MFM Daily Devotional 24 December 2023 

TOPIC:  The Rewards of Righteousness (III)

FIRE SCRIPTURE: Acts 12:1-11 
12 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.

² And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

³ And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)

⁴ And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

⁵ Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.

⁶ And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.

⁷ And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.

⁸ And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.

⁹ And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.

¹⁰ When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.

¹¹ And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.

MEMORY VERSE
The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.
Proverbs 11:16

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES: Where there is righteousness in the heart there is beauty in the character.

PROPHETIC WORD FOR TODAY: Today. God will give you great deliverance, in the name of Jesus.

PRAISE AND WORSHIP: Take praise and worship songs led by the Holy Spirit.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Zechariah 3 – 4; Revelation 7 – 8

MFM Daily Devotional 24 December 2023 MESSAGE

The third reward of righteousness is that it brings great deliverance. Proverbs 11:16, says. The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.” Similarly, in Psalm 18:50, the Bible says that God gives great deliverance to His kings and shows mercy to His anointed. The king and the anointed here refer to God’s righteous children. God will never suffer the righteous to be moved.

He will deliver them from trouble and their many afflictions. David was pursued by envious King Saul for many years. God delivered him from Saul. The same all- powerful God had delivered him from lion, bear and Goliath. He fought many battles and did not lose any. God also delivered Meshach, Shadrach and Abednega from the fiery furnace.

READ MFM Daily Devotional 23 December 2023 – The Rewards of Righteousness (II)

In Acts 12, Herod killed Apostle James and also arrested and imprisoned Apostle Peter, waiting for the opportune time to kill him too. However, the church gathered and prayed. God answered by sending an angel to deliver Peter from incarceration. The angel brought Peter out of the prison even to the consternation of those who were interceding for him.

As part of His deliverance programme for the righteous, God sometimes applies the law of divine substitution. The Bible says that the righteous comes out of trouble and the wicked goes into it instead. Those who conspired to get Daniel into the den of lions were devoured by the lions after Daniel had been delivered from the same lions.

Beloved, make living righteously your top priority. The Lord will take special interest in you and deliver you from your visible and invisible enemies. Some men took an oath that they would not eat or drink until they were able to kill Apostle Paul, but their efforts were in vain. God delivered Paul from their hands as well as from shipwreck and from the serpent the islanders taught would kill him. Stay righteous. God will keep delivering you, in Jesus’ name.

MFM Daily Devotional 24 December 2023 Prayer Points

MORNING
1. Father, I thank You for Your promise to deliver the righteous out of trouble, in the name of Jesus.
2. Father, I thank You for Your promise that the righteous shall be satisfied in the time of famine, in the name of Jesus.
3. O God, as You delivered David, Peter, Paul and Silas, deliver me from my enemies, in the name of Jesus.

EVENING
4. Father, send Your angels to rescue me from any known and unknown danger, in the name of Jesus.
5. Father, I am upright. Let my righteousness deliver me, in the name of Jesus.
6. My Father, defend Your interest in my life, in the name of Jesus.
7. I will not die the death of the unrighteous, in the name of Jesus.