May 31, 2020 … Using His Strength

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 152 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Stuart Townsend singing Christ Be In My Waking … poignantly singing of how every waking moment becomes our tribute to the glory of our God.

Learning to let the saw do the work ... 

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Highlight Verse[s]: Philippians 2:13 [NLT] ... 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. 
… Paul discovered that God, thru Christ, was working thru him to do His will and our work. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: Philippians 2:12-18 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… The Apostle Paul exhorts fellow Christians to surrender and follow the will of our Lord in every waking moment of our lives lived for His glory.
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Reference Passage : … Psalms 19:14, 63:1-4, 139:23-24 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK …
… Prayers to dedicate each day we live for the glory of God.

Reference Passage : … Matthew 11:28-30 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus invites all who’ve surrendered our lives to Him to yoke ourselves to Him or His strength.

Reference Passage : … 2Corinthians 12:9-10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul discovered that Jesus would give him (and fellow Christians) the empowering grace to give us His strength when we are weak.

Reference Passage : … Colossians 3:23-24 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Again … Paul teaches of doing all we do for the glory of our King Jesus.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, David H Roper, uses a story of learning to use a cross cut saw to illustrate how we must learn how to let the saw do the cutting rather than doing it on our own. … The ODB author wrote: My father and I used to fell trees and cut them to size with a two-man crosscut saw. Being young and energetic, I tried to force the saw into the cut. “Easy does it,” my father would say. “Let the saw do the work.” [see photo] 

I believe our human nature is set up to work against using a two man cross-cut saw. We’re geared up, in our sinful minds and bodies, to try to do things on our own, … to control things independently, … aren’t we? And yet in our Christian lives, our Lord, King Jesus, invites us to let Him give us the strength to help us deal with felling the trees in life [see Matt. 11:28-30 and 2Cor. 12:9), especially when we work with other Christians to bring down those trees [see photo].

Yet, as the Apostle Paul discovered, and often taught (see Pauline scriptures above), we need to surrender to God’s will and use HIS power, thru HIS Spirit, to give us HIS empowering grace in doing our work for HIS glory. As Stuart Townsend sings, we need to let our Lord’s strength give us the power to do our work for HIS glory in every waking moment of life. And when we do that, HE will give us the strength of HIS purpose in cutting down the trees of life. I pray we do that today. 

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving me the power of Your grace to fell my trees today.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to capture the strength our Lord offers us to work for His glory. 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>

May 30, 2020 … Nothing Without Him

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 151 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from the group Casting Crowns singing Life Song … powerfully singing of living lives that are dedicated to honor and glorify God.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 [NLT] ...  24 So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? 
… We can do NOTHING meaningful apart from God; … so why try to go it on our own?!! 
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Highlight Passage [context]: Ecclesiastes 2:17-25 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Solomon, The Teacher, shares his experience in living apart from his service to Go being worthless.
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Reference Passage : … Psalms 19:14, 63:1-4, 139:23-24 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK …
… Prayers to start each day and dedicate our lives to God.

Reference Passage : … John 15:5-8 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus charges His disciples (and you and me) to abide in Him so that we can be fruitful in what we do in our lives; … for without Him at the center of our lives, we are NOTHING.

Reference Passage : … Romans 12: 1-2 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul pleaded with fellow Christians to let our lives being a living sacrifice for the glory of God and setting aside the values of this world to dedicate our minds, hearts, and efforts to the glory of God.

Reference Passage : … Colossians 3:23-24 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Again … Paul teaches of Christ being at the center of our lives and doing all we do in His Name and for His glory.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Sheridan Voysey, makes a movie reference to show that we so often find the world setting morality aside when we live our lives for ourselves rather than living for God’s glory. … The ODB author wrote: In a recent film, a self-proclaimed “genius” rants to the camera about the world’s “horror, corruption, ignorance, and poverty,” declaring life to be godless and absurd. While such thinking isn’t unusual in many modern film scripts, what’s interesting is where it leads. In the end, the lead character turns to the audience and implores us to do whatever it takes to find a little happiness. For him, this includes leaving traditional morality behind. 

Each morning, before my feet hit the ground to start my day, I pray God’s word back to Him [from Psalms 19:14, 63:1-4, and 139:23-24], dedicating my thoughts, words, and actions to my Lord. It’s not a mantra of memorized words; … it’s a genuine commitment to do all I can to follow what Jesus told His disciples the night before He died on the cross [see John 15:5-8] … that they could never be fruitful without placing HIM at the center of their lives (see photo). And it’s what the Apostle Paul begged and pleaded for fellow Christians as well (see Rom. 12:1-2 and Col. 3:23-24).

So, I pray today that all reading here with me, will do all we can to put our King Jesus at the center of our focus and do all we can to honor Him with all we think, say, and do. And as we read in the highlight passage, Solomon had it right … that anything done in our lives must be done for God’s glory or it is utterly meaningless. So, let’s do it ALL for Him today.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for helping me to see You at the center of all I think, say, and do today.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, to dedicate all we do today to God’s glory. 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>

May 29, 2020 … How Great Is Our God!!

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 150 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in images, song and lyrics from Chris Tomlin singingHow Great Is Our God … poignantly singing of the vastness and greatness of our God.

Astronauts viewing Earth from the Moon

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Highlight Verse[s]: Jeremiah 31:33 [NLT] ...  33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 
… God’s great plan to redeem His people from their sin.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Jeremiah 31:33-37 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Jeremiah, declaring His New Covenant to come with God’s people.
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Reference Passage : … Genesis 1:1, 31 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God viewed the wonder of His own creation and declared its vastness as “GOOD.”

Reference Passage : … Psalm 104:1-8 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… The Psalmist sings of God’s greatness as our Creator.

Reference Passage : … Isaiah 45:7 [NLT] … 7   I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the Lord, am the One who does these things. 
… God, thru Isaiah, declares His own greatness.

Reference Passage : … Colossians 1:15-16 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul teaches of Christ being the visible, … human, … image of our great, invisible, God, … the One Who created all things for His own glory.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Xochitl Dixon, uses an astronaut’s view of earth from the moon to help him see the vastness of our God. … The ODB author wrote: After astronauts set the Eagle down in the Sea of Tranquility, Neil Armstrong said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” He was the first human to walk on the surface of the moon. Other space travelers followed, including the commander of the last Apollo mission, Gene Cernan. “There I was, and there you are, the Earth—dynamic, overwhelming, and I felt . . . it was just too beautiful to happen by accident,” Cernan said. [see photo] “There has to be somebody bigger than you and bigger than me.” Even from their unique view in deep space, these men understood their smallness in comparison to the vastness of the universe. 

How often do we pray to our God, … forgetting how GREAT He really is? This morning, when I may assume we lifted our voices to The Creator of the vastness we see in heavens, like the astronauts seeing the earth from the moon (see photo), do we really recognize just how BIG and GREAT is our God?

Personally, … I’m convicted that, all too often, I see myself as WAY TOO BIG; and I think of my God as way too small. But this morning I’m inspired, by my time in God’s word (see Scriptures above) and from Chris Tomlin’s song, to remember and recognize that we serve a God so vast and great that He created all we see in the heavens with just His word. And to that end, I bow and pray to my wondrous and magnificent LORD.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for reminding me today of Your greatness.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, to recognize the wondrous greatness of the God we serve. 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>

May 28, 2020 … Sowing and Reaping

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 149 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from an anonymous group singingThey That Sow in Tears … poignantly singing of God’s people are often praying in tears to reap to reap a harvest of Joy (see Psalm 126).

We will only harvest what we sow ... 

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Highlight Verse[s]: Luke 6:38 [NLT] ...  38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” 
… Jesus teaching on God’s law of reciprocity … that of reaping what we sew.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Luke 6:32-38 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus teaches on the harvest we receive when we sow His love with others.   
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Reference Passage : … Psalms 126:4-6 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… A prayer in song for those who plant in past years of tears … to one day reap a harvest of joy.

Reference Passage : … Proverbs 22:8 [NLT] … 8  Those who plant injustice will harvest disaster, and their reign of terror will come to an end. 
 … If we sew seeds of terror, we will reap a harvest of wrath from God.

Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul teaches God’s principle of sewing and reaping to fellow Christians.

Reference Passage : … Galatians 6:7-10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, again thru Paul, reminds fellow Christians, of His law of sewing and reaping to exhort us to sew His love and grace so that we’ll reap the same from God.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Remi Oyedele, uses a story about helping another in need to show God’s principle of reaping what we sow in life. … The ODB author wrote: At a gas station one day, Staci encountered a woman who had left home without her bank card. Stranded with her baby, she was asking passersby for help. Although unemployed at the time, Staci spent $15 to put gas in the stranger’s tank. Days later, Staci came home to find a gift basket of children’s toys and other presents waiting on her porch. Friends of the stranger had reciprocated Staci’s kindness and converted her $15 blessing into a memorable Christmas for her family. 

And let me go right to the linked song above, which comes from Psalm 126, which the Israelites used to sing when they ascended to Jerusalem each year for various feasts, singing of past suffering for God’s glory which would yield a harvest of joy in Heaven. And it, along with the Scriptures above, where Psalmists like David, his son, King Solomon, the Apostle Paul, and no less than Jesus, Himself, taught God’s truth about the law of God’s reciprocity, … more commonly known as “the law of sowing and reaping.”

And knowing and living under the truth of this law, it is my prayer today that we’re willing to reach out today and sow a lot of God’s love and grace to others, as in the ODB story, and more especially in these viral times we’re enduring now. Because, … if we do, … You, Lord, guarantee that we will reap a harvest of Your love and grace in return.

Not a bad deal, huh?!!

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving me so much more than I will ever be able to give You.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, to give intentionally, graciously, generously, and sacrificially of Your love to others so that You, Lord, will be able to give Your love back, even more generously, 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>

May 27, 2020 … Why Me, Lord?!

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 148 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from the Gaither Vocal Band singingWhy Me, Lord … poignantly singing of why Jesus would allow sinners such as you and me to experience any of God’s blessings.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Job 7:20 [NLT] ...  20  If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of all humanity? Why make me your target? Am I a burden to you? 
 … Job, after showing strong faith in God during Job’s tragedies, finally comes to God with confusion?
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Highlight Passage [context]: Job 7:17-21 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Job finally admits his confusion to God, seeking answers for his “Why Me” questions. 
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Solomon, charges us to trust Him, … yes, even when we’re confused or confounded by the circumstances of life.

Reference Passage : … Isaiah 41:10 [NLT] … 10  Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. 
… God wants His people to know that He will always be there to lift us up when we’re confused or feeling down and discouraged.

Reference Passage : … Habakkuk 1:2-3 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Habakkuk comes to God with his confusion as to the injustices he sees around him.

Reference Passage : … Matthew 26:36-46 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Even Jesus had his moments of quandary about His Father’s plan to save mankind as He prayed in the Garden for God to lift “His cup” from Him.

Reference Passage : … 2Corinthians 12:9 [NLT] … 9 Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 
 … Jesus promises Paul (and us) to provide us with the grace to deal with any “WHY ME” moments in life.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Mart DeHaan, discloses the odds of going thru various tragedies to illustrate how easy it is to wonder why God would allow such trials into our individual lives. … The ODB author wrote: The Book of Odds says that one in a million people are struck by lightning. It also says that one in 25,000 experiences a medical condition called “broken heart syndrome” in the face of overwhelming shock or loss. In page after page the odds of experiencing specific problems pile up without answering: What if we’re the one? 

We all have those “WHY ME” moments in life, don’t we? And when we Christians hit the wall of confusion, we might look to Job’s journal of confusion (see highlight passage), … Job coming to God with all that had happened to this Godly man. And there were others in the Bible who had their “WHY ME” moments, … like Habakkuk, who journaled his confusion and quandary to God in Hab. 1:2-3. Even Jesus had His own “WHY ME” moment in the Garden of Gethsemane, didn’t He (see Matt. 26)?

But God helps us in these moments of confusion with His challenge to trust Him (see Prov. 3:5-6); and to realize that He promises to ALWAYS be there to lift us up when we’re having a “WHY ME” moment (see Is. 41:10). And perhaps we should also turn our “WHY ME” feelings around, as do what the Gaithers sing about in the linked song above, … asking WHY would Jesus allow us sinners to even have any moments of God’s blessing with what we’ve done to God in our sinful lives.

So, let’s all be thankful that God’s grace and mercy are extended to us today; and realize that God’s grace is enough to give us the strength to deal with all the “WHY ME” moments in life [see 2Cor. 12:9].

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for the grace You show me to help me deal with the WHY ME moments in my life.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, to seek after and receive God’s grace today to deal with any WHY ME moments in life. 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>

May 26, 2020 … His Word So Sweet

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 147 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics an anonymous praise group singing an arrangement of Psalm 19, entitled Sweeter Than Honey … poignantly singing from a song of King David of how sweet and pure is the word of God.

God's word ... so, so sweet !!!

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Highlight Verse[s]: Proverbs 16:23-24 [NLT] ...  23  From a wise mind comes wise speech; the words of the wise are persuasive. 24  Kind words are like honey — sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. 
… And the wisdom we get from God’s word is the sweetest we can taste.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Proverbs 16:1-2, 21-24 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God’s wisdom, thru His word, is sweeter than honey.
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 19:7-14 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… King David sings of the sweetness and power of God’s truth for the life of the believer.

Reference Passage : … Psalm 119:103 [NLT] … 103  How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey. 
 … The Psalmist sings of how sweet God’s truth was to his taste and his life.

Reference Passage : … Isaiah 55:11 [NLT] … 11  It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. 
… God thru the Prophet, Isaiah, promises the fruitfulness we can expect when we take in and share God’s word.

Reference Passage : … Ephesians 4:29 [NLT] … 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. 
… God thru Paul, showing us how we should use our words … as He uses His.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Patricia Raybon, shows how the power of the words we use can shape the emotional reception of those who hear what we say. … The ODB author wrote: His topic was racial tension. Yet the speaker remained calm and collected. Standing on stage before a large audience, he spoke boldly—but with grace, humility, kindness, and even humor. Soon the tense audience visibly relaxed, laughing along with the speaker about the dilemma they all faced: how to resolve their hot issue, but cool down their feelings and words. Yes, how to tackle a sour topic with sweet grace. 

Hey, fellow Christian, … did either of your parents every say to you, … ”If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” … Well that was my mother’s repeated exhortation for me when I was growing up. And it was about the same from the Apostle Paul to fellow Christians in Eph. 4:29, warning them (and us) to avoid using corrupted, sinful, communications; but rather saying only those things which convey the sweetness of God’s love and grace to others.

Decades ago, when I was saved from a life of angry atheism, God’s word seemed at first like a sour ball to me. But a mentor helped me to take in God’s truth thru His word and savor its sweetness [see Prov. 16:24]. And over the years, as in the Psalms and Scriptures above, God’s word became sweeter and sweeter to me, … to the point I would say that I’ve become addicted to its sweetness, … here every morning, starting each day with my dose of sweet, Godly wisdom.

And I do pray that my readers here come back each morning - or at least regularly - to take in the sweetness of God’s truth as the psalmists sang about it in Ps. 19 and 119. My friend, it will become sweeter than honey for you, … as it has for me.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for another taste of Your sweetness, dripping from the honeycomb of Your word this morning.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, to sample the sweetness of God’s truth 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>

May 25, 2020 … Honoring His Sacrifice

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 146 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Laura Story singing Death Was Arrested … poignantly singing of how death was arrested when Jesus died on the cross to allow us to become living sacrifices for His glory.

The Ultimate Sacrifice 

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Highlight Verse[s]: John 15:13 [NLT] ...  3 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. … “ 
… Jesus teaching His Disciples, what it takes to show our sacrificial love for one another, … i.e., our willingness to give our all fo that One.
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Highlight Passage [context]: John 15:9-17 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus, the night before He would die on the cross, teaches His Disciples what it takes to give up our lives to honor those we love. 
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Reference Passage : … Luke 9:23 [NLT] … 23 Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. … “ 
… Jesus shows the level of sacrifice it will take to be His disciple.

Reference Passage : … John 3:16 [NLT] … 16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. …” 
… What God, the Father, was willing to sacrifice for us.

Reference Passage : … Romans 12:1 [NLT] … 1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. 
 … Paul recognized that we honor our Lord’s sacrifice for us when we’re willing to surrender our all for Him.

Reference Passage : … Galatians 2:20 [NLT] … 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me. 
… Again …. Paul recognized that when we die to self and live in humble obedience for Christ, we honor His sacrifice for us.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Alyson Kieda, makes reference in this devotional to all those who died in combat to keep us free here in the USA. … The ODB author wrote: On Memorial Day, I think of many military veterans but especially my dad and uncles, who served in the military during World War II. [see photo] They made it home, but in that war hundreds of thousands of families tragically lost loved ones in service to their country. Yet, when asked, my dad and most soldiers from that era would say they were willing to give up their lives to protect their loved ones and stand for what they believed to be right. 

But how, as Christians, can we give honor - each day - to the One Who gave His life to defeat the ultimate enemy? And that is my commitment from this ODB entry today. And in my conviction, I realize that all I can do is what the Apostle Paul put forth for himself and fellow Christians in Romans 12: 1; and that is to become a living sacrifice of surrender to follow Jesus’ teaching in today highlight passage and His commands in Luke 9:23 … to deny myself, take up my cross here today, and follow Him.

Will you join me to honor our Lord today, remembering His sacrifice, and denying our selves to live for His glory?!!

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for dying for me that I might live for You.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, to honor our Lord’s sacrifice today by dying to our sin nature and surrendering to live for His glory. 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>

May 24, 2020 … Made for Connection

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 145 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in images, song and lyrics from Christy Nockels singing By Our Love … poignantly singing of how we as Christians need to come together to show our God’s love by the love we share with one another.

Sharing the love of God - TOGETHER 

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Highlight Verse[s]: Acts 2:46 [NLT] ...  46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity — 
… The early Christians came together to share their worship and provisions in the connected relationship with Christ.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Acts 2:42-47 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… The early Christians, as the newly formed “body of Christ,” came together and formed a community of believers.
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 133:1 [NLT] … 1  How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! 
… God made us for unity and harmony.

Reference Passage : … John 13:34-35 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus commands His disciples (that’s us!) to show God’s love to one another as the Body of Christ.

Reference Passage : … 1Corinthians 1:10 [NLT] … 10 I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. 
 … Paul recognized the need for Christians to come together in unity as the Body of Christ.

Reference Passage : … Hebrews 10:24-25 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru the author of Hebrews, exhorted the early Christians - which extends to us - to come together regularly to encourage and exhort one another on to carry out good deeds in Christ’s name.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Kirsten Holmberg, made reference to our human need for connection, with loneliness being one of the biggest social maladies of our times. … The ODB author wrote: Loneliness is one of the greatest threats to our sense of well-being, affecting our health through our behaviors on social media, food consumption, and the like. One study suggests that nearly two-thirds of all people—regardless of age or gender—feel lonely at least some of the time. … 
We need human connection; God designed us that way! [see photo] Painful seasons of loneliness point to that need. Like the people of the early church, it’s important for us to engage in the human companionship our well-being requires and to offer it to those around us who also need it. 

Most certainly what has transpired in the past few weeks, with this COVID-19 pandemic, has illustrated our human need for connection. We have been forced by medical necessity and government control to stay apart from one another; and we’ve seen, as did the early Christians (see the Acts 2 passage), the need to come together and share the love of God and His provisions with one another.

We were made by God for connection, … especially as the Body of Christ, … to come together to share His love. And as the linked song and scriptures above attest, we need to do all we can as Christ’s Body to share His love - TOGETHER - with others today … and tomorrow. 

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for driving me to see the need to join with fellow Christians to do all we can - TOGETHER - to share Your love with each other today.   
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, to connect with one another today - and tomorrow - and share the love 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>

May 23, 2020 … Shining HIs Light

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 144 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Matt Redman singing Light of the World … poignantly singing of how God shines His light thru us into a very, very dark world.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

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Highlight Verse[s]: John 8:12 [NLT] ...  12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” 
 … Jesus declares that anyone who follows Him will not walk in darkness.
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Highlight Passage [context]: John 8:12-16 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Jesus declares that He IS the “Light of the world.”
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 119:105 [NLT] … 105  Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. 
… God’s Spirit has given us His word to light our way in life.

Reference Passage : …Matthew 5:14-16 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus commands His disciples (that’s us!) to be His light shining for others to find their way out of the darkness of this world and our own sin nature.

Reference Passage : … Ephesians 5:8 [NLT] … 8 For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! 
… Paul recognized that he, and fellow Christians, were once walking in darkness; but now, in Christ, we have the light His Spirit to follow Him.

Reference Passage : … 1 John 1:5 [NLT] … 5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all. 
 … John reminds fellow Christians that following Jesus is following The Light of the World.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, James Banks, uses a word picture of lighthouse keepers to show how we, as Christians, must be keepers of God’s light shining in the darkness of this world. … The ODB author wrote: They call them “Keepers of the Light.” 
At the lighthouse on the cape of Hatteras Island [see photo] … just off the North Carolina coast of the United States, there’s a memorial to those who’ve tended the light stations there since 1803. Shortly after the existing structure was moved inland because of shoreline erosion, the names of the keepers were etched on the old foundation stones and arranged into an amphitheater shape facing the new site. That way—as a placard explains—today’s visitors can follow in the historical keepers’ footsteps and “watch over” the lighthouse as well. 

I think a lighthouse is a good word picture to illustrate whom we must be as Christ’s disciples in this dark,… and ever darkening …, world. Jesus called Himself “The Light of the World;”; and He has given us His light to follow Him thru His word (see Psalm 119:105). And even more importantly, He has planted His own light in our hearts, thru His Spirit, and charged us to become His lighthouses (see Matt. 5:14-16 and John 8:12).

So, … I come here every morning to turn on and focus THE LIGHT my Lord has given me thru His word so that I can - as I pray you do too - go out and shine His light to help others see their way to come to Him out of the darkness. And I pray we all do today what Matt Redman sings in the linked song … to go out and reflect the “Light of the World” from our hearts into a very dark world. 

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving me Your light to shine forth into the darkness of this world.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, to shine His Spirit-light from our hearts as lighthouses in the darkness. 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>

May 22, 2020 … Crying Out to God

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 143 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Kristen Giles singing Even the Darkness is Light to You … poignantly singing of how God sees light even when we only see darkness.

Crying Out with our Laments to God 

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Highlight Verse[s]: Lamentations 3:49-50 [NLT] ...  49  My tears flow endlessly; they will not stop 50  until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees.
 … Jeremiah cries out to God, lamenting the trials of God's people.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Lamentations 3:49-66 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Jeremiah cries out to God, lamenting what has happened to God’s people.
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 116:1-5 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… An unknown Psalmist cries out to God with a song which, according to scholars, could likely have been one sung by Jesus and His Disciples in the Upper Room (see Matt. 26:30 or Mark 14:26) the night before the cross.

Reference Passage : …Habakkuk 1:2-4 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… A confused prophet cries out to God, seeing injustice and evil all around him.

Reference Passage : … 2Corinthians 12:7-10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul cries out repetitively for God to relieve him of the painful “thorn;” but he comes to realize that the “thorn” is to keep him humble to receive God’s grace.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Amy Peterson, shares a story of a whale grieving the loss of her calf to illustrate how natural it is for us to lament our dark circumstances to God. … The ODB author wrote: Last summer, an orca named Talequah gave birth. Talequah’s pod of killer whales was endangered, and her newborn was their hope for the future. But the calf lived for less than an hour. In a show of grief that was watched by people around the world, Talequah pushed her dead calf through the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean for seventeen days before letting her go. 
Sometimes believers in Jesus have a hard time knowing what to do with grief. Perhaps we fear that our sorrow might look like a lack of hope. But the Bible gives us many examples of humans crying out to God in grief. Lament and hope can both be part of a faithful response. [see photo] 

God’s word is repetitively clear that we need to lament our confusing or confounding circumstances and bring them to God, … especially when we can’t understand the darkness which surrounds us. Jeremiah, the weeping Prophet, certainly did this throughout the entire book of Lamentations (as in today’s highlight passage). … Habakkuk, the confused Prophet, cried out to God when he didn’t understand the evil all around him (see Habakkuk 1:2-4) … The Apostle Paul, when he was dealing with the pain of a “thorn in his flesh,” took his pain to God (see 2Cor. 12:7-10). And even Jesus’ Disciples sang a lament in the upper room, when the Disciples where so confused about what Jesus was saying was about to happen (see Psalm 116 and Mark 14:26).

In these trying and confusing times we find ourselves, I would guess that many of us are finding it hard to see God’s purpose and plan in the midst of this pandemic. And like the men of God in the examples above, we’re confused and don’t understand what God is doing. Well, … like the men above, God wants us to be willing to cry out to Him, because as it says in Ps. 116:1-4, our Lord will even bend down to hear us; and He will show us that His grace is sufficient for us in these times (see 2Cor. 12:9).

So, my friend, join me in crying out to God today; and let’s pray that He will show us the light He sees in all this darkness (hear today’s linked song).

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for being there to hear our prayers of confusion and pain.
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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 to God to seek His light in all the darkness we’re experiencing these days. 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>

May 21, 2020 … Grace Wins In the End

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 142 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Matthew West singing Grace Wins … powerfully singing of how God’s grace always wins the battle for the life and love of the Christian in our battle with our sin nature and our trek to be with our Lord in glory.

"The Knife Angel" Sculpture 

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Highlight Verse[s]: Isaiah 2:4 [NLT] ...  4  The Lord will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshare, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore. 
 … Isaiah prophesies what it will be like when God’s grace, thru His Messiah, wins in the end. 
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Highlight Passage [context]: Isaiah 2:1-4 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru Isaiah, gives the vision of what it will be like when the Lamb of God, the Messiah, comes to rule in glory.
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Reference Passage : … Matthew 7:21-29 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… In His sermon on the mount, Jesus preached what it would take for mankind to reap the bounty of eternal life.

Reference Passage : … Ephesian 2:1-10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul shows the reality of Christians choosing God’s saving/sanctifying grace over living in bondage to our sin nature.

Reference Passage : … Revelation 4 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God gives John a vision of what it will be like to be in the presence of the Lamb of God in heaven.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Sheridan Voysey, shares about an artistic image in Britain designed to reduce knife violence in England. … The ODB author wrote: When knife crime rose across the United Kingdom, the British Ironwork Centre came up with an idea. Working with local police forces, the Centre built and placed two hundred deposit boxes around the country and ran an amnesty campaign. One hundred thousand knives were anonymously surrendered, some still with blood on their blades. These were then shipped to artist Alfie Bradley, who blunted them, inscribed some with the names of young knife-crime victims, plus messages of regret from ex-offenders. All 100,000 weapons were then welded together to create the Knife Angel—a twenty-seven-foot-high angelic sculpture with shimmering steel wings. [see photo] 

An artistic image like “The Knife Angel” might call attention to the violence mankind can do to one another; but we Christians know that the only real answer to all the violence mankind brings down upon each other is for us to surrender to Christ as our Lord and Messiah and let His grace and love prevail. And that only happens when mankind yields to the Messiah that Isaiah wrote about 700+ years before He came into the world to give us His grace and allow us to enter, with Him, into His glory [see Isaiah 2].

And that’s why, this morning, taking in the linked song and the Scriptures above, I’m uplifted and gratified to realize that the image and grace of the Lamb of God is going to win out and make the crafted image of the Knife Angel unnecessary. Do I sense a resounding ”Hallelujah” from my fellow grace-led Christians reading here?

So, I pray that we all look forward to the day Isaiah prophesied about (see Is. 2), and Jesus preached about (see Matt. 7), and the Apostle Paul encouraged Christians to pursue (see Eph. 2). Because when we do, … as Matthew West powerfully sings, … Grace Wins!

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for leading those of us who’ve surrendered to Your grace to be with You, The Lamb of God, in glory.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, to PTL for His grace, … which will win over all our knives in the end. 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>

May 20, 2020 … Joyful Jesus In Me

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 141 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Joy Williams singing Do They See Jesus In Me … poignantly singing of how we, as Christians, need to live our lives so that others see Christlikeness in the way we live.

Bruce Marchiano's movie portrayal of a joyful Jesus 

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Highlight Verse[s]: Hebrews 1:9 [NLT] ...   9 You love justice and hate evil. Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else. 
 … God poured His anointing oil of joy into the Messiah.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Hebrews 1:8-12 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God thru the author of Hebrews quotes two psalms (see Ps. 45:6-7 and Ps. 102:25-27) to show that God’s eternally enduring joy was portrayed in life of the Messiah.
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Reference Passage : … John 14:21 [NLT] … 21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” 
… Jesus to His disciples (and us), shows that the only way to show our love to Him is to show His love to others.

Reference Passage : … Galatians 5:22-23 [NLT] … 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. … 
… The characteristics of Christlikeness others should see in all who call themselves “Christians.” My 

Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Glenn Packiam, relates a personal reflection of following God’s path by faith. … The ODB author wrote: If you were to play the part of Jesus in a movie, how would you approach the role? That was the challenge faced by Bruce Marchiano, who played Jesus in the 1993 Visual Bible movie Matthew. Knowing that millions of viewers would draw conclusions about Jesus based on his work, the weight of getting Christ “right” felt overwhelming. He fell to his knees in prayer and begged Jesus for—well, for Jesus. 
Bruce gained insight from the first chapter of Hebrews, where the writer tells us how God the Father set the Son apart by anointing Him “with the oil of joy” (1:9). 

I love the song linked above by Joy Williams; and I’m always convicted, when I hear it, by Joy’s challenge in song, … asking if others to see Christ’s likeness in the way we live. And if, like the actor Bruce Marchiano, we were charged with portraying our Lord, how would we want others to see our King Jesus? Would we want others to see Him as a depressed “sour-puss?” Or would we want others to see our lives as reflecting what the Apostle Paul described in Gal. 5:22-23, … nine characteristics which we now call “the Fruit of the Spirit,” … the character traits of Jesus which others would’ve seen when our Lord was walking the earth during those three years of His ministry.

And I think Bruce Marchiano had it right! Because when other see “love, joy, and peace,” and the other Fruit of the Spirit emanating from our lives, I know God smiles; and so will others when they see our lives reflecting a joyful Jesus. So, let me show God’s love [see John 14:21] - and His Spirit - in the way I live today; and may others smile when they see the fruit of God’s Spirit pouring out from me, … perhaps in just some laughter or a smile which I share with someone today.

How about you? … Will others see Jesus when you share a little joy with them today? 

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving me Your Fruit to share joyfully with others today.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, to share in smile and a little bit of joy with someone 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>

May 19, 2020 … Following By Faith

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 140 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in images, song and lyrics from Kristyn and Keith Getty singing By Faith … poignantly singing of how we, as Christians, must obediently walk God’s path by faith.

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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 1:6 [NLT] ...   6  For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction. 
… Choosing the right path can be challenging at times, can’t it?
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 1 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… We get to choose which path we take … God’s or the worlds!
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 119:105 [NLT] … 105  Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. 
 … Knowing and following God’s word will never lead us astray in life.

Reference Passage : … Psalm 139:23-24 [NLT] … 23  Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. 
… A good prayer to start any day !!!

Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… We must trust that God is leading toward His path in life and avoid choices where we follow self rather than the Savior.

Reference Passage : … John 14:6 [NLT] … 6 …  “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 
… Jesus to His disciples (and us), shows that the only path to the Father must be to humbly and obediently follow Him.

Reference Passage : … Hebrews 11:1 [NLT] … 1 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. 
 … The righteous walk by faith and not by sight.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Glenn Packiam, relates a personal reflection of following God’s path by faith. … The ODB author wrote: With no cell service and no trail map, we had just our memory of a fixed map at the trailhead to guide us. More than an hour later, we finally emerged from the woods into the parking lot. Having missed the turn-off that would have made for a half-mile hike, we took a much longer trek. Life can be like that: we have to ask not simply if something is right or wrong, but where it will lead. 

Sometimes our path in life can be difficult, can’t it? And there will be forks in the road where we must choose the route we take [see photo]. That’s why having a memory of God’s way - His right path in life - burned in our hearts is essential to guide us when we meet those forks in our path.

I pray that those reading with me here agree - and follow - God’s clear commands and directions, found in His word, to follow Him in life; … so that we’ll be able to take the right (and righteous) paths, … faithfully following our King Jesus to where He - and only He - can lead us.

And that’s why you find me here every morning burning God’s roadmap (i.e., His word) into my mind/heart; so that when I’m confronted with those forks in the road, I’ll be able to choose the right way … HIS WAY!

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving me Your roadmap to follow in life.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, as David sang in Ps. 139:23-24, to pray for God to show us the right way - HIs way - 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>

May 18, 2020 … Finding God’s Peace

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 139 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in images, song and lyrics from the Vagle Brothers singing Peace, Wonderful Peace … poignantly singing of how we, as Christians, can find God’s peace when we’re willing to surrender to His Spirit COMPLETELY in prayer.

Old Simeon finds God's Peace in the baby Jesus 

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Highlight Verse[s]: Luke 2:29-31 [NLT] ...   29  “Sovereign Lord, now let Your servant die in peace, as You have promised. 30  I have seen Your salvation, 31 which You have prepared for all people. 
… Simeon found God’s peace when the old Rabbi, as God had promised, beheld his Messiah in the baby Jesus.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Luke 2:25-35 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Luke conveys the peace that Simeon experienced, via God’s Spirit, when Simeon held Jesus in the Temple with Jesus’ parents.
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Reference Passage : … Isaiah 26:3 [NLT] … 3  You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You! 
… God, thru Isaiah, gives believers a prescription for pursuing God’s peace … and that it to focus our thoughts on our relationship with Him.

Reference Passage : … Matthew 11:28-30 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus invites anyone to come to Him and give our Lord the opportunity to help us carry our burdens.

Reference Passage : … John 14:1 [NLT] … 1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 
… Jesus invites His troubled Disciples to find more peace by trusting in Him. Our lack of peace often comes when we don’t trust our Lord.

Reference Passage : … Philippians 4:6-7 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, gives us His prescription for receiving God’s peace and that is thru surrendered and thankful prayer.

Reference Passage : … 1Peter 5:6-7 [NLT] … 6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you. 
… Peter knew to turn his worries over to a caring God.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Estera Escobar, relates a true story about former First Lady, Barbara Bush, sharing the peace she had just prior to death in her relationship with Christ. … The ODB author wrote: “I believe in Jesus and He is my Savior, and I have no fear of death,” said Barbara Bush, the wife of former US President George H. W. Bush, to her son before she died. This incredible and confident statement suggests a strong and deep-rooted faith. She experienced God’s gift of peace that comes from knowing Jesus, even when faced with death. 

And then the ODB author went on to cite the Bible story of Simeon, who was shown the peace of God when Joseph and Mary brought the baby Jesus into the Temple for circumcision. [see photo] And when Simeon held his Messiah, the old Rabbi received the peace God had promised Simeon earlier. And this is the same peace that God’s word promises to any/all who can - and will - cast their (our) thankful and prayerful trust in our loving/caring God.

And I pray that all reading here find that peace by taking in the linked song and meditating on the Scriptures above, … all of which point to our pursuing - and finding - God’s peace when we can bring our worries, with a thankful heart, in prayer to God, … focusing our trusting hearts on our abiding relationship with King Jesus. But if a reader here is experiencing worry or doubt, I invite you to give it over to our Lord, Who, as God’s word promises above, is there to help us carry our burdens.   

My fellow Christian, … let’s let Jesus help us carry our burdens today.

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for always being there to lift me up when my worries burden me.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to take our worries to God today with a humble and surrendered heart. 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>

May 17, 2020 … Glory in a Name

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 138 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Lincoln Brewster singing There Is Power … poignantly singing of how we, as Christians, show off the power in the name of our Lord, King “Jesus”, by the way we live our lives.

What's In a Name? 

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Highlight Verse[s]: Luke 3:31 [NLT] ...   31 Eliakim was the son of Melea. … Melea was the son of Menna. … Menna was the son of Mattatha … Mattatha was the son of Nathan. … Nathan was the son of David. 
 … The line of Joseph to show that He was in the line of David.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Luke 3:23-38 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… The line of Joseph, Jesus’ adoptive father, was traced all the way back to Adam to show His line, as with Mary, came thru David (see v. 31).
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Reference Passage : … 1Chronicles 3:5 [NLT] … 5 The sons born to David in Jerusalem included Shammua, Shobab, NATHAN, and Solomon. Their mother was Bathsheba, the daughter of Ammiel.
… Interesting that David named his “love child” with Bathsheba after Nathan, the Prophet, who would later confront David for his series of sins and allow David to honor God’s Name by his confession and repentance.

Reference Passage : … John 13:34-35 [NLT] … 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” 
… Do we honor Christ's Name by showing His love to others everyday?

Reference Passage : … Acts 4:8-11 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God’s Spirit, thru Peter, declares the power found in the name of “Jesus.” (especially note verse 10)

  Reference Passage : … Colossians 3:17 [NLT] … 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. 
… God, thru Paul, proclaims that anything/everything we do should be done to give glory to the Name above all names, … that is “Jesus, “ our Messiah and King!

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Tim Gustafson, traces a name in the Bible, … that of “Nathan,” the son of David to show how God’s grace is often signified in the names which reflect THE Name above all names, … that of “Jesus,” our Lord. … The ODB author wrote: In God’s timing, our son Kofi was born on a Friday, which is exactly what his name means—boy born on Friday. We named him after a Ghanaian friend of ours, a pastor whose only son died. He prays for our Kofi constantly. We’re deeply honored. 
It’s easy to miss the significance in a name if you don’t know the story behind it. In Luke 3, we find a fascinating detail about a name in the ancestry of Joseph. The genealogy traces Joseph’s line backward all the way to Adam and even to God (v. 38). In verse 31 we read: “the son of Nathan, the son of David.” Nathan? That’s interesting. In 1 Chronicles 3:5 we learn that Nathan was born to Bathsheba. 

Tracing even one name, like the name of “Nathan” in the Bible, who was one of David’s nine sons is not insignificant when one knows the story behind that name. And we know the sin-riddled name of this one son of David by Bathsheba, and the Prophet, Nathan, after whom David likely named his son. And knowing that story certainly gives glory and honor to God, doesn’t it?

Yes, God’s grace is often seen in the names of significant figures in God’s word; and there is no name any more significantly powerful, as Lincoln Brewster sings in the linked song, than that of “JESUS.” And I’m praying today that all reading here give homage and honor to the Name of our Lord, … our Messiah, … “King Jesus” … by the way we show off His name in the way we live in and for His Name [see both John 13 and Col. 3 passages above].

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for allowing me to identify with You by labeling my life with Your Name.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here who label ourselves as “Christian” give honor every day to Christ’s Name by the way we live our lives. 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>

May 16, 2020 … Sharing His Story

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 137 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in images, song and lyrics from Steve Green singing People Need the Lord … poignantly singing of how we, as Christians, need to be sharing Jesus’ “good news” Gospel with those in our lives who need His saving truth.

Bible Story Book 

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Highlight Verse[s]: Mark 4:33-34 [NLT] ...   33 Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand. 34 In fact, in His public ministry He never taught without using parables; but afterward, when He was alone with His disciples, He explained everything to them. 
… Jesus was a story teller of truth.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Mark 4:26-34 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ... 
… Jesus often used parables to share His kingdom good news with those who followed after Him. 
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Reference Passage : … Matthew 13:10-17 [NLT]  … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus explains to His 12 Disciples the purpose for Him telling parables to the people.

Reference Passage : … Luke, Chapter 15 [NLT} … USE THIS LINK … 
… Three of Jesus’ parables to illustrate that God cares for lost souls.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, John Blase, uses a personal story about family story telling to illustrate the power of a story to share God’s gospel  truth.… The ODB author wrote: “Once upon a time.” …  Those four words just might be among the most powerful in the entire world. Some of my earliest memories as a boy contain a variation on that potent phrase. My mother came home one day with a large, hardcover illustrated edition of biblical stories—My Good Shepherd Bible Story Book. [see photo] Every evening before lights-out, my brother and I would sit expectantly as she read to us of a time long ago filled with interesting people and the God who loved them. Those stories became a lens for how we looked at the great big world. 

Jesus was most certainly the most effective story teller in history during HIs ministry on earth, wasn’t He? His parables (see scriptures above) related tremendous truths, many of which he had to explain to His 12 Disciples; but all of which related the Good News of His kingdom gospel story.

As Christians we most certainly will encounter others who need to hear the life-changing … life-saving - story of Jesus, as Steve Green sings in the linked song. The question is … will we be willing to share THE GOSPEL story with them when we have the opportunity?

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving me the chance to respond to Your story.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will pray for opportunities to share Jesus’ “Good News” with others, … maybe even 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>

May 15, 2020 … Spirit-Tuned Living

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 136 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in images, song and lyrics from Sara Groves singing Abide With Me … poignantly singing of how we as Christians must abide in the Spirit to experience His fruitfulness.

Keeping "tuned in" to God's Spirit 

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Highlight Verse[s]: Galatians 5:25 [NLT] ...    25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 
… Being tuned into and following God’s Spirit is the only way to experience His fruit (see below in Gal. 5:22-23).
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Highlight Passage [context]: Galatians 5:16-29 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… The Apostle Paul exhorted fellow Christians to be fruitful as disciples by being tuned in to God’s Spirit.
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Reference Passage : … John 14:21, 26 … USE THIS LINK … [NLT] …
… Jesus teaches His disciples of the necessity to abide in and follow God’s Spirit.

Reference Passage : … John 15:1-4 … USE THIS LINK … [NLT] …
… Jesus relates to His disciples (and to you and me) that they (we) can only be fruitful when/if we abide in Him, staying connected to His Spirit.

Reference Passage : … Romans 8:14 [NLT] … 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 
 … God is our Abba Father when we are led by His Spirit.

Reference Passage : … Ephesians 4:30 [NLT] … 30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, He has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. 
… Paul once again warns fellow Christians to avoid grieving God’s Spirit by living in the flesh rather than following [i.e., abiding in] God’s Spirit.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Cindy Hess Kasper, uses the picture of a piano tuner to illustrate how we, as Christians, must stay in tune with God’s Spirit, dwelling in us, to be fruitful as Christians. … The ODB author wrote: As I listened to the piano tuner work on the elegant grand piano, [see photo] I thought about the times when I’d heard that very same piano pour out the incredible sound of the “Warsaw Concerto” and the rich melody of “How Great Thou Art.” But now the instrument desperately needed to be tuned. While some notes were right on pitch, others were sharp or flat, creating an unpleasant sound. The piano tuner’s responsibility wasn’t to make each of the keys play the same sound but to assure that each note’s unique sound combined with others to create a pleasing harmonious whole. 

Jesus certainly taught His Disciples in the upper room (see John 14, 15 passages) to stay “tuned in” to His Spirit Who would come and dwell in them (and us). And the Apostle Paul, exhorted many fellow Christians (see Pauline passages above) to avoid grieving The Spirit by living in the flesh, … thereby being “tuned-in,” (using the ODB word picture) or abiding in the Holy Spirit’s lead so that we can experience Christlike fruitfulness (see Gal. 5:22-23).

And I assume that all reading here with me desire to be fruitful as Jesus and Paul taught. So, … I pray we stay “tuned into” Christlikeness and His fruitfulness, … by abiding in God’s word, which, of course is Authored by God’s Spirit, … so that we can be fruitful in/for God’s glory. 

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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … and my Spirit-leader for showing me the way to be fruitful for You.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will tune in and abide in You by following the lead of Your Spirit 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>