🏠 *MOUNT ZION SHEPHERD HOUSE MINISTRIES _Daily Scriptural Prayer Broadcast_ Topic: SELF CONFIDENCE, NOT ENOUGH Bible Reading: EPHESIANS 3 _. _Meditation_ : Ephesians 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Therefore I decree: * Let all your fear disappear * Let every stranger occupying any area of your life be arrested * Let every satanic giant become ant before you * No matter how big the mountain, it shall become a plain * At the words of your mouth, your adversaries shall tremble * You shall be great and bold against every challenges of life, in the mighty name of Jesus. Good Morning........... For prayers and counseling: 07007009466 Pastor Bamidele Olusegun Moses

Daily scripture: Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.4.31-32.NIV #Ephesians4 #Forgiveness #Kindness #Compassion

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." - Ephesians 2:10 Shared from Asante Bible

❤️ God's Self-existence, God's Nature — His Personality, Spirit, Unity, His Triunity (Trinity), The Godhead. ❤️ ((God's Self-existence)) Another aspect of God's existence is His self-existence. God not only exists, but He is also self-existent. He is not dependent upon anything outside Himself, but the source of His being is within Himself. God lives by His own life, not depending on anything to give Him life. In John 5:26 Jesus said, "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself." God is the fountain of life. "For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light” (Psalm 36:9). God's nature is "to be." This is seen in His very name. When Moses asked God, "What is your name?" He said, in effect, call me the one who is—call me "I AM." "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you" (Exodus 3:14). Although God is the ground of His own existence, this does not mean that He is self-caused or self-originated; for God is eternal—without beginning and without end. The Scriptures declare this very clearly. The significance of this is seen in the fact that this makes God sovereign. Since He is self-existent. He alone is free and independent to do what He chooses, and what He chooses is righteous. All of His decrees, His works, and His plan of salvation are wrought according to His own will and good pleasure. "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will" (Ephesians 1:11). God's self-existence also makes Him self-sufficient. He did not create because He needed anything outside of Himself, for God was complete and perfect within Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He created the world as a "theater" for His glory. According to Isaiah 43, Israel was created for the glory of God. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1). The Christian has been redeemed so that he might be "to the praise of the glory of his grace" for eternity (Ephesians 1:6). God's self-existence also means that He is the source of life; He has life in Himself. He created man, permitting him to partake of this life and have fellowship with Him, so that man might glorify God and enjoy Him forever. ❤️ ((God's Nature—His Personality)) The study of God's nature includes His personality, God as Spirit, God's unity and His triunity. The Scriptures re- veal God's personality or the evidence that God is a personal God. This is significant in view of the fact that most of the cults deny His personality, making Him "the absolute," "the source of all things," "the first cause," or a principle like "love." On the contrary, the Scriptures represent God as a personal being, not as a spiritual principle, or mere influence, or power, or immanent in nature as the Pantheists teach. God has the attributes of personality. He is a God who acts, a God who speaks, a God who thinks, a God who decrees and wills things to come to pass. The God of the Bible is self-conscious. In Exodus 3:14 God's self-consciousness is seen in that He has the ability to say "I AM." This ability shows that one has the power to know himself and the world around him. It is the mark of personality. An animal, for example, lacks this capacity to think or say, "I am, I exist, and this is a world around me." God is also self-determining; and this self-determination is seen in many Scriptures, such as Isaiah 40:13-14 and Ephesians 1:9-11. In Daniel 4:35 the prophet said that God "doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth." As previously pointed out, God has self-life. He is called the "living God" throughout Scripture, for example, Jeremiah 10:10 and 1 Timothy 3:15. The Scriptures speak of God as a living God, meaning that He is a God who speaks and acts, in contrast to the non-living, non-personal idols or gods that men have made. Life is a requisite for personality. God proves His life by His works and by His activity on behalf of His people. ❤️ ((God's Nature—Spirit)) God is also Spirit. The Bible does not define God's essential nature except in this one phrase—He is Spirit. "God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). This means that God is a non-material, invisible, personal being who is not bound by the limitations of time or space. Spirit has no weight, size, or shape, and does not occupy space. A being which has no parts cannot be divided and needs no space. In contrast to man, God is pure Spirit. Those passages of Scripture that speak of God as having eyes, heart, hands, and ears are called anthropomorphic. Man's vocabulary and understanding are limited to earthly concepts; so God, who is formless Spirit, has revealed Himself in terms which can be understood, as having eyes, ears, heart, and so forth. This does not mean that God is impersonal or that He is a mere figure of speech. God as "person" can feel love and compassion, although He has no heart. The Scriptures say that He has no ears, and yet He can hear; nothing is done that He does not see, though He has no eyes. "A spirit hath not flesh and bones," Jesus said in Luke 24:39. God is all-wise, all-knowing Spirit. He comprehends all things, but the only way finite creatures can comprehend this is by anthropomorphic analogies. In Isaiah 31:3 God contrasts His nature as Spirit with that which He created, which is flesh. God, as Spirit, is present everywhere at the same moment; however, this does not mean that He cannot manifest Himself in any form at any one place if He chooses. On the contrary, although His Spirit is everywhere throughout the universe and heaven, the Scriptures declare that He sits upon His throne in the heavens and rules with Jesus Christ at His right hand. He sat upon His throne in Israel. He spoke to Moses "from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark" (Numbers 7:89). He seemed pleased, also, to take upon Himself the form of man which He created. "And God said. Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (Genesis 1:26f.; see also Philippians 2:7). ❤️ ((His Unity)) Another aspect of God's nature is His unity, which means that God is one. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:4). This was in contrast to the other nations who had many gods. The full meaning of the oneness of God as stated in the Old Testament must be understood by the Christian in the light of the full revelation, if for no other reason than that Jesus Christ came calling Himself the Son of God. In fact. He said He was God. To say that God is "one" means that He is the only God (Isaiah 44:6-8). It means He is one essence or nature. He is Spirit—one divine Spirit (John 4:24). To say that God is one does not mean that this one God cannot manifest Himself eternally in three personifications as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In John 10:30 Jesus said, "I and my Father are one," and in John 17 He prayed to the Father. Thus, they are not the same personality, though they are the same God. To say that God is one means that there is a unity of nature, or essence, or being in God. The one God is one Divine Spirit personified eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Modern-day Israel, along with Unitarians and others who deny the deity of Christ, stumble at this truth, confining themselves only to the Old Testament revelation in Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." But His oneness is a oneness of essence or nature, that is. He is only one God. "I and my Father are one," Jesus said, "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 10:30; 14:9). Obviously, they are not the same personality, but the same being or nature—God. There is but one God essence, one Divine Spirit. The Jews correctly interpreted the meaning of Christ's words when He said, "I and my Father are one," for they said He had claimed equality with God. He did say that He was one with the Father; but He did not say He was the Father, because He prayed to the Father, and He said that the Father sent Him into the world. If He were the one sent, He could not have been the sender. God's oneness means that He is one essence, one Divine Spirit. Religious significance should not be given to the number "one" as the Jews and others do who deny the deity of Christ. His oneness is not a mathematical oneness. It is not the number one, but a qualitative oneness. It is a personal oneness, a unique oneness that belongs only to God. There is one Divine Spirit which is God. Monotheism and its emphasis in the Old Testament had its necessary purpose—to guard Israel against idolatry. The Israelites did not philosophize about the oneness of God or the nature of God, nor did they try to reason this out. They did not come to this truth by discovery, but God revealed Himself to them as the one God. Egypt and some other nations were polytheistic, worshiping many gods. His oneness of nature was in contrast to other religions of the day. There are no other gods, but this does not mean that Christ is not God. Christ and the Father are one—one essence, one being, one nature, one Divine Spirit, but different personalities. God is triune or has tri-personality. "Whosoever denies the Son," Jesus said, "has not the Father." God's unity means the Divine nature is undivided, indivisible, and there is but one infinite and perfect Divine Spirit. ❤️ ((His Triunity)) (Trinity) The doctrine of the triunity of God logically follows the study of the unity or oneness of the Godhead. The Scriptures show that in the nature of the one God there are three distinct personalities revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the triunity or the triune nature of God is a revelation from His Word and cannot be conceived by observing the created order or general revelation. Some critics point out that the term "trinity" does not occur in Scripture, which is true; but that does not mean that the doctrine of the trinity or triunity of God is not from the Word of God. There are other words used in theology which are not found in the New Testament, yet they support valid principles. For example, the word "atonement" does not occur in the Greek New Testament. The term translated "atonement" in Romans 5:11 is the Greek word "reconciliation," yet that is the basic doctrine of the New Testament and also the church's message. Even though a term may not occur in Scripture, the principle, the teaching, or the idea may be there, as in the case of the triunity or trinity of God. The tri personality of God is not tritheism, that is, three separate Gods. There are three eternal personalities—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—but only one divine essence called God. According to Scripture, the three personalities are equal and eternal. There are no earthly analogies to adequately express the truth of the triunity of God. While there have been many attempts to do this, none are adequate. However there is one that is helpful. Think of the Sun as Father and source of the light, and the Son as the essence of light, and the Holy Spirit is what light consists of. All three are distinct. One never exists apart from the other. Light is one with source. Light is a reflection from the source. Light and essence are one with the source. Therefore, it is advisable to take the Scriptures for what they say. God is what He reveals Himself to be in His Word—not what men say He is, not what the Unitarians or the liberals say He is—He is one Divine Spirit, eternally personified as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It should be obvious that if God is not what He reveals Himself to be in His Word, then He is yet unrevealed, and man does not know what He is like. To find the truth of the triunity of God, the place to begin is where most would probably not look, and that is in the Old Testament. The triunity is not clearly revealed there, yet the Old Testament does lay the foundation for the full revelation which is found in the New Testament. The plurality of the Godhead is suggested in certain passages such as Genesis 1:26. "And God said. Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Plural pronouns are used there both in the Hebrew and in the English translation. To whom is He speaking? Obviously, to the other personalities in the Godhead. Another suggestion of the plurality of the Godhead is in Genesis 19:24. "The Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven." The Lord on earth, who appeared as an angel, rained down fire from the Lord who was yet in heaven. There is also an interesting statement in Isaiah 48:16, which is a prophetic passage speaking of the future Messiah. "Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me." Notice the triune suggestion. The "me" is the Messiah or the preincarnate Christ who is speaking. The "Lord God and His Spirit" sent the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Certainly this passage is more than a hint about the triune nature of the Godhead! In the Old Testament the Messiah as God is distinguished from God the Father. This is seen in Isaiah 9:6, 48:16, Zechariah 12:10, 13:7, Psalm 45:6-7, Daniel 7:13-14, Psalm 2. The Old Testament revelation—while it stresses monotheism and the oneness of God—very carefully lays the groundwork for the New Testament doctrine of the triunity of the God-head. The Old Testament stressed the truth that God is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4); but this one God has a Son who is called God, and has a Spirit who is designated as the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God. ❤️ ((The Godhead)) God is revealed as the Father (John 6:27), the Son (John 6:69), and the Spirit (Acts 5:3,4,9). These three as the one God are called in theology the "Godhead." There are many erroneous views about the Godhead. Some make God one in the sense that the Father became the Son, and He later became the Holy Spirit. He was the Father in the Old Testament, they say, the Son in the New Testament, and in the church age He is now manifest as the Holy Spirit. While God truly is one, it is not a mathematical oneness; it is qualitative, as was pointed out previously. There are people who deny the deity of Christ or the personality of the Holy Spirit. They deny that God is three eternal personalities. It has already been stated that God is not what men may say that He is, but He is what He reveals Himself to be in the Scriptures. The Bible clearly shows God to be one Divine essence, one Divine Spirit, who reveals Himself from all eternity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There was never a time when He was not Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, nor shall there ever be. Both the unity and the distinctions in the Godhead are seen throughout the New Testament, and certainly they are suggested in the Old. The distinction between the Divine personalities in the Godhead can be seen in such passages as John 3:16 and Galatians 4:4, where the Father sent the Son into the world. The Father, Son, and Spirit are distinguished in John 15:26 where Jesus said that after He had returned to heaven. He and the Father would send the Holy Spirit. The unity of the Godhead is seen in Ephesians 4:4-6. "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." There the Spirit, the Lord Jesus, and God the Father are distinguished, but it says clearly that they are all one. See these verses for another example showing this truth. Matthew 3:16-17. “When He had been baptized, JESUS came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the SPIRIT OF GOD descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice from heaven(FATHER), saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The Scriptures also show two truths regarding the revelation of the Godhead. Since God is one, there is no real distinction between having God with man, having Christ in man, or having the Holy Spirit indwelling man, because the three are one God. This fact can be seen in John 14:15-26. The Scriptures also differentiate between the three personalities. The Father is the source or the ground of all things (1 Corinthians 15). The Son is the Creator and Redeemer (Colossians 1). The Holy Spirit is the agent of all life, both in the creation of the world and in the regeneration of the sinner. Edited. Shared. ❤️ God willing, more will be posted soon. All glory to Jesus alone.

CHRISTIANITY ✝️ TODAY Daily Devotional Companion Title: THE GRACE EXCHANGE: FROM STRUGGLE TO SUPERNATURAL SUPPLY (Compiled By) Televangelist HB Morgan Digital Library Publications KEY SCRIPTURES: · 1 Corinthians 6:20 (KJV) – "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." · Luke 6:38 (KJV) – "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." TODAY’S INSIGHT: Two Great Kingdom Errors There is a quiet crisis in modern Christianity—not of morality, but of methodology. We have subtly exchanged the finished work of Christ for the unfinished work of our own effort. This has birthed two destructive errors in the body of believers: 1. Praying for what has already been paid for. Many believers live in constant "labour," trying to convince God to do what He has already done at Calvary. They pray for healing as if it's future, for provision as if it's uncertain, and for acceptance as if it's conditional. This is not humility; it is ignorance of Grace. 2. Giving without expecting return. On the other hand, many have reduced giving to a mere duty or a charitable tax deduction. They sow seeds but never look for a harvest, thereby living below the kingdom order of supernatural increase. Today, we will dismantle both errors and rebuild a foundation of pure, powerful Grace. PART ONE: Stop Praying, Start Appropriating Contextual Amplification: The Corinthian church was surrounded by a culture of temple slavery and transactional religion. When Paul writes, "Ye are bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:20 & 7:23), he uses the language of the Roman slave market—but with a radical twist. Unlike a human master who pays to own a slave, Jesus paid the ultimate price to set you free. The price was His own blood. Therefore, your body, spirit, and entire existence are not your project to fix; they are His purchased possession to glorify. The Error Exposed: Today's Christianity thrives on visible works. We celebrate frantic labour, sleepless nights of prayer meant to "move God," and preachers who make Grace sound suspiciously easy. We subconsciously believe that anything free cannot be real. Consequently, many spend years praying for what was finished at the cross: forgiveness, healing, righteousness, and access to the Father. They try to "improve on excellence" or add human sweat to divine perfection. The Amplified Truth: You cannot improve on white. White is white. Pure is pure. Jesus did not say, "I have made a down payment." He shouted, "It is finished" (John 19:30). Prayer is not for obtaining what Christ has already purchased; prayer is for appropriating what is already yours. Prayer aligns your heart with the reality of Grace. The Bible declares, "For by strength shall no man prevail" (1 Samuel 2:9). Your struggle does not impress God; your trust in His finished work does. Application: Today, identify one thing you have been "begging" God for that the Bible already promises (e.g., peace, wisdom, salvation of a loved one, provision). Stop treating it as a future possibility. Instead, declare: "This is already paid for by the blood of Jesus. I now receive it and walk in it." PART TWO: Give, Expecting to Receive (The Kingdom Order) Contextual Amplification: God does nothing randomly. The kingdom of heaven operates on precise, unbreakable order. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10), He was revealing that heaven is a realm of perfect cause and effect. There is no waste, no confusion, and no fruitless labour in heaven. The Principle of Seed and Harvest: No farmer scatters seeds into the soil as a mere religious ritual. He plants with the violent, relentless expectation of a harvest. The purpose of sowing is reaping. In the natural, one grain of corn yields a stalk with hundreds of grains. In the spiritual, the multiplication is even greater: "Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over" (Luke 6:38). This "pressed down" imagery comes from ancient marketplaces, where merchants would shake a basket of grain to settle it, then press it down to pack even more, until it overflowed. That is God’s promise for your giving. He does not give a flat, level measure. He gives a compressed, overflowing, abundant return. The Great Blockage: Why do many givers not see this return? Because they give without expectation. They have been taught that it is "spiritual" to give and forget. But the Bible never says to forget your seed. The farmer watches the weather, protects the ground, and looks for the sprout. Likewise, you must give and then actively, prayerfully, expectantly look for your harvest. Do not block your harvest with unbelief or false humility. Application: The next time you give—whether tithes, offerings, or a gift to a person—do it with this declaration: "I am not losing this. I am planting this. And I expect a harvest—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—in Jesus' name." Write down what you gave and watch for God's return. THE SYNTHESIS: Grace Fuels Generosity These two truths meet in one life. When you stop praying for what was paid for, you stop operating from lack and desperation. You realize you are already rich in Grace. And when you give from that place of fullness—not to get God to love you, but because He already does—your giving becomes powerful. It is no longer a sacrifice to earn favour; it is a seed released from surplus. You cannot out-give a God who has already paid your ultimate debt. And you cannot exhaust a Grace that has already supplied every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3). REFLECTION QUESTIONS 1. What is one area of my life where I am still "labouring" as if Jesus didn't finish the work? 2. Have I ever given to God or others with a secret expectation of return? If not, what fear has been blocking me? 3. How would my prayer life change if I shifted from "begging for what is paid for" to "thanking and appropriating what is mine"? PRAYER OF AMPLIFICATION Oh Righteous Father, I come before You with a new understanding. Forgive me for the years I laboured in vain, praying for what the blood of Jesus already secured. Today, I stop striving. I receive Your finished work as complete and sufficient for my spirit, my body, and my finances. I thank You that because I am bought with a price, I am not a slave to lack or fear. I am a child of Grace. Therefore, I commit to give with the bold expectation of Your kingdom order. Teach me to sow seeds of generosity not from compulsion, but from confidence. Let every gift I give return to me—good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over—not for my greed, but for Your glory and the advancement of Your kingdom. In Jesus' mighty name, Amen. DECLARATIONS FOR THE DAY · I will not pray for what has already been paid for. I will only appropriate it by faith. · I am a giver, and I am also a receiver. I will not block my harvest. · Grace is not too good to be true; it is too good to be ignored. I live in it today. FURTHER BIBLE READING FOR TODAY · Galatians 1:1–20 – Paul’s fierce defense of Grace against those who add works. · Psalm 126:1–6 – The promise that those who sow in tears (or seed) will reap in joy. · 2 Corinthians 9:6–11 – God’s mathematical law of sowing and reaping. WISDOM CAPSULE FOR MEMORIZATION Proverbs 8:28 (MSG) – "When he mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean, built the vast vault of Heaven, and installed the fountains that fed Ocean." (Interpretation: The same God who ordered the cosmos has ordered your giving and receiving. Trust His structure, not your struggle.) FINAL BLESSING: Go into today not as a beggar, but as a bought-and-paid-for child of the King. You are prayed for by Christ, not paying to Christ. Now, give freely. Receive fully. And glorify God in your body and spirit. Amen. Courtesy of: Bible Brethren Commission Devotional Companion Publications

CHRISTIANITY ✝️ TODAY Daily Devotional Companion Title: UNDER GOD’S PLAN, NOT PUSHING YOUR OWN WAY (Compiled By) Televangelist HB Morgan Digital Library Publications Opening Scripture: Ephesians 1:1 (MSG) – “I, Paul, am under God’s plan as an apostle, a special agent of Christ Jesus, writing to you faithful believers in Ephesus.” Philippians 2:3 (MSG) – “Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead.” CONTEXT & BACKGROUND The Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians while imprisoned in Rome, yet his opening words declare not a sense of confinement but of divine assignment. He knew who sent him, why he was here, and under whose authority he operated. That knowledge gave him unshakable confidence. Similarly, in his letter to the Philippians, Paul addressed a church that risked internal rivalry and pride. He reminded them that the Kingdom of God runs on a completely different currency: humility, service, and waiting on God’s timing. Together, these two passages form a powerful pair. One speaks of identity – you are under God’s plan. The other speaks of conduct – therefore, don’t push your way to the front. When you truly know you are divinely positioned, you stop striving like the world. AMPLIFIED REFLECTION 1. The Knowledge That Separates You There is a kind of knowledge from God’s Word that lifts a person above their peers. Not intellectual knowledge alone, but revelatory knowledge – a deep, heart-level certainty that you are not an accident, not a wanderer, but a sent one. Paul said, “I am under God’s plan as an apostle.” He didn’t say “I hope so” or “I’m trying to be.” He declared a fact. This knowledge is power because it changes how you walk, talk, work, and wait. Many believers live as orphans in their careers, ministries, and daily labors. They strive, compare, and burn out. But when you know that even your role as a bus driver, cook, teacher, or trader is part of God’s plan, you carry dignity and authority. The world will respond differently to a person who knows they are sent by Heaven. Ask yourself: Do I see my daily work as a divine assignment? Do I speak and act like someone under God’s plan? 2. The Danger of Pushing Your Way to the Front Now comes the warning. Because knowledge of identity can be twisted into pride or impatience. Some believers, knowing they are “under God’s plan,” begin to push, manipulate, and climb over others. They want visibility now. They want the platform now. They want to be known now. But the Kingdom principle is clear: promotion comes only from God (Psalm 75:6). Not from the east, west, or south – meaning not from human connections, strategies, or self-exaltation. When you push your way to the front, you step out of God’s timing. You may even find that God resists you (James 4:6). Why? Because He sees your heart. Are you seeking to build His Kingdom or your own name? Are you willing to help others get ahead, or do you see them as stepping stones? 3. The Beautiful Harmony Here is the harmony of today’s message: You are under God’s plan → so you don’t need to push. Your assignment is secure. Your promotion is already scheduled. Your platform is being prepared behind the scenes. Paul was under God’s plan as an apostle, yet he also said, “I am the least of the apostles… but by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:9-10). He didn’t push. He labored, but he waited on God’s timing. And God exalted him in due time. You too can rest. Do your work with excellence. Serve others. Honor those ahead of you. Don’t tear down to rise up. Don’t use another person’s platform without blessing. And don’t envy the wicked who seem to succeed by pushing – their end is destruction (Proverbs 24:1). TODAY’S APPLICATION 1. Declare your position – Every morning this week, say aloud: “I am under God’s plan in my work, my family, and my ministry.” 2. Check your motives – Before seeking visibility or promotion, ask: Why do I want this? Does it serve God’s agenda? 3. Help someone else get ahead – Practically, look for one person today whom you can lift, recommend, or encourage without expecting anything in return. 4. Stop comparing – Your path is unique. God’s plan for you does not look like God’s plan for anyone else. PRAYER Father, thank You for the revelation that I am under Your plan. Forgive me for the times I have pushed my way to the front, manipulated, or envied others. Purge my heart of selfish ambition. Help me to rest in Your timing, to serve without striving, and to trust that promotion comes only from You. I declare today: I am under Your plan. I will not push. I will wait on You. In Jesus’ name, Amen. FURTHER BIBLE READING · 1 Corinthians 15:9-11 – Paul’s humility despite his apostleship · 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 – Our identity as ambassadors under God’s plan · Daniel 2:20-22 – God changes times and seasons; He promotes · Psalm 75:1-10 – God is the judge; He lifts one and puts down another WISDOM CAPSULE Proverbs 24:1 (MSG) – “Don’t envy bad people; don’t even want to be around them.” Proverbs 24:6 (MSG) – “Strategic planning is the key to warfare; to win, you need a lot of good counsel.” CLOSING DECLARATION I am under God’s plan. I do not push my way to the front. I put myself aside and help others get ahead. My promotion will come from the Lord – not a day early, not a day late. Hallelujah! Courtesy of: Bible Brethren Commission Devotional Companion Publications

From; Brenda Walsh Ministries. Scent of Temptation. It is no accident that the sins you are tempted with are not the same as everyone else. What tempts your friend may not tempt you at all, and vice versa. But you can be sure that the devil knows what you struggle with. It may be something that no one even knows about - but the enemy does, and he is hitting you with very specific, strategic, and tantalizing temptations. And . . . he is eagerly waiting for you to take the bait! Just as a hungry lion patiently waits until just the right second to pounce on his prey, the devil does the same with you. He puts the temptation right out there where you can see it, examine it, and let your mind already experience it. He is cunning, calculated, and makes sure each temptation is tailor-made just for you! But God has made a way for you to resist the devil, no matter how enticing he makes sin look. The Bible says in James 4:7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Your secret weapon against the enemy is “submission to God”! The moment you get the first scent of temptation - stop and think about where it came from and who is behind it! Don’t touch, smell, look, play, feel, or have anything to do with it! Don’t just walk away . . . RUN away from sin! The longer you stand there thinking about it, the greater the chance that the devil will win. Instead, immediately reach out to the only One who can deliver you, cry “Jesus save me,” and He will be by your side in an instant, giving you the strength, power, and courage you need to avoid Satan’s snare. Text: Isaiah 59:19, Mark 8:33, Luke 10:19, Ephesians 6:10-11

Morning, April 28th, 2026 Read; Ephesians 4:29 In Christian communication, the goal is not just to be clear. It's not enough to just be understood. It's not enough to just be honest. The goal is to be helpful, supportive, and encouraging based on what the other person needs. Prayer Give me a pure heart, Tender Shepherd, so that my words will be pure. Give me a kind heart so that I can say kind things. Give me a heart full of joy and hope so I can share these things with the people you put in my path and with whom I talk. In Jesus' precious name, I pray. Amen.

•A Prayer of Praise for Who God Is• 👉 "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD”. (Psalm 160:6) As readers of the Bible, we often get caught in the mindset of reading the Bible to find ourselves. It is true that the Bible is full of the ways that God loves us, the beautiful ways that God created us, and how He longs to be invited into our lives. These are beautiful truths; however, if we are only trying to find ourselves in the Word and striving only to apply it to our lives, we are missing the biggest part of Scripture — Who God is. When we read the Bible instead to find God, our eyes open to a whole new way of finding out who He is, why He did what He did, and why he does what He does. When we understand who God is and why He loves and cares for us so much, it gives it much more depth and penetrates our hearts at a deeper level. Not just “God help ME," but “God, be who you ARE; that will help me.” We often go looking in the Bible for ways that God can help us; that is what it is there for, YES. But there is so much more to it when we really seek it out. I often find myself flipping through the Psalms. This is one of my favorite books in the Bible as it is filled with prayers from people, real hurting and confused people seeking guidance and truth from God. We find prayers of praise, lament, and oftentimes confusion and anger about what is going on in the writer's life. We find that over one-third of the prayers in Psalms are of lament or mourning. The writer is hurting and looking to God for comfort. But on the flip side, we find that in the entirety of the Bible, we see the phrase Praise God an astounding 6,892 times! God is worthy of our praise! The list of things that we suffer from seems endless. But let us remember that God IS endless. His capacity to care for us and love us is something we cannot comprehend. Paul says in Ephesians 3:18, And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is." When we list out our grievances to the Lord, we can rest assured that God’s character will have the perfect antidote for our suffering. Let’s Pray. 🙏 Dear Lord, We live in a fallen world full of suffering. We hear of tragedies taking place all over the world. We know there are people struggling to survive in indescribable hardship. I don’t understand why You allow for so much destruction, but I do trust that You are bigger than anything anyone will ever face in this world. Thank You, Jesus, that we have the hope of perfection in heaven and that this world is not all there is. Thank You, Lord, that for everything we suffer through in this life that you have a perfect attribute to cure us with simply being who you are. When I am weak, you are STRONG (2 Corinthians 12:10) When my soul is hungry, you feed me. (Matthew 4:4) When I am thirsty, you give me something to drink. (1 Corinthians 10:3-4) When I turn from you, you remain FAITHFUL (2 Timothy 2:13) When I sin, you are GOOD (Psalm 34:8) When I am worthy of punishment, you are MERCIFUL (Titus 3:5) When I am at the end of myself, you are OMNIPOTENT and INFINITE (Matthew 19:26) (Romans 11:33) When I am undeserving, you are GRACIOUS (Psalm 145:8) When I am hurting, you are my COMFORTER (Matthew 5:4) When I am confused, you are my SOURCE OF TRUTH (John 3:33) I praise You, Lord, for all Your perfect attributes. You call me your child and beckon me to behold Your glory. Help me to focus on who You ARE when I struggle. Help me to see You move in my circumstances even when I don’t understand but help me to trust You because You are SOVEREIGN (Colossians 1:17) over all things. Thank You, Lord, for Your love for me, even when I fall short. There is nothing I can do to change that. Help me to live in these truths and remember to call on Your name, praising who You are when I forget or when the world distracts me with lies. I know that You are with me; You promise in Your Word. “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (Deuteronomy 31:8) Thank You,Jesus, Amen 🙏 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) (pic verse) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) Artist 👨‍🎨 I Am With You Always - David Delfeld

YOU CANNOT WEAR THE GRAVE AND THE GARMENT Ephesians 4:21–24, 30 There is a frightening possibility Paul introduces in this passage: That a person can have heard about Christ without yet allowing Christ to invade the architecture of their inner life. He says, “If you have really experienced the Anointed One…” That opening phrase is unsettling. Because it suggests there is a difference between: knowing Christian information and undergoing Christian dislocation. There is a difference between admiring Jesus and being interrupted by Him. Many of us have collected sermons, worship moments, goosebumps, conferences, Bible notes, prophetic words — and yet beneath all of it, the machinery of the old self still runs uninterrupted. Same reactions. Same hidden fantasies. Same defense mechanisms. Same appetite for validation. Same bitterness. Same internal panic. Same secret agreements with darkness. We added Jesus to our language, but not to our subconscious reflexes. Paul says if you have really encountered the Anointed One, something becomes visible: the ancient man starts becoming unwearable. Not because someone shamed you out of sin. Because resurrection made your former skin itch. ⸻ THE OLD SELF IS NOT JUST BAD BEHAVIOR — IT IS A WHOLE FALSE IDENTITY SYSTEM Paul does not describe the “old man” merely as immoral conduct. He describes it as: “the old self-life, corrupted by deceitful desires that spring from delusions.” That word matters: delusions. Meaning the old self survives on lies believed as truth. The ancient man is built on internal misinformation: * I need control to be safe. * I need attention to feel significant. * I need this secret sin to soothe me. * I need people’s approval to feel stable. * I need revenge to feel justice. * I need money to feel secure. * I need to protect my image at all costs. The old man is not just sinful because he does wrong things. He is sinful because he sees reality wrongly. He interprets life through separation from God. He believes he is an orphan and therefore must self-preserve, self-exalt, self-medicate, self-defend, self-feed. So even his desires are deceitful — they promise life while draining life. Sin always markets itself as survival. But it is actually slow spiritual suffocation. This is why behavior modification never reaches deep enough. Because you can prune branches while watering the lie in the roots. ⸻ MANY BELIEVERS ARE TRYING TO MANAGE WHAT GOD CALLED THEM TO REMOVE Paul does not say: “Control the old man.” “Discipline the old man.” “Educate the old man.” He says: put him off. This is violent language. Strip him. Remove him. Stop clothing your consciousness in what Christ crucified. Yet many believers treat the old nature like a tolerated roommate. We explain it. We rename it personality. We baptize it as “this is just how I am.” We defend recurring compromise as struggle while secretly feeding it every day. But heaven does not negotiate with what Jesus died to bury. There are patterns in us that do not need sympathy. They need eviction. That resentment? Evict it. That self-pity? Evict it. That need to be constantly noticed? Evict it. That addiction to being desired? Evict it. That private unbelief disguised as realism? Evict it. We cannot romanticize what is rotting us. ⸻ RENEWAL HAPPENS BY REVELATION, NOT MERELY RESOLUTION Paul says: “Now it’s time to be made new by every revelation that’s been given to you.” This is critical. He does not say: be made new by stronger willpower. He says: be made new by revelation. Meaning: the mind changes when truth becomes brighter than the lie you have been living inside. People do not change deeply because they are yelled at. They change when they can no longer believe the old illusion. Why did lust own you? Because it convinced you intimacy could be stolen without covenant. Why did fear own you? Because it convinced you God’s governance might fail. Why did pride own you? Because it convinced you self-exaltation could protect you from insignificance. Why did offense own you? Because it convinced you unforgiveness keeps power in your hands. Every bondage survives by a story. And every deliverance begins when revelation rewrites the story. This is why repeated exposure to truth matters. Not as religious routine. But as neural resurrection. The Spirit keeps confronting internal falsehood with the person of Christ. ⸻ CHRISTIANITY IS NOT SELF-IMPROVEMENT — IT IS IDENTITY REPLACEMENT Paul says: “embrace the glorious Christ-within as your new life…” This is staggering. He does not say Jesus is helping your old self become more manageable. He says Christ Himself is your new life. Meaning the goal is not a polished version of Adam. The goal is the manifestation of Christ through a surrendered vessel. God did not save you to become a better behaved you. He saved you so the “you” built independent of Him would stop being your center. This is why some of us are exhausted. Because we are trying to perform Christianity while still sourcing life from self. That will always feel heavy. Because the old man was never designed to carry resurrection demands. Only Christ in you can live Christ through you. Holiness is not cosmetics on the flesh. It is Christ displacing the flesh as the operating system. ⸻ YOU GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT EVERY TIME YOU LIVE BENEATH WHAT HE SEALED Then Paul closes with this solemn warning: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit…” Why would the Spirit grieve? Not merely because we break rules. The grief is relational and revelational. The Spirit has sealed you for sonship, freedom, holiness, and full salvation — yet you keep reaching back into identities He delivered you from. Imagine giving someone royal garments and watching them dig through trash for old rags. That is grief. The Spirit witnesses: * a redeemed mind choosing old panic, * a forgiven heart choosing old offense, * a delivered body choosing old chains, * a sealed son choosing orphan reactions. He grieves because heaven has placed so much more within you than what you are settling for. ⸻ PERSONAL HEART CHECK There comes a point where we must stop asking: “Why do I keep struggling?” and start asking: Which old identity am I still secretly protecting? Because whatever you protect, you permit. Whatever you permit, you practice. Whatever you practice, you become. The old man does not survive by force. He survives by permission. And permission often hides in nostalgia: * this is familiar, * this comforts me, * this feels like me, * this is how I cope. But familiar is not the same as holy. Comforting is not the same as life-giving. Feeling like you is not proof it belongs in the new creation. Some things feel natural only because they have been worn too long. ⸻ THIS IS THE CALL OF THE PASSAGE Paul is not asking for slight adjustment. He is announcing wardrobe change. Take off the grave clothes. Put on the God-fashioned man. You cannot wear crucified things into resurrected living. You cannot drag ancient lies into present union. You cannot keep introducing yourself by wounds Christ no longer uses as your name. You have been recreated. Not patched. Not improved. Recreated. The question is no longer whether Christ is in you. The question is: are you still giving closet space to identities He already replaced?