Christian Daily Devotional

...who being the brightness of His glory & the express image of His person, upholding all things "by the word of His power", Hebrews 1:3

THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH AND PROTECTION

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TO THE BIBLE: Psalm 27:1

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

LET’S TALK

Let’s talk about this Psalm of David for a moment. You’d observe that David wasn’t asking the Lord for strength here. It lacks spiritual logic to ask the Lord to give you strength when He’s Himself the strength of your life. If the Lord is the strength of your life, you don’t need to ask Him for strength, because if you have Him, you have strength; therefore, there should be no room for weakness in your life.

The Apostle Paul, with this understanding, made a remarkable claim in 2 Corinthians 12:10, when He said, “…When I am weak, then I am strong.” He knew his strength was the Holy Spirit that resided in him. That’s why He also said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). The Holy Spirit is the source of true strength, and He lives in you. Therefore, never confess weakness. Declare always that you’re strengthened and marvellously helped of the Lord. Romans 8:26 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses…”; in other words, His strength is always available to you and for you, even when you think you’re at your weakest.

Furthermore, He’s your defence and shield. This is something you have to be conscious of and grateful to the Lord for, because it means that not only is He your strength, He’s also your protection. The Bible says, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10 NASB). Are you in Him? Then you should have no fear at all, not of anyone or anything! Live with this consciousness that the Lord Himself is your strength and protection, and keep winning every day.

Go Deeper

Psalm 23:4; Psalm 27:1-3; 2 Corinthians 3:5-6

Speak

The Lord is the strength of my life; therefore, there’s no room for weakness in me. I’m sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency, and nothing is impossible to me. Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in His dwelling! Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for He’s my shield and eternal protection. Hallelujah!

Daily Bible Reading

ONE YEAR

Romans 15:5-13, Psalms 94-98

TWO YEAR

Luke 15:20-32, Judges 21

Act

Tell someone about Psalm 27 today.

WALK IN THE LIGHT OF YOUR NEW LIFE IN CHRIST.

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Christian Devotional - Rhapsody of Realities

RHAPSODY OF REALITIES DAILY DEVOTIONAL

FRIDAY, 7TH JULY. 2017

WALK IN THE LIGHT OF YOUR NEW LIFE IN CHRIST.

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).

1 Corinthians 6:11 reveals an extraordinary reality about the new creation. Actually, Paul had to bring the communication to a level that the Christians in Corinth, who at the time were still spiritual babes, could easily understand.

To fully grasp the import of the message, let’s include and read the preceding verses nine and ten: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Verse eleven says, “And such were some of you….” However, in reality, the new creation couldn’t actually be described as someone who used to be any of those characters described in verses nine and ten above for the simple reason that the new creation has no past. He’s a brand new species. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

It wasn’t just a mere change that took place in you when you were born again; it was an actual replacement or supplanting of the life of which you were born of your parents, with another life, the indestructible life of God. Real Christianity isn’t the inclusion or impartation of another nature, but an actual recreation of the human spirit by God. You’ve come alive to God through the new birth. You might then want to ask, “How come people still find themselves doing certain things they shouldn’t do, even after they’re born again?”

The answer is simple: they’ve not fully yielded themselves to the Word to live from their spirit. Really, those wrong actions don’t come from their human spirits, but from the “unrenewed” mind and the senses—which is why we’re told to renew our minds with the Word (Romans 12:2). You must develop your human spirit by learning, meditating and acting on the Word. That way, you’ll train your spirit to rule over your senses, and keep walking in the light of your righteousness, justification, and new life in Christ Jesus.

CONFESSION
I’m a new creation, a brand new species of being; old things are passed away and all things have become new! My mind is renewed and reprogrammed for the transcendent life of glory. Blessed be God!

FURTHER STUDY:
Ephesians 4:22-24 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Romans 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
1-Year Bible Reading Plan:
Acts 18:24-19:1-7, Job 12-14
2-Year Bible Reading Plan:
Luke 7:11-17, Joshua 1-2

AFFIRMATION ACTIVATES THE POWER OF THE WORD.

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Christian Devotional - Rhapsody of Realities

RHAPSODY OF REALITIES DAILY DEVOTIONAL

SATURDAY, 1ST JULY. 2017

AFFIRMATION ACTIVATES THE POWER OF THE WORD.

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me (Hebrews 13:5-6).
There’re two different aspects of salvation: the legal and the vital aspects. The vital aspect of salvation is activated by your confession; it only works when you say it; while the legal aspect requires acknowledgement.

In Romans 10:9, we see the confession or affirmation principle as the very basis for salvation. It says, “…if thou shalt confess (declare, profess, announce, affirm) with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved….” Salvation only becomes real when you make the confession of the lordship of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 12:37, “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” When you confess, affirm or proclaim the lordship of Jesus Christ, you’re translated from the domain or kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13).

Affirmation of the Word is an important principle in the Kingdom of God. God has spoken His Word so that we can take that Word and affirm it boldly. That’s our faith-response to the Word. He said whatever He said that we might respond. Your confession or affirmation is that response, and it activates the power of God’s Word in your life.

PRAYER

Precious Father, I thank you for the gift of your Word, and the blessings that I experience for affirming your Word in consent. I’m flourishing in every area of my life, even as I grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY:
1 Corinthians 2:12-13 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Philemon 1:6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
Acts 15:22-35 Esther 5-7
2 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
Luke 6: 1-11 Deuteronomy 29

FLUENT TONGUES

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TO THE BIBLE: 1 Corinthians 14:18 AMP

“I thank God that I speak in [strange] tongues (languages) more than any of you or all of you put together”

LET’S TALK

Some time ago, some fellow asked me, “Pastor Chris, I’ve been speaking in tongues for years now, and just recently, it feels as though the tongues don’t come out as freely as I’d want them to. How do I increase my vocabulary in other tongues?”

First, your vocabulary in tongues can increase as you’re inspired in prayer. It also happens as you listen to and meditate on God’s Word and are stirred in your spirit! You may not necessarily be in Church; you may be listening to a message or studying God’s Word on your own, but you’re in deep meditation and those new tongues—new words of the Spirit—bubble up from deep within your spirit!

At such times, as those new tongues are stirred up in you, it’s important to let yourself go and speak them out, even if you have to do so under your voice. That way, your spirit retains them. But if you suppress the words, you’ll remain with the same old tongues you’ve always had. So speak those new tongues that well up in you as you pray, meditate, or listen to the Word; they’ve been given to you by the Holy Spirit to enrich your heavenly vocabulary.

Go Deeper

1 Corinthians 14:2

Pray

Dear heavenly Father, thank you for the wonderful benefits of speaking in other tongues and the refreshing and inspiration that it brings to my spirit. My spiritual vocabulary is constantly improved as I spend more time in prayer, meditation, and study of your Word, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

ONE YEAR

Acts 9:32-43, Ezra 1-3

TWO YEAR

Luke 2:41-52, Deuteronomy 19

Act

 

Let those new tongues flow from your lips right now—speak in new tongues!

A SPIRITUAL LINGO

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TO THE BIBLE: Acts 2:4

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

LET’S TALK

“Speaking in other tongues, is it for everyone?” “Is it compulsory that I do it?” These questions and many others come from those who don’t speak in tongues. Any Christian who speaks in tongues and understands the great blessings that come from doing so doesn’t ask such questions.

To speak in tongues is to communicate in a spiritual language inspired by the Holy Spirit. As we saw in our theme scripture, “…the Spirit gave them utterance.” The Message translation says, “And they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.”

There are those who believe that speaking in tongues is only for a select-group of believers, or for high-ranking ministers of God. Not at all! Every Christian, young and old, male and female should regularly speak in tongues. Some other people think that they can only pray in tongues when they reach a spiritual high. Well, that happens simply because they haven’t learnt how to be constantly filled with the Spirit. When you receive the Holy Spirit and train yourself to always be filled with His divine presence, you’ll have the utterance to speak in tongues whenever and wherever. It will be a natural occurrence in your life on a regular basis.

Go Deeper

Mark 16:17; 1 Corinthians 14:2

Pray

Dear Father, thank you for this great gift of communicating through your Holy Spirit in tongues. As I speak this heavenly language, my spirit is built up, refreshed and invigorated with miracle-working power, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Act

Spend time to speak in other tongues at this moment.

FINANCE AND PROSPERITY