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Whyte House Family Devotions #364 (05/20/18): “Complete Victory,” by Billy Graham

My family and I have had morning devotions, or family altar as some people call it, every day ever since my wife, Meriqua, and I were married 30 years ago. We have prayed and read the Bible together as well as other devotional books as a family, and it is the only reason why this family has stayed together, and the only reason why God has blessed our family and used our family in ministry all of these years. We read Ephesians 5 and 6 every morning as it relates to the role of each member of the family and how that we need to put on the whole armor of God to fight against the devil who is seeking to destroy our family and all Christian families, churches, and Christians. So, now after 30 years of doing this in our home, we are opening this up to others who don’t have a family to pray with, who don’t have a spouse, or who are single by choice, and to encourage all families who are still intact to go back to the family altar and have devotions together every morning. In these devotions, you may hear me deal with a temptation I’m facing in my life, you may hear me rebuke my wife about not doing what she should be doing, or you may hear me get on one of my children’s cases about something they’re doing. Don’t be shocked; this is real life.

SING “DOXOLOGY”

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow Praise Him, all creatures here below Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost Amen

Billy Graham said, “We should begin the day with the Bible, and as it comes to a close let the Word speak its wisdom to our souls. Let it be the Staff of Life upon which our spirit is nourished. Let it be the Sword of the Spirit which cuts away the evil of our lives and fashions us in His image and likeness.”

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PRAY “THE NEW COMMON PRAYER”

Almighty and most merciful Father; We have sinned, and strayed from Thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against Thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no peace and joy in us. But Thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare Thou us, O God, who confess our sins, our faults, and our failures. Restore those of us who confess our sins and repent; According to Thy promises declared unto us in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for His sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life. To the glory of Thy holy Name. In Jesus Christ Name, Amen.

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EPHESIANS 6:14

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Stephen J. Cole writes in his commentary on this passage: “What is truth? Truth is stable, firm, and reliable. The Hebrew word for truth was often used of things that had proved to be reliable. Thus it often refers to God’s faithfulness to His covenant promises. As the God of truth, we can put full confidence in His word. In the New Testament, Paul often uses truth to refer to the gospel message itself, which is reliable and must be trusted. For both Paul and Jesus, the truth often refers to correspondence between word and deed. John, who uses the words for truth in more than half of the New Testament occurrences, uses it ‘regularly in the sense of reality in contrast to falsehood or mere appearance.'”

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PRAYER

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DEVOTIONAL PASSAGE: Psalm 142:1-6

1 Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.

2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.

4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.

5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.

6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.

Regarding this passage, Matthew Henry writes: “We have no righteousness of our own to plead, therefore we must plead God’s righteousness, and the word of promise which he has freely given us and caused us to hope in. David, before he prays for the removal of his trouble, prays for the pardon of his sin, and depends upon mercy alone for it. He bemoans the weight upon his mind from outward troubles. But he looks back, and remembers God’s former appearance for his afflicted people, and for him in particular. He looks round, and notices the works of God. The more we consider the power of God, the less we shall fear the face or force of man.”

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PRAYER FOR THE ESTATES 1. Family 2. Clergy (church) 3. Government 4. People (citizens) 5. The press (media) 6. New media/Online journalists

PRAYER FOR THE FAMILY

PRAYER FOR CHURCH LEADERSHIP

GOVERNMENT LEADERS

1 Timothy 2:1-2 says, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

President Donald Trump and his administration Vice President Mike Pence First Lady Melania Trump Second Lady Karen Pence All White House staff including: Senior Advisor to the Chief of Staff Zachary Fuentes All leaders of federal agencies including: Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Robert N. Davis All territorial governors including: U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth Mapp All city mayors including: DeFuniak Springs, FL, Mayor Robert B. Campbell All members of Congress including: Georgia Senator David Perdue All law enforcement officials including: DeFuniak Springs, FL, Police Captain Michael J. Lolley All military leaders including: Defense Secretary James Mattis / Office of Naval Intelligence Commander Robert D. Sharp Leaders of nations around the world including: North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un The peace of Jerusalem

PRAYER FOR THE PEOPLE / CITIZENS

PRAYER FOR THE MEDIA

PRAYER FOR CURRENT EVENTS AROUND THE WORLD

– For the comfort of the families of 8 people killed by a bombing at a cricket match in Afghanistan – For the comfort of the families of over 100 people killed in a plane crash in Cuba – For the comfort of the families of the 10 students killed in a high school shooting in Santa Fe, TX

PRAYER REQUESTS

Charlene please bless her and her family spiritually and financially and give her the right job where menopause will not interfere; heal her from menopause.

Sendy please encourage her husband, open up doors for their family business and meet all their business needs and give them favor with people

Harry please heal him from hyper thyroidism

Vicki please end the drought in parts of Israel; for Israel’s peace

THOSE WHO HAVE ACCEPTED CHRIST AS SAVIOR

Kobe Jeanette Sundara

THOSE WHO HAVE RECOMMITTED THEIR LIVES TO CHRIST

Fredrick Antony J. Baptiste

DEVOTIONAL READING: “Complete Victory,” by Billy Graham

1 John 4:4 says, “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

“Paul once wrote, ‘For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye can not do the things that ye would.’ This is the battle or the tension that is present in us to a greater or lesser degree. So, you see, the spiritual lag that you feel is explained in the Bible. That does not mean that you accept it as the way it should be. You should make all necessary preparations for this battle which the Bible says ‘is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces.’

“In Ephesians 6 we read that the Bible tells what preparation you should make. In the meantime, always remember that ‘where sin abounds, grace did much more abound.’ You can have complete victory! We are told to submit ourselves unto God, and the devil will flee from us. We are also promised that ‘sin shall not reign over us.’”

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Now, if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you are now saved from Hell and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! I want to congratulate you on doing the most important thing in life and that is receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

Until next time, May the Lord Bless You!