Arise and Shine

Daily devotional – Sharing God’s Word..

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  • Alive in Christ

    “But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” (Romans 8:10-11 NIVUK)

    “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,” (Colossians 2:13 NIVUK)

    When He died on the cross, you were included in His death, but most importantly, you were also included in His resurrection.

    “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5 NIVUK)

    Dear Father, thank you for your grace by which I have been saved. I want to live my life as a reflection of Your incredible gift, I am alive in You, with You.. and dead to sin! Amen

  • Fully equipped

    “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIVUK)

    The Word of God fully equip you with everything you need in this world. His Word is the living, powerful tool He use to transform your life and prepare you to carry out His perfect plan. God’s Word is crucial in discovering His will for you.

    “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (Psalm 119:105 NIVUK)

    “The entrance and unfolding of Your words give light; their unfolding gives understanding (discernment and comprehension) to the simple.” (Psalm 119:130 AMP)

    God has equipped you for everything you are going to face. May He renew your mind and heart to fully understand your true identity. May He remind you of your worth, your value, and that you are loved beyond measure!

    “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our LORD Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21 NIVUK)

  • Set free

    Through Christ’s obedience you have been set free. You are no longer bound by the burdens of your past, by broken relationships or by inferior thought patterns. You are free to live victoriously, free to breathe in all of God’s goodness, free to align yourself with God’s Spoken promise. Not just hearing and reading it, but living it in all aspects of your life.

    “So if the Son liberates you [makes you free men], then you are really and unquestionably free.” (John 8:36 AMP)

    “IN [this] freedom Christ has made us free [and completely liberated us]; stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off].” (Galatians 5:1 AMP)

    “Out of my distress I called upon the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free….” (Psalm 118:5 AMP)

    You are free from the false hope that is found in trying to keep the law in order to be right with God. The real hope of righteousness is found in the Holy Spirit by faith..

    “For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Galatians 5:5-6 NIVUK)

  • Sense God’s presence

    To sense God’s presence and discern His guidance is something that the Holy Spirit initiates within you. By having a personal relationship with God, you learn to recognise His familiar voice. A sensing in your spirit that connects with God’s perfect will as you follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is to have the mind of Christ in everything you do.

    “But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].” (John 16:13 AMP)

    “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11 AMP)

    You might not hear an audible voice but God may speak through thoughts or impressions that He gives you. He may speak to your heart in a gentle whisper, making your senses aware of His closeness. And when He speak, it will always be consistent with His word.

    To sense His guidance, seek Him through prayer and spend time in His Word. Be Spiritually aware and allow His words to bring life. He speaks to comfort you, correct you and guide you. He loves you and wants to be in an intimate relationship with you.

    “In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.” (Proverbs 3:6 AMP)

    “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth. He will fulfill the desires of those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him; He also will hear their cry and will save them.”(Psalm 145:18-19 AMP)

  • Soulfully

    “Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.” (Psalm 103:1 NIVUK)

    Worship and praise God in all circumstances, with your whole being, whole existence, soulfully. The essence of worship is proclaiming God’s rightful worth and position.

    “These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.” (Psalm 42:4 NIVUK)

    What a powerful song by Matt Redman.. :

    “The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning

    It’s time to sing Your song again

    Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me

    Let me be singing when the evening comes

    Bless the Lord, O my soul

    O my soul

    Worship His holy name

    Sing like never before

    O my soul

    I’ll worship Your holy name

    You’re rich in love, and You’re slow to anger

    Your name is great, and Your heart is kind

    For all Your goodness I will keep on singing

    Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

    And on that day when my strength is failing

    The end draws near and my time has come

    Still my soul will sing Your praise unending

    Ten thousand years and then forevermore..”

    “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”” (Mark 12:30 NIVUK)

    “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.” (Psalm 62:1 NIVUK)

  • A spiritual war

    The enemy is in a spiritual war. his desire is to keep you blinded to the Gospel of Christ by constructing strongholds. his plan is to keep you chained, lost and confused.

    Strongholds are merely incorrect thinking patterns. They are patterns in your mind that are programmed to think contrary to the truth. It makes you feel like you failed, or that you’re unworthy because you keep pondering and revisit guilt and shame from the past. The enemy is hard at work to build these strongholds in your mind so that you feel unable to see and experience God’s goodness. Unable to feel worthy of being included in His death and resurrection and unable to have an intimate relationship with God your Father.

    But the truth is that you are fully equipped with God’s armour and well able to break down any stronghold that the enemy tries to build up.

    “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIVUK)

    Take captive every thought. Renew your mind and speak God’s truth which will counteract the enemy’s lies. Use

    “…. the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17 NIVUK)

    Speak His Word out loud.. for it is in Scripture that we receive the truth of our identity in Christ.. where God reveal to us that we are not defined by our past.. But by God’s opinion.. Leave the past in the past…

    “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14 NIVUK)

    “to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:23-24 NIVUK)

    “Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”(Psalm 103:2-5 NIVUK)

  • Walk the talk

    “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (3 John 1:4 NIVUK)

    Saint Francis of Assissi said:

    “It is no use walking anywhere to preach… unless our walking is our preaching.”

    Sometimes, what you read in Scripture and what is said or proclaimed is not reflected in the way we act. It is necessary to find that connection between believing and behaviour. Your actions should be a reflection of who God created you to be. You have been created in His image and likeness, so reflect His character in every action you take.

    “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it – not forgetting what they have heard but doing it – they will be blessed in what they do.” (James 1:23-25 NIVUK)

    Be aware of how you choose to act and the impact it will have on those around you. Let your actions be aligned with what you say and what you believe. Aligned with God’s truth and be intentional about walking in His truth.

    “But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:5-6 NIVUK)

    “‘A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34 NIVUK)

  • Surrounded

    “Remember love Remember mercy

    Christ before me

    Christ behind me

    Your loving kindness

    Has never failed me

    Christ before me

    Christ behind me…”

    (Jesus I need you- Hillsong worship)

    Christ is covering and protecting you from all sides. He surrounds you with His grace, His mercy, His favour, His healing, peace and perfect love..

    “You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.” (Psalm 139:5 NIVUK)

    “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and for evermore.” (Psalm 125:2 NIVUK)

    His love and faithfulness surrounds you and shape your desires and dreams.

    “Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favour as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:12 NIVUK)

    Open every pore of your soul to the presence of God. He is all around you, inside you, as close to you as your next breath..

    Father, help me to live each day with confidence in You. May I know that you are surrounding me, even when circumstances make me feel vulnerable and unsafe. Help me to trust in Your presence and protection. Amen.

  • One with God

    “But the person who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him.” (1 Corinthians 6:17 AMP)

    Oneness with God opens the door for intimacy, wisdom and understanding of who God truly is. Intimacy is not about a continual emotional assurance that He is your friend. Intimacy with God is more than just a feeling of closeness. It is a desire to know God, to enjoy His companionship, to fellowship with Him. Intimacy is the quiet assurance that God loves you even when your feelings and circumstances say otherwise. The feeling of closeness is a consequence of spending time with God. It is that intimate relationship with God that brings you to a place of peace and contentment. The discovery of who He is will redefine you. It will uncover your true identity in Christ.

    “I do not call you servants (slaves) any longer, for the servant does not know what his master is doing (working out). But I have called you My friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from My Father. [I have revealed to you everything that I have learned from Him.]”(John 15:15 AMP)

    Jesus prayed for you to our Father:

    “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.’” (John 17:26 NIVUK)

    How incredible to know that it is possible to have an intimate relationship with God, to be close to God, one with God..

    “You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,….” (Psalm 139:1-6 NIVUK)

  • In awe of You, Lord

    I had the privilege of traveling to many places where I came across the most breathtakingly beautiful views of God’s creativeness. High mountain ranges so majestic.. beautiful lakes.. waterfalls gushing down the mountains.. there are so much natural beauty, overwhelmingly beautiful. I was once again reminded of God’s greatness, standing in awe of who He is.

    Let all the earth fear the Lord [revere and worship Him]; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. (Psalm 33:8 AMP)

    “…God our Saviour…. who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. (Psalm 65:5-8 NIVUK)

    The Psalmist writes of something much greater than any mountain majesty, he writes of the Majesty who created the mountain.

    LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known (Habakkuk 3:2 NIVUK)

    Take a moment today and stand in awe of God. Let the beauty of His creation remind you of His greatness, His power, His infiniteness. Whenever God is revealed in His greatness, power, strength and majesty, the appropriate response is worship..

    Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. (Psalm 105:2-3 NIVUK)