Berry Patch Devotions - Day175
Devotional Song - GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to use this link and take in the song and lyrics from Steven Curtis Chapman singing ... His Strength Is Perfect ... poignantly singing of how God will provide us with His empowering grace and strength when we’re feeling weak or fearful.
PHOTO of sharing our faith with a loved one ... AT THIS LINK ...
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Highlight 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. ... The Apostle Paul remembers a promise from Christ to provide His empowering grace to cover our times of weakness.
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Highlight Passage (Context) ... 2Corinthians 12:5-10 ... USE THIS LINK - ... Paul teaching fellow Christians of God’s empowering grace, promised by Christ to cover our weaknesses
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Reference Passage: ... Isaiah 41:10 (ESV) ... 10. ... 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 thru Isaiah promises to lift us up with His strength when we feel weak.
Reference Passage: ... Acts 1:8 (ESV) ... 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ... Jesus commissions all believers at His ascension to witness His saving grace to others ... until He comes again ...
Reference Passage: ... 1Corinthians 10:13 (ESV) ... 13 No temptation 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. ... The Apostle Paul teaches on God’s promise to help us in moments we feel weakened to deal with temptations or trials.
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 helping Timothy - and us - to see that a spirit of fear NEVER comes from God.
Today’s Devotional Journal: Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Amy Boucher Pyle, ... AT THIS LINK ... ... writes about an evangelist/author who balked in fear when given the opportunity to share her testimony and her story of deliverance by Christ with her manicurist friend, ... which is a common fear of many Christians, ... yes, even mature believers with the gift of evangelism as with the ODB author.
Perhaps you, as I do, have someone close to you that you feel weakened or fearful to share the truth about God’s saving grace to save that dear relative or friend or co-worker. And so, ... (meditating on the Scriptures above) ,,, we all need to recognize that any fear we have, holding us back from witnessing as Jesus Himself called us to do (see Acts 1:8), is a ploy of Satan to keep us from using God’s strength to share His grace with those who need Christ.
So, I’m praying that God will lift us up and give us His strength to share our witness of faith with any dear one that we feel is lost ... ASAP. And so, let’s pray for the opportunity to witness to that dear one ... yes, even today.
My THANKFULNESS Today: ... Oh, Abba Father, ... thank You for promising Your strength to cover my weakness as I balk from sharing my faith with anyone God gives me the opportunity to share His grace today.
My PRAYER Today: ... Oh Abba Father ... King Jesus ... I pray that all reading with me here will join me to pray and receive Your empowering grace to share Your saving grace with someone You lead us toward today.
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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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