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Ephesians 2:1-7

Do you feel loved by God?  Let me ask the question a different way: Did you know that as a believer, it’s possible to mentally understand God loves you without actually sensing it? In fact, the reverse can be true as well—we may say we love God, all the while knowing that our feelings of affection for Him are limited.

There are a variety of reasons that a Christian might not sense love from God or affection for Him, some of which stem from childhood experiences. Perhaps love was absent in the home, or maybe it just wasn’t expressed verbally or demonstrated in practical ways. An individual’s personality could also be part of the equation—some people are naturally expressive while others are more reserved in their emotions.

Although this discrepancy between knowledge and experience can be distressing, there is hope. Meditating on all the ways God has demonstrated His love for you—and asking Him to help you perceive it—can begin to move that truth from your head to your heart. Remember that love is God’s very nature (1 John 4:8), not something conditioned on your performance. And if you’ve been adopted into His family through faith in His Son, God has chosen to lavish kindness on you in Christ.

Believing and accepting that you are loved by the Father will in turn affect your feelings for Him. Commit to knowing Him more intimately and accurately through His Word, and your affection for Him will begin to grow. As you spend time with Him in Scripture and prayer, you’ll discover that the saying “to know him is to love him” is certainly true of God.

Bible in One Year: Psalm 107-111

But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing (Psalm 34:10 NKJV).

When you consistently seek God with your whole heart, it is impossible to lack in anything good thing. To diligently seek and obey God, yet lack in a good thing, means God lied. And it is impossible for God to lie.

So, if you are lacking something in your life, it’s time to evaluate your heart. You may think you are waiting for God to give you good things, but in reality He is waiting for you to seek Him and give yourself to Him with a whole heart. God is eager and willing to give His children every good thing, but it is up to you to qualify for the promise. You have to position yourself to receive it.

Psalm 31:19 NKJV declares, “How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.” The good things of God remain stored up until you put yourself in a position to receive them. And the only way to get into that position is by seeking God and His will for your life.

When you seek God, He will speak the words you need to hear. He will tell you how to change the way you think about certain matters. He will show how to walk in greater wisdom and success. As you trust in His goodness and walk in obedience, you will move into position to receive the good things that are stored up for you.

So stop waiting on God. He is waiting on you. His goodness is available and ready to be poured out on you if you will seek Him with your whole heart.

Confession: I make the decision today to position myself to receive all of the good things God has prepared just for me. As I seek God with my whole heart, I will allow Him to direct my thinking so that I can walk in greater wisdom and success according to the promises in His Word.

Author: Jerry Savelle

Beloved. There are no orphans of God. There are no strangers in My House. There are none who are outcast. 

When you fall, I come to pick you back up, and bind your wounds and restore you back to health and wholeness. I am He who comes to you in Love and in Grace. Your God RUNS to you. I ride across the heavens to your help.

I will always jump to your defense. For this is the Good News, My Precious One. I have declared that it is finished. I have reconciled you back to Me once and for all time. You are not alone, My Child. I am with you in the fires of adversity. I am with you in the valley of the shadow of death. I am with you in the storms of life. I am your Light in the darkest night of the soul. I am your Keeper. I preserve you from all evil and restore your soul.

You are My Beloved and I am yours. Oh, I so desire that you KNOW the Love of your Abba Father. I gave everything I had to spend eternity with you. Yes, this is how precious you are. I put My Best Robe on you and a golden ring on your finger. I have sealed you and marked you with the Holy Spirit. Forever, you are Mine. Forever, you are seated beside the King of kings and Lord of lords. Forever, the devil must watch Me set a table in the midst of your enemies. And we shall celebrate and we shall rejoice, for the evil ones shall come to nothing.

So come, My Child, I have set a place for you at the Father's Table, under the Shadow of My Wings. Come and feast on the abundance of My House and drink from the River of My Delights. It is your heritage. You are no longer a slave to fear, but you ARE a Child of God.

"Jump to your defense": to spring into the air to save or rescue, leap suddenly to defend : to move energetically to support

...Song of Solomon 2:8 Listen! My Beloved approaches. Look! Here He comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills.

....Psalm 36: 7How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.8They feast on the abundance of your house,

and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 9For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.

...2 Corinthians 5: 17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

...Galatians 4:6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.

...Romans 8:15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

My house shall be called a house of worship. It is written, he said to them, my house will be called a house of prayer; but you are making it 'a den of thieves' (Matthew 21:13). Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:25). God has called us to community, he has called us to pray, one for the other.

He never said, go out and be an island unto yourself. But the comforter which is the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you (John 14:26). So already, when he left he sent the Holy Spirit to reside with us. Then he calls us to commune and pray, one for another. To share our knowledge and revelation.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). So if we are communing, praying, sharing wisdom; won't we be much the wiser? For whom the Bell tolls, is a widely quoted phrase of a novel by Ernest Hemingway. Does the bell toll for you today, do you hear our God calling you out. Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher. What has your feet anchored to the ground, what lies keep you bound, as if held by chains. We do not war against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12). This is a call to the faithful, the ones who just won't give up.

Who never lay down, but rather pray down, and watch the blessings come down.... Happy are those who remain faithful under trial, because when they succeed in passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those who love him (James 1:12)....I WANT MY PROMISE, DON'T YOU....
Tammy Lang Jensen

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God’s own, secured) for the day of redemption . . .
—Ephesians 4:30

I take a verse such as Ephesians 4:30 very seriously—I certainly do not want to “grieve the Holy Spirit” and I know you don’t either. But how do we avoid doing it?

Reading the verses surrounding verse 30 makes it clear that one thing that grieves the Holy Spirit is when people mistreat one another. Consider that:

In verse 29 we are encouraged to edify others with the words or our mouth.
Verse 31 exhorts us not to be bitter, angry, or contentious and to beware of slander, spite, and ill will.
In verse 32 we are told to be kind to one another, forgiving readily and freely.
When we realize it grieves the Holy Spirit when we are sharp or hateful with someone, or when we stay angry with someone, we will look to change.

I encourage you to ask God to help you see others the way He sees them. Ask Him to give you the kindness and patience you need to deal gently and lovingly with the people in your life, especially those who are unkind or difficult to be around. God will be pleased when He sees you have a heart attitude that wants to love and bless others.

Memorise: 
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21

Read: John 8:1-12 (KJV)
1 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.

2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.

3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,

4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?

11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Bible in one year: 
Genesis 8:1-11:9,
Psalms 99-100

Message:
Those who are born of God do not commit sin because the seed of God is in them. The moment a person becomes born-again, sin becomes distasteful to such an individual. The moment a person comes in contact with Jesus; he becomes a new creature. There is no amount of morality and self-righteousness that can declare one a saint, this can be done only through the help of Jesus Christ, because until there is a shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. The primary reason why Jesus came to the earth is simply to deliver people from sin.

The moment sin is removed; there will be a great relationship with God. It is sin that takes us far from God.

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and we see this in the life of the woman caught in the act of adultery. There was something Jesus saw that others didn’t see. Jesus saw a sinner afflicted with the works of the devil. Jesus knew that the moment a woman like that comes to the knowledge of the Truth, she would be free from condemnation. Right there, the grace of God found her and she went and sinned no more. There are many honourable things to gain from living a holy life. 2nd Timothy 2:19 says:

“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

The moment a person departs from the life of sin and turns to the path of holiness, he becomes a vessel unto the Most-High God. The life of such a person becomes honourable. There are many people who claim to be Christians today but are living in sin. A genuine Christian must keep sin at a distance, live a life of good works through Jesus Christ and be a vessel that is clean both within and without.

Jesus showed the Pharisees their hypocrisy with respect to the case of the woman caught in adultery. They accused Jesus of breaking the law. They wanted to trap Jesus through her case, only to be caught in their own trap. They vanished one after the other by the time Jesus showed them the motives of their actions. This is why you must come to Jesus, no matter how terrible you feel you might have fallen. You cannot fall below His grace.

“But God demonstrated his love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”
Romans 5:8

There is a sure reward for those who forsake the path of sin and choose the path of righteousness. Righteousness will exalt you, but sin will always bring reproach.

Key Point
Who you follow determines what follows you.

Open Heavens Daily written by Pastor E.A Adeboye

Be content with the things that you have