Daily Devotional for Wednesday 21st August

[Edoman]

RHAPSODY OF REALITIES

WEDNESDAY, 21ST AUGUST

IT’S ABOUT YOUR LOVE FOR HIM

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead (2 Corinthians 5:14).

The Apostle Paul, in our opening verse, wasn’t talking about Christ’s love for us, but our love for Him, and how that love compels us to stand in, and with the truth of the Gospel—no matter the opposition. The love Paul had for Christ was the drive behind his overwhelming passion to preach, and defend the truth of the Gospel.

Read Galatians 2:11-21 NKJV and see how Paul defended the truth of the Gospel, even to Peter. He said, “Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy…” (Read the entire reference up to the 21st verse).

In the 20th verse, he submitted, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (NKJV). What a conviction! It’s about your love for Him!

That love must be the controlling thought, the guiding principle of your life. It shouldn’t matter how intense or fierce the opposition is; you must, without hesitation, stand in defence of the Gospel of Christ!
How much do you love Him? If in your heart, you think your love for Him isn’t strong enough, what you need to do is simple: open your heart to Him in prayer, and tell Him, “Lord Jesus, I love you; I really do, with all my heart, and forever, this is what I want to do—loving you and doing your Word.” As you make that confession of your love to Him, you’ll experience a great motivation, and your passion for the Gospel will be increased.

Your love for Jesus Christ means more to God than anything you could ever give Him. So, love Him with all your heart, and prove it in keeping His Word. Hallelujah! (See John 14:15 & 21).

CONFESSION

Lord, my love for you is the great motivational force behind my overwhelming passion for the Gospel. I’m compelled by that love to preach the Gospel, and propagate it with speed and urgency, till the whole world knows of your love in Christ Jesus. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY

Mark 12:30; 1 John 5:3 AMPS; John 14:15-21 NIV
1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN
1 Corinthians 6 & Psalms 119:1-112

2 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN
Luke 18:1-8 & 1 Samuel 7-8

[Edoman]

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: WEDNESDAY 21ST AUGUST 2019

THEME: STRATEGICALLY LOCATED.

MEMORISE:

But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Genesis 50:20

READ: Genesis 37:13-28

13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.

14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

16 And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.

17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.

19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
21 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.

22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.

23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;

24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?

27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.

28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

MESSAGE

Out of envy and hatred, Joseph’s brothers wickedly plotted evil against him. They even wanted to kill him but God intervened, so they decided instead to the merchants who led him to Egypt, where he served Potiphar for several years before being sent to prison. Jailed for a crime he didn’t commit, his chances of regaining his freedom became slimmer and slimmer as the days went by. After a period of about fifteen years, God visited Joseph with His mercy and brought him out of prison and slavery with a strong hand. He became second in command to Pharaoh in the whole of Egyptian empire, a position that was by all means impossible for a foreigner to occupy, not to mention a slave and an ex-convict. Most remarkably however, throughout his experience, Joseph was never bitter, angry or vengeful towards his brothers, because he believed that God’s purpose was being fulfilled through everything he faced. Indeed, the ways of God are past finding out. What Joseph said to his brothers in Genesis 45:5-8 is so instructive to us today:

“ Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.”

Joseph did not want his brothers to feel sorry for their past wickedness against him, because he did not view that as an act of hatred but rather as God’s way of strategically positioning him for the fulfilment of His greater purpose. Although he did not try to whitewash the evil his brother did, he was determined to show them that God had a saving purpose for the cruel events of his life, otherwise, how else could he have gotten to the position he found himself in Egypt if he had remained with his father in the land of Canaan? This same message is echoed to us by the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:28, which says:

“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.”

I therefore pray that God will strategically position you and that all thing will begin to work together for your good and the overall blessing of your entire family in the Mighty Name of Jesus.

PRAYER POINT:

Father, please let every evil plan of the enemy work together for my good in Jesus’ Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 29-31
Ezekiel 37:15-28

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]

OUR DAILY MANNA DEVOTIONAL*

_A DAILY DEVOTIONAL BOOKLET FOR CHAMPIONS_

*DATE: WEDNESDAY 21ST AUGUST, 2019*

*TOPIC: HOW DO YOU SEE LIFE? LEARN FROM MATTIE STEPANEK!*
*BASIC SCRIPTURES: JOB 2:8-10; 1THESSALONIANS 5:15-18*

How do you see life? Take a look at the “innocent” lines below, from a 13 year-old boy, Mattie Stepanek:

“I want people to know that in every life, there are storms. But we must remember to *play after every storm and to celebrate the gift of life as we have it, or else life becomes a task, rather than a gift.* We must always listen to the song in our hearts and share the song with others.”

This boy, Mattie Stepanek had a rare form of the disease, Muscular Dystrophy (Mitochondrial Myopathy and Dystonia) which meant his breathing, heart rate, body temperature, oxygenation, digestion, etc, were not automatic! In his own case, *HE USED EXTRA OXYGEN ALL THE TIME* and when tired or sleeping, he used a ventilator that breathed for him, saved energy and moved his medical equipment around. *In the midst of all these, Mattie saw life as a gift!* Even when he had the opportunity of chatting on the phone with former US President Jimmy Carter from his hospital bed, his focus was on the problems then in Eastern European countries like Bosnia and the African continent, not his health condition. If you and I had such opportunity, well your guess is as good as mine.

In this second half of 2019, if you can take each as a gift, then the storms will not weigh you down. If you can *take each day as a gift,* then you will be grateful and contented with what you have and where you are today. If you can *take each day as a gift,* your life will be devoid of murmurings and complaining. Today’s scriptures are specific! Job had to rebuke his wife who was the chairlady of the murmurers council in their community! He was telling his wife: In all things, give thanks!
Read more from Mattie: “Every journey begins with a small step and every day is a chance for a new, small step in the right direction. Just follow your heart’s song.” What is your heart’s song? Learn from Mattie! No matter how the year has been, in all things give thanks! Pray now!

*Follow me DAILY on MY instagram handle: ourdailymanna_bishopchris, my Facebook PAGE: bishop chris kwakpovwe ODM and personal Twitter: ODM_DrChris.*

*PRAYER POINTS:* Take any song of worship as led.
1. Begin to thank God for what and where you are today.
2. Lord, help me to celebrate the gift of life everyday.
3. Lord, help me to take a step towards the right direction everyday. Still pray about your 2019 goals again.
4. Declare, “Life is a gift and not a task! I shall eat the good of the land.”
5. Lord, disappoint the expectations of my enemies concerning me in 2019 *(Pray it seriously).* Pray about today now!

*THE BIBLE-IN-ONE-YEAR: JEREMIAH 1-3*
*BY: BISHOP (DR) CHRIS E. KWAKPOVWE (CE

[Edoman]

*SEEDS OF DESTINY*

*THE IMPACT OF YOUR COMPANY ON YOUR DESTINY*

21 August, 2019

The company you keep has an unquantifiable impact on your life and destiny.

SCRIPTURE: He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Proverbs 13:20

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Your company can assist or resist you.

The company you keep has an unquantifiable impact on your life and destiny. If you are to fulfil God�s purpose for your life and become everything that God wants you to be, one of the forces of destiny to employ is the force of the right company because your company determines what accompanies you.

Beloved, please take note of the following:

1. Company is a major determinant of destiny. There are people who have been raised by the right company and people who were ruined by the wrong company.
2. Your company can help or hinder you.
3. Your company can assist or resist you.
4. Your company can inspire or expire you.
5. Your company can bring out the best in you or the worst in you.

The first time my wife ever manifested the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues was through her association with me. The first time she ever saw a vision and revelation like watching a video on a screen was by the same company; the company is enhancing her spiritual life. Her company has enhanced my life as well because I was a strong-faced man before I met my wife, but now the story is different. Maybe our ministry would not have been where it is now if I was not married to her. So, your company can bring out the best in you or the worst in you.
Remember this: Your company can assist or resist you.
ASSIGNMENT(S):

1. Assess your association; if you are an �Eagle� avoid the company of �vultures.�
2. Refuse to allow pressure to influence your choice of friends.
3. Company with God.
FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: THE FORCE OF DESTINY
PRAYER: Lord, You are all I need. Please let me not wander away from Your Hands O� Precious Lord. Bring quality people my way, Lord in Jesus� Name.

DAILY BIBLE READING: Job 1:1 to 3:26, 1 Corinthians 14:1 to 17, Psalm 37:12 to 29, Proverbs 21:25 to 26

QUOTE: Who you associate with is a confirmation of who you are. Culled from 30 SECRETS TO THE TOP by Dr Paul Enenche.
AMAZING FACT: Owls cannot move their eyeballs which has led to the distinctive way they turn their heads almost all the way around.
PROPHETIC DECLARATION/WORD: Grace for the right company is released on you in Jesus� Name.
**********

[Edoman]

THE LIVING WATER CAC DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

TOPIC: YOUR DRESS: YOUR ADDRESS
Read Exodus 2:14-20

14. And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.
15. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
16. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.
17. And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
18. And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?
19. And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.
20. And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.

MEMORISE: Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonour to him? (1 Corinthians 11:14)

EXPOSITION

Any dressing or adornment that makes you compromise God's standard of holiness must be destroyed. Many women spend hours painting their faces, making their hair, sitting before the mirror to see how they look, but they cannot even spend a quarter of that time looking at the perfect Law of Liberty - the Bible (James 1:25,26), to see how they look before God and correct their lives. You may put on the best designer and the world will applaud you, whereas you are completely naked before God and all of heaven will shame you. The choice is yours, as you are addressed the way you dress.

Although, it is good to be well dressed, yet God is more concerned about your internal adornment. It is commonly said that the way you dress is how you will be addressed. If a pastor's wife dresses like a prostitute, the men who see her may want to sleep with her, or even rape her. Some women have attracted rapists to themselves through indecent dressing. If a woman dresses decently and honourably, men who see her will treat her with respect. In the world, this is also true. If you dress like the world, the world will think you are one of them and do to you what they do to their kind. If you say you are not of the world, what are you doing wearing their kind of clothes?

When Moses a Hebrew and potential deliverer, went on exile in Midian, he was taken and addressed as an Egyptian, because he wore Egyptian clothes. How are you dressed today? If you do not want men to treat you like a whore, do not dress like one. Dress well and let God's name be glorified through your dressing.

PRAYER POINTS

1. Lord, open our hearts to the dressing that will give honour to Your name.
2. Father, give Your vessels the grace to demonstrate the right attitude toward indecent dressing amidst congregants in a way that would humbly correct those erring, that we all can give You holy worship.
3. Pray that God should raise people, Christians and non-Christians, in our higher institutions, who would fight indecent dressing among our youths to a standstill.

EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: Psalms 56:11 - 62:1; Romans 12:4 - 13:4
Author: C.A.C WORLDWIDE
Remain blessed!