Topic: God-Given Desires [Joyce Meyer’s Devotional Friday September 7, 2018]

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart. — Psalm 37:4 (AMP)

One of the ways God speaks to us is through the sanctified desires of our hearts. God places right desires in our hearts and then He gives us those desires.

I remember a time when I had a desire for homemade zucchini bread but had no talent or time to make it. I simply said, “Lord, I sure would like some fresh zucchini bread,” and did not think about it again. About a week later a lady who knew nothing of my desire handed me a box and when I opened it, I found homemade zucchini bread. God delights in doing small and large things for us and we should never fail to appreciate all of them.

We need to ask God to give us sanctified, or holy, desires. We usually have desire for natural things such as success, finances, nice homes, and good relationships, but we should also desire spiritual things. We should desire to know God in a deeper and more intimate way, to always display the fruit of the Spirit, especially love, to serve God in ways that glorify Him, to always be obedient to God, et cetera. Let us ask God to take away fleshly desire and give us sanctified desire.

God puts in us desires that will bring His righteousness, peace, and joy to our lives (see Romans 14:17), and they never disagree with His Word. Wrong desires torment us, and we are impatient about receiving them, but sanctified desire comes with a willingness to wait on God’s ways and timing. Place your desires before God, pray about them and trust God to give them to you if and when they are right for you.

Prayer Starter: Father, help me to want what You want. I lift up all my desires to You right now and ask for You to give me what’s best for my life—in Your way and in Your timing. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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

From Joyce Meyer’s Ministries.

Topic: Strike It Rich [Kenneth & Gloria Copeland 7 September 2018 Daily Devotional]

And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. – Galatians 3:29

One of the problems that hung around me for years was poverty. But I remember the day I decided I wasn’t going to be poor anymore. I was reading in the Word where it says that the blessing of Abraham has come upon the gentiles by Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:14). Then I got down to the 29th verse where it says, “If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Suddenly the truth hit me. I got so excited I could hardly stand myself.

I turned back over to Deuteronomy 28 and—line by line—I read those promised blessings. “Blessed in the city, blessed in the country. Blessed going out, blessed coming in. Blessed in your barns, blessed in your fields, blessed in all the works of your hands.” Man, I had struck it rich!

I’d been going to school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I was living in a dumpy little house no one would want to live in. But when I read those promises in the Word, I saw the light. I realized God had already redeemed me from the curse of poverty.

Well, that afternoon in my back bedroom, I took my Bible in my hand and I said: “I want to announce to Almighty God in heaven and to Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to all the angels of heaven, to all the demons of hell, and to anyone else who cares anything about hearing it, that from this day forward my needs are met according to God’s riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

I told God, “I’m standing on Your Word, and I’m looking to You to take care of me. I’ll never ask a man for a dollar.”

That was many years ago and I never have. You know why? Because that decision connected me to the power of God. It’ll do the same for you.

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 28:1-13

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Kenneth and Gloria Copeland’s Daily Devotional Here’’

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: Unchanging Love [Our Daily Bread 7 September 2018 Devotional]

Read: Psalm 103:13–22, Bible in a Year: Proverbs 1–2; 1 Corinthians 16

The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:17

When I was in high school I played on the varsity tennis team. I spent many hours of my teenage years trying to improve my skills on four concrete courts located just two blocks from my home.

The last time I visited that city, one of the first things I did was drive to the tennis courts, hoping to watch others play and reminisce for a moment. But the old courts, so familiar to my memory, were nowhere to be seen. In their place was a vacant field, inhabited only by an occasional weed waving silently in the breeze.

That afternoon remains in my mind as a stark reminder of the brevity of life. One of the places where I expended some of my best youthful strength no longer existed! Reflecting on that experience later brought me to this truth, expressed by an aging King David: “The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him” (Psalm 103:15–17).

We grow older and the world around us may change, but God’s love doesn’t. He can always be trusted to take care of those who turn to Him.

Prayer: Faithful Father, thank You for Your love that never changes! Help me to love You by serving You faithfully today.

In our changing world, we can always depend on our unchanging God.

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

This message was written By James Banks [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: God’s Unconditional Love [TREM 7 September 2018 Daily Devotional]

“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 (KJV)

One major challenge of today’s church folks is the inability to know, accept, and indeed become intimate with the truth of God’s unconditional love. You need to understand that God’s love for us is Agape love. That is love regardless of what you have done. Agape love is that kind of love that requires nothing from man. It is love that reaches out even when you are undeserving.

We see the display of His Agape love first in redemption. Romans 5:6-8 clearly tells us about His love in redemption: “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly: for scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’’

God did not wait for us to know Him. We didn’t come crawling on our knees, but rather He paid the price even when we had not come to terms with the fact that we were on the wrong side of the law.

Secondly, we see His love displayed in forgiveness. Do you remember the story of the prodigal son? The boy asked his father to give him his inheritance and he collected it and left the house, to a far country where he squandered it all. Rather than shut the door against the boy for wasting his resources, the father was every day expecting the safe arrival of his son. When the boy eventually returned home, the father ran to him while he was yet afar off. He quickly made available a robe that fitted the young man, shoes his size, a ring for his hand and even much more. His father threw a lavish party to welcome him back home. That is love in action; God’s unconditional love.

Further Reading: Luke 15:11-32, 1John 4:9-11

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Proverbs 1-2; Evening- 1 Corinthians 16

“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.