Read: Philippians 2:14–16, Bible in a Year: Isaiah 26–27; Philippians 2
Shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. Philippians 2:15–16
“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” is an English lullaby. Its lyrics, originally a poem by Jane Taylor, capture the wonder of God’s universe where stars hang “up above the world so high.” In the rarely published later stanzas, the star acts as a guide: “As your bright and tiny spark lights the traveler in the dark.”
In Philippians, Paul challenges believers in Philippi to be blameless and pure as they “shine . . . like stars in the sky” while offering the good news of the gospel to all around them (2:15–16). We wonder how we can shine like stars. We often feel inadequate and struggle to think our “light” is bright enough to make a difference. But stars don’t try to be stars. They just are. Light changes our world. And it changes us. God brought physical light into our world (Genesis 1:3); and through Jesus, God brings spiritual light into our lives (John 1:1–4).
We who have God’s light in us are to shine in such a way that those around us see light and are drawn to its source. As effortlessly as a star hanging in the night sky, our light makes a difference because of what it is: Light! When we simply shine, we follow Paul’s directive to “hold firmly to the word of life” in a world in deep darkness, and we draw others to the source of our hope: Jesus.
Prayer: Dear God, may Your light shine out of the very cracks of our beings as we hold out the Word of life to others.
Jesus brings light into our life.
This message was written By Elisa Morgan [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]
Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances and it endures everything [without weakening]. Love never fails–[never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. – 1 Corinthians 13:7-8, The Amplified Bible
Love never fails. Nothing works without it, and there can be no failure with it. When you live by love, you cannot fail.
It takes faith to believe that love’s way will not fail. The natural mind cannot understand that because the natural man and his world are ruled by selfishness.
But when you practice love by faith and refuse to seek your own, you put the Father into action on your behalf. As long as you stay in love, God the Father seeks your own. He sees to it that you succeed. Walking in love is to your great advantage!
Agape love is a new kind of power. It makes you master of every situation. No weapon that is formed against you will prosper. No one even has the power to hurt your feelings because you are not ruled by feelings but by God’s love. You are loving as He loves.
This love is revolutionary. If we fully understood the great return from living God’s love, we’d probably be competing with each other, each of us trying to love the other more. And without a doubt, everyone would emerge from that competition a winner! For love is truly the only sure secret to our success.
Scripture Reading: Romans 12:9-21
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.
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. — Colossians 1:9-10
Moses made excuses when God called him to service. He said he wasn’t eloquent enough and could not speak (see Exodus 4:10).
Felix made excuses when Paul was speaking to him about righteousness and self-control. He essentially said, “Right now is an inconvenient time. Can you come back later?” (see Acts 24:25).
When God invites people into relationship with Him, many people come up with excuses when the truth is, they simply don’t want to make the sacrifices required to follow Him. Even among those who are believers in Jesus, we still hear ample excuses for not serving Him fully.
It is time to deal with excuses and start speaking truth. There is one truth none of us will be able to avoid: The day will come when every person will stand before God and give an account of his or her life (see Romans 14:12). On that day, there will be no excuses!
Prayer Starter: Father, I want to give you my whole heart and let You in every area of my life. Help me today to seek You in a greater way than ever before. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Memorise: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”- 2 Timothy 4:2
Read: Galatians 2:11-17 (KJV)
11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.
14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
Bible in One Year: Isaiah 36-37, Luke 2:1-21
MESSAGE:
Preaching is the act of proclaiming the good news in the word of God. It generally involves the delivery of some truth related to God to an audience for whom the message is prepared. To preach therefore, is to declare the word of God or to publicly present the good news. Preaching is expressed through proclamation, prophesy, declaration or teaching. It includes the proclamation of the way of salvation to unbelievers, and the delivery of instructions on faith and spiritual worship to believers. In 2 Timothy 4:2, the Holy Spirit indicates that rebuke is an integral part of preaching the good news.
To rebuke or reprove is to make a verbal expression of blame that is usually not easy for an individual to accept or accommodate. However, it is an essential part of the gospel. For this reason, the Holy Spirit said in Proverbs 27:5:
“Open rebuke is better than secret love.”
The word of God gives examples of both divine and human rebuke. Sometimes, God issues rebukes directly, but more often than not, He does so through His servants. Jesus Christ taught His disciples the perfect way to issue rebukes, and He taught His audience how to handle people who commit errors, without condemning them. God has the absolute right to rebuke His children who stray from the path of righteousness. He does this sometimes by speaking directly to such people through dreams and revelations, but at other times, He chooses to speak through His ministers. For instance, God used Prophet Samuel to rebuke King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:12-26, He used Prophet Nathan to rebuke King David in 2 Samuel 12:1-12, and Prophet Elijah rebuked King Ahab in 1 Kings 18:18. Furthermore, Jesus Christ rebuked Peter, one of His disciples, in Mark 8:33, and He also rebuked demons and their master the devil. Matthew 17:18 says:
“And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.”
In today’s Bible reading, when Apostle Peter and some other Jewish brethren like Barnabas engaged in discrimination and preference, Paul rebuked them sharply. We should not shy away from rebuke because when it comes from the Spirit, it convicts those who hear it. As children of God, we ought to sharply rebuke and correct visible faults on issues relating to discipline, dressing, punctuality and commitment to duties, interpersonal relationships, sanitation, and our general attitude to worship.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, please don’t rebuke me in Your wrath, and give me a heart that is yielded to correction in Jesus’ Name.
FRIDAY HYMN 2: I NEED THEE EVERY HOUR
1. I Need Thee every hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.
Chorus:
I need Thee, Oh, I need Thee,
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh bless me now, my Saviour;
I come to Thee.
2. I need Thee every hour;
Stay Thou near by;
Temptations lose their pow’r
When Thou art nigh.
3. I need Thee every hour,
In joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide,
Or life is vain.
4. I need Thee every hour;
Teach me Thy will,
And Thy rich promises
In me fulfil.
5. I need Thee every hour,
Most Holy One;
O make me Thine indeed,
Thou blessed Son.
Open Heaven 5 October 2018 Friday 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 Heaven 5 October 2018 Friday Daily Devotional.
You are watching the Friday LIVE Service tagged “Covenant Hour of Prayer” October 5, 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)
SCRIPTURE: Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: Hebrews 12:28
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Your reverence for God makes you a reference in life. Your respect for God deletes your reproach in life.
MESSAGE: We live in a generation where people have no reverence for God. We are in a generation where people idolize the material and mundane things of life ahead of their worship and devotion to God. We live in a generation where people have little or no value for spirituality or the things of God.
Let me give you an illustration: during my university days, there was a brother in the fellowship who usually went with other brethren to a mountain to pray. But while others were praying, he would be sleeping. Whenever they woke him up to pray, he would say something like: ‘Leave me alone; I’m in the Spirit.’ But the truth was that he was sleeping. So, one day, he fell asleep as usual while others were praying. When they were through with the prayer, they left him on the mountain in order for him to remain in the ‘Spirit’ as he always claimed, and he slept until he was tired. Eventually, when he woke up, he realized that the brethren had left him on the mountain and gone back to the hostel. So, he became very angry and asked them, ‘Why did you people leave me on the mountain? Then they answered, ‘You were in the ‘spirit’, so, we decided to leave you to be in the ‘spirit’, we did not want to pull you out of the ‘spirit.’’ That was serious!
The question is, is it possible to be talking to the President of a country and be sleeping at the same time? Sleeping while praying or while a preaching is going on is a confirmation of lack of reverence for God. Our reverence for God is measured by how we conduct ourselves in His Presence in service, at the place of prayer and in our day-to-day activities wherever we are. It is also reflected in our priorities, choices and decisions in life.
Beloved, your reverence for God makes you a reference in life. Your respect of God delete your reproach in life. To the extent you value God, to that extent you will be valued in life and destiny.
REMEMBER THIS: Your reverence for God makes you a reference in life. Your respect for God deletes your reproach in life
ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Never take God for granted so that you won’t end up grounded in life.
2. Refuse, resist and flee any temptation to disrespect God
PRAYER: Lord, I ask for mercy in any area I have not reverenced and respected You. Baptize me with Your Fear, O Lord, In Jesus’ Name.
FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: BOOSTERS OF PRAYER
QUOTE: The man of God is the one whose fear of God is intact despite the level of his anointing. Culled from MAKING FULL PROOF OF MINISTRY by Dr Paul Enenche
DAILY READING: Jeremiah 4:19 to 6:15, Colossians 1:18 to 2:7, Psalm 77:1 to 20, Proverbs 24:23 to 25
AMAZING FACT: Camels do not get injured from eating thorny twigs.
TODAY IN HISTORY: 05/10/1905 – Wilbur Wright pilots Wright Flyer III in a flight of 24 miles in 39 minutes, a world record that stood until 1908.
DON’T FORGET TO ATTEND: The Home Church meeting tomorrow by 6:00pm at a Dunamis Home Church near you. Invite your neighbours and family. God bless you.
Seeds of Destiny 5 October 2018 Daily 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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