Morning Devotional For Sunday 2nd September

[Edoman]

RHAPSODY OF REALITIES

SUNDAY, 2ND SEPTEMBER.

THE SPIRIT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE.

And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm (Daniel 1:20).

In the days of King Nebuchadnezzar, he wanted certain young men trained, and he got them from different nations. Among them were four Hebrew boys: Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. On the day they were brought to be examined by the king, they were found to be ten times better than their peers. Why? God had blessed them with supernatural intelligence; they had an excellent spirit!


A similar example is David. The power of God came on him when Samuel the Prophet anointed him to become king of Israel, and he turned out to be a marvel in his day. He killed and decapitated Goliath as a stripling. Saul was the King of Israel at the time, and he was a great man of war, but when he faced Goliath, he was terrified. The difference was that the Spirit of God had departed from Saul, and the Spirit had come upon David. Saul had become an ordinary man, whilst David had the Spirit.

1 Samuel 18:7 says, “And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and DAVID HIS TEN THOUSANDS.” What were they seeing in the spirit? “Ten times more!” They could have said “twelve” or “six”; but they said, “...Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. ” There’s something about the Spirit that causes you to do the extraordinary and unimaginable!

Now that you’re born again, that Spirit is in you, not just on you. Acts 1:8 says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you….” The Holy Spirit has brought the glory of God into your life, giving you guidance and direction. You can walk through “walls,” blaze through barriers, and through the darkness. He’s filled you with supernatural ability to do things that can’t be humanly explained.

Take advantage of the person, power, and ministry of the Holy Spirit in your life! He’s your advantage; He causes you to see, think, say and do things ordinary men can’t do.

CONFESSION

By the power of the Holy Ghost, there’s a profuse demonstration of the supernatural in my ministry, job, business, finances, health, family, and everything that concerns me. My path is that of the just which shines brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. Glory to God!

FURTHER STUDY:

1 Samuel 10:6 NIV The Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.

Judges 14:5-6 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. 6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and [he had] nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.

1 John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

1-Year Bible Reading Plan
1 Corinthians 16:1-24 & Proverbs 10-11

2-Year Bible Reading Plan
1 Thessalonians 3:1-13 & Jeremiah 19-20

[Edoman]

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: SUNDAY 2ND SEPTEMBER 2018

THEME: DO YOU HAVE UNLIMITED JOY?

MEMORISE:

And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. John 16:22

READ: John 16:20-24

20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

MESSAGE

It is one thing to have joy, and it is another thing to have unlimited joy. Walking in unlimited joy is the will of Jesus Christ for all His disciples, which is why he said to us in John 16:24:

“Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”

Nothing gives unlimited joy as when a request is granted, particularly request for things that matters most to the person. The question then is, why do our prayers sometimes go unanswered? As revealed in Isaiah 59:1-2, one answer to this question is sin. In that scripture, the Lord said:

“Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

This brings us to another question: why should a child of God struggle with sin, since we know it hinders prayers from being answered? The answer to this question lies in the fact that many children of God do not hate iniquity, even though they love righteousness. One way or another, they assist and encourage iniquity. Another reason why our prayers go unanswered is revealed in James 4:3:

“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

Based on these scriptures, you may also want to ask, how can I avoid praying amiss? In answer to this, 1 John 5:14 says:

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:”

We must pray according to God’s will in order to receive the answer to our request or petitions. Nothing gives me joy as praying for sinners to be saved and seeing them confess to the saving grace of God. my moments of joy are those moments when those afflicted by the power of darkness are delivered after we have prayed for them at our meetings. The disciples shared in this unlimited joy when they returned from the missionary strip their Master sent them on. The Bible says they came back rejoicing, not because they were given gifts, clothes, houses or cars, but because they ministered deliverance to the oppressed and their prayers were answered (Luke 10:17). However, in Luke 10:20, our Lord recommended what should be the greatest source of unlimited joy to us saying:

“Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”

Do you have unlimited joy?

PRAYER POINT:

Father, please let me begin to experience unlimited joy from today, in Jesus’ Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 105-106

Mark 1:1-20

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 15: NEARER MY GOD TO THEE.

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!

Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness comes over me, my rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!

There let me see the sight, an open Heaven;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy given;
Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!

Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;
So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!

[Edoman]

*SEEDS OF DESTINY*

SUNDAY 2ND SEPTEMBER 2018

*THE BLESSING OF FAITHFULNESS*

(FROM THE SEPTEMBER 2018 EDITION OF THE SEEDS OF DESTINY DAILY DEVOTIONAL BY DR. PASTOR PAUL ENENCHE)

SCRIPTURE: A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent. Proverbs 28:20

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: God blesses a faithful person by committing greater things into His hands.

Faithfulness simply refers to the state of being faithful, either to God or to man. To be faithful then means, being strict or thorough in the performance of one’s duty, being true to one’s word or being steady in allegiance, loyalty and affection.

It has been confirmed that faithfulness is a trigger for the blessing of God. A faithful man does not beg to be blessed because to be faithful is to be blessed.

Now, the question is, how does God bless the faithful?
1. God commits the valuables to the reliable
God blesses a faithful person by committing greater things into His hands (Matthew 25:21). One who is faithful over few things becomes the lord of many things. God gives the faithful the privilege of handling greater things.

2. God Promotes the Consistent
Another way God blesses the faithful is by promoting them. God is ready to bless anyone who will not change his character because of the blessing. Some people were better as Christians when they were poor, when they did not have money; they would not miss church services; they would even come to church on non-service days. But when God blessed them with a Million Naira, they started giving excuses for not serving God or coming to church. Very pathetic!

Beloved, my counsel is, make up your mind to be faithful in all you do at all time, whether it is for God or for man.

Remember this: God blesses a faithful person by committing greater things into His hands.

ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Examine your life and identify areas of inconsistencies both in your character and in discharging your responsibilities.
2. Ask God for forgiveness and determine to be faithful at all times regardless of the prevailing condition per time.

PRAYER: O Lord, I ask that You forgive any form of unfaithfulness or inconsistency of character and duty exhibited by me in times past. I receive the grace to be faithful and accountable at all time, both to You and to my fellow human beings, Lord, in Jesus’ Name.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: THE BLESSING OF FAITHFULNESS.

AMAZING FACT: Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees centigrade.

TODAY IN HISTORY: 02/09/1938 - The first railroad car to be equipped with fluorescent lighting was put into operation on the New York Central railroad.

DAILY READING: Ecclesiastes 1:1 to 3:22, 2 Corinthians 6:1 to 13, Psalm 46:1 to 11, Proverbs 22:15.

QUOTE: To be faithful means to be consistent in doing the right thing. Culled from 21 UNCOMMON SECRETS TO FINANCIAL OVERFLOW by Dr Paul Enenche.

PROPHETIC PARENTAL BLESSING: Everything that has put an embargo on success in any area of your life, today that embargo is broken, in Jesus’ Name. –Dr Paul Enenche