Displaying Christian Sermons by tag: daily devotion

Joyce Meyer (December-03-2020) Daily Devotion: Led by the Spirit. 

It’s interesting that in today’s verse, Paul did not say that the cravings or desires of the flesh would no longer exist for God’s children. He did say, though, that we can choose to be led by the Holy Spirit, and by making that choice, we wouldn’t give in to the temptations that try to separate us from God.

There are so many other voices trying to lead us—other people, the devil, or even our own flesh (our body, mind, will, or emotions)—and often several are talking at the same time.

In order to live in close relationship with God, it’s crucial that we choose to be led by the Holy Spirit instead of those other voices. Only He knows the will of God, and He’s been sent to live in each of us, to help us become all God has designed us to be, and to fulfill all He wants us to do.

When we’re following the voice of the Holy Spirit, He leads us by peace, by wisdom, and by God’s Word. He also speaks through a still, small voice in our hearts as we seek to live for God. The more we follow His leading, the more we will be victorious in life.

I want to encourage you to begin each day by saying, “Holy Spirit, I will listen for Your leading today. Please give me the wisdom, grace and peace I need to stay in line with Your guidance.”

Prayer Starter: Lord, please help me begin to hear and act on Your voice above every other voice vying for my attention. Thank You for helping me walk out Your will for my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Joel Osteen (December-02-2020) Today's Word: Enlarged

Today’s Scripture: Psalm 118:5, NKJV - I called to the LORD in distress; the LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.

Today’s Word: King David didn't get enlarged in the good times; he was enlarged when things weren't going his way. While he was alone out in the shepherds' fields, it looked as though he would never accomplish his dreams. But those years helped prepare him to become a champion. When he killed Goliath, it happened because he went through the dark places with a good attitude. When he was distressed and felt as though God had forgotten about him, his attitude was, "God, this is a dark place, but I'm developing patience and perseverance and learning to trust You." At the right time, he came out of that dark place increased, promoted, and better off than he had been before.

You may feel alone, abandoned, and mistreated, but dare to believe that He is blessing you even in the dark places. Be faithful in the shepherds' field. It may not be easy, but faith is trusting in God when life doesn't make sense.

Prayer for Today: "Father, thank You that You bless me even in the dark places, and what's meant for my harm is going to bring me into a broad place. Thank You that You are preparing me to become a champion. I declare that I am trusting in You. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

John Hagee (December-02-2022) Daily Devotion: Psalm 27:14 - Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!

We can expect the unexpected when we have put our faith in the Lord. But do not expect His reply on our timetable!

We often bring our petitions to the Lord and expect Him to answer by the close of business today. We place time restrictions on God and grow impatient with Him when He does not respond to our demands.

As we expect the unexpected, we must remember that His thoughts and ways are much higher than ours – beyond our understanding and explanation. Abraham waited 25 years for the son that God promised him. Sarah was 90 years old when she gave birth to Isaac – that was unexpected!

Moses was 80 years old when God sent him back to Egypt to lead the children of Israel out of slavery. He considered himself a failure, but God had the unexpected in mind!

When we trust God’s timing, He will part the waters, move the mountains, and make a way through the wilderness of impossibility. In the fullness of His time – when we are led by His Word and His Spirit – He will orchestrate every detail for the right-on-time arrival of our blessing.

Our responsibility is to trust His timing and wisdom in the waiting. He will keep us in perfect peace when we focus on Him. In His good time, we can expect the unexpected!

Today's Blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you His peace. God’s delay is not His denial! He will steady and strengthen you while you wait for His reply.

Today's Bible Reading: 

• Old Testament - Daniel 9:1-10:21
• New Testament - 1 John 2:18-3:6
• Psalms & Proverbs - Psalm 121:1-8, Proverbs 28:27-28

Joyce Meyer (December-02-2021) Daily Devotion: Practice Listening. 

We often pray to know God’s will, but before we can hear from Him, we have to believe it’s our inherited right to do so. One of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to lead us into God’s will for each of our lives: But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth) (John 16:13 AMPC).

Discerning the voice of God will definitely take some practice—you’ll probably make a few mistakes along the way—but don’t be afraid to step out in faith. The more you practice listening for the Holy Spirit, the better you’ll become at learning and being led by His voice.

Prayer Starter: Father, thank You for being willing to lead me in everything I do. Please help me be patient as I’m in the process of growing and learning to hear Your voice better. In Jesus’ name, amen.

John Hagee (December-01-2022) Daily Devotion: Psalm 145:7 - They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness.

Our expectations are not just built on faith. The things for which we hope and believe are influenced by how people have acted in the past.

Our expectations are determined by what others have done. People may have failed to fulfill our hopes, discouraged us, and let us down. There is One, though, Who never disappoints those who put their trust in Him.

Consider the powerful gift God gave us through His Son. God clothed Jesus in our unrighteousness, so we might wear robes of royalty. Christ went to the grave where we were supposed to lie to give us everlasting life instead.

He rose again – victorious over death, hell, and the grave – so we could be more than conquerors. He emptied Himself, so we might be filled with His splendor.

He made amends with God and paid the price, so we could boldly approach the throne of our Father. When we raise our voices, God no longer hears the sinners of old; He hears the children of God who have been set free by the blood of Jesus Christ!

This same God Who loved us so much that He sent His cherished Son is the same One Who watches over us today. His past goodness proves that we can still expect the unexpected – above what we can even ask or imagine!

Today's Blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you His peace. Give thanks to Jesus for dying your death, so you could receive His abundant life. He has redeemed you to be His very own.

Today's Bible Reading: 

• Old Testament: Daniel 8:1-27
• New Testament: 1 John 2:1-17
• Psalms & Proverbs: Psalm 120:1-7, Proverbs 28:25-26

Joyce Meyer (December-01-2021) Read Daily Devotion: Guard Your Heart.

Breastplate - Armor for the heart

Brace yourself for a mind-blowing fact: Jesus did not die so we could have a religion. He died so we could receive forgiveness for our sins, be made right with God, and enjoy a deep, genuine friendship with Him.

Religion is people’s attempt to get to a place where God will accept them; it is humanity’s idea of God’s expectations. But Christianity is different—it isn’t about us striving to get to God, but about God coming down to humanity in the person of Jesus Christ to rebuilding the bridge between us so we could have relationship with Him.

Righteousness is described in the Bible as a breastplate that covers, or protects, the heart or spirit of a person (see Ephesians 6:14). Our spirits need to be covered with righteousness if we’re to have rich fellowship with God and walk in freedom. That’s why Jesus took on our sin—so we could become His righteousness (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). God gives us righteousness by His grace, but we are the ones who choose to receive it by faith and walk in it.

Prayer Starter: Father, thank You for providing me with the breastplate of righteousness through Jesus. Please help me remember to put it on every day so my heart is fully protected from the enemy’s attacks. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Joel Osteen (November-30-2021) Today's Word: It All Can Change in a Day. 

Today’s Scripture: 2 Kings 7:1, TLB - Elisha replied, "The Lord says that by this time tomorrow two gallons of flour or four gallons of barley grain will be sold in the markets of Samaria for a dollar!"

Today’s Word: An army had surrounded the city of Samaria, cut off the Israelites' food supply, and clogged up their waterways so they couldn't get any water. The people were starving and beyond desperate. When Elisha spoke today's Scripture, the people thought he'd lost his mind. One leader said, "That couldn't happen even if the Lord opened the windows of heaven." Yet if you continue reading the story, it did happen just as Elisha said, miraculously, and there was a sudden abundance of food.

For some of the things that seem impossible that they could turn around or happen, you're going to be amazed. You're looking in the natural, but we serve a supernatural God. Get in agreement with God. Believe that things are going to fall into place, opportunity is going to come to you, people will go out of their way to be good to you. You couldn't have made it happen. It's the hand of God.

Prayer for Today: "Father, thank You that when I believe, angels go to work, forces of darkness are pushed back, and things begin to change in my favor. Thank You that whether You do it tomorrow or next year, You will take care of my every need. I believe it's on the way. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

John Hagee (November-30-2022) Daily Devotion: Galatians 4:4 - But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son…

Our expectations can be hampered by the depth of the relationship that we share with a person. The less we know, the fewer our expectations.

When we meet a stranger, we have little to no expectations since we have no shared history on which to build. When we know someone well, though, we develop expectations based on our familiarity with his character and behavior. If he meets our expectations, we are pleased. If not, we are disappointed.

God wants to know us so well that He sent His own Son to us. No greater gift could ever be given to forge a relationship! He did not extend a mere token; He sent us the most precious thing He had.

No matter what presents we have received in our lifetimes, none compare to the gift of God’s only begotten Son. If He is the only gift that ever comes our way, He is more than we asked for, more than we deserve, and more than we will ever need.

He gave His Best to know us more. Once we profess Jesus as Savior, we get to know Him as a Person. The more we study His Word and pursue Him in prayer and fellowship, the more familiar we become with His promises. As our familiarity and faith grow – the more we know – we begin to expect the unexpected.

Today's Blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you His peace. May you be firmly fixed in God’s love and filled up with the glorious richness of the Lord!

Today's Bible Reading: 

• Old Testament: Daniel 7:1-28
• New Testament: 1 John 1:1-10
• Psalms & Proverbs: Psalm 119:156-176, Proverbs 28:23-24

Joyce Meyer (November-30-2020) Daily Devotion: Make a Thankful List. 

To help you achieve and maintain a new level of contentment in your life, I encourage you to use some of your quiet time with God to make a list of everything you have to be thankful for. It should be a long list, one that includes little things as well as big things.

Why should it be long? Because we all have a lot of things to be thankful for, and we’ll see them if we look for them. Get out a piece of paper and start listing things you have to be thankful for. Keep the list and add to it frequently. Make it a point to think about and thank God for the things that you’re grateful for when you’re driving the kids to an activity, or waiting in line at the post office, or whatever you might be doing throughout the day. You can only learn the power of thankfulness by practicing it intentionally. When you meditate on what you have to be grateful for every day and verbalize it to God, it will be amazingly helpful to your thought life and heart (see Philippians 4:6-7; 1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Prayer Starter: Father, thank You for the ways You have, are, and will continue to bless me. Help me to be mindful to thank You throughout the day, and to live with a grateful attitude. In Jesus’ name, amen.

John Hagee (November-29-2022) Daily Devotion: Isaiah 55:9 - For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Have you ever considered how influential our expectations are in our outcomes? If we do not expect good things to happen, they usually will not.

Often our expectations serve as limitations on what God can accomplish in our lives. We pray for the things that we desire in the ways that we determine they should happen under a deadline that we establish. But God’s Word tells us that He has greater things in mind than we can even imagine, that His plans are much better than ours, and that His timing is impeccable.

We often expect our blessing to look a certain way and be delivered on a certain date. If we stubbornly refuse to let go of our too-small expectations, we will limit the God Who wants to do exceedingly, abundantly above what we could think or ask (Ephesians 3:20-21).

We sell ourselves short! God has promised that our eyes have never seen, our ears have never heard, our minds cannot even imagine the wonderful things that He has in store for us (I Corinthians 2:9). Why would we settle for less?

Let’s make up our minds to expect the unexpected! Let’s wait for His answers with excited anticipation. Believe for the impossible. Hang on for a miracle. Let go of the limitations. God never disappoints.

Today's Blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you His peace. Learn to expect the power and purity of His promises. May you open your heart to receive His unexpected gifts!

Today's Bible Reading: 

• Old Testament - Daniel 6:1-28
• New Testament - 2 Peter 3:1-18
• Psalms & Proverbs - Psalm 119:132-155, Proverbs 28:21-22