Today’s Scripture: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” – (Romans 8:32, NIV)

Topic: He Gives You All Things [Friday April 28, 2017]

God loves you so much today—more than you could ever imagine! Not only did He send His Son, Jesus, to pay the price for your sins so that He could have relationship with you, He also wants to lavish you with everything He has and everything He is. When you join in covenant with Him through Jesus Christ, He makes all things available to you. What does “all” mean? It means exactly that—all. Do you need peace? He is your peace. Do you need joy? He has supernatural joy which gives you strength. Do you need restoration in your life? He is your restorer. Do you need rest? He has it. Provision? It’s yours. Protection? That too! He is the single source of everything that you will ever need, and He will freely give it to you!

Maybe at times you’ve struggled to receive all that He has for you. Maybe you think that you don’t want to bother God, or you somehow think you don’t deserve what He has for you. Friend, those mindsets are not the truth. The truth is that you can’t earn a gift. He gives it freely. Imagine His arms outstretched to you right now. Receive His love, receive His grace, and receive all that He has in store for you!

A Prayer for Today: “Father, by faith right now I receive all that You have for me. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to die for me so that I can live with You. I declare that He is my Lord and Savior, and I receive all that You have for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

A Promise For You From Bible Promises:

Topic: They Had Reason To Looked Back [28/04/2017]

And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. Hebrews 11:15. Read: Heb 11:13-16

There is always numerous reasons to either do  or not to do a particular thing, the choice is ours to choose from. Hebrews 11 is considered the hall of faith. All the Patriarchs recorded in this very verse faced their challenges of life, yet did exploits for God. Some died for their faith. They all had reasons why they should not have followed God all through, they had reasons to have given up, but they ignored whatsoever reasons and pressed on even without receiving what God Almighty promised them.

The question is, why didn’t they give up on God? First, their affection was not on the things of this passing world but on the things above. They knew that, their lives were hidden in Christ Jesus, therefore forsook earthly things. Secondly, they believed heaven exist, so they knew that anyone that looks back is not fit to enter into God’s Kingdom; they endured all opposition to be counted worthy. Thirdly, they looked forward for that city whose builder is God. That city where there is no need of light but the Lamb of God is the light. That city where sickness does not exist, no tears, no hunger and death anymore. Finally, they looked forward for that city which the street are paved with gold which God had prepared for them. Beloved, don’t  look backward, press on until you see Jesus.

#BiblePromisesPrayer

* Father, looking back will derail me from seeing You in glory, please empower me to stay on till I see you in glory in Jesus Mighty Name.

Topic: Cost Price Of Failure [Friday April 28, 2017]

It is very cheap to fail.

In fact it is the cheapest thing to acquire.

To fail, all you need to do is to do nothing.

Doing nothing aids you to fail quickly.

Contrary wise it costs much more to succeed because you are working against contrary circumstances.

It will cost you near zero to go down because you already have the force of gravity to aid you.

But you need to pay the price to go up.

You will never find where anything goes up by itself.

Anything and everything that goes up is made to go up by someone.

Never fold your hands if you don’t want life to fold up on you.

Stretch your hands forward and upward to expand your coast and to redefine your boundary.

Topic: Acceptable Words [Friday April 28, 2017]

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, impenetrable] Rock and my Redeemer. — Psalm 19:14

It is acceptable to God when we use our mouths to bring joy, love, and good to others. It is not acceptable to God when we use our mouths to bring hurt and destruction. We are still acceptable to Him, but our behavior isn’t because it will not produce the good results in our lives that God desires for us.

Ephesians 4:29 teaches us not to use our words to cause the Holy Spirit any grief and gives clear instructions concerning what grieves Him: Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God’s favor) to those who hear it.

Properly chosen words can actually change lives for the better. What you say can tear down or build up, so choose words that are agreeable with God’s will.

Power Thought: My words are wholesome and acceptable to God.

Topic: The Privileges of God’s Children I [Friday 28, April 2017]

Memorise: Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. – Galatians 4:7

Read: Mark 7:24-30 (KJV)

24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.

25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.

29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

Bible in One Year: Number 23-25, Jeremiah 22:11-23

MESSAGE:

Without a doubt, the responsibilities associated with being a child of God in this present age of spiritual perversion are highly demanding. Nevertheless, our benevolent Father, knowing our frame, has placed several pleasant privileges at our disposal as His children, to ease our sojourn through this wicked world. The first privilege we enjoy when we become children of God is that we are moved from the position of a servant or slave to that of a son and an heir of God (Galatians 4:7). This is the reason why we must have passion for evangelism, especially to Muslims, who believe that they are slaves of God. God did not create us in His image for the purpose of making slaves out of us. Anyone who has not come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ is indeed a slave to sin and not a slave of God (Romans 6:16-18).

In the story of the Syro-phoenician woman in our Bible text, Jesus Christ did not mince words in revealing her true spiritual state to her as a slave of sin, in order to cause a change in her spiritual life. Fortunately for this woman, she admitted her spiritual poverty, and she was therefore given the hand of fellowship in adoption, so that she could be a partaker of the food meant for God’s children. Matthew 5:3 says,

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Another striking thing in this story is that this woman was likened to a dog and she accepted it. Do you know why? It’s because this verdict came from the Way, the Truth and the Life Himself; when He speaks, He speaks with valid authority. So, when Jesus calls a sinner a dog, that is exactly what he or she is. This is why the liberal theologians who want to be 21st century compliant would want to rewrite the Bible so that it can be “politically correct”. Take note of the fact what is politically correct can be spiritually bankrupt.

In light of these truths, you can therefore see how great your privilege is when you are a child of God. Being a child of God grants you access to the food of salvation, deliverance, healing and prosperity that is meant only for children of God. If you are not yet a child of God, don’t delay further; today is the day of salvation and adoption. Give your life to Christ today, admit your spiritual poverty and let Him cleanse you in His Blood.

Prayer Point: Father, I call You Father because you are a Father indeed. Make me Your own child through Jesus Christ, and bestow upon me the privileges of being Your child today.

Open Heavens 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.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

Topic: Escape from God’s Anger [Friday April 28, 2017]

Text: 1 Kings 15:25-34

Key Verse: “Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger” (1 Kings 15:30).

God is described in the Scriptures as the Almighty Creator, loving Father and merciful Redeemer; but He is also described as the All-knowing Judge and a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:23,29). He watches our thoughts, words and actions to see if they conform to His laid-down precepts of righteousness and holy living.

And for anyone who chooses to disregard His commandments and warnings, judgment is certain. In the text, Nadab’s (the son of Jeroboam) reign was exactly like that of his father who made Israel to sin and provoked God to anger with the sins of idolatry, disobedience and forsaking of the words of the Lord. God’s judgment came upon him and he was destroyed with every member of his family by Baasha according to the word of the Lord spoken through prophet Ahijah. Several other instances abound in the Scripture of God’s judgment.

The first man and woman were judged by God for their disobedience. Cain was judged for his wickedness. All the people who refused to repent in the time of Noah perished; the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were also judged. Egypt also experienced divine judgment when they refused to release Israel from captivity. Even the children of Israel were not spared when they sinned in the wilderness. If you look closely at each of these cases, you will realise that indeed, “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). God’s judgment is certain.

He is plenteous in mercy to those who humble themselves before Him but fearful in judgment to those who despise the manifold riches of His grace. Be wise; escape for your life. If you choose to be obedient to the warnings of the Lord, repent of your sins and live a consistent Christian life, you will certainly avoid God’s anger and ultimately get to heaven. But if you choose to linger in sin, the consequences will be severe and regrettable.

Thought for the day: A presumptuous attitude towards God is a deadly opiate for the sinner.

Bible Reading in one Year: 1 Corinthians 8-11

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.

Topic: Follow Your Dream [Friday April 28, 2017]

And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee. – Exodus 3:11-12

Have you ever had a Holy Spirit-inspired dream, a dream of doing something really great for Jesus? A dream of being so prosperous, for instance, that you can finance a nationwide revival? A dream of leading thousands of people to the Lord?

At one time or another, you probably have, but perhaps you backed away from it. You thought, Oh my, I couldn’t do that. Satan’s kept me defeated for so long I have a poor self-image.

If so, I have some good news for you. If you’ll believe God, even a poor self-image won’t keep you from success. Look in the book of Exodus and you’ll see a man who proved that. His name was Moses.

Moses didn’t have a very good self-image. He’d made a terrible mistake early in his career. It was a mistake that drove him into the wilderness and kept him there for 40 years herding someone else’s sheep.

He’d once dreamed of being a deliverer of God’s people, but no more. As far as he was concerned, he was finished…a failure…a flop!

But God didn’t think so. In fact, when God came to Moses in that wilderness, He didn’t ask for Moses’ credentials. He didn’t mention his shady history. He just told him to go see Pharaoh and tell him to let God’s people go.

Moses, however, was still wrestling with his poor self-image. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” he stammered.

You know what God said in response? He just said, “Certainly, I will be with thee.”

You see, it didn’t matter who Moses was. What mattered was that the living God was with him. The same thing is true for you today. You don’t need a history of successes behind you to answer God’s call. You don’t need a string of spiritual credentials. All you need is the presence of the Lord.

Think about that when the devil tells you you’re a failure, when he says you’ll never be able to do what God has put in your heart to do. Put him in his place. Tell him it doesn’t matter who you are because the living God is with you.

Then dare to follow your dream!

Scripture Reading: Exodus 3:1-14

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: An Alternative to Anger [Friday April 28, 2017]

Read: Proverbs 20:1–15, Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 3–5; Luke 20:1–26

It is to one’s honor to avoid strife. Proverbs 20:3

One morning in Perth, Australia, Fionn Mulholland discovered his car was missing. That’s when he realized he had mistakenly parked in a restricted zone and his car had been towed away. After considering the situation—even the $600 towing and parking fine—Mulholland was frustrated, but he decided not to be angry with the person he would work with to retrieve his car. Instead of venting his feelings, Mulholland wrote a humorous poem about the situation and read it to the worker he met at the tow yard. The worker liked the poem, and a possible ugly confrontation never took place.

The book of Proverbs teaches, “It is to one’s honor to avoid strife” (20:3). Strife is that friction that either simmers under the surface or explodes in the open between people who disagree about something.

God has given us the resources to live peacefully with other people. His Word assures us that it’s possible to feel anger without letting it boil over into rage (Eph. 4:26). His Spirit enables us to override the sparks of fury that prompt us to do and say things to strike out at people who upset us. And God has given us His example to follow when we feel provoked (1 Peter 2:23). He is compassionate, gracious, and slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness (Ps. 86:15).

Prayer: Dear God, Please help me to manage my anger in a way that does not lead me into sin. Give me self-control through the power of Your Holy Spirit.

Be slow to anger.

Insight:

The Scriptures have a lot to say about controlling our anger. King David knew well enough the potential evil waiting to be unleashed when we don’t master our anger. He warned, “Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent. Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm” (Ps. 4:4; 37:8 nlt). May God help us follow this wise instruction when anger comes calling.

Can you think of a situation where you could have better controlled your anger? What should you have done? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you respond to situations in a way that honors Him.

This message was written By Jennifer Benson Schuldt [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]