Daily Devotional App

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (James 1:2).*_ There’re some Christians who, even though they’ve been born again for a long time, still love to be “babied.” When facing challenges, rather than squaring up to those challenges by putting their faith to work, they go seeking prayers and encouragement.

_ *But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries (1 Corinthians 16:8-9).*_  The Apostle Paul, in the scripture above acknowledged that a great and effectual window of opportunity was open to him for ministry in Ephesus.

_*And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger… (Leviticus 19:9-10).*_  In the above scripture, God was giving some instructions to the children of Israel on what they should do when they harvest their grains.

_*And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).*_ Jesus didn’t send us to preach the Gospel to human beings only; He said, “Preach the Gospel to every creature.” That’s quite instructive.

      Believe, See, Receive Today's Scripture: "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24, NIV Today's Word: Has God spoken things to your heart that haven’t come to pass yet? Anytime you step out to believe God, the enemy will try to distract and discourage you in order to get you off course.

2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, If you would like to walk in a greater measure of God’s favor, 2 Peter 1:2 says that grace, which is the undeserved favor of God, and peace, can be multiplied to you.

I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]; forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward. —Philippians 3:13-14 Our relationships with God are progressive and we all move from one level to another.

Memorise: Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Psalm 100:4 Read: Luke 17:11-19 (KJV) 11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

_*Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17).*_  Theveryfact that you’re born again means you’re not an ordinary person, because you have in you the same life that God has.

  John 1:23, "He said, I [am] the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias."   John knew who he was and what he was called to do. This was one of the keys to his success. Unlike most of us, John did not have an identity crisis growing up.

      Believe, See, Receive Today's Scripture: "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24, NIV Today's Word: Has God spoken things to your heart that haven’t come to pass yet? Anytime you step out to believe God, the enemy will try to distract and discourage you in order to get you off course.

Isaiah 53:5 …The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. You know, one of the biggest outcries against Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion Of The Christ , was that it was too violent, especially the part where Jesus was scourged.

. . . Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ [give yourself up to Him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping] and you will be saved. —Acts 16:31  God wants to take care of you, and He can do a much better job of it if you will avoid a problem called independence, which is really self-care.

Memorise: And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. Luke 22:40 Read: Luke 18:1-8 (KJV) 1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

Luke 4:13, "And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season." The wording of this verse implies that Satan exhausted his arsenal of temptations on Jesus and then had to leave.

      Draw on His Strength Today's Scripture: "But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might..." Micah 3:8, ESV Today's Word: Today's scripture tells us that Micah knew how to encourage himself in the Lord. He understood how to draw courage and purpose into his life. He realized the power in his words and spoke God's truth to prepare him to accomplish all God had in store.

John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Consider the cold, hard facts that these three people faced: The aunt of a lady in our church saw her X-ray which showed that one of her two kidneys was cancerous.

Fight the good fight of the faith; lay hold of the eternal life to which you were summoned and [for which] you confessed the good confession [of faith] before many witnesses. —1 Timothy 6:12 Take a step of faith and no matter how you feel, agree with God that He loves you. You are wonderfully made and have many talents and strengths.

Memorise: And many leper were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. Luke 4:27 Read: Luke 4:25-27 (KJV ) 25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; 26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

_*These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God (1 John 5:13).*_ In our opening Scripture, the Apostle John writes to believers; those who’re already in Christ; who already believe in God. He wasn’t writing to non-Christians. He says to them, “I want you to know that you have eternal life.”

Luke 4:4, "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."   Jesus answered every temptation with, "It is written." The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17). It is the only offensive spiritual weapon that we have.

      Consider Your God! Today's Scripture: "...with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26, NIV Today's Word: I had a gentleman tell me one time that his business was very, very slow. It looked like he would go under.

Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Do you know that it was at the cross that Jesus addressed His Father as “God” for the first time? He had always addressed His Father as “Father”. But at Calvary’s tree, He addressed His Father as “God”.

Fight the good fight of the faith; lay hold of the eternal life to which you were summoned and [for which] you confessed the good confession [of faith] before many witnesses. —1 Timothy 6:12 Take a step of faith and no matter how you feel, agree with God that He loves you. You are wonderfully made and have many talents and strengths.

Memorise: For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10 Read: Luke 19:1-10 (KJV) 1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

_ *For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).*_ After you’re born again, poverty becomes completely unacceptable in your life. I know there’re people who believe Christians ought to be poor, but that’s due to their lack of understanding of the Scriptures.

Matthew 4:3, "And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread."   Two of Satan's three temptations began with the words, "If you be the Son of God."

      When You're in Deep Today's Scripture: "They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep." Psalm 107:24, NIV Today's Word: The scripture says is Psalm 107:23-24, “They that go down to the sea and do business in deep waters, they will see the wonders of God.” Think about that for a minute.

Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith... If you are sick, you must know that you are already healed because of the finished work of Christ. Don’t ask, “Do I have enough faith to be healed?

No temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently. —1 Corinthians 10:13  Years ago, a comedian’s favorite punch line was, “The devil made me do it.” The audience roared. Why did people laugh so hard? Was it because they wanted it to be true? Did they want to absolve themselves of responsibility

_*And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified (Acts 20:32).*_ The Word of God gives you much more than a moral code of conduct; it builds, lifts, transforms you and catapults you to your inheritance and destiny in Christ.

Memorise: For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 1st Corinthians 11: 29 Bible Reading: 1st Corinthians 11:27-32 (KJV) 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

Matthew 3:14, "But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?"   John the Baptist was overwhelmed that Jesus was asking to be baptized by him. John had already declared himself unworthy to unloose the latchet of the Christ's shoes, and now the Christ was asking him to administer His baptism (Lk. 3:16).

      What Are You Expecting? Today's Scripture: "...Open wide your mouth and I will fill it." Psalm 81:10, NIV Today's Word: There is greatness inside of you! As a believer, the Holy Spirit dwells and lives within you.

2 Chronicles 20:15 …Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. When faced with a problem or challenge, we tend to ask ourselves, “What am I going to do?” And well-meaning family members and friends will come along and ask, “What are you going to do?” Jehoshaphat faced a multitude of enemies.

God selected . . . what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame. And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are, so that no mortal man should [have pretense for glorying and] boast in the presence of God. —1 Corinthians 1:27-29  If you are weak in faith, in mind, in body, in discipline, in self-control, or in determination, simply wait on God. He will be strong through your weakness.

_*For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ) (Romans 5:17).*_ In the realms of the Spirit, there’re different kinds of laws; we have the law of contact, the law of faith, and then we have the law of receiving, which is the focal point of today’s discussion. Our opening verse says, _*“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness….”*_

Memorise: For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: Isaiah 55:10 Read: Genesis 15:5-18 (King James Version) 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

Matthew 3:1, "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea."   These scriptures record the ministry of John the Baptist. He spent thirty years in the deserts of Judaea preparing for this ministry.

      A Thousand Times More Today's Scripture: "May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times..." Deuteronomy 1:11, NIV Today's Word: Can you imagine being a thousand times more blessed than you are? That might seem a little challenging to wrap your mind around.

Hebrews 13:9 …it is good that the heart be established by grace… God does not want your heart full of worries and fears, tossed and turned by every challenge that comes your way.

So then, as occasion and opportunity open up to us, let us do good [morally] to all people [not only being useful or profitable to them, but also doing what is for their spiritual good and advantage]. Be mindful to be a blessing, especially to those of the household of faith [those who belong to God's family with you, the believers]. —Galatians 6:10 Our daughter Sandra shared that she was dreading seeing a certain individual because in the past that person had not been very pleasant to her.

Memorise: The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. Psalm 14:1 Read: Psalm 14:1-4 (KJV) 1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

_*But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway (1 Corinthians 9:27).*_ As a child of God, one thing you have to consciously do is to put your body in subjection to the Word. There’re Christians who can’t undergo such a spiritual exercise as fasting.

Luke 2:52, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."   How could it be that Jesus, who was God (Jn. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:16), and in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, increased in wisdom? (Col. 2:3) God is a Spirit (Jn. 4:24). Jesus, as God, had existed as a Spirit forever.

      Delight in Him Today's Scripture: "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart." Psalm 37:4, AMPC Today's Word: Are you believing God for something that seems to be taking a long time? In the natural, you may have every reason to give up on what God has placed in your heart.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, When you think of Sodom and Gomorrah, what comes to your mind? God’s wrath and fiery judgment? The truth is that God was not all out to judge the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. He was not on a sin hunt. He was, in fact, on a righteousness hunt!

Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is for one to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in all the labor in which he labors under the sun all the days which God gives him—for this is his [allotted] part. Also, every man to whom God has given riches and possessions, and the power to enjoy them and to accept his appointed lot and to rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God [to him]. —Ecclesiastes 5:18-19 I want you to notice the words allotted part and appointed lot in the above passage. What King Solomon is basically communicating here is this message: enjoy your life.

Memorise: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Mathew 20:28 Read: Matthew 20:24-28 (King James Version) 24 And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. 25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

*_We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak (2 Corinthians 4:13)._*  God wants us to believe and live His Word. He wants us to use the Word, to take His Word and speak it. He didn’t only give us His Word to quote, memorize or recite; He gave us His Word so we can respond to it accordingly.