Bishop David Abioye Devotional - RESPONDING TO CHALLENGES

RESPONDING TO CHALLENGES

Today: 2016-11-30

For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. (Proverbs 24:16)

In the journey of life challenges will certainly come.

They don’t require your opinion or invitation.

They will come without prior notice. Therefore, live ready for them.

They come as waves on their own not necessarily to hurt, damage or destroy.

While many are swept off and fizzle out with challenges some others glide over them as if nothing ever happened or ever came their way.

It’s all a matter of attitude, the mind set, mentality and expectations.

You can glide over the waves while some others are swept away by it.

Even if you are ever swept off your feet by the floods of life, you can come over the waters again by the scriptural provision that you will rise again, even after seven times of fall if you ever fell up to seven times.

OUR Daily Bread - What Are You Worth?

What Are You Worth?

November 30, 2016

Read: 1 Peter 1:17–23 | Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 37–39; 2 Peter 2

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It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed . . . but with the precious blood of Christ. 1 Peter 1:18–19

There is a story that in 75 bc a young Roman nobleman named Julius Caesar was kidnapped by pirates and held for ransom. When they demanded 20 talents of silver in ransom (about $600,000 today), Caesar laughed and said they obviously had no idea who he was. He insisted they raise the ransom to 50 talents! Why? Because he believed he was worth far more than 20 talents.

What a difference we see between Caesar’s arrogant measure of his own worth and the value God places on each of us. Our worth is not measured in terms of monetary value but by what our heavenly Father has done on our behalf.

Our worth is measured by what God paid to rescue us.

What ransom did He pay to save us? Through the death of His only Son on the cross, the Father paid the price to rescue us from our sin. “It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18–19).

God loved us so much that He gave up His Son to die on the cross and rise from the dead to ransom and rescue us. That is what you are worth to Him.

Father, thank You for the love You have shown to me and for the price You paid for my forgiveness. Help my life to be an ongoing expression of gratitude, for You are the One whose worth is beyond measure.

Our worth is measured by what God paid to rescue us.

INSIGHT:

In today’s reading Peter tells his readers that Christ has redeemed them from an empty way of life. In the original language, the word translated “redeemed” (v. 18) means “to set free.” It is often used when talking about slaves who have been liberated from their bondage. They had been set free from the bondage of a futile and useless way of life that has been handed down to them from their ancestors. And this redeeming love of Christ was present even before sin entered the equation (vv. 18-20). Have you ever thought about the fact that Christ loves you knowing everything about you, even your sin? How does it make you feel that you have been or can be set free from the slavery of sin and death?

DCLM DAILY MANNA - The Danger Of Unbelief

Wednesday November 30, 2016

The Danger Of Unbelief

-2 KINGS 7:15-20

Key Verse:

"And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died" (2 Kings 7:19,20).

The Moody Church News had an account of a man who was walking by the sea shore. He was greatly perplexed about the doctrine of the Trinity. He observed a little boy with a sea shell running to the water, filling it and then pouring it into a hole which he had made in the sand. "What are you doing my little man?" asked the perplexed man. "Oh", said he, "I am trying to put the ocean into this hole!" The man learnt his lesson, and as he walked away, he said: "That is what I am trying to do. I see it now". Standing on the shores of time, he was trying to get into his little finite mind, things which are infinite. Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible. The account in our text relays the unfortunate story of the man in whose hand the king leaned, who tried to comprehend the ability of God by his finite mind. He queried the sense in Elisah's pronouncement on the instantaneous provision that God was about to bring upon the land of Samaria after a period of great famine. He doubted the man of God and paid dearly for his unbelief. He saw the blessing of abundance as predicted by the man of God but could not partake in it as earlier announced. He was trampled upon by a hungry but jubilant mob. Limiting God's ability with our little understanding and finite mind will always lead to destruction. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Trying to figure out what He can do and what He cannot do, based on our knowledge of science will be like checkmating Him. God can do anything at anytime (Luke 1:37). The best we can do is to completely hand over our life to Him for provision and fulfillment of His promise, and allow Him to work out the details while we walk with Him in righteousness.

Thought for the day: With God, nothing shall be impossible

Bible Reading in one Year: DANIEL 6-8

Open Heavens Daily Devotional - MERCY OR JUDGMENT?

Open Heavens Devotional 2016 - 30 November 2016:- Mercy or Judgement?

MERCY OR JUDGMENT? – Wednesday November 30^th 2016

Memorise: Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Psalms 32:1

Read: John 8:10-11 (KJV)

¹⁰ When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?

¹¹ She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Bible in one year: Exodus 9:1-10:20, Psalms 112

MESSAGE

The story of the woman caught in the act of adultery is typical of the mercy of God and it was in direct contradiction with the judgement of the old era which did not give remedy to the spiritual problem of the people. Psalms 130:3-4 says:

“If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.”

This passage is a pointer to the fact that mercy is the preferred alternative to judgment. No matter how perfect you may think you are, you do not need to be asked whether you want to give consideration to judgment when there is room for mercy. However, mercy does not come on a platter of gold. The number one thing you must do to obtain mercy is to repent. Proverbs 28:13 says:

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”

Another factor that can earn you mercy in the place of judgment is your love for God. This love you have for God will prevent you from continuing in sin against Him. Exodus 20:5-6 says:

“….for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto them third and fourth generation of the that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ corroborates what His Father says in the scripture above when He demands love and practical demonstration of it from his followers. He said in John 14:21:

“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, land will manifest myself to him.”

Beloved, if indeed, you prefer mercy to judgment, you will choose to love God. To love God requires keeping His commandments. Finally, if you want mercy in the place of judgment, you need to humble yourself before God, acknowledging the fact that you are nothing without Him.

Prayer Point

Father, please show me mercy in the place of judgment. Help me to love you with all my heart. 

Open Heavens Daily Devotional, written by Pastor E.A Adeboye

Faith Food Devotional - WORSHIP

November 30

WORSHIP

"As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said . . . ." — ACTS 13:2

This is the prayer of worship — ministering to the Lord. It is true that God is concerned about us. He is interested in us, and wants to meet our needs, because He has told us to ask. But my personal observation is that too large a percentage of our praying is, “Give me, give me, give me.” We need to take time in our individual prayer lives, in our gatherings, in our churches, to wait on God and to minister to the Lord. In this kind of atmosphere God can move. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost manifested Himself! God made man for His own pleasure so He would have someone with whom to fellowship. He is our Father. We are born of God. No earthly parent ever enjoyed the fellowship of his children more than God enjoys the fellowship of His sons and daughters. Take time to minister to the Lord: To pray. To wait on God. To tell Him how much you love Him. To praise Him. To thank Him for His goodness and mercy.

Confession
(Make up your own confession. Practice today’s lesson by ministering to the Lord.)

CGMI ABOVE ONLY - Keep Increasing From Within

Above Only Daily Devotional
http://cgmglobal.org/aboveonly

Wednesday, November 30

Keep Increasing From Within

Exodus 23:29-30 (AMP)
I will not drive them out before you in a single year, so that the land does not become desolate [due to lack of attention] and the [wild] animals of the field do not become too numerous for you. I will drive them out before you little by little, until you have increased and are strong enough to take possession of the land.
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There are times when we await certain manifestations of increase from God when God is actually awaiting an increase from within us that propels Him to manifest the increase that He has in mind for us. While you are waiting on God, He expects that you will be renewing your strength and mounting up with wings as eagles. God expects that you will become more like Christ because that is His utmost desire for you. This is His expectation, especially when you go through trials in your waiting period.

James 1:2-4 (GNB) says, my friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure. Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. In Exodus 13:17-18, the Bible reveals that even though going through the land of the Philistines would have been a shorter route to the Promised Land, God did not allow the children of Israel to go that way so that they would not engage in wars that they were unprepared for, give up and ultimately return back to Egypt. God led them through the wilderness instead.

Joseph kept increasing from within throughout his trying period. He was developing wisdom, character and various capacities for where God was taking him to. Your trials and difficulties are opportunities for you to increase.

PRAYER FOCUS: Declare that God's Word and His promises are your reality. Declare God's promises concerning your life and Praise Him.

BIBLE IN A YEAR READING PLAN: 1 Corin. 1-4

Empowered to Occupy Till He Comes...

DAILY HOPE DEVOTIONAL - What Does God Want While You Wait for an Answer?

What Does God Want While You Wait for an Answer?

BY RICK WARREN — NOVEMBER 29, 2016

“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act” (Psalm 37:7a NLT, second edition).

What does God want you to do while you’re waiting on an answer to your prayer?

Psalm 37:7 says, “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act”(NLT, second edition). God wants you to wait patiently for him to answer your prayer.

Have you noticed that we don’t mind waiting as long as we can grumble while we wait? We don’t mind waiting in the DMV line as long as we can gripe and complain about how lousy and unorganized the government is.

But God says, “Be still.”

Like little 2-year-olds, we get the spiritual wiggles while we’re waiting for God to answer a prayer. We get nervous and restless. We want to jump up and do something. But God says, “Wait patiently. Be still. Watch me act. Don’t get restless, don’t get nervous, and don’t try to take matters into your own hands.”

And, don’t ever make Abraham’s mistake in the Old Testament of trying to be the answer to your own prayer. It will cause all kinds of problems! One day God told Abraham that he was going to make him the father of a great nation. There were only two problems: Abraham was 99 years old, and he was childless. Abraham looked at his own body and said, “No way, José!” And he looked at his wife Sarah, who was infertile, and said, “Double no way! It ain’t gonna happen.”

So Abraham took matters into his own hands and had a baby with his wife’s maid, Hagar. Abraham said, “Here’s my answer to prayer! I’ve got a son at 99. His name is Ishmael.” God said, “No, no. You missed the point. That’s not my answer to prayer. That’s youranswer to prayer. I’ve got a miracle boy who’s coming, and Sarah’s going to be the mom. You’re going to name him Isaac.” Isaac means “laughter.” When Sarah was told that she was going to be pregnant, the Bible says she laughed because she didn’t believe God.

But God had the last laugh. Isaac was born, and it started an intense rivalry between him and Ishmael that we’re still paying for today. The tense relationship between Jews and Arabs all began because Abraham tried to answer his own prayer request.

Whenever you try to answer your own prayer, you’re asking for trouble. Instead, wait patiently, and watch God act.

Talk It Over

• What can you do to help you focus on God while you’re patiently waiting?
• What are your tendencies when you are waiting on God to act? What do you do after you request something of him in prayer?
• How have you grown spiritually during a time when you had to wait on God?

Bishop David Abioye Devotional - SUPERIORITY OF BLESSING TO RICHES

SUPERIORITY OF BLESSING TO RICHES

Today: 2016-11-29

Labour gives access to riches. It is favour that guarantees blessing.

God has given man power to become rich via His labour but only God blesses.

Riches are rewards of labour but blessings are benefits of redemption.

There are many things that riches cannot buy but there is nothing that blessings cannot procure.

Riches comes on weekly or monthly basis but blessing comes to us on daily basis 
(Ps. 68:19).

Therefore, labour not to be rich (Prov. 23:4, 5).

We work to obey God’s command to work.

Work is only a channel but not a source of blessing, only God is source.

Riches may fade and wane but blessings are enduring and everlasting (Prov. 10:22).

Our Daily Bread - I'm Rich

I’m Rich!

November 29, 2016

Read: Psalm 119:9–16 | Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 35–36; 2 Peter 1

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I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. Psalm 119:14

Perhaps you’ve seen the TV ad in which a person answers the door and finds someone who hands over a check for an enormous amount of money. Then the amazed recipient begins shouting, dancing, jumping, and hugging everyone in sight. “I won! I’m rich! I can’t believe it! My problems are solved!” Striking it rich evokes a great emotional response.

In Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, we find this remarkable statement: “I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches” (v. 14). What a comparison! Obeying God’s instructions for living can be just as exhilarating as receiving a fortune! Verse 16 repeats this refrain as the psalmist expresses grateful gladness for the Lord’s commands. “I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.”

Gratitude is both an attitude and a choice.

But what if we don’t feel that way? How can delighting in God’s instructions for living be just as exhilarating as receiving a fortune? It all begins with gratitude, which is both an attitude and a choice. We pay attention to what we value, so we begin by expressing our gratitude for those gifts of God that nourish our souls. We ask Him to open our eyes to see the storehouse of wisdom, knowledge, and peace He has given us in His Word.

As our love for Jesus grows each day, we indeed strike it rich!

Dear Father, open our eyes that we may see wonderful things in Your law. Thank You that Your instructions give wise advice.

Rich treasures of God’s truth are waiting to be discovered in His Word.

INSIGHT:

Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the Bible. Although the author is not named, most scholars say David composed it because the psalm sounds Davidic in tone and expression and is consistent with David’s experiences. The focus of its 176 verses is God and His Word. God is mentioned in every verse, while the entire psalm celebrates the Scriptures and speaks of their priority and sufficiency in the daily life of the believer, using a wide variety of words to capture the different dimensions of God’s Word in our lives. Scripture is described as “law” (vv. 1, 7), “statutes” (vv. 2, 14), “ways” (vv. 3, 15), “precepts” (vv. 4, 15), “decrees” (vv. 5, 8, 12, 16), “commandments” (vv. 6, 10), and “word” (vv. 9, 11, 16).

DCLM DAILY MANNA - For His Glory

Tuesday November 29, 2016

For His Glory

-NUMBERS 16:1-11

Key Verse:

"And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?" (Numbers 16:3).

In her autobiography, My Life, Mrs. Golda Meir, Israeli Prime Minister during the Yom Kippur War in 1993 relates moving stories of the patience, bravery and sacrifices of men and women of Jewish state in the face of the aggressions of its neighbours. She says Israel gathered from "authoritative intelligence source" that Egypt and Syria would launch an attack on her country from two fronts. Israeli Defence Forces were at their peak and primed to deliver a deadly pre-emptive strike. But Golda Meir wisely rejected the idea and went to war only after being attacked. Her restraint when provoked paid off. Israel wasn't seen as the aggressor and this earned the nation priceless global sympathy and enormous military support from the United States which enabled her gain overwhelming victory. Israel didn't apply her bravery and strength negatively. Korah, the leader of the rebellion in our text isn't so wise. His name means boldness or bravery. So he gathers co-conspirators -Dathan and Abiram along with several others - to attack Moses and Aaron, the servants of God. Believing leadership to be a carnal affair, he challenges what he sees as the domineering style of Moses. To speak out boldly-in-keeping-with his name, he reasons, would clip Moses' wings and force him to give the rebels some personal attention and leadership roles. Little did they realise that such heady missions put people in direct confrontation with God. When God gives us boldness, wisdom, wealth, good health, energy, authority, power, etc. He expects us to tame these attributes for Kingdom work, not for personal pursuits. When we pray for success and prosperity in family, work, career, academics and church business, we must also ask the Lord to give us the grace to manage these good attributes according to His will.

Thought for the day: Only the wise handles the "Yea and Amen" of God's promises.

Bible Reading in one Year: DANIEL 3 - 5

Open Heavens Daily Devotional - FEARLESS MESSENGER?

Open Heaven Tuesday 29 November 2016:- Fearless Messenger?

FEARLESS MESSENGER? – Tuesday November 29^th 2016

Memorise: Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee saith the lord. Jeremiah 1:8

Read: Jeremiah 1:4-10 (KJV)

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

⁵ Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

⁶ Then said I, Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

⁷ But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

⁸ Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

⁹ Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

¹⁰ See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

Bible in one year: Exodus 6:14-8:32, Psalms 110-111

MESSAGE

There are different ways by which God can send His word to His people. The Word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah telling him to fear not the faces of the people He was sending him to because the message He had given him would not be a pleasant message for them. Same was the account of Jonah when he was given a message to the people of Nineveh. The message of God to His children is always in various forms. It contains doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness 

(2^nd Timothy 3:16). It is always difficult for man to be confronted with his errors and wicked ways, and this was the assignment that God gave Prophet Jeremiah. How I wish there are many prophet Jeremiahs in our land, there would be more revival in our land. Prophets like Jeremiah who will call a spade a spade and not water down the Word of God because of the faces of the people. You cannot entangle yourself with the affairs of this world and still deliver the message of God without bias. There are many men of God who are afraid of the people God is sending them to. The God we serve has not given us the spirit of fear but of boldness and soundness of mind.

You have to be fearless in preaching the Word of God. You must be instant in season and out of season. We live in a time when people do not want to listen to the absolute truth of God’s Word. People are very selective about the kind of messages they listen to. Do you receive the Word with gladness each time the Word points you to the cross? 2^nd Timothy 4:3 says:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;”

God wanted Jeremiah to warn the people about the punishment to come if they would not repent from their ways of wickedness. God told Jeremiah to inform those who were proud and wicked, that the rod of affliction was coming on them. The essence of this message to the people was for them to purge themselves from righteousness. Each time the Word of God comes to you, it is an opportunity to amend your ways before it is too late. God wants you to be a vessel unto honour, sanctified and meet for His use so that you can be prepared for every good work.

Whatever assignment God has given to you, do not be afraid. You will meet with many oppositions and enemies but you can be sure God is by your side. They may look big, but they are not bigger than the One who has sent you. God will always deliver you out of the hand of persecutors. He will not only stand by you as you deliver the Word, He will deliver you from every trouble in the course of the assignment. When God sends you a message, He also backs you with His power. They may not like your face, but you can be sure that once you have declared the counsel of God to them, at the point of judgment; you will not be responsible for their blood.    

Key Point

If God be for you who can be against you?

Open Heavens Daily Devotional, written by Pastor E.A Adeboye