Feb 28, 2021 … New Today - Again Tomorrow

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 59 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Steven Curtis Chapman singing … His Strength Is Perfect…  poignantly singing of how God’s strength is there to help us an lift us up when we’re at our weakest. 

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Highlight Passage:  Lamentations 3:22-23 [ESV] ... 

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end;  23  they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 

… Jeremiah recognizes and gives thanks for God’s faithful mercies … new EVERY DAY.       

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Lamentations 3:19-26 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Jeremiah finds strength from the Lord in the Prophets’ grieving after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. 

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Reference Passage: … Isaiah 41:10, 13 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK … 

…  God’s promise, thru Isaiah, that He would ALWAYS be there to give us His strength when we needed it. 

Reference Passage: … Matthew 11:28-30 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK ... 

…  Jesus invites any who desire to follow Him to yoke ourselves to His strength in times of weakness. 

Reference Passage: … 1Corinthians 10:13 [ESV] … 

13 No temptation [also translated “trial, test, trouble, turmoil, or tribulation”] has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. <

…  God’s warning and exhortation - thru Paul - of God’s faithful leading our thru the temptations or trials of life.       

Reference Passage: … 2Corinthians 12:9 [ESV] … 

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  

…  Paul remembered and taught Jesus’ truth that His empowering grace is enough to deal with anything in life … IF … we’re willing to humbly surrender to receive His empowering grace.  

Reference Passage: … 1Peter 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.

…  Another Apostle, … Peter … also shows that we must be will to surrender ALL our anxieties to God’s throne of Grace.  

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Amy Boucher Pye, AT THIS LINK …  tells of tough times past when her parents had to deal with the exhausting trial of taking care of her brother, who had serve/chronic seizures and how her parents kept going in prayer to God for their strength, which He ALWAYS seemed to give them. 

And God’s uplifting strength is there for us, too, isn’t it, … especially in these Covid times when we’re all strung out with long-term stress?  I don’t know about other readers here with me today; but this old warrior gleans a lot of hope and strength, knowing and believing in the truth of the Scriptures above as well as the uplifting words in song by Steven Curtis Chapman.  

To know that my God is ALWAYS faithful and ALWAYS there - EVERY DAY - to give me His empowering grace and His endless mercies when I need them, really lifts me up!  How about you?   

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for being there to give me Your strength when I need it.  And I could sure use it today!  

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to humbly reach out to receive God’s strength today and tomorrow.  … 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.

Feb 27, 2021 … Surrendered!

 Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 58 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Robin Mark singing … All to Jesus I Surrender…  poignantly singing of how, as Christians, we must surrender our all to follow Jesus. 

Charles Blondin - waking the tightrope over Niagara Falls

 

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Highlight Passage:  Galatians 2:20 [ESV] ... 

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 

… Paul testifies as to his personal 100% surrender in faith to Christ, the Son of God.        

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Galatians 2:14-21 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Paul teaches fellow Christians (and us) what it takes for be surrendered disciples of Christ.  

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Reference Passage: … Proverbs 3:5-6 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK … 

…  God, thru Solomon, shows that we, as God’s children, must trust in the Lord with ALL our hearts … 100% surrender.   

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. 

…  Jesus to his followers on what it takes to be His disciple.  

Reference Passage: … 2Corinthians 9:6 [ESV] … 

6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.   

…  Paul teaches God’s law of reciprocity … that we receive His providence to the degree what we’re willing to give to/for Him - i.e., we reap what we sow.          

Reference Passage: … 2Corinthians 12:9 [ESV] … 

9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  

…  Paul remembered and taught Jesus’ truth that His empowering grace is enough to deal with anything in life … IF … we’re willing to humbly surrender to receive it. 

<b><u>Reference Passage</u>: … 1Peter 5:6-7 [ESV] … </b>

<i>  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.</i> 

…  Another Apostle, … Peter … also shows that we must be will to surrender ALL our anxieties to God’s throne of Grace.  

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Glenn Packiam, AT THIS LINK …  tells of the famous 19th century wire walker, Charles Blondin, who would walk the Niagara Falls on a wire with someone on his back [see photo], with the instructions that the man on his back must be 100% still for Blondin to safely walk the wire over the Falls. 

There was also a famous story that Blondin would offer to push anyone in the audience across the wire in a wheelbarrow; … but no one was willing to get in the wheelbarrow because it took a 100% surrender of life to do so.  And I think the comparison is obvious to the teachings of the scriptures above about becoming a disciple of Christ. 

We have to be willing to get in our Lord’s wheelbarrow and allow Him to push us - by his empowering grace - across the falls of life, don’t we?  It’s like Robin Mark sings in the linked song; and I pray that all reading here with me are willing to do the 100% surrender gig as we get in Jesus’ wheelbarrow today … and tomorrow.    

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for taking me across the falls of life as You take me thru this life. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to get in Jesus’ wheelbarrow today.  … 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.

Feb 26, 2021 … “Fear Not!”

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 57 

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 fear is a ploy of satan … never a tool of God. 

Fear not !!! 

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Highlight Passage:  Psalm 56:3-4 [ESV] ... 

3 When I am afraid,  I put my trust in you.   4  In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? 

… When fear gripped King David, he put his trust in God.        

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Psalm 56:3-11 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… King David deals with any fears of those attacking him by trusting in God’s mercy/grace.  

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Reference Passage: … Isaiah 41:10, 13 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK … 

…  God repeats His charge thru Isaiah to God’s people (that’s us) … to FEAR NOT, because it will be the Lord’s mighty right hand which lifts them up in times of weakness.  

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.” 

…  Jesus, giving His disciples peace in a troubled time, declares that He has overcome any fearful elements of the world.   

Reference Passage: … Philippians 4:6-7 [ESV] … 

<i>  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. </i> 

…  Paul showing fellow Christians to cast their fears aside and humbly pray to receive God’s peace and empowering grace.        

Reference Passage: … 2Timothy 1:7 [ESV] … 

7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.  

…  Paul exhorts/teaches Timothy (and us) that God is NEVER the source of our fears. 

Reference Passage: … 1Peter 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.

…  Another Apostle, … Peter …, exhorts believers to humbly trust in God to deal with our fears and anxieties. 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Sheridan Voysey, AT THIS LINK    … tells of how a Pastor dealt with a slanderous attack by a partitioner, casting aside any fears thru His trust in God and thru surrendered prayer.    

Fellow Christian, if you believe, as I do, that the Bible is ABSOLUTELY TRUE, … every author, writing every word, … then, if you’ve read and meditated on the words (in Scripture) of the authors quoted above,  … King David, Isaiah, the Apostles Paul and Peter, and Jesus, Himself, … we’d have to agree with Zach Williams in the linked song, … that fear truly is a liar.  And God, thru the Apostle Paul (in both Phil 4:6-7 and 2Tim 1:7), actually gives us God’s prescription against fear … and that is to trustingly and humbly pray to God, knowing that God is never behind our fears and that Satan is using them to lie to us that God is not in control.  

But Hs is in control, isn’t He!!  … And we can know, … as did all of those in the Bible who declared “FEAR NOT,” … that fear is NEVER in our minds because of God.  It’s ALWAYS a ploy of Satan to turn us into our selves and away from our Lord. 

So, … my dear ones, … I pray today that we all turn away from the lies that fear brings to our hearts, and trust that God will lift us up in our times of weakness … just as He promised, over and over and over again, in His word.    

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving us Your truth, thru Your word, to combat our fears. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to let go of any attitude of fear, and give them in prayer today to our Lord, Who will always lift us up and give us His empowering grace.   … 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.

Feb 25, 2021 … Weeping Today

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 56 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   … Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Laura Story singing … <b><i>Blessings</b></i>…  poignantly singing of how - often - the blessings of life come when we’re shedding the most tears. 

What do we weep over today? ... 

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Highlight Passage:  Matthew 23:37 [ESV] ... 

37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 

… Jesus shows His grief for sins of God’s people.        

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Matthew 23:37-24:2 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus grieves the injustice and sin of God’s people in Jerusalem as He enters the City and the Temple for the last time in His walk on this earth as the God-Man. 

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Reference Passage: … Psalm 119:136 [ESV] … 

136 My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep Your law.

…  King David grieves seeing the disobedience of God’s people. 

Reference Passage: … Isaiah 53:3 [ESV] … 

105 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  

…  Isaiah prophesy that the Messiah would bear the grief of all man-kind.   

Reference Passage: … Jeremiah 13:17 [ESV] … 

3 But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears, because the Lord's flock has been taken captive. 

…  Jeremiah, the weeping Prophet, grieves over God’s people being taken captive by Babylon.        

Reference Passage: … Hebrews 5:7 [ESV] … 

7 In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him Who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. 

…  Even tho our Lord was fully God, in His humanity He struggle in His flesh, knowing the agony ahead for Him on the cross.  

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Mart DeHaan, AT THIS LINK …   tells of how a craftsman shed tears when he was crafting something which reminded him of sadness in his life.  

All too often we hold back or inhibit our tears, don’t we, … not wanting others to see weakness in us which might be signaled by the grieving or tears.  But should we not remember all the strong biblical luminaries who shed tears when they witnessed injustice or sin in the world [see Scriptures above], .. people like King David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and of course, the strongest of them all, … Jesus. 

So, what do we see in our world or life which grieves us, … maybe even enough to shed tears.  And shouldn’t we be willing to shed those tears openly, … realizing that these circumstances could very well be, as Laura Story sings, blessings in disguise.  I pray we can - and do - let grief drain away in the tears; but also I pray we hold on to the reality that Jesus will be sharing our tears with us.  

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for being there for us with Your tears as we grieve over the injustice in the world. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to let the grief and tears flow when we see and pray about the injustices and sin in this world.    … 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.

Feb 24, 2021 … Overcoming Loneliness

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 55 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Michael W Smith singing … I’ll Be Your Friend…  Poignantly singing of how we Christians must - like Christ - be a friend of fellow believers to avoid loneliness in this world. 

LONELINESS ... The ever-present pandemic !! 

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Highlight Passage:  Ecclesiastes 4:9-10  [ESV] ... 

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 

… God declares, thru Solomon, that “Lone Ranger” faith is always inadequate to handle live’s trials.       

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Solomon declares God’s feelings about loneliness. 

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Reference Passage: … Genesis 2:18 [ESV] … 

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 

…  From the beginning, God declares that it’s not good that man would be alone in God’s world. 

Reference Passage: … Matthew 29:20 [ESV] … 

3  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  

…  In His great commission, Jesus declares that He will never leave nor forsake His born-again disciples.   

Reference Passage: …  John 15:13-15  [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK … 

…  Jesus declares to His disciples (and to us) that He is the friend of any who follow His commands.  But do we?   

Reference Passage: …  Romans 8:38-39  [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK … 

…  Paul exhorts fellow Christians that NOTHING can separate a true, born-again, believer from the love of God … NOTHING!!   

Reference Passage: … Hebrews 10:24-25 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK ... 

…  God commands Christians to gather TOGETHER, encouraging and helping one another, thereby dispelling loneliness.    

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Lisa M Samra, AT THIS LINK   … Quotes author Maggie Fergusson in The Economist’s 1843 magazine, who wrote about loneliness in those times:  “It can be an affliction more harrowing than homelessness, hunger, or disease.” 

How many of my fellow Christian readers have learned that “Lone Ranger Christianity” just doesn’t cut it in this “dog-eat-dog” world.  Do I sense a robust “AMEN!”  I hope so; because loneliness is a pandemic which far surpasses Covid19 in our times, and always has since God declared (see Genesis 2:18) that it was not good that man would be alone.   And also when Solomon declared (see Eccles 4:9-10) that two, working together, is ALWAYS better than going it alone in life. 

So, … after meditating on all the truths above and taking in the linked song, whom here would join me today to reach out and be a friend to a fellow believer - or even a non-believer - when God presents someone - AND HE LIKELY WILL - who might need our help?  

Common, friend, let’s be friends with others today.  Let’s do our Hebrews 10:24-25 best to encourage and work together as Christians in these viral times which so produce an increase in the social pandemic of loneliness.  

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving us the opportunity to be a friend to others … maybe even today.  

My Prayer Today:   Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to break thru the loneliness all around us and be a friend - a <u>REAL FRIEND</u> - to someone else today.     … 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.

Feb 23, 2021 … Shining His Light

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 54 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Matthew West singing … Into the Light…  Powerfully singing of how all born-again Christians need to come out of darkness of this world into the light of Christ. 

Friendship Lights ... 

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Highlight Passage:  Matthew 5:16  [ESV] ... 

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 

… When our works shine God’s light in a dark world, God is seen in our works and glorified.       

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Matthew 5:14-16 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus teaches (i.e., commands) that His followers (i.e., disciples) shine God’s light wherever they are. 

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Reference Passage: … Psalm 119:105 [ESV] … 

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 

…  When we follow God’s word, we shine God’s light for all to see.   

Reference Passage: … Daniel 12:3 [ESV] … 

3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.  

…  The Prophet Daniel shows how the wise, i.e., those who seek and follow God’s ways, shine like the stars in a dark night.    

Reference Passage: … John 8:12 [ESV] … 

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  

…  Jesus clearly declares to His followers that He is the light to follow in this world.  

Reference Passage: …  Ephesian 5:6-8  [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK … 

…  Paul shows that obedience in following God’s ways, rather than following those in the world, shines God’s light.       

Reference Passage: … 1 Peter 2:9 [ESV] … 

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

…  We Christians are “chosen” (i.e., called) to come out of the darkness of sin and this world into the Light of Christ. 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Xochitl Dixon, AT THIS LINK   … tells of a parent using an internet controlled “friendship lamp” (see photo) to light up and show her son that she was thinking of and praying for her boy.  

Clever device, isn’t it, … to shine a light to show that one is sharing the love of Christ with another believer?  And isn’t that what God’s word - in the old/new testaments (see scriptures above) - tells us that we must do as God’s children in this world?  Isn’t that clearly what Jesus commanded of His followers and disciples (see Matt 5:16 and John 8:12).  Of course, it is!! 

So, when we’ve all taken in these truths above and the linked song as well, I pray we be intentional and ask ourselves what we’re going to do TODAY to shine Christ’s light in this ever-darkening world.  

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for helping us shine Your light in this world … even today. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to shine the light of Christ for others to follow in this world today.   … 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.