Jan 5, 2021 … Consuming God’s Word

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 5 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from The Gettys singing  Stuart Townsend’s song … Speak O Lord …  poignantly singing of how we feed on the truth of God from His Holy Word. 

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Highlight Passage:   Jeremiah 15:16 [ESV] ... 

16  Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O Lord, God of hosts.  

…  Jeremiah found joy and fulfillment by consuming the words of God.   

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Jeremiah 15:15-18 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Jeremiah testifies to consuming God’s words to bring him fullness in the midst of spiritual famine. 

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Reference Passage: … Joshua 1:8 [ESV] … 

8 This Book of the Law [i.e., God’s word] 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 gives Joshua (and to you and me) His prescription for Spiritual success … by being in and staying in God’s word daily.  

Reference Passage: … Matthew 4:4  [ESV] … 

4 But He answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 

…  Jesus, … in response to Satan’s temptation to give the Lord food after Jesus’ time of fasting.  

Reference Passage: … Matthew 5:6  [ESV] … 

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 

…  Jesus promises fulfillment to those who hunger/thirst after His righteousness.

Reference Passage: … John 6:50-51  [ESV] … 

50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

…  Jesus promises to satisfy all those who feed on Him as the “bread of 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. 

…  God, thru Paul, lists the fruit of the Spirit which matures in the believer who consumes God’s truth and grows by becoming more like Christ. 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Amy Boucher Pye, AT THIS LINK relates a story of a 19th century British pastor who matured and was given spiritual strength by consuming God’s word daily.  

And years ago a mentor recognized how immature the fruit of the Spirit [see Gal. 5:22-23] were in my life; and being a retired physician, he prescribed that I develop the discipline of beginning each day by taking in God’s word and even memorizing it and journaling what God’s Spirit would give me from His truth. 

And if you go to my daily blog site (USE THIS LINK), any reader will see that I’ve been consuming God’s word and journaling my morning quiet time with God … DAILY, … for years.  And digesting God’s word (i.e., His truth) is the one discipline which took me from being and angry agnostic almost four decades ago to an ordained minister of the gospel and the leader of a discipleship ministry in our local church today.  

And so, if any reader with me here today desires to become stronger in their daily walk with/for Christ, I would definitely recommend starting each day by dining on (see photo) and consuming God’s truth and letting it do what Christ has promised [see red letter verses above].  And I also pray that consuming God’s word will transform and mature the fruit of God’s Spirit in your life as it has in mine. 

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for transforming me from my daily consumption of our Your truth.

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray that all reading here will join me, to consume God’s truth EVERY DAY and let it transform and strengthen us … today and each day forward.  … 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.