Topic: Let God’s Peace Lead You [Sunday December 17, 2017]

Luke 24:36 “And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.”

Just as every sport has disputes that must be settled by the officials, the peace of God is the umpire that settles all disputes as to what the will of God is for our lives. We must learn to listen to and heed the peace of God in our hearts.

God’s peace is something that every born-again believer has. It’s a fruit of the Spirit. That peace is always umpiring; we just don’t always pay attention. How many times have you acted contrary to the peace in your heart and afterwards, you experience disaster? You say, “I never did feel good about that.” That was the peace of God umpiring, but we chose to play by our own rules.

There are some things we can do to facilitate the peace of God umpiring in our hearts. First, consider ALL the options. Many wrong decisions have been made because not all the options were considered. Don’t let fear rule out God’s possibilities. Next, use your imagination to explore what will happen with each choice. You should be able to discern a greater peace as you consider the option the Lord would have you take. That is not to say that there will be total peace with any of the choices. In your spirit there will be total peace over the right choice, but we aren’t always totally in the Spirit and it is not unusual for some turmoil to exist. Just as an umpire has to make a call, be bold enough to follow the direction that gives you the most peace.

The rudder on a ship can’t go any direction until the ship is moving. The ship doesn’t have to be going full steam ahead for the rudder to work, but it does have to be moving. Likewise, we have to act before the peace of God will give us perfect direction. Even if you make a mistake, you will have made it in faith, trying to follow the peace of God in your heart. The Lord can bless a wrong decision made in faith from a pure heart, more than He can bless indecision (Rom. 14:23).

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: The Prince of Peace [Sunday December 17, 2017]

Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. — Proverbs 10:12

To hate, to discriminate against those who look different, who talk different, who have different national backgrounds, or who act differently from the dominant group, is a universal trait of human nature. I say that there is only one possible solution and that is a vital experience with Christ on the part of all races. In Christ the middle wall of partition is broken down, the Bible says. There is no Jew or Gentile, or black or white or yellow or red. We could be one great brotherhood in Christ. However, until we come to recognize Him as the Prince of Peace, and receive His love in our hearts, the racial tensions will increase.

Prayer for the day: I pray for Your love, Lord Jesus, to conquer hate or prejudice—whenever these ugly transgressions seep into my heart.

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.

Topic — Do Not Flaunt Your Works: Lean On Grace — Sunday December 17, 2017.

“But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10 KJV)

Yesterday, I showed you that it is not about you, but about who you have on the inside of you, that is why you must constantly and consciously lean on His grace. No matter the results you get, never take the glory that belongs to God. Realise that you are who you are simply by grace.

In the same vein, you cannot come to God flaunting your service or achievement and think you can impress Him or arm twist Him to bless you. Oftentimes, people come with a mindset of ‘I am holy because I have been in church for 20 years’ or ‘I can quote scriptures’. ‘I am the biggest giver’. ‘I am always in church’. ‘Lord if you do not bless me who would you bless’. And they stay in their self-righteousness and heaven is silent. Then a newcomer prays, Lord I have nothing to flaunt. ‘If you don’t bless me, no one will help me’. And you are surprised that the person who just came yesterday receives blessings.

You may think that God is partial. No, He is not! He wants you to trust Him and stop depending on yourself. Learn to rest upon the obedience of Christ. Follow Him as the sheep of His pasture.

When you gave your life to Christ, He took over, but you also need to consciously surrender otherwise, He will not struggle with you; rather He will leave you to run your life the way you want, but the tragedy of that is that you will struggle all the way. Realise that He is God and you are not. He has paid the price and so rest in Him, acknowledge Him in all your ways. Leave the driver’s seat of your life and let Him take over and you will be surprised at the speed at which things will be sorted in your life.

Further Reading: Romans 9:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-10

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Amos 7-9; Evening- Revelation 8

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.

Topic: Dare to Take Your Place [Sunday December 17, 2017]

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared…which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs. – Titus 3:4,6-7

A covenant of grace. That’s what you and I have with Almighty God. If you could truly grasp the significance of that, you’d never be the same again.

What exactly is a covenant of grace? It’s a relationship of favor that gives you access to someone else’s power.

An illustration of a covenant of grace is the covenant the old Sicilian “family” members have with the “godfather” of the “family.”

In that group, a weak person might come in and ask the Don for a favor. The Don would say, “I will grant this favor and I will ask a favor of you, and when that time comes, I will collect it.”

Once that was said, the weak person would become excited. Suddenly he knew he would no longer have this problem because anyone who tried to rough him up would now have to face the godfather, the one with all the power. Suddenly, that little guy’s attitude would change. He would leave the presence of the head of the family in the full assurance that he didn’t have a thing to worry about. He was no longer small and powerless in his own mind. He had gained favor (grace) with the powerful.

He’d walk out thinking, Everything is handled. All I have to do now is whatever the Don asks me to do—and the Don knows I don’t have anything, so whatever he asks me to do, he’ll provide the wherewithal to do it.

That’s grace. God’s willingness to enter in to blood covenant with you and give you everything He has in exchange for everything you have.

He took your sin to give you His righteousness. He took your sickness to give you His health. He took your poverty in order to meet all your needs according to His riches in glory. Whenever He asks you to do something, He provides everything you need to carry it out.

The great Jehovah, God of heaven and earth, is your Father God. Can you understand that? If you’re under the blood of Jesus, you’ve been made a covenant child of the most powerful being in the universe.

Dare to take your place in the family!

Scripture Reading: Luke 4:14-21

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.

Topic: Gentleness — Sunday December 17, 2017.

Read: Ephesians 4:1–6, Bible in a Year: Amos 7–9; Revelation 8

Be completely humble and gentle. Ephesians 4:2

The troubles of life can make us cranky and out of sorts, but we should never excuse these bouts of bad behavior, for they can wither the hearts of those we love and spread misery all around us. We have not fulfilled our duty to others until we have learned to be pleasant.

The New Testament has a word for the virtue that corrects our unpleasantness—gentleness, a term that suggests a kind and gracious soul. Ephesians 4:2 reminds us, “Be completely humble and gentle.”

Gentleness is a willingness to accept limitations and ailments without taking out our aggravation on others. It shows gratitude for the smallest service rendered and tolerance for those who do not serve us well. It puts up with bothersome people—especially noisy, boisterous little people; for kindness to children is a crowning mark of a good and gentle person. It speaks softly in the face of provocation. It can be silent; for calm, unruffled silence is often the most eloquent response to unkind words.

Jesus is “gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29). If we ask Him, He will, in time, recreate us in His image. Scottish author George MacDonald says, “[God] would not hear from [us] a tone to jar the heart of another, a word to make it ache . . . . From such, as from all other sins, Jesus was born to deliver us.”

Prayer: Dear Lord, I want to be a gentle person. Please help me to be kind and gracious to others today.

Humility toward God will make us gentle toward others.

Insight:

The apostle Paul had a lot to say about gentleness. Paul was the founding pastor of the church at Corinth and taught there for eighteen months (Acts 18:1–11). Yet, soon after he left the city, the believers rejected him as a true apostle. Paul had every reason and every right to come down hard on these believers, but he didn’t. Instead, he appealed to them “by the humility and gentleness of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:1). In his letter to another church, Paul urged two feuding sisters to reconcile. Paul asked that their “gentleness be evident to all” (Phil. 4:5). In dealing with people who are not sympathetic to the Christian faith and are antagonistic towards us, Peter urged us to be ready “to give an answer to everyone who asks [us] to give the reason for the hope that [we] have.” But we are to do so “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

The Scriptures show us how we should relate to everyone—we are to be kind, gracious, respectful, and gentle.

Why is it so important to demonstrate gentleness in our interaction with others if we claim to be a follower of Christ? Sim Kay Tee

This message was written By David H. Roper [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]