Topic: The Power to Do Good [Joyce Meyer Devotional 3 January 2019]

Come close to God…and He will come close to you… — James 4:8 (AMP)

I heard a story about former New York City mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. One winter night in 1935, LaGuardia paid a visit to night court in the poorest section of the city. He told the judge to take the night off, took his seat on the bench, and presided over the night’s cases himself.

Soon a tired, despondent elderly woman appeared before him because she had been charged with stealing a loaf of bread. In her own defense, she said, “My daughter’s husband left her. She is sick, and her children are hungry.”

The storekeeper had no mercy. With a sigh, LaGuardia said to the woman, “The law is clear. I have to punish you.” He fined her ten dollars. As he was pronouncing the woman’s sentence, LaGuardia was simultaneously reaching into his pocket to pull out a ten-dollar bill. He dropped it into his hat and said:

“Here’s the ten-dollar fine, which I now remit, and furthermore, I’m going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so her grandchildren can eat. Mr. Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant!”

The total collected for the grandmother was $47.50.

I like the fact that the mayor of New York City used his position of authority to influence others to help the poor grandmother. Any time we can inspire or provoke others to do good, we need to do so.

Prayer Starter: Lord Jesus, help me to use my influence to help others to do good. Let my heart break with compassion for those in need. Help me to always stand up for the rights of the innocent. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Joyce Meyer Daily Devotional HERE’’

From Joyce Meyer’s Ministries.

Topic: Sin Shall Not Have Dominion Over You [TREM Devotional 3 January 2019]

“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law but under grace.” Romans 6:14 KJV

So early in this year, the Lord is settling the issue of our relationship with Him. This is because the devil is ever ready to rob you of what belongs to you when you walk in ignorance.

Over the years, many have struggled with the good news – the message of salvation which is over the top good news and too good to be true, yet it is true. Man, in the fallen nature is so consumed with sin that when he accepts Jesus into his life, he carries that sin consciousness into the new birth. But beloved, you cannot put the new wine into the old wineskin.

You must be clear about what Jesus did for you on the cross. He did not pay the price for His own sin – because He was totally sinless. He walked through this earth sinless; so He had nothing to pay for. But the Bible says in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death. So when He died, whose sin was He paying for? Yours and mine. If He paid, why do you want to pay again?

I am sure the question you are asking is: ‘what if I make a mistake; what happens?’ Beloved, your past, present and future sins have all been paid for. So, sin does not have the power to have dominion over you. You are no more a servant to sin, you are now a son of God and when a son misses it, what does he do? He runs into the loving arms of the father because he knows that the father will forgive him. In the same vein, as a child of God, when you miss it, don’t run from God, run to Him. His arms are open to receive you. Talk to Him as your Father and receive strength from His presence to please Him.

Further Reading: Romans 6: 14-23

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Gen 7-9, Mathew 3

“If you missed yesterday devotional click HERE to read TREM Daily Devotional by Dr. Mike Okonkwo’’

Written by Dr. Mike Okonkwo; Is the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM); a versatile man of God with over 30 years of dedicated service unto the Lord.

Open Heaven 3 January 2019 Prayer Points on Today – Lessons From The Sower I

Lessons From The Sower I

1.I worship and adore You my Father, because You are the source and giver of true, divine and unadulterated wisdom.

2.Father, in anyway I have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus’ name.

Also Read: Open Heaven 3 January 2019 – Lessons from the Sower I

3.Father, I ask for wisdom that is rooted in Your word for all aspects of my life, in Jesus’ name.

4.Father, please, give me divine wisdom, that will enable me experience breakthrough, and success, in all areas of my life’s endeavours, in Jesus’ name.

5.Father, as a soul winner, please, give me special skills and wisdom that will enable me be most effective in evangelising all categories of sinners, in Jesus’ name.

6.Father, let an end come to every unprofitable hard work in all areas of my life and ministry, in Jesus’ name.

7.Father, please, lead and guide me to the right ventures to embark upon, in life, that will bring maximum profitable returns, in Jesus’ name.

8.Father, soften and break every ‘hard ground’ or difficult mission fields, where Your missionaries are currently labouring, and cause them to succeed, in Jesus’ name.

9.Father, please, help me to live through today, without committing a single sin, in Jesus’ name.

10.Father, grant Your son, Pastor E.A. Adeboye, more wisdom, knowledge and understanding, that are profitable for ministry, in Jesus’ name.

11.Father, bless Your son, that You have been using to prepare these prayer points, beyond measures; help him to overcome every challenge of getting these prayer points across to Your children timely, on daily basis, in Jesus’ name.

12.Your Personal petitions. (Philippians 4:6)

13.In Jesus’ name I pray. (John 14:13-14; 15:16)

14.Thank you Father for answered prayers. (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

These prayers have no expiry date! Please, pray them, irrespective of the time they get to you. Remain blessed, in Jesus’ name.

Kindly, purchase your own hard copy or online version of the Open Heavens devotional & buy for your friends too, as a potent evangelism tool. God bless you, as you sow, into Pastor E.A. Adeboye’s book Ministry, in Jesus’ name.

Open Heaven 3 January 2019 Prayer Points on Today – Lessons From The Sower I

Topic: Eyes Tightly Shut [Our Daily Bread 3 January 2019 Devotional]

Read: Genesis 3:1–10, Bible in a Year: Genesis 7–9; Matthew 3

They hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:8

He knew he shouldn’t have done it. I could clearly see he knew it was wrong: it was written all over his face! As I sat down to discuss his wrongdoing with him, my nephew quickly squeezed his eyes shut. There he sat, thinking—with three-year-old logic—that if he couldn’t see me, then I must not be able to see him. And if he was invisible to me, then he could avoid the conversation (and consequences) he anticipated.

I’m so glad I could see him in that moment. While I couldn’t condone his actions, and we needed to talk about it, I really didn’t want anything to come between us. I wanted him to look fully into my face and see how much I love him and was eager to forgive him! In that moment, I caught a glimmer of how God might have felt when Adam and Eve broke His trust in the garden of Eden. Realizing their guilt, they tried to hide from God (Genesis 3:10), who could “see” them as plainly as I could see my nephew.

When we realize we’ve done something wrong, we often want to avoid the consequences. We run from it, conceal it, or close our eyes to the truth. While God will hold us accountable to His righteous standard, He sees us (and seeks us!) because He loves us and offers forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Father, thank You for seeing me and loving me even when I do wrong.

God views us through eyes of love.

INSIGHT
As the book of beginnings, Genesis gives us our first look at how God responds to our sin with a just balance of mercy and consequence. Our Father’s ability to judge sin while loving the sinner shows up in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:14–21) and later when Cain kills his brother (4:8–16). We see it again and again in a pattern that leads through Sinai (Exodus 34:5–7), the songs of Israel (Psalm 99:8), and most completely in the crucifixion of Jesus (Luke 23:34).
Mart DeHaan

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Our Daily Bread Devotionals HERE”

This message was written By Kirsten Holmberg [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

MFM Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional 3 January 2019 By Dr. D.K Olukoya – Why God Grants Mercy

TOPIC: Why God Grants Mercy (Mountain Of Fire and Miracle Ministries, MFM Daily Devotional 3 January 2019)

FIRE SCRIPTURE: Exodus 34:5-8

MEMORY VERSE: “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” – Matthew 5:45

The MESSAGE:

Yesterday, we affirmed, using the words of A. W. Tozer, that mercy is not what God has, but what God is. A greater affirmation of this is in Exodus 34:5-8, “And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.” God’s mercy is fresh and new every morning.

Let us examine some of the reasons God grants mercy to people. To start with, the mercy of God is to give you time to turn from your sin. His kindness is meant to lead you to repent (Romans 2:4). In addition, 2 Peter 3:15 says that God’s patience as manifested through His mercy is giving you an opportunity to be saved. Another reason God bestows His mercy on His children is that He loves us too much to leave us in a state of sin. He desires our holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16). Also, God gives mercy to His children so that they can have an opportunity, motivated by the power of perfect love, to be like Jesus. Apostle Paul affirmed this when he said, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:12-17). Finally, God’s mercy has come to us so that those who do not believe now will also obtain mercy through our mercy (Romans 11:31). We that have obtained mercy from God must grant mercy to others and ensure that they are saved.

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE:
WHEN YOUR WAY PLEASES THE LORD, MERCY WILL ALWAYS STAND FOR YOU.

PROPHETIC WORD:
Helpers of destiny shall not be scarce in your life.

PRAYER POINTS:

MORNING

1. Father, I thank You for Your mercy that endures forever, in the name of Jesus.
2. Thank You Lord, for Your grace that always abounds towards me, in the name of Jesus.
3. Any power working against the mercy of God upon my life, die, in the name of Jesus.
4. Holy Spirit, fill me afresh, in the name of Jesus.
   EVENING
5. My life, conform to the divine will of God for my destiny, in the name of Jesus.
6. Satanic arrows, fired against my favour, backfire, in the name of Jesus.
7. Evil habits that will deny me access to the grace and mercy of God, die, in the name of Jesus.

“If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read MFM Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional HERE

MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE is a daily devotional by Dr. D.K Olukoya (General Overseer, Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries, Worldwide)

Flatimes Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:

Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.

If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.