April 30, 2021 … Milk Before Meat …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 120 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from the group Mercy Me singing … Word of God Speak … poignantly singing of we need to feed on God’s truth until we grow into a deeper faith.  

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Highlight Passage:  Hebrews 5:13-14  [ESV] …  

13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.  

… As immature Christians we need the milk of God’s word before taking in the meat. 

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Hebrews 5:11-6:2 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God teaches in Hebrews about maturing in the Gospel by first taking in the milk of God’s word and then maturing by consuming the meat of God’s truth. 

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

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

… God’s blessing, thru Christ’s teaching, on those who hunger/thirst after the Gospel truth.  

Reference Passage: … Matthew 28:19-20[ESV] … USE THIS LINK …  

… Jesus’ “great commission” for us all to be feeders of God’s Gospel truth to those who are hungry and need to be fed.     

Reference Passage: … 1Corinthians 3:1-3 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …  

…  God, thru the Apostle Paul, shows immature believers what it takes to grow into an appetite for God’s truth and mature in Christlikeness.

Reference Passage: … 1Peter 2:2-3 [ESV] … 

2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation ... 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 

…  Peter also teaches that it takes spiritual milk first to grow closer to God before taking in the more substantial meat of God’s word. 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Sheridan Voysey, AT THIS LINK …   wrote about a 17th Century missionary, named Corman, who failed in sharing The Gospel message in England until another Monk, named Aidan, showed Corman that the Gospel needed to be presented in simpler - yet truthful - terms to the people.  And when this was done thousands came to saving faith in England.     

And that’s a Gospel sharing strategy we all need to implement when we try to share God’s Gospel truth with others, isn’t it?  “Milk before meat”, as they say in the New Testament (see the attached photo and the Scriptures shared).   Apostles like Paul and Peter and the Author of Hebrews all teach in those NT passages that immature or hostel seekers after truth, like babes, need to be fed the milk (i.e., a simpler version) of God’s truth before they can mature by being fed the meaty truth that God’s word teaches (as the linked song sings).  

But if someone is hungry or thirsty for righteousness and really desires the Gospel, Jesus promises (see Matt. 5:6) that the seeker will grow in Christlikeness if first presented the milk of God’s word and then later fed on the meaty truth that they will need to grow in Christlikeness.  

So I pray today that we all take Christ’s “great commission” seriously (in Matthew 29:19-20); and go forth to feed others who need the milk or the meat of God’s Gospel truth. 

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, King Jesus, … for giving us what we need, being fed from Your word, to grow into Christlikeness.   

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to do all we can when You give us opportunities, Lord, to feed others who need Your truth to grow in Christlikeness.  … 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.

April 29, 2021 … Godly Help - Good Advice …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 119 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Mack Brock singing … I Life My Eyes … poignantly singing of we need not fear our battles in life when we’re willing to seek out God’s way to follow.  

Getting help is good advice to prevent burnout ... 

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Highlight Passage:  Exodus 18:23  [ESV] …  

23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”  

… Jethro’s wise advice to Moses to prevent burnout in his Son-In-Law as Moses led God’s people in the Wilderness; … good - GODLY - advice for all in leadership roles today.  

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Exodus 18:13-23 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Moses’ Father-In-Law helps Moses get needed help to handle all the judging duties which was draining Moses’ physical and spiritual well being.  

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Reference Passage: … Exodus 33:14 [ESV] … 

14 For He (God) said “My presence will go with you, and  will give you rest." 

…  God will be with us and give us His rest … but only if we’re willing to follow Him and His ways as we seek His leadership and guidance.     

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

… Godly advice from Solomon on how we must trust in God’s way and avoid leaning so much on our own way. 

Reference Passage: … Isaiah 26:3 [ESV] … 

14 You [LORD] keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You.

…  God’s promises His peace for all who keep our hearts/minds focused on the Lord. 

Reference Passage: … Matthew 11:28 [ESV] …

<i>  28 Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden; and <b>I will give you rest, …29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”</b></i>

… Jesus invites us to yoke ourselves to Him even as we seek help to prevent burnout when we lead others. 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Xochitl Dixon, AT THIS LINK …   … tells of “Joe,” a workplace supervisor, who, trying to control all his leadership responsibilities, worked long shifts and was ultimately hospitalized with serious stress-related “burnout.”  Finally, he learned to get competent help and delegate some of his oversight to others to prevent future health problems.    

This story reminded the ODB author - and me - of the OT story of how Moses’ Father-In-Law, Jethro, came to visit Moses and noted how Moses was headed toward “burnout” as Moses took on ALL the judging duties for ALL the people.  And Jethro (in the highlight passage) advised Moses to find Godly - mature - leaders among the people for Moses to delegate some of the judgment duties of leadership.  

And if you look into the attached photo, besides other sage helping advice, like getting good rest, eating properly, and exercise, … the advice of Jethro can be found to get help in leadership … all good advice that will help to prevent burnout in today’s hard workplace.  

So, if any of my readers today have heavy leadership responsibilities, as do I, it would be good  for us to take old Jethro’s advice and find Godly, mature, leadership help to get the work done properly and prevent burnout.  And … taking God’s word - see Scriptures above - is essential as well.  So, I’m praying that we follow His word today and not try to take on too much on our own where God has placed us to serve Him.    

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, King Jesus, … for those who help me take on Your calling to serve Your Kingdom today - and tomorrow.  

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to pray that we get help whenever we need it …  to serve You Lord and to prevent “burnout” as we serve Your will, … following Your ways, … thru Your word.  … 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.

April 28, 2021 … Resting With Abba …

 <b><u>Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 118 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Kari Jobe singing … Be Still My Soul … poignantly singing of we who believe and follow Jesus as our Lord can take His invitation to rest in Him … forever!! 

Cuddling with Daddy ... 

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Highlight Passage:  Psalm 116:7  [ESV] …  

2 Return, <b>O my soul, to your rest;</b> for the Lord has dealt bountifully with You.   

…God, thru the Psalmist calls for His children to rest in Him. 

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Psalm 116:1-7 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… The Psalmist shows in song how he desires to rest in the One Who saved him.  

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Reference Passage: … Exodus 33:14 [ESV] … 

14 For He (God) said “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.  

…  God’s promise to Moses and His children (that’s us, too!!) to follow us and give us  His rest wherever we go.     

Reference Passage: … Isaiah 26:3 [ESV] … 

14 You [LORD] keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You.

…  God’s promises His peace for all who keep our hearts/minds focused on the Lord. 

Reference Passage: … Matthew 11:28 [ESV] … 

28 Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden; and I will give you rest, … 

… No less that King Jesus, Himself, invites any who are burdened to come to Him for strength and rest.  

Reference Passage: … Hebrews 4:1-6  [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …  

… The author of Hebrews calls out the disobedient, i.e., the ones who cannot find rest in God’s Spirit. 

And that image is what draws me to sidle up to my Abba Father, which, if you  GO TO THIS LINK, you will see what this believer has done EVERY MORNING, journaling my quiet times with God, since 2010 (and actually before that, journaling by hand well before these posts at that blog-site online).  I’m like that little 11 YO daughter in the photo, imagining that my Abba Father desires to let me cuddle up next Him as He reads to me from His word.  It’s such a peaceful way (see Isaiah 26:3) to start my day.  

And I'm praying that all reading here will take in the Kari Jobe song and the Scriptures above, and are finding your rest, as do I, in my cuddling times each morning with my Daddy-God.  

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, King Jesus, … for inviting me to cuddle up and find my rest in you to start each morning with You reading to me from Your word. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to take our Lord’s invitation to rest in our Lord, 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.

April 27, 2021 … Don’t Be Foolish !! …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 117 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from an anonymous praise group singing … Foolish the Wisdom of the World … poignantly singing of we must choose to follow God’s wisdom, not our own desires or that of the world.  

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Highlight Passage:  Ecclesiastes 10:2-3  [ESV] …  

 A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left.  3  Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool.  

…We can choose the way we walk … following Godly wisdom or that of the foolish wisdom of the world or our own selfish hearts.   

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Ecclesiastes 10:1-14 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God, thru Solomon, challenges us to beware and avoid following the wisdom of the world. 

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Reference Passage: … Proverbs 1:7 [ESV] … 

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.  

…  We’re fools if and when we’re unwilling to seek Godly counsel and follow the ways of God rather than our flesh or that of the world.  

Reference Passage: … Isaiah 53:6 [ESV] … 

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 

…  Following The Messiah is the only way to avoid the foolishness of our own humanity or the world.     

Reference Passage: … Romans 3:21-23  [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …  

… God, thru Paul, shows the truth that we only avoid the foolishness of self or the world by surrendering to follow the Savior.  

Reference 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. 

… Now, by following Christ, I can now live by faith rather than the foolish ways of selfishness or in following the foolishness of the world.   

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Con Campbell, AT THIS LINK …   tells of a stupid thief who, in attempting to rob a convenience store, put down a $20 bill to get the attendant to open the cash register, … then, demanding all the cash; the foolish thief only got $15 and left the $20 bill, showing off his stupidity and foolishness.   

That story reminded the ODB author of the warnings of Solomon in the highlight passage as well as in Proverbs 1:7, where the Prophet, … and the other Scriptures above, … help all believers, … that by following the ways of The Messiah, … our Lord, King Jesus, … we have been given the enabling grace, and the free will, to choose to follow God’s ways rather than the destructive ways of the flesh or the foolishness of the world (see photo).    

So, by following Jesus’ command for  all of us disciples in Luke 9:23 {look that up on your own!!}, we can choose to follow King Jesus and avoid the foolishness of this world or that of our own fleshly stupidity.  

I pray today that we’re choosing to seek out Godly wisdom and to follow God’s ways, by trusting in God’s word, … so that we’ll avoid the foolishness of selfishness or the stupidity of the world, which we can easily see is leading us to destruction these days. 

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, King Jesus, … for giving us Your empowering and enabling grace to seek out Godly wisdom in our walk in this world, 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to seek out Your will, Lord, and  follow Your ways from Your word 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.

April 26, 2021 … Putting On the New Self …

zBerry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 116 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Matt Maher singing … Abide With Me … poignantly singing of choosing to walk with Christ abiding in our lives.  

Off with the old self ... On with the new !!! 

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Highlight Passage:  Ephesians 4:22-24  [ESV] …  

22 …to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. 

… According to God’s word, thru Paul, we are to CHOOSE to put off the old - corrupt - self and to walk in the newness of Christ.  

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Ephesians, Chapter 4 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Paul exhorts fellow Christians (us too!) to put off the old self and put on the newness of Christ. 

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Reference Passage: … Romans 6:6 [ESV] … 

6 We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.    

…  In Christ we can now choose to put off the old nature, enslaved to sin, and walk in the newness of God’s Spirit.  

Reference Passage: … 2Corinthians 5:17 [ESV] …

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  

…  Paul again emphasizes that being born-again, in Christ, we no longer are a prisoner of the old ways of the flesh and of the world. 

Reference 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. 

… Now, being crucified of myself in Christ, I can now live by faith rather that by flesh.   

Reference Passage: … Colossians 3:5-10  [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …  

... God, thru Paul, teaches us that, now walking in the Spirit, we get to choose to put off the old, sinful, ways, and now live and walk in God’s Spirit.     

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Monica La Rose, AT THIS LINK …   … inspired by the characters in Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice, realized that she needed to quit judging characters in her life, until she could get to know them better.  

That seemed to be almost an obsession for the Apostle Paul when we read the many highlight and support passages above.  Paul had been radically broken, reborn, and transformed by Christ; and he wanted other Christians he knew - as well as all of us who learn of God’s transforming Spirit - to walk, once reborn in Christ, lives that are worthy of the truth that we now, in Christ, can choose to put off the old self and put on the newness of Christ (see photo).

And I pray that we do just that … today and everyday !!    

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, King Jesus, … for giving me the empowering and enabling grace to walk in the newness of Your Spirit. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to walk, as the Apostle charged in Ephesians 4, in a manner worthy of our calling as Christians.  … 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.

April 25, 2021 …  The Tree of Life … 

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 115 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Kim Walker-Smith singing … Jesus Paid It All … poignantly singing of how God sacrificed His Son being nailed to the tree of life for all mankind. 

Bad decision ... 

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Highlight Passage:  Genesis 3:11b [ESV] …  

11 He [God] said, “… Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

… One very, VERY bad decision … 

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Genesis 3:1-17 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Adam and Eve crash and burn in the garden by eating from The Tree of life. 

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Reference Passage: … Galatians 3:13 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK … 

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—   

…  Jesus dies on “a tree” (i.e., the cross) to redeem mankind from our sin.   

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Tim Gustafson, AT THIS LINK …   tells of the owner of a $300,000 McClaren auto which was totaled into a tree (see photo) by one bad decision. 

And the ODB entry then makes reference to the worst crash of all in the Garden of Eden when Eve, then Adam, crashed and totaled the garden and the lives of all mankind when they made the worst decision of all by eating of the tree of life.  And every time we make a sinful human decision we reflect that garden decision involving the tree of life.

But, PTL, there was another tree on which Jesus, as Kim Walker-Smith sings, “paid it all” on that tree at Calvary, … the tree which saved all who would believe in the One Who died there (see Gal 3:13).  And now we, who are born-again because of our faith in the Lord’s sacrifice, can look forward to eating from that tree of life (see Rev. 22:2, 14) when God’s garden is once again restored for the Lamb of God and all His friends. 

And I pray that’s all of us reading here today.   

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, King Jesus, … for the tree of life, … from which all who long to be with our Savior will eat in Heaven. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to praise the Lord today for dying on a tree so that we can look forward to partaking from the “Tree of Life” in heaven with the Lamb of God.     … 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.

April 24, 2021 …  His Way - The Only Way … 

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 114 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Don Moen singing … God Will Make A Way … poignantly singing of how God leads His own in life to follow His way rather than our own or the ways of the world.   

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Highlight Passage:  Daniel 2:19-20  [ESV] …  

9 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might.“ 

… We are charged by God to comfort others even before we would look out for our own interests. 

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Daniel 1:11-16, 2:19-20 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Daniel, being obedient to God’s way, shows the Babylonians that the Lord’s way is the best way … ALWAYS! 

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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.    

…  Following God’s will and His way from His word is the really the only way to go in life. 

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

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.  

…  Solomon shows that following God’s way and avoiding our own way is ONLY WAY to go in life. 

Reference Passage: … John 14:6 [ESV] … 

11 Jesus said … , “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. …”  

… Jesus clearly shows that His way is the ONLY WAY.   

Reference Passage: … Romans 12:2  [ESV] …  

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

… God, thru Paul, shows us to avoid the ways of the world in order to better follow His way.    

Reference Passage: … 2Timothy 3:16-17 [ESV] …  

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. 

… God has given us His word - i.e., Scripture - to follow His way in this life.  

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Patricia Raybon, AT THIS LINK …  tells of her granddaughter playing college volleyball and learning not to let any one point deter her from focusing on what she needed to do to win.  

And then the ODB author compared that focus with that of Daniel and his three young Jewish friends when they were in Babylonian captivity (see highlight passage).  Those boys learned to hold on to God’s ways and to avoid letting the world dictate which way they should go in life. And if you believe in what Don Moen sings in the linked song and all of the Scriptures quoted above, we Christians must know that God’s way is ALWAYS the best way; and His word is ALWAYS the best way to know how to find God’s will and to follow His ways. 

So, … I pray today that we’re taking up and using God’s perfect “GPS” (“God’s Positioning System” - i.e.,… His word) and being obedient to let God lead us in His way .  

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, King Jesus, … for giving us Your “GPS” to follow in life.

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to take up and follow Your will and Your way from Your word  … all day - EVERY DAY!!      … 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.