June 14, 2021 … We Need His Help …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 165 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics by Don Moen singing … God Is The Strength of My Heart … poignantly rely on God as our help in times of trouble or turmoil. 

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Highlight Passage:  Psalm 121:1-2 [ESV] …  

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?  2 My help comes from the Lord,  who made heaven and earth.

… God’s people singing of relying on God’s strength for their help.      

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Highlight Passage [Context]: … Psalm 121 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God’s people sing that their help comes from the Lord. 

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Reference Passage: … Proverbs 3:5-6  [ESV] … 

5  Trust in the Lord with ALL YOUR HEART and lean not on your own understanding.    6  In ALL YOUR WAYS acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.  

… God, thru Solomon, calls on us, as His people, to trust Him always to lead us on the right path in life. 

Reference Passage: … Isaiah 41:10, 13 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God’s promise, thru Isaiah, to HIs people that He would always be there to lift us up when we need His strength. 

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

…  God’s promise, thru Jesus’ Himself, that He came to give us His strength to yoke us to His power when we’re feeling over-burdened. 

Reference Passage: … Ephesians 3:20-21 [ESV] … 

20 Now  to Him Who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.  Amen. 

… Paul’s acknowledgement in prayer that our God can do FAR MORE with His power to help or lift us up than we could ever imagine.  

 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Anne Cetas, AT THIS LINK  … tells of how a couple’s doctor, helping to deliver a baby which was a surprise pregnancy for the Christian couple and the doctor fostering the confidence of the couple by praying to God for His strength and help during an emergency C-section.   

When we’re overwhelmed or highly stressed by life, it really helps, for us believers, to know and believe in the truth of God’s promises to be there for us (see Scriptures above) … that He will be our strength and our help.  So, … I pray as my born-again believers join me to take in the linked song by Don Moen, that we all stop today and pray for God’s help as we take on the challenges of life today.  

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … giving me Your strength, Lord, when I’m feeling weak - as I am today.

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to rely on God’s strength to help us when we feel weakened to face the 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.

June 13, 2021 … Faith Like a Child …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 164 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song by a worship duo singing … A Childlike Faith … poignantly singing of we must have a childlike faith to be true children of God.  

Children of God ... 

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Highlight Passage:  Mark 10:14 [ESV] …  

14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them [His disciples], “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. … “  

… Jesus rebukes any who would prevent His children coming to Him in faith, especially His children.          

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Highlight Passage [Context]: … Mark 10:13-16 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus’ teaching that we must have faith like a child to come to Him and enter His kingdom.

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Reference Passage: … Proverbs 22:6  [ESV] … 

6  Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

… We, especially parents, are to do all we can to show our children the Lord’s way in life so that they will know and follow Him as His children. 

Reference Passage: … Matthew 19:13-15 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Matthew’s account of Jesus and the little children being brought to Him.

Reference Passage: … John 1:12 [ESV] … 

12  But to all who did receive Hm, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,  

… God receives all who believe in Jesus as Lord/Savior as His children.  

Reference Passage: … 1John 3:1 [ESV] … 

1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that <b>we should be called children of God; and so we are.  

… God sees born-again believers as His children.  

 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, John Blasé, AT THIS LINK  … tells of the author’s mother who diligently taught little children for 55 years of her life and fought to insure that her church supported ministry to help introduce children to the Lord at a young age. 

And that was the attitude and calling of Jesus as well, … wasn’t it?   Our Lord saw the little ones as HIS children; and rebuked those who might prevent any from coming to Him (see highlight passage and Matt. 19:13-15).  In truth, Jesus told His followers that any of them [and that’s us too!) must have faith like a little child in Him as their (our) Lord and Savior to enter the kingdom of God as God’s children (see Scriptures above).   I pray we do.  

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for accepting me as Your child. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to come to our Lord with the faith of a little child.   … 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 12, 2021 … Called By Name …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 163 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from the Maranatha Singers singing … He Knows My Name … poignantly singing of how our God knows everything about us, including our name, … the one we have now and the one we’ll have in heaven. 

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Highlight Passage:  Isaiah 43:1 [ESV] …  

1 But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 

… God’s promise of redemption even tho His people had abandoned Him.           

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Highlight Passage [Context]: … Isiah 43:1-7 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God’s promise, thru Isaiah, that God knows His people by name and He promises to be with them FOREVER. 

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Reference Passage: … Psalm  139:1-7 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK ... 

… King David sings of God’s presence with His chosen ones … EVERYWHERE and ALWAYS.  There’s no where we can go to escape His all-seeing and all-knowing presence. 

Reference Passage: … Matthew 28:20b [ESV] … 

20 … And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

… Jesus’ promise to be with His true disciples ALWAYS. 

Reference Passage: … John 10::14-15 [ESV] … 

14 I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own and my own know Me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

… Jesus declares that, as our Good Shepherd, He knows His sheep and was willing to die for us. 

Reference Passage: … Romans 8:28, 38-39 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK ... 

… Paul declares and teaches the truth that EVERYTHING in our lives is overseen by our God and that NOTHING can separate His born-again disciples from His love. 

 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Patricia Raybon, AT THIS LINK   … tells of she and her husband coming back to a church they had left earlier and feeling welcomed with love; and quoting Kate DiCamillo, an author who wrote, … “Reader, nothing is sweeter in this sad world than the sound of someone you love calling your name.”

That’s true, isn’t it?  And to know - and believe - all the truth of the Scriptures above.  And isn’t it wonderful, my dear fellow Christian, to KNOW … beyond doubt … that God knows EVERYTHING about us … the good, the bad, and the ugly; … and He still loves us and promises never to leave us or forsake us.  

What a “KNOW IT ALL” our God is; and don’tcha just love it!!! 

So, take in the linked song and revel today in the realization that our God not only knows our names; but He’s calling our names to join Him in heaven.  … Oh, HALLELUJAH !!! 

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for being our know-it-all God. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to praise our Lord for calling us to Himself by name.  … 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 11, 2021 … Unseen - All-Caring God …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 162 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Jaron and Katherine Kamin singing … Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise … poignantly singing of how we, as disciples of Christ, have access to and all-knowing, all-caring, .. yet, unseen God. 

 

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Highlight Passage:  1Peter 1:8-9 [ESV] …  

8 Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 

… Peter writes of the reality of salvation coming from our faith in an unseen, yet all-caring God, our Lord and Savior, King Jesus.           

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Highlight Passage [Context]: … 1Peter 1:3-9 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God, thru Peter, shows that our faith in an unseen God produces salvation.  

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Reference Passage: … John 1:18 [ESV] … 

18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, Who is at the Father's side, He  [Jesus] has made Him [the Father] known. </i> 

… John writes of Jesus allowing us to know and have faith in our unseen God, the Father, thru our faith in God, the Son. 

Reference Passage: … Hebrews 11:1, 6 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK ... 

… God shows the reality of having faith in an unseen and yet, … all caring … God.  

Reference Passage: … 1Peter 5:6-7 [ESV] … 

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, 7 <b>casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. 

… Peter shows that we can humbly bring our cares to an unseen, yet all-caring God.

Reference Passage</u>: … 1John 4:12 [ESV] … 

18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, Who is at the Father's side, He has made Him known.  

… John writes truth about our Lord, Jesus, making our unseen God known to us thru His caring love for us.  

 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Mart DeHaan, AT THIS LINK  … writes of an elderly lady friend with dementia, who in a moment of lucidity wrote poignantly of looking out of her window at a lake in Michigan and writing in a notepad so clearly about her faith in God.  Please use the link above to read what she wrote.   

And when even a demented soul can have faith in an unseen God, … the God sung about in the linked song, … we who have our full mental faculties ought to be able to find the brain power to have faith and follow our unseen, yet all-knowing and all-caring God (see the scriptures above).  Because if we don’t, we’re lost in this very visible, but uncaring world. 

So, I pray today that all us, who claim to be followers of Christ, can - AND WILL - bolster our faith in our all-knowing and all-seeing God, by relying on our faith in the One Who made God, the Father, known to us; and that is our faith in His Son, Jesus, Who died on a cross so that we could, thru our faith in Him, come to know the unseen, but all-caring Father. 

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for giving me the faith in Your Father thru my faith in You, His Son.      

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to humbly bring all our cares to You, Lord, even if we can’t see You, … yet knowing that You hear us and care for all of our needs. .  … 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 10, 2021 … Whom Do They See In Me? …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 161 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Joy Williams singing … Do They See Jesus In Me … poignantly singing of how we, as disciples of Christ, should seek to have others see us as God sees us, … with them seeing Jesus in the way we live. 

Whom do I see in my mirror? 

 

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Highlight Passage:  Ezekiel 32:2 [ESV] …  

2 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: … “You consider yourself a lion of the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you burst forth in your rivers, rouble the waters with your feet and foul their rivers.   

… Ezekiel charged with showing the king of Egypt what God sees ahead for him.           

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Ephesians 4:11-16 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God, thru Ezekiel, the Prophet, shows the Pharaoh what God sees in him.    

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Reference Passage: … 1Samuel 16:7 [ESV] … 

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”   

… God shows that He does not look at outward appearance .. but rather at our hearts. 

Reference Passage: … 2Corinthians 5:17 [ESV] … 

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 

… Being born-again, in Christ, we are being made new in Him. 

Reference Passage: … 1Peter 2:9 [ESV] … 

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

… Peter declares the truth that we have been called out of the darkness of self and the world into His light of life. 

Reference Passage: … 1John 3:1 [ESV] … 

1  See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 

… Often, …  we look into a mirror as born-again Christians <b>(see photo)</b>, and we don’t see our selves as God sees us.  He sees us covered in the Christ’s robes of righteousness, not in our rags of sin. 

 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Mike Wittmer, AT THIS LINK   … relates a story about how he saw himself in the image on a Zoom call and was distracted by what he felt he looked like to others.    

And the ODB entry today points to the question of how - or rather WHOM - we see when we look into a mirror or how we imagine others see us as we live out our lives.  Often, I’m afraid we don’t see ourselves as God see us, do we?  

But we need to come out of ourselves and do our best to realize that - according to God’s truth (see Scriptures above) - God sees us - who are truly born-again Christians, covered in the robes placed upon us by our Lord, Who has covered our rags of sin with His robes of righteousness.

So, I’m praying today that we ask what Joy Williams asks in the linked song; and then we do all we can to go out and let others see the light of Christ shining thru us into the darkness of this world. 

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for letting me wear Your robes so that others see You in me rather than my rags of sin.      

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to do all we can to put on Your robes of righteousness, Lord, and let other see You in the way we live 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 9, 2021 … Growing In Christlikeness …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 160 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Zach Williams singing … Less Like Me … powerfully singing of how we, as disciples of Christ, should grow and mature to become more like Jesus and less like our natural selves. 

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Highlight Passage:  Ephesians 4:13 [ESV] …  

13 … until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, …  

… God gifts teachers/leaders in His body to help fellow Christians to mature to become more like Christ.           

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Ephesians 4:11-16 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… The Apostle Paul shows that God anoints leaders in His Church to equip the saints to mature in the faith and become more like Christ.  

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Reference Passage: … Proverbs 9:9 [ESV] … 

13 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

… Solomon on how we must help our fellow believers to grow in Godly wisdom.  

Reference Passage: … 1Corinthians 13:11, 14:20 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Paul’s exhortation to believers that we must do all we can to mature in our walk with Christ. 

Reference Passage: … Hebrews 5:11-14 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God Spirit, to believers, charges us to learn from mature teachers how to grow in Christlikeness. 

Reference Passage: … James 1:22-25 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God, thru James, commands Christians to become doers of God’s word as a measure of maturity in Christlikeness.  

 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Kirsten Holmberg, AT THIS LINK   … relates the results of a survey asking participants what behaviors helped identify individuals when they matured into adulthood with some interesting findings revealed. Use the link above to review some of those findings.     

And yes, … it is important that we can discern what reveals maturity to independence and adulthood in our development as individuals.  However, as Christians I think it’s more important to do all we can to mature in our faith to become more like Christ.  And that’s what Zach Williams sings about in the linked song and the Scriptures above point us toward. 

My fellow Christian, are we doing all we can to grow in Christlikeness (see photo)?  Personally I’ve come a long way from those early days - at age 40 - when I was an “infant” Christian.  And in those days I went from an atheist in 1983 when I was born-again to become  an Elder and ordained Minister in my church in 1996.  And that’s growth in Christ because I was willing to be discipled and taught by more mature, anointed, leaders in my church who were willing to Shepherd my growth in Christ. 

I’m praying that all reading here with me are doing all you (we) can to mature and become more like Christ; … then to do all we can to help lesser mature disciples become more Christlike in their discernment and choices in their walk in the faith. 

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for helping me grow to become more like You, Lord.      

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to do all we can today and tomorrow to grow in our relationship and walk with You, Lord.  … 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 8, 2021 … God - Our Rescuer …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 159 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Don Moen singing … God Will Make A Way … poignantly singing of how our God is our rescuer, Who will make a way for us, even in the worst of our circumstances. 

Our God is our Rescuer ... 

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Highlight Passage:  Exodus 3:8 [ESV] …  

8 … and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey,  … 

… God tells Moses of His plan to rescue His people from the Egyptians, and to lead His people to His promised land.            

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …  Exodus 3:7-10 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God hears the oppression of His people in Egypt and sends Moses to be His rescuer. 

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Reference Passage: … Psalm 91:1-3 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …  

… God is our trustworthy/faithful refuge.  

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

… God, thru Solomon, commands us to trust in Him - NO MATTER WHAT! 

Reference Passage: … Romans 8:28 [ESV] …  

28 And we know that for those who love God ALL THINGS work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose

… No matter what comes our way; … it’s part of God’s plan. 

Reference Passage: … 1Corinthians 10:13 [ESV] …  

13 No temptation [also translated “trial, trouble, turmoil, or tribulation”] 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. </i> 

… God is ALWAY there to show us the way as our Rescuer. 

Reference Passage: … 1Peter 5:6-7 [ESV] …  

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, 7 casting ALL your anxieties on him, because He cares for you.   

… No matter what our concerns/anxieties, we are to humbly bring them to God.  

 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Winn Collier, AT THIS LINK  … relates a true story of a miraculous rescue where a 911 call led to a police officer pulling an unconscious man from a car, which was on a railway, literally seconds before an oncoming train hit the car.   

The story was to illustrate that our God is even a greater RESCUER, supported by the biblical account (see highlight passage) of God sending Moses to rescue His people in Egypt; and by the remaining scriptures above which document God’s care and grace to be there for us no matter what we’re going through.  

And I’m praying for all of us today … that we humbly trust our WAY-MAKER God, as Don Moen sings about Him in the linked song.  And that we’re willing to go to King Jesus, our RESCUER, in ALL our trials [see photo], …. knowing that He is ALWAYS there to be our refuge.  Do you trust Him today, dear one?  

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for being my Fortress and my Rescuer today.     

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to trust You, Lord, for Your promise to be our Rescuer 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.