Topic: A Hidden Ministry [Our Daily Bread 21 November 2018 Devotional]

Read: 2 Corinthians 1:8–11, Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 16–17; James 3

On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. 2 Corinthians 1:10–11

A big academic project was weighing on me, and I was fretting over whether I could complete it by the deadline. In the midst of my anxious thoughts, I received three notes of encouragement from friends who were cheering me on. Each one said, “God brought you to mind today when I was praying.” I felt humbled and encouraged that these friends would contact me without knowing what I was going through, and I believed God had used them as His messengers of love.

The apostle Paul knew the power of prayer when he wrote to the people in the church of Corinth. He said he trusted that God would continue to deliver them from peril “as you help us by your prayers” (2 Corinthians 1:10–11). And when God answered their prayers, He would be glorified as the people gave Him thanks for the “answer to the prayers of many” (v. 11).

My friends and Paul’s supporters were engaging in the ministry of intercession, which Oswald Chambers calls “a hidden ministry that brings forth fruit through which the Father is glorified.” As we focus our minds and hearts on Jesus, we find Him shaping us, including how we pray. He enables us to give the gift of true intercession to friends, family members, and even strangers.

Has God put someone on your heart and mind for whom you can pray?

Read more from Oswald Chambers at utmost.org.

God hears the prayers of His people.

INSIGHT:
Paul endured far more than his share of trials. As he begins this deeply personal letter (see 2 Corinthians 1:3–7), he comforts the church in Corinth by using his own difficulties to identify with them. Then, with piercing candor, he reveals the depths of those trials—“far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself” (v. 8). Why would God permit His faithful servants to go through so much? Paul points to the reason: “This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (v. 9, emphasis added).

When facing despair, we can do far more than merely endure. We can use our travails to identify with and understand our brothers and sisters who suffer and to pray for them. And we can acknowledge the absolute necessity of God, who raises the dead.

Tim Gustafson

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

This message was written By Amy Boucher Pye [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: Give God the Glory [Kenneth Copeland Devotional 21 November 2018]

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. – John 15:8

There’s an old Full Gospel tradition that says God gets glory from the wonderful way His children bear pain and agony and that the world is impressed by that. What a lie! That’s simply a tool of the devil to keep God’s children in bondage.

People of the world already have all the pain and agony they want. They aren’t looking for a way into it. They are looking for a way out. They don’t care what you preach. It’s the religious people who get worried about that. The world, the sinners, are smarter than that. All they care about are the results.

That’s why they’ll come to your church when they hear people are getting healed, delivered and set free from suffering. That’s what they’re looking for, and that’s what God wants them to receive.

The Bible says that God gets glory when they see the lame walk and the blind see (Matthew 15:31). Jesus said, “Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit” (John 15:8). What is that fruit? Lives being restored and healed by the power of God.

There was a man who came to one of our healing meetings who was so far gone with cancer he had almost no energy or life about him. He didn’t even know the Lord, but he came expecting a miracle. During the miracle service, the Lord told Ken someone was being healed of cancer, in the glands, in the throat, and in the chest. When the man came up and received his healing, he said, “I left the hospital this morning with cancer and I’m healed.” He went back to the hospital that afternoon and the doctors checked and dismissed him. As a result, the man received Jesus as his Lord, and later that day he was restored to his wife from whom he’d been separated. He got born again, healed and his marriage put back together in one day!

Now that’s fruit! That brings God glory. When we minister healing and deliverance like Jesus on the earth, that brings God glory. Let’s do away with religious tradition and go with what the Word says. Let’s impress the world with Jesus and give God the glory today!

Scripture Reading: John 15:1-16

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.

Topic: Circumcision is a Matter of the Heart [Andrew Wommack Devotional 21 November 2018]

John 18:14 “Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.”

The physical nation of Israel still has a very important part to play in God’s plan. They have a prominent role in end-time prophecy. However, the physical nation of Israel has been displaced in importance by the spiritual seed of Abraham, that is the church of Jesus Christ.

Christians are the true circumcised people of God. In Romans 2:28-29, Paul reveals that true circumcision is a matter of the heart, not the flesh, and that true Judaism is through new birth, not physical birth.

In Colossians 2:11, Paul says that spiritual circumcision was done by God without the hands of man. This circumcision, that was made without hands, proves that it was not done in the physical. Paul is referring to the spiritual circumcision of the heart. The sins of our heart were cut away and discarded through the sacrifice of Christ in a similar way that the foreskin is removed from a male. The physical act of circumcision is a picture of the spiritual circumcision that is now a reality in every born-again believer.

The condition of a person’s flesh is not the important thing. It doesn’t matter if the flesh is circumcised or holy. It is the condition of the spirit that matters with God. Those who put faith in their circumcision to save them are putting confidence in the flesh and not in God. Today, the act of circumcision is not the issue, but acts of holiness are still deemed by many as essential for receiving salvation. That is just as wrong as those in Paul’s day who believed that being circumcised granted them salvation.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click HERE to read Andrew Wommack Daily Devotional

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).

Topic: Life Worth Living [Billy Graham Devotional 21 November 2018]

. . . ye might have life through his name. — John 20:31

“Is life worth living?” To scores of people life has ceased to be worth living. To all of you I have good news. God did not create you to be a defeated, discouraged, frustrated, wandering soul, seeking in vain for peace of heart and peace of mind. He has bigger plans for you. He has a larger orb and a greater life for you.

The answer to your problem, however great, is as near as your Bible, as simple as first-grade arithmetic, and as real as your heartbeat. Upon the authority of God’s Word, I tell you that Christ is the answer to every baffling perplexity which plagues mankind. In Him is found the cure for care, a balm for bereavement, a healing for our hurts, and a sufficiency for our insufficiency.

Prayer for the day: Teach me, Lord, as today I read Your Word, that the life You would have me live is one of joy and fulfillment.

“If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read Billy Graham’s Daily Devotional HERE

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.

Open Heaven 21 November 2018 Wednesday Daily Devotional by Pastor E A Adeboye – Rejoice with those who Rejoice

Topic: Rejoice with those who Rejoice (Open Heaven 21 November 2018)

Memorise: “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.”- Romans 12:15

Read: Romans 12:15-16 (KJV)

15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 19-20, Luke 24:36-53

Open Heaven 21 November 2018 Wednesday MESSAGE:

It’s not so hard to mourn with those who mourn. It is relatively easy to feel the loss of a grieving person and to experience genuine sadness for their loss. Job 2:11-13 gives us an example of what it means to mourn with those who mourn. It says:

“11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. 12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. 13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.”

These verses of scripture show that it’s a part of human nature to mourn with those who mourn. There are even times when you do not personally know the person who has experienced a great loss, but after hearing their story, you become very sad. However, it is also part of human nature to be selfish. A natural man is very satisfied as long as no one around him gets anything better than what he has. Everyone wants the best for himself or herself. When that best goes to someone else, it becomes very hard to be genuinely happy for that person. This is a very dangerous human trait that every Christian must not allow in his or her life. The nature of God that we bear does not have such character trait. His instruction to us in today’s memory verse clearly shows what He expects of us in such circumstances, and we should take it very seriously.

How can we rejoice with those who rejoice? First, you have to stop comparing yourself with others. The moment you start looking at others and comparing what they have with what you have, you will soon meet with destruction. In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus told a very interesting story of several men hired at different hours of the day. The men who were hired first were very satisfied with being paid a penny each. However, at the end of the work day, they were unhappy when they received this exact amount. Why? It was because they were comparing themselves with the other hired men who had worked for shorter hours and got paid the same amount as them. The master told them to take what had been given to them and go their own way, rather than focus negatively on what he had chosen to do for others. Secondly, pray for those you envy. When you genuinely pray for someone frequently and long enough, it becomes hard to nurse any hard feelings towards them. Finally, be thankful at all times. Always remember that there are people in worse situations compared to you; therefore be grateful and content always.

Open Heaven 21 November 2018 Wednesday Prayer Point:

Father, please grant me grace to genuinely rejoice with those who rejoice.

Also Read: Open Heaven 20 November 2018 – Great Expectations

Open Heaven 21 November 2018 Wednesday 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 21 November 2018 Wednesday 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 21 November 2018 Wednesday Daily Devotional.

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