Oct 15, 2020 … Following His Lead

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 289 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...     Please take the time to take in images and song from Clay Crosse, Bob Carlisle, and Bebe Winans singing …  Will Follow Christ… powerfully singing of how we, as Christians,  must be committed to follow Christ wherever He may lead us. 

Following Christ wherever He leads us ... 

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Highlight Passage:  Ephesians 4:15-16 [ESV] ... 

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. 

…   We are part of Christ’s body, using our gifts faithfully to serve His calling and purpose for His glory.  

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Ephesians 4:4-16 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK … 

… Each one who becomes part of Christ’s Body must use his/her gifts, faithfully following Christ and serving Him in His kingdom. 

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Reference Passage: …  Matthew 25:14-30 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus’ parable of the talents, illustrating how we must use what we’ve been given, faithfully following the lead of our Lord to serve Him.  

Reference Passage: …  Luke 9:23 [ESV] …  

23 And He said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. …  

… All Christians must be willing to deny our fleshly desires and follow HIM wherever He leads us.  

Reference Passage: …  Romans 12:1, 6 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… In our lives, as disciples of Christ, we are to become living sacrifices, using our gifts/talents for God’s glory in His kingdom.

Reference Passage: …  1Peter 4:10-11 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God, thru Peter, calls us, having received a gift from God’s Spirit to use those gifts for God’s glory, following Christ wherever He leads us to serve His kingdom.

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Dave Branon, AT THIS LINK  tells of the family legend of how the Graham brothers, … Billy and Melvin …, both came to follow and serve Christ, … one becoming a famous evangelist and the other becoming a faithful farmer, … but both serving God faithfully with the gifts and talents that God had given each of them to follow and serve the Lord. 

In the New Testament, Jesus, clearly calls those who surrender to His calling to deny our own will (see Luke 9:23), and to use the gifts/talents He gives us (see Eph. 4 & Rom. 6 & 1Pet. 4 above), and to follow Him … no matter where He leads us. 

Today, as anyone reads this, are you convicted, as a fellow Christian, to do a self inventory, asking if we are really using what the Lord has given us to serve Him faithfully.  If not, what can we do today to follow Him more diligently?  

 

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving me teaching and encouragement gifts to use to serve you today.  

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray that all reading here will join me to reach out today, … just as You have called us, … to use our talents and gifts for Your glory.  … Amen

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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.