Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 342
Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in a song and lyrics from the group Jesus Culture singing … Make Us One … poignantly singing of how we plead for God to make us ONE in our relationship with The Triune God.
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Highlight Passage: … Ephesians 4:3 [NLT] …
3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.
… The Apostle Paul, inspired by God’s Spirit begs for fellow Christians to bind themselves in the peace provided by our Lord.
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Highlight Passage [Context]: … Ephesians 4:1-6 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, pleads for God’s church to unify around the peace of Christ.
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Reference Passage: … Psalm 133:1 [NLT] …
1 How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!
… King David wrote of how glorious it is when brothers/sisters live TOGETHER in unity.
Reference Passage: … John 17:20-21 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus prayed that His church would be one, pursuing a relationship with one another as the triune God has in heaven.
Reference Passage: … Romans 8:37-39 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul was convinced and shared with fellow Christians that NOTHING could separate us from God’s love … IF … we sought to pursue that love TOGETHER in the Body of Christ.
Reference Passage: … 1Corinthians 1:10 [NLT] …
10 I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
… The Apostle Paul pleads with fellow Christians to come together to live and serve God in until of mind and spirit.
Reference Passage: … Philippians 2:2 [NLT] …
2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
… The Apostle Paul calls yet another Church body to work TOGETHER in unity of mind and purpose.
My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Mike Wittmer, AT THIS LINK … relates a story of a Baptist church which divided because two leaders in the church disputed who - between them - would get a leg of chicken at a church dinner, … showing the need for Christians to overcome petty differences and come TOGETHER in unity.
That was certainly the call of the Apostle Paul - repetitively - to various church bodies with whom he was writing (see Pauline Scriptures above), … begging them to come together in Christ, pursuing the unity provided by our Triune God. And it was most certainly the prayer of our Lord, wasn’t it (see John 17:20-21 above)?
So, … the ODB entry today begs the question of what we can do - within our sphere of Christian influence - to promote the unity of the Body of Christ? I’m going to do all I can, in my calling as a Christian, to bring brothers/sisters together; … how about you?
My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, …for giving us Your empowering grace to bring us together in Your love today.
My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to surrender and take the name our Immanuel gives us as we follow King Jesus to glory. … 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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