October 17

Standing Firm - Breastplate of Righteousness Day 17 by SGLY Ministry

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV.

Righteousness is right standing with God. There is no way in and of ourselves that we can be righteous in God’s eyes except through Jesus.
In Jesus we are covered with His righteousness, so then God sees us as righteous. Without Christ as our righteousness Isaiah 64:6 says: “…we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;…”

Therefore, Christ is the Breastplate of Righteousness we need to wear daily for in and of ourselves we can never be righteous.

The enemy will attempt to deceive us into thinking that we can be, he will lie and encourage us to be self-righteous, but if we know the truth we will recognize his attempts to defeat us and we will stand firm in the righteousness of Christ that God has provided for us.

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, who knew no sin to be sin for me, so that I might become righteous in Your eyes. I am so grateful for Your love and for the blood of Your Son who paid the price for me to be a new person spiritually. Today as I wear Your Armor I will do so as a thankful soldier wearing the Breastplate of Righteousness, who stands firm in the faith.

Today: Rejoice that you are righteous in God’s eyes because of Christ. Give thanks that you are dressed in God’s Armor and not in filthy rags. Sing praises to God.

Blessings to you daily as you wear His Armor provided to all of us who are in Christ.

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Share His Nature by Joyce Meyer

And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires. —2 Peter 1:4 NLT

The devil tries to tell us we can't be like God—we can't be merciful and gracious; we can't have joy; we can't be slow to anger and quick to forgive. But the Bible says God has shared His divine nature with us; it is in us, thus we can develop it and it can come out of us.

Don't listen to the devil's lies. Believe instead the promises of God: you can be like God in your nature; you can have unspeakable joy; you can be merciful, never again holding a grudge. Fill your thoughts and words with God's promises. Apply the truth of His Word to your daily life, and you will finish your course with joy (see Acts 20:24)!

Power Thought: I don't have to live as the world lives; I can live as God would because His divine nature is in me.

From the book the book Power Thoughts Devotional by Joyce Meyer.

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Why are you downcast, O my soul?

* Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 43:5
* A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? Proverbs 18:14

What these verses tell us is that mighty kings too felt downcast and crushed at times like the rest of us. Knowingly or unknowingly we get pulled into a broken spirit from time to time; which is hard to avoid.

However, what we do about it is what makes or breaks us.

Today's Scripture explains how King David handled it:

* He puts his hope in God.
* He keeps praising the Lord.
* He acknowledges the Lord as his Savior.
* He sings praises for His Holy name

Let us learn from his example. Let us put our hope in our Lord. He will fill us all over again with His joy of salvation in no time. Amen!

Coffee with Jesus

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May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality]. — Ephesians 3:16 (AMPC)

God’s Strength in You! by Joyce Meyer

When we are strong inwardly—in our determination, thoughts, and attitudes—as well as strong in our faith, we can do whatever we need to do in life. This is a prayer that I pray almost daily for my family and myself. Don’t just “try” to be strong, but instead go to God for your strength, knowing that He can enable you to do all things through Him.

When the Holy Spirit is on the inside, His strength will show up on the outside!

Prayer Starter: Father, help me to be filled daily with Your strength, so that I can do whatever I need to do with joy! In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Welcome to Verse of the Day!

Today's Bible Verse: Matthew 14:25-31 And in the fourth watch of the night he [Jesus] came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." (ESV)

Today's Inspiring Thought: Walk on Water

Right after this, Jesus invited Peter to come to him.

Peter got out of the boat and began walking on the water toward Jesus. But when Peter took his eyes off Jesus and saw the wind and waves, he started to sink. He cried out to the Lord and Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught Peter. As they climbed into the boat together, the storm ceased. Then the disciples worshiped Jesus, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Peter didn't begin to sink until he started looking around at the wind and the waves. Taking our eyes off Jesus, and focusing on the difficult circumstances will cause us to get under our problems. But when we cry out to Jesus, he catches us by the hand and raises us above the seemingly impossible surroundings.

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Nothing Is Impossible by Seek Ye First the Kingdom

Many of us have had occasions in life where things looked so bad we had no idea how they could ever work out well. Then as time progressed, things changed and worked out. I like the expression, “even when we can’t see a way God can make a way.”

In Mark 10:27, “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

We need to remember that no matter how bad things may seem to us, “all things are possible with God.”

Dear Lord, help us to remember that you can always make a way for things to work out for us. Help us put our trust in you and believe that with you all things are possible. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Bible Verses

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

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Psalm 34:17 – The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.

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Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred. — Proverbs 15:17

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Romans 12:9-10 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

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Psalm 19:14 “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

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Prayers

Prayer of St. Patrick

Lord, be with me and all who love you, this day:
Within us to purify us;
Above us to draw us up;
Beneath us to sustain us;
Before us to lead us;
Behind us to restrain us;
Around us to protect us.
In Christ's name we pray,

Amen.

by Saint Patrick (389-461 A.D.)

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All to Jesus I surrender. Not my will but yours be done in my life. Father, you have given us the power to change, and I ask you, Holy Spirit, to expose any fear or doubts that try to linger. May I ever be well-balanced. I loose all ungodly, unwholesome mind-sets and renew my mind to the mind of Christ. Your perfect love cast out all fear when I am totally abandoned to you. You are effectually helping me work out my salvation. In the name of Jesus, I thank you for loving me. Amen.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 1 Peter 5:8 1 John 4:18

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Dear Lord, help me to remember that even in the depths of my despair, You are there. Help me to remember to rejoice and praise You even then, believing that there is a purpose in everything that happens. Give me the strength to turn my life over completely to You and to mean it, not dictating answers to my prayers, but being willing to listen and to sincerely put You in charge of my life. Give me courage to speak honestly in love, not shying away from reality, or lacking the courage to face the painful. Help me to know that You are my only real security and that You will not fail me. Guide me in the paths that I should walk, both for Your sake and for mine.

In Your holy name I pray.

Amen.

© 2000 by D. L. Hammond, Permission to copy granted for noncommercial use.

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Loving Father, help me to pass by my discouragements of yesterday and look into the hope of to-day. Make me more careful of my strength, and less forgetful of thy promises and of my trust. Amen.

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In times of difficulty, Lord, we appreciate the support and encouragement of others. In better times we feel stronger and more secure. Remind us then to co-operate with other people and look out for the needs of others, being ready to offer a smile, a word, and other support and encouragement. Amen.

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Dear Father, please let what I do make a difference in the world.