by dailyd | Oct 18, 2018 | Seed of Destiny
Topic: Understanding What It Means to Give One’s Life to Christ
Scripture: And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. Luke 9:23-24
Thought For The Day: A life outside Christ is a life full of crises; a Christ-less life is a crisis-full life.
In our churches today, many people give their lives to Jesus when a call is made to do so but take their lives back from God by the way they live. This is because they do not understand what it really means to give one’s life to Christ. The way they live outside the church contradicts their profession of Christianity. Hence, it is very important to know what it really means to give one’s life to Christ.
Now, what then does it mean to give your life to Christ?
1. Saying NO to Sin and All forms of Unrighteousness
To give your life to Christ is to say NO to sin and all forms of unrighteousness. It is to embrace the Godly life of holiness, righteousness and uprightness in conformity to the life of Jesus Christ.
2. Relinquishing the Control of your Life to God
This is coming to a point where you completely hand over the control of your life to God and you cannot claim to own yourself any longer.
3. Allowing God to have the Final Say
To give your life to Christ is to allow God to have the final say over your life; it is coming to a point where you can take no decision in life without God.
4. Ceasing to Live for Yourself but for God Alone
To give your life to God is to cease to live for yourself; you start living for God. It is coming to a point like Paul the Apostle who said, ‘For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.’ (Philippians 1:21).
Beloved, a life outside Christ is a life full of crises; a Christ-less life is a crisis-full life. But that shall not be your portion in Jesus’ Name.
Remember This: A life outside of Christ is a life full of crises; a Christ-less life is a crisis-full life.
Assignments:
1. Handover the totality of your life to God by making up your mind to give your life to Christ today (if you have not done that).
2. Decide to develop a quality spiritual life of prayer and study of the Word of God.
Prayer: Lord, I surrender the totality of my life to You. Give me the grace to be a Christian not by confession but by character, Lord, in Jesus’ Name.
FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: GIVE YOUR LIFE CHRIST
Quote: Disconnection from God is disconnection from good. Culled from 365 WISDOM CAPSULES by Dr Paul Enenche
Daily Reading: Jeremiah 31:27 to 32:44, 1 Timothy 3:1 to 16, Psalm 88:1 to 18, Proverbs 25:20 to 22
Amazing Fact: Chameleons change colour not to camouflage; they change colour according to their mood or health
Today In History: 18/10/1922, British Broadcasting Company (BBC) founded, later called British Broadcasting Corporation
Today’s devotional was written by Pastor Paul Enenche of the Dunamis International Gospel Centre (DIGC), headquartered at Abuja, Nigeria, with Pastor Paul and Becky Enenche, as the Senior Pastors. It is a power-packed arena where God’s Presence, Principles and Power are at work for the salvation, healing and restoration of human destinies and dignities
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Seeds of Destiny Daily Devotional 17 October 2018
by dailyd | Oct 18, 2018 | More
Topic: A Piercing Thorn
Read: Isaiah 53:1–6 | Bible in a Year: Isaiah 53–55; 2 Thessalonians 1
Scripture: But he was pierced for our transgressions . . . and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
Message: The thorn pricked my index finger, drawing blood. I hollered and then groaned, drawing back my hand instinctively. But I shouldn’t have been surprised: trying to prune a thorny bush without gardening gloves was a recipe for exactly what just happened.
The pain throbbing in my finger—and the blood flowing from it—demanded attention. And as I searched for a bandage, I found myself unexpectedly thinking about my Savior. After all, soldiers forced Jesus to don an entire crown of thorns (John 19:1–3). If one thorn hurt this much, I thought, how much agony would an entire crown of them inflict? And that’s just a small portion of the physical pain He suffered. A whip flogged His back. Nails penetrated His wrists and ankles.
But Jesus endured spiritual pain too. Verse 5 of Isaiah 53 tells us, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him.” The “peace” Isaiah talks about here is another way of talking about forgiveness. Jesus allowed Himself to be pierced—by nails, by a crown of thorns—to bring us spiritual peace with God. His sacrifice, His willingness to die on our behalf, paved the way to make a relationship with the Father possible. And He did it, Scripture tells us, for me, for you.
Prayer: Father, I can’t imagine the pain Your Son endured to wash away my sin. Thank You for sending Him for me, to be pierced for my sins that I might have a relationship with You.
Thought for the Day: Jesus allowed Himself to be pierced to bring us spiritual peace with God.
INSIGHT
Isaiah 53:1–6 is part of a section of the book known as the Servant Songs. There are four Servant Songs in Isaiah that describe the service, suffering, and triumph of the servant of the Lord—Jesus the Messiah. These songs are found in Isaiah 42:1–9, 49:1–13, 50:4–11, and 52:13–53:12.
This last servant song describes the suffering and triumph of the servant. Though He is pierced, crushed, punished, and wounded, it’s His suffering that brings us peace and healing (53:5). The ultimate purpose for this suffering is outlined in verse 10—His life is an offering for sin. The servant takes our place—suffering for us and bearing our sins. And by His suffering and death, we are given life and peace. But death is not the end for the servant: “After he has suffered, he will see the light of life” (v. 11). In His suffering and resurrection, Jesus reconciles humanity to God (see Matthew 8:17; Acts 8:30–35; Romans 10:15–17; 15:21).
How can you celebrate the life that Jesus died to give you?
For more on the book of Isaiah, see Old Testament Survey: Ecclesiastes–Isaiah at christianuniversity.org/OT224.
(J.R. Hudberg)
Our Daily Bread 18 October 2018 Devotional was written by Adam Holz (Our Daily Bread Ministries)
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Our Daily Bread Devotional 17 October 2018
by dailyd | Oct 18, 2018 | More
Topic: Consider The Consequences
Text: Judges 21:1-15 (KJV)
Key Verse: “Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife“ (Judges 21:1).
MESSAGE:
The need to pause and evaluate issues critically before taking decisions cannot be overemphasized. It has been said that today’s decision is tomorrow’s reality. Every decision we take will, by extension, have implications on the lives of many others, even generations yet unborn.
Israel, in her presumed zeal for God, twice took decisions in anger which they ended up regretting. Their rash decisions resulted in the destruction of lives which they could not restore. In fact, they had to also kill the men of Jabesh Gilead in their attempt to get wives for the Benjamites which still couldn’t solve the problem. It is important to note that God warns against anger or associating with an angry or furious man (Ephesians 4:31; Proverbs 22:24).
Decisions taken in anger or reacting angrily to issues is a reflection of the foolishness in man because “He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly…” (Proverbs 14:17). Rash decisions often result in regrets. It compounds man’s problem and aggravates error and disaster.
It is wrong for anyone to take another person’s life under the excuse of being zealous for God. There can be no element of divinity in any spurious swallowing up of humanity. Therefore, subsume your temper to the control of the Almighty. To avoid fatal errors and regrets, approach God in prayers before taking decisions. “Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established” (Proverbs 4:26).
Thought For The Day: Think before you act; don’t act before you think.
Bible Reading In One Year: John 6
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
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DCLM Daily Manna Devotional 17 October 2018
by dailyd | Oct 18, 2018 | More
Topic: From Tradition to Truth [18 October 2018]
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s. – Psalm 103:2-5
Is there actually a divine purpose behind the bad things that happen in your life? Could it be that the sicknesses and calamities you experience are somehow a part of God’s plan for you?
Before you can ever begin to experience the healing, delivering power of God, you’ve got to know the answer to those questions. You have to settle them once and for all. If you even suspect that God is the source of your misfortunes, you won’t be able to believe Him for deliverance from them. Your faith will be crippled because you’ll think that by escaping those things, you’ll be opposing His will.
In order to receive all the benefits God desires to give you, you must be absolutely sure that He is a good God. You must be certain that His will for you is health, not sickness; prosperity, not poverty; happiness, not sorrow—100 percent of the time! Psalms 103 alone is enough to prove that’s true. But if it’s not enough to convince you, there are many others too. One of the best known verses is Psalms 136:1 that says, “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
If religious traditions have robbed you of the goodness of God, if they’ve taught you He brings trouble into your life so He can teach you something, start today washing those traditions away with the truth. Get out your Bible and let God Himself tell you through His own Word that He is the God who heals you (Exodus 15:26). Dig in to the Scriptures and discover for yourself that He is a God of mercy (Psalms 86:5), lovingkindness (Jeremiah 9:24), and compassion (Psalms 145:8).
Put your doubts to rest and open your heart to receive the truth about your heavenly Father. It’s the only thing that can truly set you free.
Scripture Reading: Psalm 89:1-28
This message was written by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, the leader of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries (www.KCM.org) that specializes in teaching principles of bible faith – prayer, healing, salvation and other biblical topics.
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Kenneth & Gloria Copeland Devotional 17 October 2018
by dailyd | Oct 18, 2018 | More
Topic: Turn Back To God
Luke 22:32 “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”
Text: Luke 22:32
The concept of “conversion” is mentioned in the Holy Scriptures at least 14 times. The basic meaning of the term is a turning or returning to God. This implies a turning away from sin and a turning to God. Repentance and putting faith in God are corresponding synonyms to conversion.
The theological basis for conversion lies in the truth of the “atonement.”
Although man lapses into sin, the truth of the atonement remains. When men turn to God in repentance and faith, the effects of the atonement – reconciliation and forgiveness – avail.
The apostle Paul expresses the act of conversion in this way: “Turning to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Th. 1:9). Also, “to open their eyes (the Gentiles), and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Jesus) (Acts 26:18).
Jesus instructed Peter to get back into ministry after he repented of his denial. If Jesus had not given Peter this command, many people might have doubted that Peter should be in a position of leadership. Indeed, Peter himself must have doubted whether or not he was fit. After Jesus’ resurrection, the Lord again admonished Peter three times to serve Him by ministering to His sheep.
In the context of Luke 22, Peter’s faith was shaken and he denied the Lord but did not reject Him. Jesus’ admonition to Peter was that when he turned back again to Him (converted), he was to strengthen the brethren.
This message was written by The Association of Related Ministries International (ARMI) is an extension of Andrew Wommack Ministries (AWM). ARMI is a unique partnership committed to providing resources to help like-minded ministers succeed in a spirit of excellence and to draw from the experience and expertise of both the AWM and Charis Bible College staff. (www.awmi.net).
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Kenneth & Gloria Copeland Devotional 17 October 2018
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