Find the Anglican Daily Fountain Devotional for Sunday 8 and Monday 9 January, 2023. Today’s topic is Do the right thing. The text is taken from Acts 10: 34 to 43. Tomorrow, Monday, 9 January, the Anglican daily devotional topic is CALM DOWN, GOD IS IN CONTROL. The bible text is taken from Genesis 15. See also: Anglican Daily Fountain Devotional Monday, January 2, 2023
The Anglican Daily Fountain Devotional Sunday 8, January, 2023
Sunday, January 8, 2023
(1st Sunday in Epiphany)
TOPIC: DO THE RIGHT THING
TEXT: Acts 10:34-43
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
GENERAL DISCUSSION
Peter was focused and direct in the sermon he delivered at Cornelius’ house. He did not waste time in making expressions that had no relevant connection to the word of salvation. He seemed to understand the demand of his moment and utilized it to present a holistic gospel that touched the lives of his audience. His message was centered on Christ. Observe equally that Peter did not allow the personality of Cornelius to influence the direction of his message. In fact, he preached to save Cornelius and his family, not to please them.
Assuming you were given a similar opportunity to preach at the house of the Chief of Army staff in your country, will you preach an uncompromised as Peter did? The message of the kingdom is aimed at saving people, not pleasing them. Many of us today assess sermons based on what excites our emotion and pleases us rather than what God desires for us to hear. Some preachers even change the topic of their messages just to satisfy the assumed interests of influential hearers. It is bad to leave the substance and chase shadows. Learn to do the right thing always.
Prayer: Help me, O Lord, to make good use of every opportunity I have to hear your word and to reach out to others. Amen.
Anglican Daily Fountain Devotional Sunday 8 and Monday 9 January, 2023
The Anglican Daily Fountain Devotional Monday 9, January, 2023
Monday, January 9, 2023
TOPIC: CALM DOWN, GOD IS IN CONTROL
TEXT: Genesis 15
After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,[a]
your very great reward.”
2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”
9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”
10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
Anglican Daily Fountain Devotional Sunday 8 and Monday 9 January, 2023
GENERAL DISCUSSION
Today may be challenging, but we expect a brighter tomorrow. Do not ever allow your present challenges in life to limit your confidence in God – He is working out His purposes for you. The fear of the unknown or assumed present reality may have put Abram to confusion in our text. God intervened by giving him assurance of a secured future. While Abram was disturbed of not having a child, God promised him descendants too numerous to imagine.
Do not fear what the future holds for you; trust God who holds the future. He has promised to help you (Isa. 41:10). Cheer up, you are safe, and your future is well secured under God. Out of that present challenge, you will give a special testimony. God will change the bitter water to a sweet one (Exo. 15:13-25). God will bless you in life beyond your imaginations; just trust and obey Him as Abram did. Your miracles are on the way, so do not give up. It is well with you.
Prayer: In faith, thank God for turning things around for your good and for the good of your family.
Anglican Daily Fountain Devotional Sunday 8 and Monday 9 January, 2023
