Latest / Bible Chat Devotional / January 18 - Guardrails for the Heart

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January 18 - Guardrails for the Heart · Bible Chat Devotional

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  Welcome to Bible Chat, where we have devotional conversations
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  rooted in Scripture and relevant for today, January 18th.
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  Guardrails for the heart. Have you ever watched a car
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  slowly drift out of its lane because the driver was
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  distracted? Nothing dramatic at first, just
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  a slight swerve, but if it keeps going unchecked, it can lead to
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  a crash. That's a picture of what can
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  happen in our hearts. We don't usually wake up one day
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  and decide to walk away from God.
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  It happens little by little when distractions pile up, when
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  compromise feels easier, and when we stop paying attention to
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  the direction we're headed. Proverbs chapter 4, verse 27
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  gives us a clear and loving warning.
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  Do not swerve to the right or to the left.
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  Turn your foot away from evil. God isn't trying to restrict
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  you. He's protecting you like
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  guardrails on a dangerous Rd. His wisdom keeps you from
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  drifting into places that can cost you peace, clarity, and
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  closeness with Him. Staying steady doesn't mean life
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  is boring, It means your heart is guarded.
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  But Jesus takes this even deeper.
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  In Matthew chapter 15, He says this people honors me with their
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  lips, but their heart is far from me.
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  Those words hit hard because they remind us that it's
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  possible to look spiritual on the outside while being distant
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  on the inside. You can say the right things,
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  sing the songs, post the verses, and still have a heart that's
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  slowly drifting away. God isn't impressed by
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  appearances. He wants closeness.
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  He wants honesty. He wants your heart, not just
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  your habits. Psalm 8 brings an unexpected
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  encouragement into this conversation.
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  Verse 2 says out of the mouth of babies and infants.
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  You have established strength because of your foes to steal
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  the enemy and the avenger. God uses voices the world
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  overlooks to display His strength.
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  That means your words matter. Your praise matters, your
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  obedience matters. No matter how small or unnoticed
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  it feels when your heart is surrendered, God can use even
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  quiet faith to push back darkness.
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  Guarding your heart means checking your direction
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  regularly. It means asking where am I
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  drifting? What's pulling at my attention?
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  What's shaping my desires? God's guardrails aren't there to
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  trap you. They're there to keep you steady
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  when the road gets rough and the noise gets loud.
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  You don't have to be perfect to walk closely with God.
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  You just have to be honest and willing.
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  When your heart stays surrendered, your steps stay
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  steady. And when your heart stays close
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  to Him, your life reflects Him more than you realize.
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  Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I don't want to
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  just say the right things. I want my heart to be close to
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  You. Help me stay on the path You've
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  set before me and keep me from drifting away.
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  Guard my heart from distractions and compromise and teach me to
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  use my words to honor you. Strengthen me when I feel pulled
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  in different directions and remind me that a surrendered
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  heart is what you desire most in Jesus name, Amen.
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  What if the ache you feel for more is actually God calling you
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  deeper? Thirst for God is a powerful
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  Seven Book prayer Scripts series inspired by Psalm 63, created
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  for believers who refuse to live on spiritual leftovers.
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  This is a journey from longing to encounter, from dryness to
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  delight. Seek teaches you how to pursue
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  God with passion and intentionality.
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  Savor trains your heart to recognize and enjoy His presence
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  in every season. See opens your spiritual eyes to
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  God's power, glory, and beauty at work in your life.
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  Satisfy leads your soul into fullness, strength, and deep
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  contentment in Him alone. Sing ignites joy, gratitude, and
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  worship that rises naturally from intimacy with God.
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  Stay anchors your heart in steadfast devotion when
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  distractions try to pull you away, and Stand equips you to
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  remain firm in God's justice, protection, and victory.
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  With over 210 prophetic Scripture anchored prayers, this
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  series helps you cultivate daily communion, personal revival, and
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  a lifestyle of holy pursuit. If you're spiritually hungry,
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  weary, or simply longing for more of God, this is your
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  invitation to drink deeply. Order Thirst for God on Amazon
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  today or visit prayerscripts.org and begin your journey into
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  deeper intimacy with the God who satisfies.
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  Now I invite you to spend time with God in today's three-year
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  Bible reading plan. Proverbs chapter 4, verses 24 to
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  27 World English Bible Put away from yourself a perverse mouth.
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  Put corrupt lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight
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  ahead. Fix your gaze directly before
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  you. Make the path of your feet
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  level. Let all of your ways be
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  established. Don't turn to the right hand nor
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  to the left. Remove your foot from evil.
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  Psalm Chapter 8 World English Bible for the chief musician on
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  an instrument of Gath, A Psalm by David.
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  Yahweh our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.
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  You have set your glory above the heavens from the lips of
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  babes and infants. You have established strength
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  because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy
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  and the avenger. When I consider your heavens,
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  the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you
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  have ordained, what is man that you think of Him?
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  What is the Son of Man that you care for Him?
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  For You have made him a little lower than the angels and
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  crowned him with glory and honor.
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  You make Him ruler over the works of your hands.
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  You have put all things under His feet, all sheep and cattle,
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  yes, and the animals of the field, the birds of the sky, the
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  fish of the sea, and whatever passes through the paths of the
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  Seas. Yahweh our Lord, how majestic is
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  your name in all the earth. Matthew chapter 15 World English
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  Bible. Then Pharisees and scribes came
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  to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, Why do your disciples disobey
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  the tradition of the elders? For they don't wash their hands
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  when they eat bread. He answered them.
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  Why do you also disobey the commandment of God?
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  Because of your tradition. For God commanded honor your
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  father and your mother, and he who speaks evil of father or
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  mother, let him be put to death. But you say, whoever may tell
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  his father or his mother, whatever help you might
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  otherwise have gotten from me, is a gift devoted to God.
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  He shall not honor his father or mother.
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  You have made the commandment of God void because of your
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  tradition, you hypocrites. Well did Isaiah prophecy of you
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  saying, These people draw near to me with their mouth and honor
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  me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and they
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  worship me in vain. Teaching as doctrine rules made
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  by men, He summoned the multitude and said to them, Hear
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  and understand. That which enters into the mouth
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  doesn't defile the man, but that which proceeds out of the mouth,
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  This defiles the man. Then the disciples came and said
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  to him, Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when
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  they heard this saying? But he answered, Every plant
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  which my heavenly Father didn't plant will be uprooted.
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  Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the
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  blind. If the blind guide the blind,
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  both will fall into a pit. Peter answered him, Explain the
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  parable to us. So Jesus said, Do you also still
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  not understand? Don't you understand that
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  whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly and then
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  out of the body, but the things which proceed out of the mouth
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  come out of the heart and they defile the man?
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  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
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  sexual sins, thefts, false testimony and blasphemies.
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  These are the things which defile the man.
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  But to eat with unwashed hands doesn't defile the man.
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  Jesus went out from there and withdrew into the region of
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  Tyre. And Sidon, behold, A Canaanite
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  woman came out from those borders and cried, saying, Have
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  mercy on me, Lord, you son of David, my daughter is severely
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  possessed by a demon. But he answered her not a word.
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  His disciples came and begged Him, saying, Send her away, for
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  she cries after us. But he answered, I wasn't sent
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  to anyone but the lost sheep of the House of Israel.
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  But she came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
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  But he answered, It is not appropriate to take the
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  children's bread and throw it to the dogs.
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  But she said, Yes, Lord. But even the dogs eat the crumbs
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  which fall from their master's table.
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  Then Jesus answered her, Woman, great is your faith, be it done
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  to you even as you desire. And her daughter was healed from
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  that hour. Jesus departed from there and
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  came near to the Sea of Galilee, and he went up on the mountain
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  and sat there. Great multitudes came to him,
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  having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many
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  others, and they put them down at his feet.
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  He healed them so that the multitude wondered when they saw
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  the mute speaking. The injured healed, the lame
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  walking and the blind seeing, and they glorified the God of
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  Israel. Jesus summoned his disciples and
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  said, I have compassion on the multitude because they have
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  continued with me now three days and have nothing to eat.
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  I don't want to send them away fasting or they might faint on
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  the way. The disciples said to him, where
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  can we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so
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  great a multitude? Jesus said to them, how many
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  loaves do you have? They said seven and a few small
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  fish. He commanded the multitude to
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  sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves and the
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  fish. He gave thanks and broke them
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  and gave to the disciples and the disciples to the multitudes.
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  They all ate and were filled. They took up 7 baskets full of
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  the broken pieces that were leftover.
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  Those who ate were 4000 men in addition to women and children.
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  Then he sent away the multitudes, got into the boat
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  and came into the borders of Magdala.
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  Thanks for joining us on Bible Chat, where Scripture meets
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  everyday life. If today's devotional encouraged
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  you, share it with a friend and be sure to follow the podcast so
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  you won't miss the next conversation.
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  Until next time, stay rooted in truth, anchored in hope, and
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  walking daily with Jesus.