … 
 Finally, on Good Friday 2015, Ray’s conviction was overturned by the US Supreme Court. He’d been on death row for nearly thirty years. His life is a testament to the reality of God. 

Okay, … I wrote here yesterday that life can - and often does - suck!! … For Anthony Hinton, wrongly convicted to death row for over three decades, his faith in God’s mercy and his hope in a God he’s never seen was challenged way beyond what most of us will face in life. But as Crowder and Tauren Wells sing in the linked song, Anthony had placed all his hope in Jesus, and even if he had been wrongly executed, Anthony, who had become a hopeful servant of Jesus, had joy in knowing that he would spend eternity with His Lord.

I pray we all hold onto God’s promises for those of us who believe in Christ as Lord and Savior, especially as we face the sentences and circumstances of life. And so, … as we all meditate on God’s truth and promises in the Scriptures above, join me as we tenaciously hold onto that hope in Christ. 

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving me joy and hope … even in the challenges and injustices of life.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to find joy in our belief in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection. 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>

March 17, 2020 … Even If Life Sucks!

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 77 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Zach Williams singing Fear Is A Liar … poignantly singing of how we need to trust in a God who would NEVER lie us thru the circumstances of life.

Which will it be today? !! 

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Highlight Verse[s]: Isaiah 65:24 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK …  24  Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. 
… In Heaven, God will answer our needs before we every ask them; … now, He desires we ask, trusting that He cares for our needs.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Isaiah 65:17-25 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru Isaiah, prophesies what it will be like in Heaven.
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 37:3-5 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… We are charged by God’s song, thru David, to trust - and even delight - in God no matter our circumstances; … yes, even when we don’t understand them.

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. 
… Even when we can’t understand God’s motives, we must trust His caring lead in our lives.

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. 
… This truth, tho hard to understand at times, leads us to realize that God ALWAYS has our good in mind as we walk thru the circumstances of life.

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. 
… Even if we don’t understand our circumstances, we’re to humble ourselves and bring them to God, KNOWING that He ALWAYS cares for our well being.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Amy Peterson, uses a story of two married friends whose loving anticipation of each other’s needs illustrates an even greater loving relationship with God and His children. … The ODB author wrote: My friends Robert and Colleen have experienced a healthy marriage for decades, and I love watching them interact. One will pass the butter to the other at dinner before being asked for it. The other will refill a glass at the perfect moment. When they tell stories, they finish each other’s sentences. Sometimes it seems they can read each other’s mind. 
It’s comforting that God knows and cares for us even more than any person we know and love. 

Do we get it?!! … EVERYTHING which is going on in our lives, … yes, even the stuff which “sucks,” … is part of God’s plan and His purposes for us. Yes, it’s ALL and ALWAYS for our good [see Scriptures above]. Because, even if it’s painful and we don’t understand it, what’s going on now is part of God’s plan for us and for His glory in the process.

Sometimes, like many of you I’m sure, I have trouble with those truths above. But they are true nonetheless. And we do need to believe them, don’t we: … trusting that we can move on today, knowing that our God cares for us and that He ALWAYS knows what is best for us. So, I pray that, if life sucks for any of us today, we can ask God how we can grow closer to Him from our circumstances and then let go of the fear-based “WHY” questions as Zach Williams sings about in the linked song?

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for bringing us a life which draws us closer to You.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to trust in God today, … even if life is “sucky” all around. 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>

March 16, 2020 … My Skills - His Glory

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 76 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and images from Gordon Mote singing Don’t Let Me Miss the Glory … poignantly singing of how we need to realize that all things were created by our God for His glory.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 139:13-14 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK …  13  For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother's womb. 14  I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well. 
… We must give the Lord praise for how He has made us for His glory.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 139:7-16 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God created us with skills that He could use for His glory.
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Reference Passage : … John 17:9-10 [ESV] … 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom You have given me, for they are Yours. 10 All mine are Yours, and Yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 
… Jesus thanks His Father for giving Him those who’ve come to believe and serve Him for His glory.

Reference Passage : … Ephesians 2:10 [ESV] … 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. 
… The Apostle Paul recognized that we are God’s workmanship, … created by Him … for His handiwork.

Reference Passage : … Colossians 1:16 [ESV] … 16 For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. 
… ALL things were created BY Him and FOR Him.

Reference Passage : … Revelation 4:11 [ESV] … 11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created.” 
… One day all will praise the Lord in heaven Who created all things for His glory.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Bill Crowder, uses the skill of a very accomplished pianist and choir leader, … one who had great skills which were given to him by God to serve our Lord. … The ODB author wrote: The leader of our college singing group directed the group and accompanied us on the piano at the same time, skillfully balancing those responsibilities. [see photo] At the close of one concert, he looked particularly weary, so I asked him if he was okay. He responded, “I’ve never had to do that before.” Then he explained. “The piano was so out of tune that I had to play the whole concert in two different keys—my left hand playing in one key and my right hand in another!” I was blown away by the startling skill he displayed, and I was amazed at the One who creates humans to be capable of such things. 

Every day I try to find a song to help enhance and illustrate what my journaling might bring out of the ODB entry, all of which can help me - and other readers - grow to know our God more intimately. And the song today, arranged, sung, and played on the piano illustrates the meaning of the highlight passage and the reference scriptures very well. Because Gordon Mote, who sings that song was born blind and now writes music, sings, and plays skillfully at the piano for the glory of God. And hence, in the linked song, he plays/sings how he “sees” the world as created for God’s glory and him not wanting to miss that glory as he lives out each day.

I pray we realize that God knitted us in our mother’s womb [see highlight passage], giving us what He has given us, in terms of skills/abilities, so that we can glorify Him in the way we live our lives. And I pray we do just that today.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for created us to accompany your glory in this world … yes, even today.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to use what God has given us for His glory 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>

March 15, 2020 … Giving Is Worship

Berry Patch Devotions in 2019 - Day 75 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Jesse Manibusan singing Open My Eyes … poignantly singing of how we, as Christians, need to open our eyes and hearts to be able to give back from humble and generous hearts, in worship for what of our Lord has given us … for our good and His glory.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Deuteronomy 26:12 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK …  12 “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, … 
… Giving a tithe from God’s providence to help others becomes an act of worship for God’s glory. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: Deuteronomy 26:1-3, 12-16 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God commands His people to give the first portion of God’s providence to help others. 
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Reference Passage : … 1Chronicles 29:14-17 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… David prays to offer up the building of a Temple as an act of worship because of God’s generous provision and promises to His people, giving back to God for His providence.

Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:9-10 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Solomon, shows the value of giving the first fruits of His providence to help others, which in turn will help the giver.

Reference Passage : … Matthew 6:19-21 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus teaches on how our giving is a reflection of a heart of worship.

Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, shows us that God loves our generous and sacrificial giving.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Amy Boucher Pye, uses the story of one who gave to help others to illustrate how God desires that we all give from a heart of humble worship, … giving generously and sacrificially. … The ODB author wrote: “What happened to you?” asked Zeal, a Nigerian businessman, as he bent over a hospital bed in Lagos. “Someone shot me,” replied the young man, his thigh bandaged. Although the injured man was well enough to return home, he wouldn’t be released until he settled his bill—a policy that many government hospitals in the region follow. After consulting with a social worker, Zeal anonymously covered the bill through the charitable fund he’d earlier set up as a way to express his Christian faith. In return, he hopes that those receiving the gift of release will one day give to others too. 

By now, as one reads my words, added to that of the ODB author and most certainly all of the scripture passages cited above, I pray that we all know what God says in His word about voluntary and sacrificial giving as an act of worship back to a God, Who has given us no less than His Son and all that we have for His glory.

Hence, I add my prayer that we all take in the linked song and then decide how we can open our hearts - even today - to give our time, talents, and treasures to honor God’s providence, giving voluntarily, generously, and thankfully, IN WORSHIP, at least a portion of the glory our God deserves.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving us Your all so that we can give a meager portion back to you in worship and thanksgiving.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to give to help others as our Lord has given to us. 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>