Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in images, song and lyrics from Paolo Do Buono singing … Rooted In Christ … poignantly singing about how, as Christians, we must become deeply rooted in Christlikeness.
Our Faith Deeply Rooted in Christ ...
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Highlight Verse[s]: Matthew 13:23 [NLT] ... 23 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
… Jesus’ explains how we, as disciples of Christ, must be planted and rooted in good soil so that we can become fruitful.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Matthew 13:18-23 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus explains the parable of the seeds to illustrate how we must root ourselves in Him.
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 1:3 [NLT] ... 3 They [God’s people] are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.
… King David sings of how God’s people are like the trees planted and nourished like trees near a stream of life.
Reference Passage : … Jeremiah 17:8 [NLT] ... 8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
… Jeremiah repeats the teaching of David (Ps. 1:3) that God’s people must be well rooted and nourished to become fruitful.
Reference Passage : … John 15:5-8 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus explains to His Disciples (and to us) how we must be rooted and abiding in Him to become fruitful as His disciples.
Reference Passage : … Acts 1:8 [NLT] ... 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
… Jesus promises that He will impart His power thru His Spirit to His witnesses in this world.
Reference Passage : … Romans 16:25 [NLT] ... 25 Now all glory to God, who is able to make you strong, just as my Good News says. This message about Jesus Christ has revealed His plan for you Gentiles, a plan kept secret from the beginning of time.
… God, thru Paul, shows Christians that God’s plan was to make us strong as we are rooted in Christ’s good news (i.e., His Kingdom Gospel), … yes, even for the Gentiles.
My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Xochitl Dixon, used the image of a tree, well rooted beneath the ground’s surface, to illustrate how we must become well rooted in Christ to bear fruit for His glory. And you can read about our well-rooted faith in today’s ODB devotional AT THIS LINK - and see it illustrated in the attached photo.
And my fellow disciples of Christ, … I’m praying that we all heed the lyrics of the linked song as well as the truths expounded in the Scriptures above … so that we can establish a deeply rooted relationship with Christ and become what Jesus described to His inner disciples [see John 15:5-8] … i.e., … fruitful for God’s glory.
And I think all reading here know that this fruitfulness in Christ can only be accomplished when we send our roots of faith deeply into God’s truth (i.e., His word) so that our lives can abide in obedience to Christ and bare the fruit of our witness of His kingdom gospel [see Acts 1:8].
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for letting us be the witnesses of Your glory as we send out roots of faith deeply into Your truth.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, … to send our roots in Christ deep … by watering and nourishing our faith in God’s 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>
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