Read: 2 Corinthians 4:7–18, Bible in a Year: Isaiah 65–66; 1 Timothy 2
We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7
As a young mother, I was determined to document my daughter’s first year of life. Each month, I took photos of her to illustrate how she had changed and grown. In one of my favorite pictures, she is gleefully sitting in the belly of a hollowed-out pumpkin I purchased from a local farmer. There she sat, the delight of my heart, contained in an overgrown squash. The pumpkin withered in the ensuing weeks, but my daughter continued to grow and thrive.
The way Paul describes knowing the truth of who Jesus is reminds me of that photo. He likens the knowledge of Jesus in our heart to a treasure stored in a clay pot. Remembering what Jesus did for us gives us the courage and strength to persevere through struggles in spite of being “hard pressed on every side” (2 Corinthians 4:8). Because of God’s power in our lives, when we are “struck down, but not destroyed,” we reveal the life of Jesus (v. 9).
Like the pumpkin that withered, we may feel the wear and tear of our trials. But the joy of Jesus in us can continue to grow in spite of those challenges. Our knowledge of Him—His power at work in our lives—is the treasure stored in our frail clay bodies. We can flourish in the face of hardship because of His power at work within us.
Prayer: Dear Father, thank You for putting Your truth into my heart and life. Help me to bear up under the challenges I face with Your power. May others see Your work in my life and come to know You too.
God’s power is at work within us.
INSIGHT:
As with Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the epistle of James encourages those who are facing trials. “Consider it pure joy . . . whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete” (James 1:2–4). Those who persevere will receive strength for today and “the crown of life” (v. 12)—eternal life—tomorrow.
How have you experienced the joy of Christ in the midst of trials?
Alyson Kieda
This message was written By Kirsten Holmberg [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]
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Key Verse: “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left“ (Isaiah 30:21).
MESSAGE:
A man arrested for hard drug peddling was in his cell in Canada where he found a copy of the New Testament Bible. As he opened it to read for lack of anything else to do, his eyes fell upon Matthew 11:28, where Jesus said – “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”. As he read it again and again, tears of repentance filled his eyes. He prayed to God for mercy and forgiveness. To his greatest surprise, an unspeakable kind of joy filled his erstwhile sorrowful heart. He knew God had forgiven and saved him.
It is a paradox of sort that while God’s good intention and ability seek to safeguard and help His people, they seek alliance with foreign powers that could really not help them against the enemy. The Old Testament is a chronicle of Israel’s repeated failure to seek lasting help from God in trying times.
Today, God continues to call on all humans to return to Him as the only One who has the solution to the myriads of problems confronting them. Advancement in science and technology, as good as it is, has not provided reasonable solutions to all kinds of problems – wars, diseases, natural disasters, political instability and hunger that have plagued mankind since the fall of Adam. But if people will return to God and walk in His commandments, then the peace that has eluded them will return to them. “For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; in returning and in rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).
Thought For The Day: The God of peace is the solution to man’s troubles and restlessness.
Bible Reading In One Year: Matthew 18
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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Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied. – Acts 9:31
There are times when life on this earth is hard and uncomfortable…and even downright painful. When those times come, you deeply need the comfort that only the Holy Spirit can bring.
How do you receive that kind of comfort?
By doing just what the believers in Acts did. By “walking in the fear of the Lord.”
Now, when I talk about “the fear of the Lord,” please understand, I’m not saying you should be afraid of God. He’s your Father! You should be as secure and unafraid when you come before Him as a child who knows he is dearly loved. But you must also have so much respect for Him that whenever He reveals something you need to do, you do it immediately—even if it goes against your natural desires. That’s walking in the fear of the Lord.
Let me show you what I mean. Once, several years ago, I received a very disturbing phone call shortly before I was to preach at one of our meetings. It was painful news about a situation in which one of my children had been wronged. The news of it wounded my heart.
I cried, and in the natural, I wanted to get angry about it, to strike back in some way. But instead, I began praying in other tongues. As I prayed, I was prompted in my spirit to rejoice and praise the Lord.
I certainly didn’t feel like praising. I felt like stomping my foot. But, out of respect to the Lord, I put my feelings aside and obeyed. Next, the Holy Spirit impressed me to read a particular prophecy. As I did, I could tell I was being strengthened.
Then suddenly, I realized I was free. By my obedience, I had opened myself to the comforting power of the Holy Spirit. The anger and pain that had filled me just moments before were gone! They had been replaced by the gentle love and reassurance of the Lord.
No matter how tough or painful a situation you may be facing today, trust and obey the directions of your Father. He will make that same supernatural, Holy Spirit-inspired comfort available to you!
Scripture Reading: Matthew 4:1-11
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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John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;“
Text: John 14:16-17
Remember that Jesus was saying these things to His disciples so that they would not be offended. Jesus is speaking to His disciples about the Holy Spirit, who is the Comforter. The ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is the front line of defense against the devil and his devices of defeat. The phrase, “The God of all comfort” carries the idea of a divine comforter who encourages, refreshes, strengthens, aids, assists, and is an ever present help in the time of need. The ways that God chooses to comfort are not always the same. He may deliver you or remove the cause of the affliction, or He may comfort you with words giving you a hope for the future. He also uses people to share their faith with you by prophesying. He sends fellow-laborers to serve and strengthen you by the ministry of the Word, and uses the body of Christ as a channel to comfort you, using prayer.
The point is that the source of all comfort is God, no matter what channel He chooses to use.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9, God revealed to Paul that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Paul, who had experienced God’s comfort in a way that perhaps no other man has, now reveals how the Lord accomplished this. It was through the power of the Holy Spirit. True Christianity is not the absence of trials, but the strength and comfort of Jesus through the Holy Spirit, that will bring us through to the other side.
Even a strong metal container with a vacuum inside will be crushed just by normal atmospheric pressure. But that same container, with an equal or greater amount of pressure inside, will be just fine. Likewise, an individual who is void of God’s comfort inside will be crushed by the pressures of this life. But a believer who takes advantage of the comfort available to him through the Holy Spirit, can withstand anything. Victory is not dependent on the pressures without, but rather on the comfort within.
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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So it is that we are saved by faith in Christ and not by the good things we do. — Romans 3:28 (TLB)
Many people still cling to the notion that man is naturally good. We did not get this from the Greeks. Aristotle said, “There is no good in mankind.” We did not get it from Judaism. Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
We did not get it from Christian teachings. The Apostle Paul said, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We got this illusion, I believe, from the philosophers and psychologists of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who taught the false doctrine that man is a helpless victim of his environment.
The Bible says that man is not naturally good. All human experience confirms it. Man is rebellious by nature. This first rebellion in history happened in the Garden of Eden, where the environment was perfect and there was no heredity on which to blame it!
Prayer for the day: Each time I become obsessed by the idea that my deeds are so noble, let me remember the magnanimity of Your perfect life.
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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You are watching the Sunday LIVE Service tagged “Covenant Day of Vengeance October 21, 2018 with Bishop David Oyedepo at Living Faith Church, aka Winners’ Chapel, Faith Tabernacle Canaan Land Ota Nigeria. (Please, reload this page for the latest live event)
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