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OPEN HEAVENS  2017 DAILY DEVOTIONAL WEDNESDAY MAY 31ST 2017 – WHOSE WILL?

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Memorise: Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 Read:  Matthew 6:9-13 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 6:10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread. 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. MESSAGE “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2 God is a God of purpose, and He is highly organized. He plans far ahead of His deeds. For instance, Ephesians 1:4 says that long before God laid the foundations of the earth, He had already chosen us to live a holy and blameless life before Him. God knows exactly what He wants an...

A LOOMING JUDGEMENT

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AMOS 5:16-27 KEY VERSE: "Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light" (Amos 5:18). The judgment of God upon sinners is imminent. It is going to be a day of catastrophe and calamity, gloom and misery, desolation and astonishment and indeed, a day of a lamentation and confusion. It is a day that no sinner would wish to pass through. This day of outpouring of God’s fury, indignation and wrath upon the world is referred to as the day of the Lord in the Scripture. The day of the Lord as depicted in the text will be the time when the Lord will make the day dark, dismal, and gloomy upon all impenitent sinners and backsliders. A sinner who escapes one calamity will be pursued and overtaken by another. The people of Israel copied the crimes and iniquities of their forefathers by going into idolatry. God frowns at hypocrisy as well as the pretence of piety. God could not be bribed with music or offerings. F...

RHAPSODY OF REALITIES WEDNESDAY, 31ST MAY. LEVELS OF MATURITY.

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RHAPSODY OF REALITIES WEDNESDAY, 31ST MAY.  http://bit.ly/2dZqtLQ LEVELS OF MATURITY. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil (Hebrews 5:13-14). Some Christians get very excited to read 1 Corinthians 1:30: “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” Then, they come across James 1:5: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” and get confused. “Should one still ask for wisdom after Christ has been made unto us wisdom?” they wonder. Now, those two verses aren’t contradictory at all; it’s about levels of maturity in Christ. The Scriptures are given to us to guide and lead us...

The Beauty of Brokenness

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 May 31, 2017 The Beauty of Brokenness James Banks Psalm 51 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit.  Psalm 51:17 Kintsugi is a centuries-old Japanese art of mending broken pottery. Gold dust mixed with resin is used to reattach broken pieces or fill in cracks, resulting in a striking bond. Instead of trying to hide the repair, the art makes something beautiful out of brokenness. The Bible tells us that God also values our brokenness, when we are genuinely sorry for a sin we have committed. After David engaged in adultery with Bathsheba and plotted the death of her husband, the prophet Nathan confronted him, and he repented. David’s prayer afterwards gives us insight into what God desires when we have sinned: “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise” (Ps. 51:16–17). When our heart is broken ...

RHAPSODY OF REALITIES. HE IS GOODNESS PERSONIFIED.

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RHAPSODY OF REALITIES TUESDAY, 30TH MAY.  http://bit.ly/2dZqtLQ HE IS GOODNESS PERSONIFIED. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17). God is good (Psalm 24:1). He’s goodness personified, but not many people see or perceive Him as such. They think He wants us afraid and apologetic all the time; so they try to be careful with Him, hoping not to offend Him. God isn’t that way. He’s not waiting to see you slip or make a mistake so He can sniff from heaven and wipe you off the face of the earth. He’s loving and kind. The Lord Jesus unveiled the Father to us as a loving Father. When He walked the earth, He represented everything that the Father is. The Jews knew God as the God of judgment. Then, they heard Jesus call God “Father”; that was new, and they understood what it meant. The Bible says, “Then the Jews took up st...

OPEN HEAVENS 2017 THE ULTIMATE DESTINATION

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Memorise:  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Matthew 7:13 Read:  Matthew 7:13-14 (King James Version) 13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Bible in one year:  Acts 18-19, Jeremiah 38:14-23, Hymn: Sing hymn 11 MESSAGE God wants to change your life, but beyond this, He wants to change your final destination. Over the ages, many people have had to move from one location to another within the same country. Others have had to relocate to other countries for one reason or the other. However, at the end of the day, irrespective of where we live, we shall all arrive at a final destination. That destination is eternal and cannot be changed a...

BETWEEN GOD AND NEIGHBOURS

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BETWEEN GOD AND NEIGHBOURS -MARK 12:28-37 KEY VERSE: "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment" (Mark 12:30). Two aspects of Jesus’ personality are here introduced: His humanity and deity. He is both human and divine. In His incarnation, Jesus came to this world in human form in the lineage of David. That is why He is often referred to as the Son of David. However, because He is God, David himself referred to Him as Lord. Jesus, while answering the question of the scribes on which is the greatest commandment, said the most important commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and with all your strength. We, as believers are commanded to love Jesus Christ our Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. He deserves our love and reverence. We show our love to Him by obeying Him and giving our all, includi...