Abiding TV

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin (1 John 1:7).

To walk in the light is to walk in the light of God’s Word. It means to walk in the light of those things
that are consistent with God’s provisions for the new creation as revealed by the Word. If we’re not walking in the light, there’s no fellowship because light is inconsistent with darkness.

The Word reveals, for example, that as new creations, we have justification. You’re to walk in the light of your justification. You’ve been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). You’re to walk in the light of your righteousness. To walk in the light of your righteousness
means that you’re walking in consistency with what God thinks; His light about righteousness.

God’s light about righteousness is that, it’s a gift that’s imparted into anyone who believes in Jesus Christ. So, you can say, “Father, I dwell in your light; in your light, righteousness is a gift that’s given to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ; therefore, I have that gift in the Name of Jesus. I am righteous. Hallelujah.” That’s walking in His light.

The carnal man however walks by his senses. He says, “I just don’t feel like God is with me today; my prayers aren’t even going high enough. Oh Father, I’m struggling.” You see, he contradicts the Word of God by declaring himself a struggler, not conscious that the Bible says those who have entered into God’s rest have ceased from their struggles (Hebrews 4:10). He interprets his life through his own senses, and God‘s Word has nothing to do with your senses.

Being born again, you’re not of the flesh; “…they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8). You’re to walk by the Spirit, not by your feelings. Romans 8:13 says “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” This isn’t talking about physical death; it’s talking about spiritual death. That means you’ll be cut off from God; you’ll find yourself struggling. But if you walk in God’s light, in His Word, you’ll live, rule and reign as a king.

PRAYER
Dear Father, I thank you for enlightening me through your Word, to walk on the path of life. Your Word is light and glory; as I meditate and live by the Word, I am transformed into the glorious image that I behold therein. There’s no darkness in me; I enjoy a sweet and rich fellowship with the Word and your Spirit, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
Matthew 23
Exodus 24-25

2 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
Matthew 12:1-9
Genesis 33

FURTHER STUDY:
Psalm 36:9
Proverbs 6:23
Psalm 119:105

Memorise: 
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:25
Read: Galatians 5:22-26 (KJV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.


Bible in one year: 
Luke 14-15,
Isaiah 29:1-14,

Hymn: 
Sing hymn 10

Message:
One of the utmost desires of every human being is to be fruitful. We derive our drive for fruitfulness from the command that God gave to our spirit after creation in Genesis 1:28:

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

To be fruitful means to have outstanding results in one’s assignment or chosen career. Fruitfulness is having excellent results where others are failing. It is to be highly favoured where others are struggling, and making progress where others are either retrogressing or remaining stagnant. Fruitfulness means being a vessel of honour while some are vessels unto dishonour. My prayer is that the Lord will reveal to you the secrets of good fruitfulness in Jesus’ Name.

The first secret of good fruitfulness is absolute dependence on the One who infused our spirit with the drive to be fruitful: God. God plays a prominent role in the fruitfulness of His children. This is why you need to settle it in your mind that there is nothing you can achieve without the help of the Almighty God. Those who understand this secret never attempt to run ahead of God. Jesus in John 15:5 said,

“I am the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

No amount of human labour would suffice if God is not involved. Open heaven devotional 2017. This is why you need to run your endeavours in partnership with Jesus. If you partner with Jesus, you can never suffer loss because He is committed to giving you what money cannot buy. Money cannot buy you a good name; neither can money buy you peace of mind or guaranteed protection.

Another secret of good fruitfulness is avoiding strife and division. These manifest carnality and they will hinder you from bearing good fruit in life. Any family where envy and provocation of one another persist cannot be fruitful. Any organisation where people are committed to breaking ranks cannot be fruitful. Any church where people are always pulling down one another through their actions and words cannot be fruitful. This is why the Bible admonishes us to always walk in the Spirit so that we will not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Let us always create an atmosphere of peace, love, joy and goodness, without undermining the importance of discipline. You will be amazed at how good our fruits would be under the leading of God.

Prayer Point
Father, destroy every agent of strife and division in our families.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional, written by Pastor E.A Adeboye,

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Notice that this scripture instructs us to give thanks in all things, not for all things. When tragedy or temptation strikes, we are not to thank God for them. He is not their author. He's the One who provides our way of escape from them. And that's what we're to thank Him for.

If you read the four Gospels, you'll find that Jesus never gave thanks for sickness or death. Instead, when He encountered them, His response was to overcome them by God's power. So give thanks as Jesus gave thanks—not for Satan's activities but for the victory God has given you over them.

Scripture Reading:
John 11:1-48

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you” (James 1:19b-21 NIV).

Let’s say you’re a gardener. You’ve learned that you can take the exact same seed and plant it in three different locations and get three different results. In one spot, you’ll get giant tomatoes. In another, you’ll get small tomatoes. And in a third, you’ll get nothing. What’s the difference? It’s not the seed; it’s the soil. The soil must be prepared for the seed.

The same is true when you hear God’s Word. Your heart has to be prepared for the Word. If you get up late, have trouble finding a parking spot, and are irritated as you rush into church, you’re probably not going to hear God’s voice! You’re not in a receptive mood.

That’s why you can take two people to church, set them side-by-side, and one will walk out thinking God really spoke to him and the other won’t get anything out of the service. The heart of one person was prepared; the other’s heart wasn’t.

The Bible says, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you” (James 1:19b-21 NIV).

For good reception, this passage teaches you have to have four attitudes:

You must be quiet. You can’t hear God if you’re talking.
You have to be calm. You can’t rush God. If you’re frantic, you’re not going to hear God. The Bible says, “Be still and know that I am God.” My translation of that is: “Sit down and shut up.”
You have to be clean. Before you can meet with God, you need to take out some emotional and spiritual garbage. You need to get rid of the stuff that stinks in your life. You get rid of the garbage by confessing your sin to God and agreeing with him that what you did was wrong.
You need to be humble. Be ready to do whatever God tells you from his Word. A prideful attitude won’t work.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

Why are silence and active listening such difficult things to practice? What can you do to minimize your distractions so that you are able to listen well?
What emotional or spiritual garbage is keeping you from hearing God’s voice today?
What new habits can you adopt to help prepare your family to hear from God during church, family or individual devotions, or at any time?

In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.
—Titus 1:2

Life is a glorious opportunity, if it is used to condition us for eternity. If we fail in this, though we succeed in everything else, our life will have been a failure. There is no escape for the man who squanders his opportunity to prepare to meet God. Our lives are also immortal. God made man different from the other creatures. He made him in His own image, a living soul. When this body dies and our earthly existence is terminated, the soul lives on forever. One thousand years from this day, you will be more alive than you are at this moment. The Bible teaches that life does not end at the cemetery. There is a future life with God for those who put their trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Prayer for the day
Thank You for the eternal life in Christ and for the peace that comes over me because of this triumphant promise! Today help me relay this joyous news to those around me.

There are times that we probably wonder why we do not receive the same blessings as others or for that matter any blessings at all.

The problem we sometimes face is we block the ability for God to bless us, because we worry and fret, because we fear tomorrow. We need to remember to believe in our Lord and Savior and know that he lives within each of us.

Our Father in Heaven can only bless those with grateful and thankful and joyful hearts. We need not allow negative emotions to fill our hearts or rule our lives. Be grateful, be thankful, be joyful and witness all God's love for you.