Topic: God’s Love (Open Heavens 17 September 2018)
Memorise: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”– 1 John 3:1
Read: Isaiah 49:14-18 (KJV)
14 But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.
18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
Bible in One Year: Proverbs 26-28, Mark 9:14-37
The Bible declares that our God is love (1 John 4:8). He is love because no one else can love like Him. What greater love can a man have for his friends than to lay down his life for them? Our God’s love is incomparable with any other. People may claim to love, but you will find out that when their love is tested, it fails woefully. In contrast to this, God’s love never fails! He loves us so much that He has our names inscribed on His palm (Isaiah 49:16). Irrespective of the number of children He has all over the world, He knows every single one of us by name (Isaiah 43:1). Even every strand of our hair is important to Him, so much so that He numbered each one and not a single strand can fall without Him noticing (Luke 12:7). His love is unconditional, because while we were still living in sin, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Believe it or not, a breastfeeding mother can forget her child, but our God can never forget us. He loves us even more than our earthly parents do, and nothing can separate us from His love. He will never withhold anything good from us; all we have to do is ask Him.
With man, love comes with conditions. Some people only love people of the same or higher social class, and they treat every other person with contempt. As wealthy and highly placed as our God is, He does not behave this way. He came down from His kingdom and many mansions and golden streets to be born in a manger amongst animals, just so that He could associate and help us out of condemnation. He does not see you as a liability; rather He sees you as a friend to be treasured. Believe me honestly, God has His eyes on you all the time. He loves you so much that He doesn’t want you to get hurt, you may ask, “why then am I going through all these troubles?” our God did not promise that the road would be smooth all through life, but He promised that He will be with us all the time (Isaiah 43:2). His presence with you is assurance that no trouble can consume you, and that you will rejoice at the end of the day. However, have you given your life to Christ? He wants to take away your heavy burden, but He can’t do that if you are not ready to accept his yoke of Lordship. In Matthew 11:28-30, He says:
“28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Accept God’s offer of love today. Surrender your life to Him and begin to live a new life of great possibilities.
KEY POINT:
The devil may seem like the man with the goodies, but don’t be deceived, his mission is to steal, kill and destroy.
MONDAY HYMN 8: THE GREAT PHYSICIAN
1. The Great Physician now is near,
The sympathizing Jesus;
He speaks the drooping heart to cheer,
Oh, hear the voice of Jesus!
Chorus:
Sweetest note in seraph song,
Sweetest Name on mortal tongue;
Sweetest carol ever sung,
Jesus, blessed Jesus.
2. Your many sins are all forgiv’n,
Oh, hear the voice of Jesus;
Go on your way in peace to heav’n,
And wear a crown with Jesus.
3. All glory to the dying Lamb!
I now believe in Jesus;
I love the blessed Saviour’s Name,
I love the Name of Jesus.
4. His Name dispels my guilt and fear,
No other name but Jesus;
Oh, how my soul delights to hear
The precious Name of Jesus!
Open Heavens 17 September 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 17 September 2018 Monday Daily Devotional.
Scripture: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Hebrews 11:1-2
Thought For The Day: Faith transforms possibility into reality.
Message: Faith building is a process that guarantees tangible products. Faith is a spiritual process with measureable spiritual products. The Book of Hebrews Chapter Eleven outlines the products of faith. It is important, therefore, to look at the products of faith.
Now, what are the products of faith?
1. Faith Gives Substance to Hope
Faith is the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1). Faith allocates substance to hope. This means, faith makes hope to become reality. Faith converts expectation to manifestation. Faith transforms possibility into reality. Faith takes intangibility and makes it tangible. Faith gives you a substance to handle.
2. Faith Gives Evidence to the Unseen
Faith is the evidence of things not seen; every man of faith sees what other people cannot see. A person of faith does not lack evidence or what to show.
3. Faith Gives Birth to Good Report
By faith, the elders obtained good report (Hebrews 11:2). Every man of faith is a man of news; that is, positive and result-oriented news. If you are not faithless, you cannot be news-less. To be faith-filled is to be news-full. There is something positive to hear about you always.
My counsel is, make up your mind to cultivate a life of strong and solid faith.
Remember this: Faith transforms possibility into reality.
Assignments:
1. Make up your mind to develop a lifestyle of faith continually
Prayer: O LORD, I ask for the grace to develop a lifestyle of faith, in Jesus’ Name.
FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD.
Amazing Fact: The gluteus maximus is the body’s largest muscle.
Today In History: 17/09/1911 – Trans-continental airplane flight started. It took C.P. Rogers 82 hours to fly from New York City to Pasadena, CA.
Daily Reading: Isaiah 25:1 to 28:13, Galatians 3:10 to 22, Psalm 61:1 to 8, Proverbs 23:17 to 18.
Quote: Faith, which is a product of light, is a shield for man. Culled from 15 KINGDOM STRATEGIES FOR SURVIVAL
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
Key Verse: “And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain“ (1 Kings 18:41).
MESSAGE:
From Bible days to this contemporary period, spiritual awakening or revivals often began with a man or people standing in the gap through prayers.
Elijah had practical confidence in God’s word. As soon as the word of the Lord came to him, nothing could stop him from plunging into action. With all the prophets of Baal killed, their was a mighty spiritual reformation. The judgment of heaven had been executed; the people had confessed their sins and acknowledged the God of their fathers. Now the curse was to be withdrawn and the land refreshed with rain. “Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain”, Elijah had said to Ahab. Then the prophet went to the top of the mountain to pray. In humility, Elijah pleaded with God on behalf of repentant Israel. He sent his servant repeatedly until a visible sign of answer to his prayer was seen. With the undaunted faith and persistent prayer of this intermediary, the expected miracle took place.
God still needs men and women like Elijah, Abraham, Daniel and Esther who will stand in the gap between Him and the people. It is only through persistent prayer of faith that we can experience the needed revival (James 5:17).
As you face this new day, endeavour to quit your comfort zone and be “detained” in the place of prayer. The increase of iniquities in the land and the lukewarm credentials of so-called believers should ignite burden and passion in true believers to stand in the gap till God rains righteousness on the earth.
Thought For The Day: Stand in the gap and make a difference for God in the world.
Bible Reading In One Year: Daniel 10-12
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.
You are watching the Sunday LIVE Service tagged “Breaking Generational Curses September 16, 2018 [Anointing Service] 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)
Good sense and discretion make a man slow to anger, and it is his honor and glory to overlook a transgression or an offense [without seeking revenge and harboring resentment]. — Proverbs 19:11 (AMP)
God’s plan for the people of the nation of Israel was only for their good. Yet they wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years on what was actually an 11-day journey. Why? Was it their enemies, their circumstances, the trials along the way, or something entirely different that prevented them from arriving at their destination in a timely manner?
God called the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt to go to the land He had promised to give them as a perpetual inheritance—a land that flowed with milk and honey and every good thing they could imagine—a land in which there would be no shortage of anything they needed—a land of prosperity in every realm of their existence.
But the Israelites had no positive vision for their lives—no dreams. They knew where they came from, but they did not know where they were going. Everything was based on what they had seen in the past or what they could presently see. They did not know how to see with “the eye of faith.”
We really shouldn’t view the Israelites with astonishment because most of us do the same thing they did. We keep dealing with the same problems over and over again. The disappointing result is that it takes us years to experience victory over something that could have and should have been dealt with quickly.
I come from a background of abuse. My childhood was filled with fear and torment, and my personality was a mess! I built up walls of protection to keep people from hurting me, not realizing that while I was locking others out, I was also locking myself in. I was filled with fear and believed that the only way I could face life was to be in control so no one could hurt me.
As a young adult trying to live for Christ and follow the Christian lifestyle, I knew where I had come from, but I did not know where I was going. I felt that my future would always be marred by my past. I thought, How could anyone with a past like mine ever be all right? It’s impossible!
But Jesus had a different plan. He said, The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me . . . to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity] (Luke 4:18 AMPC).
Jesus came to open the prison doors and set the captives free—and that included me. However, I did not make any progress until I started to believe that I really could be set free. I had to get rid of my negative thinking and replace it with a positive vision for my life. I had to believe that neither my past nor my present could determine my future. Only then could Jesus free me from the bondage of my past—and free me, He did. What a marvelous miracle!
You may have had a miserable past; you may even be in current circumstances that are very negative and depressing. You may be facing situations that are so bad it seems you have no real reason to hope. But I say to you boldly: Your future is not determined by your past or your present!
Most of the generation the Lord called out of Egypt never entered into the Promised Land. Instead, they died in the wilderness. To me, this is one of the saddest things that can happen to a child of God—to have so much available and yet never be able to enjoy any of it.
Start believing that God’s Word is true. Mark 9:23 assures you that with God all things are possible. Because you serve a God who created everything you see out of the unseen realm (see Hebrews 11:3), you can give Him your nothingness and watch Him go to work on your behalf. All you have to do is have faith in Him and believe His Word—He will do the rest!
Prayer Starter: Dear Father, I thank You for loving me and having a vision—a good plan—for my life. I pray that You will help me overcome any negative thoughts of problems, past or present, that come against my mind, and make my life what You want it to be. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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