June 30, 2025 … Seeking God’s Rest …

June 30, 2025 … Seeking God’s Rest    …  

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to hear music and lyrics with McKenna Hixon singing… Peace in Christ,  of how we Christians find our peace trusting in God’s peace and strength in our times of trial. 

Highlight Passage : … Psalms 3:5  … [NLT] … 

5 I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me.

…  David awakes from sleepless nights and relies on The Lord in his trial.    

           

Highlight Passage (in context)  … Psalms 3  [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …  

… David find God’s peace by seeking and relying non The Lord in time of trial and temptation.   

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Reference Passage: … Psalms 34:14  (NLT) …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Working to find God’s peace …  ALWAYS … 

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

…  Trusting God is alway the first criteria for finding peace and God’s way in life. 

Reference Passage: … Isaiah 26:3 (NLT) …  USE THIS LINK …

… God, thru Isaiah, gives His prescription for finding God’s peace.

Reference Passage: …Matthew 11:28-30 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus invites all who are seeking after God’s peace to come to Him and yoke themselves (ourselves) to His strength. 

Reference Passage: … John 14:27 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus assures His disciples (and all of us) that after leaving them (us), He will give them (us) His Spirit to guide them (us) when they’re (we’re) troubled.. 

Reference Passage:… Philippians 4:4-9 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… Paul advises fellow Christians how to avoid worry and to find God’s peace when they (we) encounter trials and troubles..

My Devotional Journal: Today’s Our Daily Bread Author - /dave Branon  … AT THIS LINK     … related related that a friend had confided that the friend was having sleepless nights over the friend’s uncertainty about a difficult family problem.  And the ODB author recalled, having just studied taught in church about King David’s search for God’s peace in the midst of David’s son, Absalom, trying to take David’s throne.      

But, … just like David in Psalm 3, you and I can find God’s peace when we seek and trust our Lord, finding that peace in the truth of the Scriptures shared above.  Do you need more of God’s peace?  I do; … and hearing the linked song, I’m trusting in my God to give me HIS peace today; … are you with me?

My Thanksgiving: … Oh, King Jesus, thank You, … for giving me your peace and letting me sleep soundly, resting in You, Lord,  last night and again tonight.  

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I praise You, … again today, Lord. … for giving us Your guidance and peace as we go forth today,  … 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. 

June 29, 2025 … Caring for Others …

June 29, 2025 … Caring for Others    …  

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to hear music and lyrics with Nicole Nodeman singing… Legacy,  of how we Christians should desire to leave a legacy of love and grace for others to see Christ in and thru us.. 

Highlight Passage: … Proverbs 31:10, 12  … [NLT] … 

10 Who can find a virtuous and capable wife.  She is more precious than rubies.  …  12 She brings him good , not harm, all the days of here life.           

…  How valuable is a wife who cares for the needs of her husband and family?    

           

Highlight Passage (in context):… Proverbs 31:10-18  [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …  

… A Godly wife leaving a legacy of love and grace for her husband and family.  

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Reference Passage: … Proverbs 19:17  (NLT) …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Solomon shares Godly wisdom on helping others in our lives. 

Reference Passage: …Matthew 25:40 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

…  Jesus, in a parable, shows how God honors those who help others just as He, The Lord, would do.. 

Reference Passage: … John 13:34-35 (NLT) …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus calls on His Disciples to show His love and grace to those who need it.

Reference Passage: …Galatians 6:9-10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… Paul exhorts fellow Christians to never tire of doing good for others..  

Reference Passage: … Ephesians 4:31-32 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… Paul calls fellow Christians be kind to other just as He, thru Christ, has been kind to them (us). 

Reference Passage: … Philippians 2:3-5 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …

… Paul also exhorts fellow Christians to take on the attitude of Christ to always be in service to others in our lives.

My Devotional Journal: Today’s Our Daily Bread Author - Katara Patton  … AT THIS LINK          … related a story about how her mother, at a family reunion, honored her grandmother, who had left a legacy of rigorous and daily prayer and service to her family, which my mother reported lives on the the lives of their family.    

Today’s ODB entry, along with linked song and the Scriptures shared above, share that call, from God, to do all we can to live Godly lives, in service to those we love and those who need God’s love and grace.   So, today, as we have opportunity, let us all reach out and show Christlike love and grace to others, and especially to our brothers and sisters in the family of God.

My Thanksgiving: … Oh, King Jesus, thank You, … for giving me the opportunity to love others and show Your grace to others.

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I praise You, … again today, Lord. … for giving Your beloved family the opportunity to reach out in Your Name and help 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.

June 28, 2025 … Service Interrupted …

June 28, 2025 … Service Interrupted    …  

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to hear music and lyrics with Naomi Raine and Chandler Moore singing… Paul and Silas (At Midnight),  relating, in song, the story of Paul and Silas in jail in Philippi. 

Paul and Silas, imprisoned in Philippi 

Highlight Passage: … Acts 16:29-39  … [NLT] … 

29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”            

…  The jailer in Philippi learns how to be saved from Paul and Silas after an earthquake where God’s servants were jailed unjustly.   

           

Highlight Passage (in context)  … Acts 16:16-32  [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …  

… Luke relates the story of Paul and Silas, being interrupted in serving God by an imprisonment in Philippi and how the two servants were used by God to share the Gospel.  

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Reference Passage: … Psalms 23:1-6  (NLT) …  USE THIS LINK … 

… David sings of God being his Good Shepherd, being with him ALWAYS.

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

…  God’s wisdom, from Solomon, that trusting in God leads us to follow God’s ways and avoiding our own desires. 

Reference Passage: … Luke 9:23 (NLT) …  USE THIS LINK …

… Jesus calls His Disciples and followers to give up their own way and to set aside their personal circumstances to follow Christ.

Reference Passage: …Galatians 5:22-23 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… Paul shows the results of being fruitful in following God’s ways.  

Reference Passage: … Ephesians 4:1-2 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …

… Paul witnesses to fellow Christians that they (we) all are called by God to serve God by serving one another . ALWAYS …

Reference Passage: … Philippians 2:3-5 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …

… Paul also exhorts fellow Christians to take on the attitude of Christ to always be in service to others in our lives.

My Devotional Journal: Today’s Our Daily Bread Author - Matt Lucas  … AT THIS LINK        … related a story about  a man, Manuel, and his daughter, who were stopped at a red light on the way to church.  Being late, the interruption was frustrating for Manuel; but his daughter noticed a woman on the side of the road, trying to change the tire on her car.   The daughter immediately said  to her dad, “Daddy, you’re good at changing tires,” … “You should help her.”  And right then Manuel knew this was a divine appointment and stopped to help the woman, … even inviting her to join them at church.  

Today’s ODB entry, and especially the biblical story of Paul and Silas in the jail in Philippi (see photo), as well as the Scriptures I uncovered in my devotional time with God this morning, convinced me that I need to be more alert to see divine interruptions each day, as I am surrendered to follow Christ.  How about you?   Could’t we all do more to look for God’s call to serve Him along the way of life.

My Thanksgiving: … Oh, King Jesus, thank You, … for enabling me to see Your call to service in the interruptions of my walk in life.

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I praise You, … again today, Lord. … to show us Your call to serve You, even today, as we do all we can to follow You.    … 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.

June 27, 2025 … Watching for Foxes …

June 27, 2025 … Watching for Foxes   …  

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to hear music and lyrics with Natalie Grant singing… Your Great Name,  showing that Christians are protected by the great name of JESUS.  

Watching for the "little foxes" ....

Highlight Passage: … Song of Solomon 2:15  … [NLT] … 

15 Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are blossoming!           

…  Solomon poetically calls on God’s people to watch for and protect God’s vineyard against “the foxes,” who invade the lives of faithful followers of God. .  

           

Highlight Passage (in context): … Song of Solomon 2:10-15  [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …  

… Solomon charges the women of Jerusalem to watch out for the foxes which ruin the grapevines (i.e., the fruitfulness of God’s people)   

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Reference Passage: … Deuteronomy 31:6  (NLT) …  USE THIS LINK … 

…Moses, speking for God, charges God’s people to follow Joshua into the Promised Land with no fear because God would ALWAYS be with them, protecting them from their enemies.  

Reference Passage: …Psalms 46;1 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

…   GOD’S psalmists singing of God being the refuge and strength for His people.  

Reference Passage: … Proverbs 18:10 (NLT) …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Solomon provides Godly wisdom about God being the strong tower for those who run to HIM for protection. 

Reference Passage: … Isaiah 54:17 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… God, thru Isaiah, promises God’s people of His protection.  

Reference Passage: … Romans 8:28-31 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… Paul teaches truth to fellow Christians that, no matter what we face in life, it will be for the good of those who believe and follow the LORD.

Reference Passage: … 1Corinthians 10:13 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… Paul also exhorts fellow Christians to rely on the strength of our LORD when we’re tempted or under trials by God’s enemies.  

My Devotional Journal: Today’s Our Daily Bread Author - Brent Hackett  … AT THIS LINK        … used an illustration from the biblical poem of The Song of Songs …  as Solomon (see Highlight passage) called God’s people to prepare and watch for foxes  (see photo) who invade God’s vineyard to dig up and destroy the fruitful vines which are planted for the LORD’s glory. .  

Do you see the biblical picture, my fellow Christian readers?   And do you feel God’s call for us, in God’s garden, who are chosen to trust Him and to let His Spirit give us His vigilance and strength, by tending His “vineyard,” which is all that He has created for His glory … and for the good of His people.  So, … personally, … I’m asking myself what I can do - on an ongoing and daily basis - to be more vigilant and to weed out those things my life - those “little foxes” - which invade and consume my desire to be fruitful for God’s Kingdom?  What about you?!! 

My Thanksgiving:… Oh, King Jesus, thank You, … for calling me to help You, Lord, to tend to Your garden every day. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I praise You, … again today, Lord. … as we watch for those “little foxes,” which try to invade Your garden 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.