Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 357
Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in a song and lyrics from Jonathan David and Melissa Helser singing … No Longer Slaves … poignantly singing of how in Christ we are all children of God, … no longer slaves to fear or ethnic division.
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Highlight Passage: … Acts 11:26 [NLT] …
26 When he [Barnabas] found him [Saul], he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)
… Barnabas and Paul found Jew and Gentile worshipping together and first called “Christians” in Antioch.
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Highlight Passage [Context]: … Acts 11:19-26 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Barnabas and Paul return from Tarsus to Antioch where they find Jews and Gentiles worshipping together.
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Reference Passage: … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Trusting and following God has nothing to do with race or ethnic identity or sex. It’s our choice to surrender to our Lord.
Reference Passage: … Luke 9:23 [NLT] …
23 Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
… All Jesus asks of His followers is to deny our selves and follow Him, which has nothing to do with gender, race, or political identity.
Reference Passage: … John 13:34-35 [NLT] … SEE THIS LINK …
… Jesus teaches His disciples [and us] that it is His love in them, exhibited to others, which will demonstrate that they [we] are His disciples.
Reference Passage: … Galatians 3:26-29 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, strongly asserts that there is nothing that can divide those who follow Christ as Lord and Savior.
My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Mike Wittmer, AT THIS LINK … tells of worshipping with fellow Christians in Thailand, where racial and ethnic differences were set aside with believers coming TOGETHER simply to worship the Lord.
I live in a part of the USA called “The Bible Belt,” where one can find many, many churches in any quarter mile radius. Yet, in this area, Sunday morning finds more racial division on display in this area than any other day of the week; … with predominantly African-American churches and predominantly Caucasian churches … and many other ethnic dividers on display in these churches.
But if you’ve taken in the linked song and believe - as I do - in the Scriptures above, then we know that the love of God is displayed so much more powerfully if we can come together as CHRISTIANS (as they did in Antioch in the highlight passage). And we “Christians” should be doing as our Lord has called His disciples to to; and that is to unify in Christ (see photo) to show the love of Christ and to worship Him by sharing that love - HIS LOVE - with others, … setting aside all racial of ethnic dividers.
My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for Your love, Lord, which reaches out to all who would believe on You as Lord.
My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to reach out - TOGETHER - as Your body, Lord, to show Your love to others … any and ALL others. … 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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