Topic: Forgiven! [Friday July 28, 2017]

Read: 1 John 1:1-10, Bible in a Year: Psalms 46–48; Acts 28

I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant. Psalm 119:176

My friend Norm Cook sometimes had a surprise for his family when he arrived home from work. He would walk through the front door, and shout, “You’re forgiven!” It wasn’t that family members had wronged him and needed his forgiveness. He was reminding them that though they doubtless had sinned throughout the day, they were by God’s grace fully forgiven.

The apostle John supplies this note about grace: “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin [no inclination to sin], we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7–9).

To “walk in the light” is a metaphor for following Jesus. Imitating Jesus with the Spirit’s help, John insists, is the sign that we have joined with the apostles in the fellowship of faith. We are authentic Christians. But, he continues, let’s not be deceived: We will make wrong choices at times. Nevertheless, grace is given in full measure: We can take what forgiveness we need.

Not perfect; just forgiven by Jesus! That’s the good word for today.

Prayer: Lord, I know I’m not even close to being perfect. That’s why I need You and Your cleansing in my life. I’m lost without You.

Monitor your heart daily to avoid wandering from God’s wisdom.

Insight:

In this passage we see how confession can restore our connection with God. We are assured that even when we make wrong choices, God will offer grace and forgiveness to the truly repentant.

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

Topic: Situation-Dependent Service [Friday 28, July 2017]

Memorise: And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? – Daniel 6:20

Read: Daniel 6:18-23 (KJV)

18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.

19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.

20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?

21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.

22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.

23 Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.

Bible in One Year: 1 Kings 5-6; Ezekiel 16:44-58, Hymn: Sing hymn 14: Take My Life

MESSAGE:

If your desire to see exploits from the Almighty God, you must know Him personally and believe that He is alive. Unfortunately, when some believers are going through very tough times, you will think that their God is dead. They lose their trust in God, just because they could not feel Him doing anything about their case while putting their trust in Him. Some of such people will no longer confess Him before men because they are afraid He might disappoint them. Hebrews 11:6 says that if you want anything at all from God, you must believe that He is alive and well. You must believe that He continues to exist and that He is in control. No matter how bad your situation may appear, God is still alive and He is in charge. Nothing happens in your life without His knowledge.

After Daniel was set up by some fellow leaders in the Government of King Darius, He was thrown into the lion’s den. What the king said to him while he was in the lion’s den is very instructive:

“And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?” – Daniel 6:20

In other words, this king recognised that the God of Daniel was the living God. Do people know your God as the living God? Also, King Darius observed the quality of worship Daniel offered to his God. Daniel not only severed God in the times of plenty, blessings and answered prayers, but also in the times of persecution and unanswered prayers. If you truly want to see exploits, you must be ready to serve God continuously. Do you know that many people allow situations and circumstances to affect or determine when they serve God? Some people decide to down tools in God’s house just because a particular pending request has not been granted. Some even “threaten” God that if He doesn’t answer their prayer, they will stop pastoring, winning souls or doing some specific assignment that God has given to them. Can you truly threaten God? Is your love for God dependent on your situation in life? If you have downed tools in God’s service, repent and get back to doing the work that God gave to you!

Key Point: Although God can deliver His children from any unpleasant situation, He reserves the right to decide whether and when to deliver them or not, depending on what He wants to achieve from that particular situation.

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: Time Management [Thursday July 27, 2017]

Time management is life management.

Failure to manage time is life failure, because life is measured within frame of time.
Wasting time is damaging life.

Don’t expose your life to time wasters because they are life damagers.

Life is allotted in time frames.

Allowing time to pass is allowing life to pass.

Letting go of time is letting go of life.

Letting time slip off is letting life slip off.

Have firm control of time to gain firm control of life.

Topic: Common People with Uncommon Goals [Thursday July 27, 2017]

Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]. — Ephesians 3:20

God uses common, ordinary, everyday people who have uncommon goals and visions. That is what I am—just a common, ordinary person with a goal and a vision. But just because I am common and ordinary does not mean that I am content to be average. I don’t like that word. I don’t want to be average. I don’t intend to be average. I don’t serve an average God, therefore, I don’t believe I have to be average—and neither do you.

Average is basically okay. It is not bad, but it is also not excellent. It is just good enough to get by, and I don’t think that is what God wants us to be. I believe that any common, ordinary, everyday person can be mightily used by God. I believe that we can do great and mighty things—things that will amaze even us—if we believe that God can use us and if we will be daring enough to have an uncommon goal and vision. And what I mean by uncommon is something that doesn’t make sense to the mind. We have to believe God for it.

In Ephesians 3:20 we are told that God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond all that we could dare to hope, ask, or think, according to His great power that is at work in us. God does it through us according to His power, but it is done through us, so we have to cooperate. That means we need to be daring in our faith and in our prayers. Some of us are not believing for enough. We need to stretch our faith into new realms. We need to be uncommon people with uncommon goals.

Topic: Be Separate [Thursday July 27, 2017]

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. – 2 Corinthians 6:17

We’re surrounded by a world which is ruled for the most part by Satan. How can we avoid getting caught up in it? How can we stand apart?

You’ll find the answer in John 17:17. There Jesus was speaking to the Father about all those who would believe on Him. “Sanctify them through thy truth,” He says. “Thy word is truth.” Sanctify means “to separate unto.” So Jesus was saying, “Separate them by the Word.” The Word separates!

When you initially believed the Word of God, you were born again. You were separated spiritually from the kingdom of darkness and separated to the kingdom of Light. Now that’s where a lot of people stop. They let the Word of God do its initial separating work and then go right on living like everyone else. Spiritually, they’re still separated from death. But physically and mentally, they’re up to their necks in it. They’re poor. They’re sick. They’re worried. They’re confused. They’re upset. In other words, they’re just like everyone else in the world.

But if you’ll give the Word of God first place in your life, it will continue to separate you from the poverty and the anxiety and the sickness and the hatred and the darkness of your old habitat.

There’s something else that the Word of God will do for you too. It will not only separate you from the things of this world, it will separate you unto the things of God.

You can’t simply separate yourself from any old destructive habit without separating yourself to something else. You can’t turn away from the things of the world unless you turn unto something stronger. I’m telling you, you can scream and squall and kick the altar bench and everything else trying to get rid of the sin in your life. You can cry, “Dear God, take this sin away from me.” But all the begging in the world won’t separate you from your sin. It’s the Word that does it!

Make a decision to give the Word first place in your life. Make it a quality decision, a decision from which there is no retreat. Lock in to the Word and let the Word do its work. Let it separate you from the things of the world and to the things of God.

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

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: Grateful Heart [Thursday July 27, 2017]

Text: Luke 17:11-19

Key Verse: “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God” (Luke 17:15).

The story is told of one Allen Gardiner, a missionary who drowned in a boat accident as he rowed out for a missionary journey. His body was found near his capsised boat along the seashore. The entries in his diary revealed a catalogue of the miseries he experienced all through the journey – hunger, deprivations, suffering and persecutions.

Yet, his last entry read thus: “I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God”. Now that is a gorgeous heart focusing on God’s blessings exclusively. Sadly, today such hearts are in short supply. Ostracised, the ten lepers had no choice but to flock together. Desperate, determined and in dire need of restoration, they pleaded passionately for attention when the Saviour showed up. They received healing in a dramatic reversal of rules by the Master. Nine of them, all Jews obviously in a celebratory frenzy headed home thoughtlessly.

Only one, a Samaritan returned to worship God in a stunning show of brokenness and gratitude. Christ took notice, confirmed and perfected his healing. Sin, like leprosy of old, still isolates man from having fellowship with God and his saints. All sinners must desist from transgression. Just like the ten lepers, they should passionately call on God and plead for mercy. Christ is the solution to Satan’s nature of sin. Forgiveness is offered by His mercy. Those who have been cleansed must constantly guard against contamination from the present evil world.

Salvation comes at a huge cost, but Christ picked up the bill. We must constantly reflect that light of God in us. Soul-winning is vitally necessary as proof of our appreciation of God’s tender mercies towards us. A daily life of praises and thanksgiving garnishes our relationship with God in no small measure.

Thought for the day: A grateful heart is a glorious haven.

Bible Reading in one Year: Exodus 37-38

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: The Voice of God – Man’s Greatest Treasure [Thursday July 27, 2017]

Scripture: The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. Psalms 29:4

Thought For The Day: To be out of touch with the Voice of God is to be lost on the journey of destiny.

The Voice of God is the compass for life and destiny. That is why one of the greatest assets on earth is access to the Voice of God. Access to the Voice of God was behind the making of principal people in Scripture. For instance, Moses heard the Voice of God, the patriarchs heard the Voice of God, and that Voice became an asset in their lives’ journey on earth.

God can speak audibly to a person or through His Word (The Bible). God also speaks through dreams, revelations, visions etc. Whenever God speaks, change is guaranteed.

What then is in the Voice of God?

1. The Voice of God is the activator of destiny: Abraham was almost a destitute until God’s Voice came (Genesis 12:1). So, to be out of touch with the Voice of God is to be lost on the journey of destiny.

2. The Voice of God is the container of power: God’s Word is pregnant with power (Psalms 29:4). When the Word comes, it empowers a person unto fulfilment. You cannot be connected to God’s Voice and be a weakling in life.

3. The Voice of the Lord is a weapon for the battles of life: One of the weapons for the battle of life is Divine revelation. One revelation from God by His Voice can collapse your enemy (Isaiah 30:31).

Beloved, please do all you can to hear from God in every area of your life.

Remember this: To be out of touch with the Voice of God is to be lost on the journey of destiny.

Assignment(s):

1. Study the Word of God daily and consistently; you will hear His Voice in His Word.

2. Determine to love and know God more (1Cor. 2:9-10)

3. Acknowledge God in all you do and seek His direction (Proverbs 3:5-6).

4. Trust Him for direction before you take any step in life (Proverbs 3:5-6).

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: THE SECRETS OF SPIRITUAL SENSITIVITY.

Prayer: LORD, open my ears to hear Your Voice. Open my eyes to see the revelation in Your Word and give me the grace to obey You always, Lord in Jesus’ Name.

Quote: God speaks to people who think, not people who worry. Culled from, 10 PRINCIPAL SECRETS OF PRINCIPAL PEOPLE by Dr Paul Enenche.

Daily Reading: 2 Chronicles 19:1 to 20:37, Romans 10:14 to 11:12, Psalm 21:1 to 13, Proverbs 20:4 to 6

Amazing Fact: A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

Today In History: 27/07/1921 – Researchers at the University of Toronto, led by biochemist Frederick Banting, proved that the hormone insulin regulates blood sugar.

Dunamis International Gospel Centre (DIGC), is a powerfully anointed church, headquartered at Abuja, Nigeria, with Dr Paul and Dr Becky Enenche, as the Senior Pastors. It is a power-packed arena where God’s Presence, Principles and Power are at work for the salvation, healing and restoration of human destinies and dignities.

Topic: Give and Take [Thursday July 27, 2017]

Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. — Ephesians 6:24

Certain relationships in life require from the parties involved only moderate degrees of devotion. A certain degree of reserve and distance seems to be suitable in such relations as these. But there are other relationships in life where all this is changed when friendship becomes love. Two hearts give themselves to each other to be no longer two, but one. Instead of being separated, their interest and paths are now together. The reserve and the distance suitable to mere friendships is fatal in real love.

Love gives all and must have all in return. The wishes of the other party become binding obligations; and the deepest desire of each heart is to know every secret wish and longing of the other, in order that it may do all in its power to gratify those desires. Is that the kind of love, affection, and obedience you have for Christ?

“The whole Bible is a love story,” Billy Graham once said. Hear more in this 1-minute clip.

Prayer for the day: Jesus, I say I love You and yet so often it is a selfish, “taking” love. Let me love You in such a way that Your desires will be mine.

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: Negatives Become Positives [Thursday July 27, 2017]

Luke 15:18 “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee.”

LUKE 15:18-19

This is a good example of true repentance. This son did not claim any goodness of his own or try to justify his actions, but he humbled himself and appealed to the mercy of his father. Likewise, we cannot approach God in self-righteousness, but we have to humble ourselves, put all of our faith in a Savior, and turn from our wicked ways (2 Chr. 7:14). That is true repentance.

Repentance is a necessary part of salvation. Repentance may include godly sorrow, but sorrow does not always include repentance. Repentance is simply a change of mind accompanied by corresponding actions.

There is a godly type of sorrow and an ungodly type of sorrow. Godly sorrow leads to repentance. Ungodly sorrow, or the sorrow of this world, just kills.

Our culture has rejected all “negative” emotions. But God gave us the capacity for these negative emotions and there is a proper use of them.

People should feel bad about sin. There should be sorrow over our failures. However, this sorrow should lead to repentance, then when forgiveness is received, our sorrow should be cast upon the Lord (Isa. 53:4).

The sorrow experienced by those who do not turn to God produces only death.

They grieve over their situation because they don’t turn to God (that’s repentance). Christians should only have sorrow until they repent. Once repentance has come, we need to appropriate the forgiveness and cleansing that are already ours through Christ (1 Jn. 1:9). The positive change that our sorrows led us to, changes our attitude towards the things that caused us sorrow. Negatives become positives through Jesus.

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: Sweet Company [Thursday July 27, 2017]

Read: John 14:15–26, Bible in a Year: Psalms 43–45; Acts 27:27–44

The Spirit of truth . . . lives with you and will be in you. John 14:17

The elderly woman in the nursing home didn’t speak to anyone or request anything. It seemed she merely existed, rocking in her creaky old chair. She didn’t have many visitors, so one young nurse would often go into her room on her breaks. Without asking the woman questions to try to get her to talk, she simply pulled up another chair and rocked with her. After several months, the elderly woman said to her, “Thank you for rocking with me.” She was grateful for the companionship.

Before He went back to heaven, Jesus promised to send a constant companion to His disciples. He told them He would not leave them alone but would send the Holy Spirit to be in them (John 14:17). That promise is still true for believers in Jesus today. Jesus said that the triune God makes His “home” in us (v. 23).

The Lord is our close and faithful companion throughout our entire life. He will guide us in our deepest struggles, forgive our sin, hear each silent prayer, and shoulder the burdens we cannot bear.

We can enjoy His sweet company today.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for giving us Your Spirit as our constant companion.

The Christian’s heart is the Holy Spirit’s home.

Insight:

When Jesus talks about the coming of the Holy Spirit, He says the Spirit will live with us and be in us (John 14:17). However, it is the effect of the Spirit being in us that is truly surprising. Instead of saying the Spirit will know us, Jesus says we will know Him! What a thought—we can know the God who knows us and makes His home in us. J.R. Hudberg

This message was written By Anne Cetas [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]