Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 147
Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from the group, the Gettys, singing … By Faith … poignantly singing of how we Christians must walk by faith in times of trial or trouble.
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Highlight Passage: Exodus 1:12 [ESV] …
2 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel.
… The Apostle Paul exhorts fellow Christians to be people of faith, showing off the love of Christ now living in us.
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Highlight Passage [Context]: … Exodus 1:6-14 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Moses writes of how, in spite of Egyptian oppression, during the slavery of God’s chosen, the Israelites’ faith for God was strong; and under God’s protection/providence, they multiplied greatly.
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Reference Passage: … Deuteronomy 31:6 [ESV] …
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
… Moses challenges God’s people, about to go into the Promised Land, to have faith because God will never forsake them.
Reference Passage: … Isiah 41:10 [ESV] …
6 … fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
… God’s promise, thru Isaiah, to provide His people with HIS strength when trial come our way
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Reference Passage: … Matthew 28:20b [ESV] …
20 … And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
… After challenging the Church with the great commission to go into all the earth, Christ promises us to have faith because He will be with us ALWAYS.
Reference Passage: … Hebrews 11:1 [ESV] …
6 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
… In the remainder of Hebrews 11, God’s word shows those who had this kind of faith in times of trial or deprivation. But, … do we?
My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Jennifer Benson Schuldt AT THIS LINK … shows how flowers, which bloom beautifully in mountains of California when rain is available, go dormant with seeds stored by nature (i.e., God’s providence) in the ground during times of drought to later germinate and bloom again when the rains come (see photo).
And the ODB author compared that work of God to that of how God’s people, in their times of oppression in Egypt, bloomed and multiplied in spite of the harsh treatment by Pharaoh. As it says in the highlight passage. God’s people, who were gloriously protected and provided for by God, actually multiplied during these times because of their faith in their God.
But these illustrations certainly point to how we may have trouble holding on to our faith during trials or challenging times like those we find ourselves being oppressed these days; but if we have the type of faith sung by The Gettys in the linked son or in the truth of God’s word (see Scriptures above), we will ultimately bloom where we have been planted, … or most certainly in Heaven. I pray we have that kind of faith today and onward to tomorrow.
My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for giving me Your strength to hold onto my faith in these times of drought and weakness.
My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to hold onto our faith in these times of oppression and doubt. … 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.
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