Warm Your Heart

 

Today : Warm Your Heart

 

TODAY’S VERSE
“Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32 (NIV)

 

TODAY’S THOUGHT
When was the last time you really experienced the presence of God? I mean more than just head knowledge but a time you really felt His presence? You see, we were meant to know God, not just know about Him. Isn’t that the way it should be with someone you love? Isn’t real love more than a “head” knowledge? Love was meant to be experienced, not just studied. It’s the same with God. Stop and close your eyes, focus on a time you really felt the presence of God. When you get that image, relive it again in your mind. Do you remember what it was like? Did your heart burn within you? Paul writes, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” He says that knowing God’s love surpasses knowledge. If that doesn’t warm you up, what will? We were meant to experience God or as Paul says it, “be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” I pray that today you will be conscious of His presence and have a deep and meaningful relationship with Him.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I long to know You in a more deep and intimate way. Guide me into Your presence. Reveal more of Yourself to me. I pray that I may really grasp all the love You have for me. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION & MEDITATION
I experience the love of God
Sit quietly and think of a time when you felt the presence of God. Perhaps it was in church, or while vacationing in natures beauty. Perhaps it was an answer to prayer or a realization of truth. Was it a devotional time and God spoke to you? Fix your mind on that experience and sense what it felt like. As you begin to recall the experience let it seep into the present moment. Invite God to make His presence known to you now. Welcome Him, focus on His love for you. As you meditate on His love let Him warm your heart and surpass your knowledge. Affirm, “I experience the love of God.”

OUR EVER MERCIFUL GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY JANUARY 13, 2022.

SUBJECT : OUR EVER MERCIFUL GOD!

Memory verse: "But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Matthew 9 vs 13.)

READ Isaiah 1 vs 18 - 20:

18: "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

19: If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

20: But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword", for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

 

INTIMATION:

Mercy is the outward manifestation of pity. It assumes need on the part of him who receives it, and resources adequate to meet the need on the part of him who shows it. Mercy is used of God who is rich in mercy. He is merciful to those who fear Him (Luke 1 vs 50), for they also are compassed with infirmity, and He alone can succor them. Hence they are to pray to Him boldly for mercy (Hebrews 4 vs 16). 

God’s desire is to show mercy to deserving guilty persons. The ‘deserving guilty persons’ are those who are guilty of sin, acknowledge their sin, and have come to Him to ask for forgiveness. They are aware they cannot help or save themselves, and that only Him can save them. God is so merciful that no matter the guilt or sin, He is willing to forgive those who genuinely come to Him for forgiveness. 

Never let guilt feelings of sin keep you from praying (seeking the face of God), which is your only means of restoration, because only God forgives sin. Do you feel that you could never come close to God because you have done something terrible? God can and will forgive you of any sin, except the sin against the Holy Spirit, that is, the deliberate refusal to acknowledge God, and His power in Christ, expressed through the Holy Spirit. It indicates a deliberate and irreversible hardness of heart. It reveals a heart attitude of unbelief and unrepentance, that attributes to Satan the work that the Holy Spirit accomplishes. 

Those with the hardened heart have turned their back on God, have rejected all faith, and are unwilling to ask for forgiveness. Even when they receive the prompting of the Holy Spirit, convicting them of sin, they reject it. And the deliberate rejection of the work of the Holy Spirit is blasphemy, because it is rejecting God Himself. Such people remove themselves from the only force that can lead them to repentance and restoration to God.

No matter how long you have been away from God, He is ready to hear from you and restore you to a right relationship with Him. Every situation can be salvaged if you are willing to turn to God. For instance, in Judges 16 vs 28 - 30,  we would observe that in spite of Samson's past, God still answered his prayer and destroyed the philistines' heathen temple and worshipers. He killed more people at his death than he did in life because of the mercy of God when he turned to Him in prayer.

In the list of corrupt kings amongst the Israelites, Manasseh would rank near the top. His life was a catalog of evil deeds including idol worship, sacrificing his own children, and temple desecration. Eventually, however, he realized his sins and cried out to God for forgiveness. And God, full of mercy, listened. If God can forgive Manasseh, surely He can forgive anyone. Are you burdened by overpowering guilt? Do you doubt that anyone could forgive what you have done? Take heart—until death, no one is beyond the reach of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

One of the effects of sin in our lives is keeping us away from praying, but it is noteworthy that perfect moral behavior is not a condition for prayer. Though the stain of sin seems permanent, but only God can remove such stain of sin from our lives. We don't have to go through life permanently soiled. God's Word assures that if we are willing and obedient in turning to Him, Christ will forgive and remove our most indelible stains of sin.

Christ came for sinners like you and I, and He expects us—the sinners—to come to Him for mercy. We can only go to God in prayer, acknowledging our need and admitting that we don't have all the answers, and God will come to our help. He desires to show mercy and His mercy endures forever.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are the our Merciful Father, always desiring to show mercy to the guilty who desire Your forgiveness of their sins. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness, and tender mercies, in Jesus name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Your High Calling

 

Today : Your High Calling

 

TODAY’S VERSE
“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.” Ephesians 5:1-2 (NLT)

 

TODAY’S MESSAGE
We search for purpose and significance. We strive to secure a meaningful job or vocation. But in reality, there is no higher calling on earth than being God’s child and imitating Him by living a life filled with love. This is the ultimate purpose that God has called each one of us to. Today, do what Paul says to do. Fill your day with the love of Christ and follow His example in everything you do.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I thank You that You have made me Your child. I thank You that You have given me the most important job on earth, which is to live a life filled with love. I admit I can’t do this without You. I need Your Holy Spirit to help me live a life of love today. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

 

TODAY’VISUALIZATION & MEDITIATION
I will imitate Christ
Picture yourself following Jesus around. He has asked you to. He said to be like Him and you can sense His Holy Spirit helping you. See yourself full of joy and wonder as He guides you, gives you instruction and helps you live for Him. Affirm today, “I will imitate Christ!”

GOD'S UNPARALLELED LOVE FOR US!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 12, 2022.

SUBJECT : GOD'S UNPARALLELED LOVE FOR US!

Memory verse: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3 vs 16.)

READ: Romans 5 vs 6 - 11:

5:6: For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

5:7: For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

5:8: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

5:9: Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

5:10: For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, w e shall be saved by His life.

5:11: And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

INTIMATION:

God is love and wants us to realize we are loved and cared for. This is one of God's most outstanding and obvious characteristics. The message of the Gospel comes to a focus in His love for us as is stated, and demonstrated in His choice of His Son being a propitiation for our sins—taking our place in death for our sins. The Scripture says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5 vs 8). 

God sent Jesus Christ to die for us, not because we were good enough, but just because He loved us. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (First John 4 vs 10). Here God sets the pattern of true love or passion for others, setting the pattern for all true love relationships. 

When you love someone dearly, you are ready and willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice. For His love, God paid dearly with the life of His Son, the highest price He could pay, and such is unheard of in history. Jesus accepted wholeheartedly to take our place, paid the wages we owed for our sins (Ezekiel 18 vs 4 & Romans 6 vs 23). He exchanged something of inestimable value with something completely worthless—our sins—and offered us the new life that He had bought for us. 

The apostle Paul, in the passage we read,  today, expounded the love of God for us. He explained that when we were weak and helpless because we could do nothing on our own to save ourselves, Christ had to come to rescue us. He came at exactly the right time in history in accordance with God's plan and schedule. It is God that controls all history, and He controlled the timing, method, and events surrounding Jesus' death. God sent Jesus to die for us, not because we were good enough, but just because He loved us and is passionate about our well being.

The apostle Paul explained that the love that caused God to create the world for an extension of His kingdom, and caused Christ to die in our place, is the same love that sends the Holy Spirit to live in us and guide us daily. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that saved us and is available to us in our daily lives. 

God is a Passionate Father. In Psalms 103 vs 13 the psalmist reminds us: "As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him." Jesus demonstrated this the day the disciples found themselves on the Sea of Galilee, and a storm was brewing, which is typical of the Sea of Galilee even today. The boat containing these disciples started to take in water because of the turbulence. With the boat beginning to sink, these terrified disciples asked the ultimate question, "Lord, don't You care?" Of course He cares!

Many of us have at one time or the other felt like that, "Lord where are You when I really need You?" "God, I'm going under, don't You care?" But a believer and a child of God will remember the promise stated in First Peter 5 vs 7, "Casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you."

Be assured that, having begun a life with Christ, you have a reservoir of power and love to call on each day for help to meet every challenge or trial. Too often, in our spiritual life, although we may need to love God more, there is a much higher need to recognize just how much He loves us. When our relationship is such that we feel God's love and His passion for us—His children, we naturally begin to love Him more. You can pray for His power and love as you need it.

In Psalms 145 vs 18 the psalmist tells us, "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth." What this means is that He is never too busy for you. When you pray, you will never get busy signal. He hears you and ready to meet your real need. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank you for Your love for me. You have daily loaded me with Your benefits, always forgiving me my iniquities, healing me all my diseases, redeeming my life from destructions, satisfying my mouth with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's, and crowning me with loving kindness and tender mercies. Give me the grace to toe my path of life  in You, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

New Thinking Habits

 

Today : New Thinking Habits

 

TODAY’S VERSE
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8 (NLT)

 

TODAY’S MESSAGE
It is so easy to let our thoughts run away from us. You know, the inward chatter that goes on all day. The voice when you get up in the morning, the musing on the drive to work, the stewing over events on the way home. Inner thoughts are powerful. They create emotions, which in turn, cause actions. Paul is saying that we have to take ownership of our inner dialog. It is so easy to be negative, anxious, angry, doubtful, bitter or carnal in our thinking. Instead, we need to be responsible for what we think and deliberately focus on true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praise worthy thoughts. What a difference this discipline would bring to our life.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I give You my thought life. I want You to be Lord of both my conscious and unconscious part of my being. You know my thought process. You know my habitual thinking patterns. I bring them to You. I ask that You help me today begin a habit of focusing on true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praise worthy thoughts.  In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

 

TODAY’VISUALIZATION & MEDITIATION
God is helping me change the way I think
Today do what Paul has asked us to do. Spend a few moments visualizing yourself correcting negative attitudes and instead see yourself thinking on each of the attributes Paul lists. Spend time on each one. Think on what is true – honorable – right – pure – lovely – admirable – excellent – worthy of praise. Sense God helping you to change the way you think.

HOW TO SEEK GOD AND FIND HIM!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JANUARY 11, 2022.

SUBJECT : HOW TO SEEK GOD AND FIND HIM!

Memory verse: "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 4 vs 29.)

READ: Jeremiah 29 vs 11 - 14:

29:11: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

29:12: Then will you call upon Me, and you will go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

29:13: And you will seek Me, and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

29:14: I will be found by you, says the LORD: and I will bring you back from your captivity. I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD;p, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

INTIMATION:

God promises us that we will find Him when we search Him with all our hearts and souls. God is knowable and wants to be known, but we have to want to know Him. In seeking the Lord to find Him, our acts of service and worship must be accompanied by sincere devotion of the heart. As Hebrews 11 vs 6 says, “He who comes to the Lord must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” God will reward those who pursue a relationship with Him. God promises great blessings to His people, but most of these blessings require our active participation in seeking Him. 

Now, many will ask, “How do I seek God with all my heart and all my soul?” Moses gave an elaborate answer regarding this to the children of Israel. He said, “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to  keep the commandments of the LORD, and His statutes, which I command you this day for your good?” (Deuteronomy 10 vs 12 - 13.)

In the above verses, Moses gives a summary of what God expects us to do. They are simple in form and easy to remember. Here are the essentials: (1) Fear the Lord (reverence Him; give Him profound respect and esteem mingled with fear and affection, as for a holy being). We must fear God’s awesome being. (2) Walk in His ways; We must obediently walk according to His will, follow the road He sets out for us. (3) Love Him; We must respond to His being with love. (4) Serve Him; our lives must be one of service to His glory with everything you have in you (with all your heart and soul). (5) Keep His Commands; We must know and obey His commandments and regulations He has given us. Compliance with all that God requires results in our well-being on earth among ourselves.

The Bible interchangeably uses fear of the LORD, for seeking the LORD. The fear of the LORD in the Scriptures denote reverential fear of God, not to dread Him, or being scared of Him. It is to show Him deep respect, reverence, and honor, demonstrated by a humble attitude and genuine worship. Reverencing God should be a controlling motive of our lives in spiritual and moral matters. It is not mere fear of His power and righteous retribution, but a wholesome dread of displeasing Him. A fear which banishes the terror that shrinks from His presence, and which influences the disposition and attitude of one whose circumstances are guided by trust in God, through the Spirit of God indwelling us. 

Most often we complicate faith in God with man-made rules, regulations, and requirements; we strictly obey the man-made laws, but give partial obedience to God’s commands, apparently because man is seen, but God is unseen.

Our relationship, and fellowship with God starts with prayer. It is our lifeline to God, hence we should pray regularly to ensure that our line of seeking God is open at all times. The apostle Paul echoed it thus, "Pray without ceasing." (First Thessalonians 5 vs 17.)  Seeking God in prayers regularly ensures the availability of His guidance and strength that is needed at all times. It also aids us to appropriate His promised blessings to ourselves. Regular and constant praying habit ensures a disciplined life of prayer. 

David was one of the people in the Bible who sought the Lord and found Him. His reverence to God was exemplary; three times a day he would pray to God, he constantly inquired from God before engaging on any battle, and consequently, never lost even one, he was never perfect in his moral and spiritual life, but never failed to turn to God in genuine repentance whenever he sinned. These acts made God adjudged him a friend to Himself and a man after His heart. God is no strict with us about our leading a perfect life because He knows no one is perfect, but demands our reverencing Him. Are you frustrated and burned out from trying hard to please God? Concentrate on His real requirements and find peace. Respect, follow, love, serve, and obey God, and you will seek Him and find Him.. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with a humble spirit of rightly seeking You at all times; respect, follow, love, serve, and obey You in all things, that I may find You, and appropriate to myself Your promised blessings, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

More Than A Father

 

Today : More Than A Father

 

TODAY’S VERSE
“And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, ‘Abba, Father.’” Galatians 4:6 (NLT)

 

TODAY’S MESSAGE
What a tender thought. Paul was very deliberate in using “Abba Father.” This is a more affectionate term that simply saying “Father.” The real translation of  “Abba Father” is “Daddy!” Imagine, God invites us to call Him our affectionate Father, “Daddy.” Can you say that? Have you thought of Him that way? Paul says that as God’s children, He has given us His Spirit and the job of the Spirit is to help us fall more and more in love with the Father until we can call Him “Daddy.” Will you let Him do that? Will you begin to meditate, to really stop and consider that He is your loving Father? Imagine His deep love for you. Imagine you coming into His presence, calling Him “Daddy”. Ask God to help you know this reality deep in your heart. After all, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”

 

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Father, I want to call you “Daddy”. I hear it in my head, but it isn’t quite in my heart. I invite You, Holy Spirit, to speak to my heart, to help me feel the Father’s love, to know the Father’s love. Prompt me, Holy Spirit, to call God, “Dear Father, Dear Daddy.”
AMEN

 

TODAY’VISUALIZATION & MEDITIATION
God is my heavenly loving father
Today, see God as a loving, kind, benevolent Father. Sense His love for you. Feel His care, concern and divine protection over you. He is your Father. Hear Him say, “I love you! I am so proud of you! I am glad that you are my child!” Affirm out loud, “God is my Heavenly Father.”