Morning Devotional For Friday 4th January

[Edoman]

RHAPSODY OF REALITIES

FRIDAY, 4TH JANUARY.

BUILT FOR TOUGH TIMES.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

There’s no hopelessness for a child of God. It doesn’t matter what you’ve faced or are facing in your life; the challenges aren’t for your destruction. Not many know this; hence, they faint in the face of adversity.

We’re built for tough times. 2 Corinthians 4:17 says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” Therefore, face tough times and win. The troubles you face are for your testimonies. In Isaiah 43:2, the Lord said, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” It makes no difference what comes against you; you’re more than a conqueror.

Perhaps, you’re in debt, and all your creditors are after you, and it looks like there’s no help in sight; don’t give up. God has a plan for your life. You’ll settle your creditors; keep your faith alive. Refuse to allow depressing thoughts. God is bigger—far bigger—than whatever amount you owe as debt.

Maybe you’ve been handed an unpleasant doctor’s report; trust the Name of Jesus! Irrespective of the pain or symptoms, keep declaring, “I know I’m healed; my body is vitalized by the Holy Ghost who lives in me!” There’s someone living inside you that makes you indomitable; no matter what you face, you win.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 says, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed”; why? The answer is in the preceding verse 7: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” Hallelujah!

CONFESSION

I lay hold on eternal life! I have prevailing faith. No matter what I face, all things work together for my good, according to the Word of God. I’m what God says I am; I have what He says I have, and I can do what He says I can do. Glory to God!

FURTHER STUDY:

Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

1-Year Bible Reading Plan
Matthew 4 & Genesis 9-11

2-Year Bible Reading Plan
Matthew 2:13-23 & Genesis 4


#TALKINGSESSION

4TH JANUARY.

KINDLY SAY THIS WORDS OUT LOUD.

Dear Father, I thank you for qualifying me to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. My understanding is enlightened today, to comprehend and apprehend my next level of glory, progress, and prosperity; I am waxing great, making progress and growing exceedingly in divine

wisdom. I declare that irrespective of what I perceive with my physical senses, I am living in the spiritual realities of our divine kingdom. I experience divine health, absolute prosperity, unending success, abundant joy and indescribable peace, all through 2019 and beyond, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.


God bless you

[Edoman]

Good morning Brothers and Sisters....TODAY IS FRIDAY JANUARY 2019 DAY 4 of ODM devotional booklet for the Champions.

Topic: SHE HELD ON! YOU ARE NEXT!
(JOB 13:15; JOB 14:1-15).

I heard recently about a gospel artist whom we planned to bring to the annual WORLD ANOINTING NIGHT – Sister Tope Alabi! She is a living example of STORY TO GLORY grace! Hear her: “I am still in awe of how the song ‘Logan Ti Ode’ went viral within a short time, some of my songs have gone viral like this before but this is exceptional. When I started gospel music, I didn’t expect to be this focus; I am even afraid because the fame and fans are overwhelming.”

This is her sweet GLORY phase! Now hear her talk about her bitter STORY phase: “What if I had been discouraged when my music was not paying my bills? I used to struggle to pay my children’s school fees. I once hired a bus fro my band members and had to pay by instalments.” She recalled how marketers she had taken copies of her first album to, asked her to come and take them away as no one was buying them: “When I gave the compact discs to some marketers, they asked me to come and take them back because people were not buying them.

I was very discouraged and even made up my mind not to sing again! I told God that there was no way I would do music as there were other things I could do that would fetch money for me. Four years after, I did another album and people still did not buy it. It wasn’t until I added another song that people started buying the album.”

Oh, the fruit of persistence! She wanted to quit, but refused to! Yes! Those who saw the first copies of this ODM devotional about 20 years ago, told me that it would never be accepted! But today, there is a worldwide GLORY! Ah! There is always a STORY behind every GLORY! That is why you must NEVER give up! Sometimes it is the last key in the bunch that opens the lock! Obstacle are put in your way to see if what you want is dear to you! Don’t forget Lady Aberdeen: “The difference between the DIFFICULT and the IMPOSSIBLE is that the IMPOSSIBLE takes a little longer time.”

Hal Borland penned: “Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.” Yes, like Job you must determine to hold on TILL YOUR CHANGE COMES (Vs. 14 of our 2nd scripture)! Between your STORY PHASE and your GLORY PHASE, there is sometimes, pain, ridicule, rejection and misery! But if you don’t quit, then you will be celebrated as a miracle by those who passed you through ridicule!

Hold on and hold out! Remember, tomorrow is the beginning of the 21-day fasting programme! (Don’t forget to give out THIS BOOKLET and “WAH- 14” copies to help others join in the fasting programme)!

PRAYER POINTS: Take Song 4: My hope is built………

1. In your own words, pray about today’s word as led now.

2. Lord God, move me from STORY TO GLORY!

3. I UPROOT discouragement and depression NOW!

4. I release myself from any inherited bondage that is slowing down my GLORY SEASON in my life, family and ministry in Jesus name.

BY BISHOP (DR) CHRIS E. KWAKPOVWE (CEK)
PUBLISHER/WRITER OF ODM AND

REV (MRS) FLORA E. KWAKPOVWE (FEK)
CO-PUBLISHER/WRITER OF ODM...

[Edoman]

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: FRIDAY 4TH JANUARY 2019

THEME: LESSONS FROM THE SOWER II

MEMORISE:
Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: Proverbs 24:3

READ: Mark 4:2-9, Mark 10:29-30

2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,

3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:

6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Mark 10:29-30
29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,

30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

MESSAGE

Yesterday, we learnt a great lesson from the futility of indiscriminate sowing from the Parable of the Sower. The Holy Spirit taught us that it would amount to a waste of seed, time and energy if we do not sow wisely. Today, we will reflect on the benefits of sowing with wisdom.

To conclude His parable on the sower, the Lord in Mark 4:8 said:

“And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.”

The first lesson here is that seeds don't all yield the same amount of fruit. Every child of God must have this understanding in order not be frustrated by unfulfilled expectations. In His own wisdom, the Owner of the Church did not endow every member of His Church equally (Romans 12:6-8). What is important is that we all sow seeds, using the endowments God has given to each of us, and we must do all within our ability to maximise the potential of our seed in order to yield the expected fruits (John 15:16). It will therefore be wrong for us, as members of the Body of Christ, to begin to compare ourselves competitively with one another. The Holy Spirit discourages this type of attitude among the brethren (2 Corinthians 10:12).

When we choose correctly the right soil to sow our seeds into, we are bound to prosper. It is frustrating to work and have nothing to show for it. Peter experienced this in Luke 5:3-8, by by the time he encountered the Owner of heaven and earth, he had a big catch. From Peter's experience, you will be wise to learn that you need Jesus Christ, who is Himself the Wisdom of God, to experience breakthroughs in life without struggle (1 Corinthians 1:24-29). Moreover, if you are one of those who pay tithes and give offerings as commanded by God, you must identify the correct soil to sow these seeds of faith into. You must identify a commission which has God's backing to sow your seeds of giving into. Many people have been discouraged from paying their tithes, offerings and first fruits because God's promise on these in Malachi 3:10 is not fulfilled in their lives. They have become disgruntled about giving, not only to God but also to the needy, because they lack adequate knowledge on the priciples of sowing. The problem is that many people unknowingly sow among thorns and thistles, on the roadside or even on the rock. From the Parable of the Sower, we know what happens to such seeds. This will not be your experience in Jesus' Name. Some ministries which are not founded on the call of God are like the wayside and rocky ground that Jesus described; you will be wise not to sow your time and resources in such places. Overall, the best investment you can make is to sow the seed of your life into Christ. If you do, you will surely reap the benefits in multiple folds (Mark 10:30, John 10:10).

KEY POINT:
God is not committed to what He hasn't commanded. Are you sowing into a cause that has His backing?

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Matthew 9-10, Isaiah 3:1-23

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 4: TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE

1.Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise,
Let them flow in endless praise.

2.Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

3.Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.

4. Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose,
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

5. Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

6. Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.

[Edoman]

SEEDS OF DESTINY

Friday, 4th January 2019

DESPERATION FOR A LIFT AND SHIFT


SCRIPTURE: And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. Genesis 32:24

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Desperation breaks existence in stagnation; desperation brings elevation.

It has been confirmed that desperation is a demand for Divine lift in life. To be desperate or passionate after God is to be lifted by Him.

Now, how does desperation lift a person? Desperation breaks existence in stagnation; desperation brings elevation. When you come to a point and say, ‘Things cannot continue the way they have been in my life; my life must change’, then you are ready for a change of level. It was by desperation that Jacob changed his levels (Genesis 32:24).

Ruth also changed level by desperation (Ruth 1:17). Even as a Moabite, she was named in the genealogy of Jesse and King David of the royal tribe of Judah, the ancestral lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ by desperation (Ruth 4:17). People change levels by desperation; people experience lifts and shifts in life by desperation.
I want you to take note of two key facts on desperation:

i. Life becomes dynamic when people become desperate.
As long as people are satisfied with where they are, they are stagnated in life.
ii. Changes become drastic when people become desperate.
People change levels drastically in life when they become desperate.
Now, let me give you two keys to desperation:
i. Refuse to die on the same spot in all areas of life.
ii. Refuse to take ‘No’ for an answer (Matthew 11:12).
Beloved, as you take these steps, I see you experiencing supernatural lifts and shifts in life, in Jesus’ Name.
Remember this: Desperation breaks existence in stagnation; desperation brings elevation.

ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Develop an unquenchable passion for God and His Presence.
2. Refuse to be satisfied in life until God changes your level.

PRAYER: O Lord, I ask that You give me a fresh baptism of unquenchable passion for You. Draw me closer to Your Presence Lord, in Jesus’ Name.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: COME UP HITHER - SUPERNATURAL LIFTS AND SHIFTS.

TODAY IN HISTORY: 04/01/1962 - New York City introduced a train that operated without conductors and motormen.

DAILY READING: Genesis 8:1 to 10:32, Matthew 4:12 to 25, Psalm 4:1 to 8, Proverbs 1:20 to 23.
AMAZING FACT: One windshield or window frame of a Boeing 747-400’s cockpit costs as much as a BMW.
QUOTE: Wherever God sees sacrifices, He releases fire - the fire of passion and zeal; the fire of favour. Culled from WHO ARE YOU? by Dr. Paul Enenche.

[Edoman]

THE LIVING WATER

DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE

Friday, January 4, 2019

TOPIC: THE PASTOR (II)

Read: John 10:1-10
MEMORISE: And say to Archippus, "Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it (Colossian 4:17).

EXPOSITION

The work of a pastor cuts across every facet of life. God has ordained some to be pastors in His church so that souls that are saved can be nurtured for His Kingdom. It is holistic, and does not give room for discrimination or segregation, among the brethren.
 A pastor is likened to a shepherd, rearing some flock for fruitfulness, multiplicity and sustenance. Christians under a functional and charismatic pastor will be productive, multiply and sustain one another. It is good to note that they can only produce the seed that is sown in them through their pastors. As pastors, you must sow the seed of the godly word in the hearts of the people under your ministry.

How do they achieve this? They must be properly fed with the Word of God through sound Bible reading, study, questions and answers, share and care from the Bible, seminars and interactive sessions, etc. Jesus Christ used many methods to teach His disciples, until they understood the message. Patience is a tool in the hands of a good pastor. Among the juvenile, youth, choristers, men, women, elders, deacon, deaconesses, prayer warriors, Sunday school teachers and other fellowships in the church, you should see yourself as a shepherd and pastor, rearing and nurturing their souls for eternity. As a leader of any of these units, be careful you do not bring souls down through lies, greed, sexual assault, sins and ungodly character.

The eternal destiny of the flock under your work as a pastor is committed to you hands. The children, youths, men and women of God are your flock. Take good care of them. You must love, encourage, exhort, inspire and feed them as a true pastor – shepherd. If you are an anointed pastor over the church of God, your duty is to feed the church with the truth, word of peace, encouragement, holiness, righteousness, and make them grow in the Lord. Remember, it is the flock that is well fed that will grow well and healthy. It is still part of your calling to commit them to God. “Goats” in the flock may stand for your trials, difficulties and hardship. God is on your side! Pray for more grace. The Bible says, And say to Archippus, "Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it Col4:17.

PRAYER POINTS

1. Lord, help me to fulfil my ministry.
2. Father, help those who have departed from their calling, as You restore them.
3. God Almighty, remind our leaders in the nation to remember You in their duties.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: Genesis 8:9 – 10:21; Matthew 4:2 – 4:23
Author: CAC WORLDWIDE
Remain Blessed!