by dailyd | Oct 2, 2018 | More
TOPIC: RUN TO GOD
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9
It’s wonderful to know you’ve been set free from the law of sin and death. It’s glorious to know you never again have to submit to the slavery of sin. But what do you do when, in spite of those wonderful, glorious truths, you still miss the mark? What do you do when you stumble and fall into sin?
Run to your Father and repent!
That sounds simple. But oddly enough we often do just the opposite. Instead of running to God, we let fear and guilt drive us further and further from Him. We start thinking things like, Well, I’ve missed it now. I might as well forget the rest of it and live like the devil.
Don’t make that mistake. Don’t let Satan talk you into sinning in one area of your life just because you missed it in another. When you get off track with God, just confess it and get right back on.
“But, Brother Copeland, I feel so guilty when I tell God what I’ve done that it’s hard for me to make myself do it.”
I know. I used to feel that way too. Then, one day, God said to me, Kenneth, when you confessed that sin wasn’t when I found out about it. I knew about it all the time! When you confessed it is when you got rid of it, when you were cleansed of its effects in your life.
When you make a mistake, when you miss the mark, remember, you have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous (1 John 2:1). Run to Him! He knows what you are going through. You don’t need to be afraid. He didn’t tear you apart for the sins you committed before you made Him Lord of your life, did He? Then how much more merciful and loving do you think He’ll be now that you’re His own? Now that you’re reaching out for Him and have a heart for Him?
Don’t run from God. Run to Him. Receive His forgiveness. Receive His cleansing. No matter how badly you’ve sinned, He’s eager to forgive and to cleanse you of all unrighteousness.
Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 11:1-5, 12:1-13
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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by dailyd | Oct 2, 2018 | More
TOPIC: GOD’S BRAND
Read: Zechariah 3:1–7, Bible in a Year: Isaiah 14–16; Ephesians 5:1–16
I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you. Zechariah 3:4
Scooping up the smallest children, a frantic maid raced out of the flaming house. As she ran, she called loudly to five-year-old Jacky.
But Jacky didn’t follow. Outside, a bystander reacted quickly, standing on the shoulders of a friend. Reaching into the upstairs window, he pulled Jacky to safety—just before the roof caved in. Little Jacky, said his mother Susanna, was “a brand [stick] plucked from the burning.” You might know that “brand” as the great traveling minister John Wesley (1703–1791).
Susanna Wesley was quoting Zechariah, a prophet who provides valuable insight into God’s character. Relating a vision he had, the prophet takes us into a courtroom scene where Satan is standing next to Joshua the high priest (3:1). Satan accuses Joshua, but the Lord rebukes the devil and says, “Is this not a brand [burning stick] plucked from the fire?” (v. 2 nkjv). The Lord tells Joshua, “I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you” (v. 4).
Then the Lord gave Joshua this challenge—and an opportunity: “If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house” (v. 7).
What a picture of the gift we receive from God through our faith in Jesus! He snatches us from the fire, cleans us up, and works in us as we follow His Spirit’s leading. You might call us God’s brands plucked from the fire.
Prayer: Father, we give You our thanks for rescuing us and making us right with You. We humbly ask for Your Spirit’s guidance as we serve You today.
God rescues us because He loves us; then He equips us to share His love with others.
This message was written By Tim Gustafson [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]
Our Daily Bread 1 October 2018 Devotional – For Our Friends
by dailyd | Oct 2, 2018 | More
TOPIC: A DAILY PROCESS
He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. — Philippians 1:6
Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion. It is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ. When you start out, you start out as a baby. You must be fed on the simple things of the Bible, and you learn to walk in your Christian life gradually. At first you will fall down and make many mistakes, but you are to continue growing. However, there are many people who have stopped growing. They remain spiritual babes all their lives. I am afraid that this experience is all too common today. Perhaps it is yours.
Do you remember the day when you gave your heart and life to Christ? You were sure of victory. How easy it seemed to be more than conqueror through Christ who loved you. Thousands of Christians have struggles with themselves. The great need in Christendom today is for Christians to learn the secret of daily victory over sin.
Prayer for the day: Father, I fall so many times but how lovingly You give me Your strength to endure.
Written by Billy Graham, Founder of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association(BGEA). BGEA exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ by every effective means and to equip the church and others to do the same.
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Topic: God Says, “You Can Trust Me”
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present outcome, that many people would be kept alive [as they are this day]. — Genesis 50:20 (AMP)
God sometimes speaks by giving us peace deep inside our hearts. You may face situations in which everyone around you is telling you to trust God and be at peace, but the “how to” evades you.
Fears are screaming at you, unnerving you, and threatening you. Friends are saying, “Everything will be all right,” but you find that hard to believe until God Himself speaks deep in your heart and says, “You can trust Me; I will take care of this. Everything really is going to be all right.”
In 1989, I went to the doctor for a regular checkup. He discovered a fast-growing type of cancer, and recommended surgery immediately.
As a result of this news, I struggled with tremendous fear. I had trouble sleeping, and there were times when fear hit me so hard I felt I was going to fall down. No matter how many of my family members or friends reassured me, I still battled great fear until very early one morning, about 3:00 a.m., God spoke deep inside my heart and said, “Joyce, you can trust Me.”
After that, I did not experience any sickening fear again. I was apprehensive as I waited for results on tests, but I was not terrified. I knew I was in God’s hands and whatever happened, He would take care of me.
As it turned out, I did not need further treatment. I ended up thankful instead of fearful—and that’s what can happen in any situation when we learn to hear God’s voice.
Prayer Starter: Father, you see everything i’m going through today. Help me to sense your peace deep inside my heart. Help me to trust that you will always take care of me and never let me down. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
From Joyce Meyer’s Ministries.
Our Daily Bread 1 October 2018 Devotional – For Our Friends
by dailyd | Oct 1, 2018 | Open Heavens
Topic: Watch your Nutrition
Memorise: “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”– Colossians 2:8
Read: 2 Peter 2:1-3 (KJV)
1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
Bible in One Year: Isaiah 24-27, Mark 15:33-16:8
MESSAGE:
As Christians living in these end times, we have to be very careful of the source and nature of what we allow into our minds. In today’s Bible reading, the Holy Spirit warns us to be wary of false prophets that will arise from among the people, secretly building up destructive heresies with the aim of taking people’s focus away from Christ. Many of the sermons preached in today’s church are focused on prosperity, faith, grace, deliverance and so on. I have no problem with these topics; they are essential parts of the Good News. However, many preachers discuss them to such extent that the resultant effect is a bunch of malnourished souls in the church today. These preachers are out to satisfy their own motives, and so they twist scriptures to fit their own message to look good in the sight of people and to get gifts from them. The Holy Spirit spoke about such preachers in Romans 16:18, saying:
“For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”
As a Heaven bound child of God, your spiritual nutrition is of utmost importance. If you are not well nourished spiritually in your local assembly, or you notice that your spiritual growth is stunted, then it is time for you to leave that assembly and prayerfully look for another place where your spiritual needs will be met. You must avoid churches where the lifestyle of Christ is not preached. Steer clear of churches where the death and resurrection of Jesus are never preached. Shun sermons that encourage tribalism, and be careful of churches that glorify any individual or individuals other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The early apostles preached nothing but Jesus Christ. Paul himself said in 1 Corinthians 2:2:
“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”
Run away from preachers whose sermons leave you comfortable in your sins. Holy living must be emphasized in whatever church you prayerfully decide to join, and the Bible must be upheld as the foundation of the church’s doctrines. The Holy Spirit must be the one who leads and that God is present there. If you are presently under the influence of a destructive preacher, I pray for you today that the Lord will redeem you and connect you with a Spirit-led preacher in Jesus’ Name.
Action Point:
Take a look at your present church. If spiritual growth has not increased significantly since you joined them, prayerfully look for another church where your spiritual needs will be met.
Hymn 15: Nearer My God To Thee
1. Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!
2. Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness comes over me, my rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!
3. There let me see the sight, an open Heaven;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy given;
Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!
4. Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;
So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!
Open Heavens 1 October 2018 Monday Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC. Open Heavens 1 October 2018 Monday Daily Devotional.
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