But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. – 1 John 2:5-6
There is nothing—absolutely nothing—that is more important than learning to love. In fact, how accurately you perfect the love walk will determine how much of the perfect will of God you accomplish. That’s because every other spiritual force derives its action from love. For example, the Bible teaches us that faith works by love. And answered prayer is almost an impossibility when a believer steps outside of love and refuses to forgive or is in strife with his brother.
Without love, your giving will not work. Tongues and prophecy will not work. Faith fails and knowledge is unfruitful. All the truths that you have learned from God’s Word work by love. They will profit you nothing unless you live the love of God.
First Corinthians 13:4-8 paints a perfect picture of how love behaves. It’s patient and kind. It’s not jealous or proud. It doesn’t behave rudely or selfishly and it isn’t touchy. Love “beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”
Sounds like a tall order, doesn’t it? But don’t despair. You are a love creature. God has re-created your spirit in the image of love. And He has sent His love Spirit to live in you and teach you how to love as He loves. You can live the love life. Begin today.
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
This message was written by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, the leader of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries (www.KCM.org) that specializes in teaching principles of bible faith – prayer, healing, salvation and other biblical topics.
Matthew 13:44, ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.’
Matthew 13:44-50
The interpretation of this parable is this: the field is the world, the man buying the treasure is God, the treasure is the true believers in Christ. The price that was paid was the very life of Jesus on the cross. Jesus saw, through His foreknowledge, a remnant of people who would receive Him as Lord, and ‘for the joy that was set before him,’ He endured the cross (Heb. 12:2) and purchased us unto Himself with His own blood (Acts 20:28). He purchased the whole world, but not everyone will receive what He did. Therefore, the Church is hidden (scattered among the world) today.
Father God had the plan of salvation worked out before He even created the world. Most of us would not have created the world and mankind if we had known the heartache and terrible sacrifice this act would cost. But God is not man. In His judgment (which is the correct judgment) the prize was worth the cost.
God knows in advance those who will accept His offer of salvation. The Scriptures teach that we (believers) were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). That’s how infinite God’s ability is. We were chosen in Christ before the world began. We are holy and without blame because God sees us through Christ. It was predetermined that we would be God’s children. We have been accepted by God. The Father would no more reject us than He would reject Jesus, because we are accepted by the Father through Christ. We are redeemed and forgiven. We are truly blessed!
This message was written by The Association of Related Ministries International (ARMI) is an extension of Andrew Wommack Ministries (AWM). ARMI is a unique partnership committed to providing resources to help like-minded ministers succeed in a spirit of excellence and to draw from the experience and expertise of both the AWM and Charis Bible College staff. (www.awmi.net).
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore . . . — Revelation 1:18
Certain laws of evidence hold in the establishment of any historic event. Documentation of the event in question must be made by reliable contemporary witnesses. There is more evidence that Jesus rose from the dead than there is that Julius Caesar ever lived, or that Alexander the Great died at the age of 33. It is strange that historians will accept thousands of facts for which they can produce only shreds of evidence. But in the face of the overwhelming evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they cast a skeptical eye and hold intellectual doubts. The trouble with many people is that they do not want to believe. They are so completely prejudiced that they cannot accept the glorious fact of the resurrection of Christ on Bible testimony alone.
Prayer for the day: Lord Jesus, I know You are alive—for You live in the hearts of all those who love You!
Written by Billy Graham, Founder of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association(BGEA). BGEA exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ by every effective means and to equip the church and others to do the same.
TOPIC: Claiming Your Healing By Faith (Mountain Of Fire and Miracle Ministries, MFM Daily Devotional 15 April 2019)
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 27-29; Luke 13:1-22
FIRE SCRIPTURE: Mark 5:15-34
MEMORY VERSE: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” – Hebrews 11:6
The MESSAGE:
Without mincing words, one of the greatest qualifications to work with God is faith. The Bible says, “But without faith it is impossible to please God.” According to the Fire Scriptures for today, the woman had suffered so many things, and spent all that she had in order to get solution to her problem but all to no avail. But when she heard about Jesus, she followed him with faith and said if she could touch His clothes, she would be made whole. With faith, this woman touched the cloth of the Master and immediately, her long time battle vanished completely. In verse 34, Jesus made us to understand that it was the faith of this woman that made her whole.
There is no doubt about it, beloved, that many people were following Jesus on that day. These people also had one problem or the other for which they also desired solution. However, while others were following Jesus with doubt, self-pity, anxiety, discouragement in their heart, this woman followed Jesus with faith and because of her determination, she was able to penetrate through the crowd and broke all barriers before her. She touched the cloths of the Lord and claimed her healing.
Like this woman, you too can activate your faith today and claim your divine healing. The grace is for everybody who believes in the power and authority in the name of Jesus. You should note that the woman added work to her faith. She acted on her belief. When you pray, take a step of faith. Start that project. Enrol for that course. Take that step. Break the inertia. The journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step. Your dream will become a reality and your miracle will emerge if you take that step of faith. Have faith and act on your faith. Your healing, deliverance and breakthrough will become a reality.
MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE: YOUR GOOD DESIRE CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH JESUS BY FAITH.
PROPHETIC WORD: You will not die in your situation.
PRAYER POINTS:
MORNING
Father, give me an ever-increasing measure of faith, in the name of Jesus.
Faith to move mountains and cast them into the sea, locate me by fire, in the name of Jesus.
Father, give me testimony producing faith, in the name of Jesus. EVENING
My faith will not fail, in the name of Jesus.
Any battle assigned to destroy my faith in Christ, die, in the name of Jesus.
Father, give me the grace to pass any test of my faith, in the name of Jesus.
O Lord, make my faith unwavering and rock-like, in the name of Jesus.
MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE is a daily devotional by Dr. D.K Olukoya (General Overseer, Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries, Worldwide)
Flatimes Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:
Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.
If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.
Topic The Holy Bible [Open Heavens for Teens 15 April 2019]
Memorise: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” – 2 Timothy 3:16
Read: 2 Timothy 3:14-17
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Bible In One Year: 1 Samuel 17 -18, Luke 15:1-10
MESSAGE:
Today, we are going to talk about the independence of God’s word; the Holy Bible. The Bible is filled with words inspired by God as stated in our memory verse for today.
“20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. ” – 2 Peter 1:20-21
As a teenager, you might have wished for God to speak to you at one point or the other, but He already has. God has spoken to you through your bible and all you have to do is to hear Him talk is to pock up your bible and read.
Secondly, as it so expected of you to keep growing physically, so also spiritually. Reading the Bible is the only way you will grow spiritually. If you don’t read the word of God as often as you eat, then your spirit-man will become malnourished and in the long run die.
Key Point: The word of God is the only food that you need to take at least as often as you eat physical food.
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above,
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life thou givest to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish, but nought changeth Thee.
Great Father of Glory, pure Father of Light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render; o help us to see;
‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
Daily Devotional for Teen’s guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.
Times and people change; situations change, but God and His Word can never change.
SCRIPTURE: And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. – 2 Samuel 22:2-3
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Times and people change; situations change, but God and His Word can never change.
It is a fact that we live in an increasingly wicked and dangerous world. But the good news is that no matter how dangerous the world and people get, God would always deliver His people in dangerous times.
It is evident from our anchor scripture that we serve a God who is eternally committed to the preservation of His children. Our God is an unchanging God in changing times. Times and people change; situations change, but God and His Word can never change (Malachi 3:6). For this purpose, whatever may be consuming others is not permitted to consume you.
Now, as children of God, we have responsibilities we must accept to experience divine deliverance, and one of these responsibilities is living in the fear of God (Proverbs 19:23). The fear of God ensures and guarantees the life of a person; it brings preservation. The fear of the Lord is a shield against the visitation of evil. The fear of God establishes divine protection around a person.
Now, what is the fear of the Lord? The fear of the Lord is to hate evil (Proverbs 8:13). When there is no fear of the Lord, a person can violate his conscience freely; his conscience gets established in guilt, and this in turn exposes him to the terror of the enemy.
The absence of the fear of God makes people to hurt others without feeling; makes people to exist without emotion, thereby making them both vendors and victims of destruction.
Beloved, ensure that your conscience remains healthy so your safety and preservation can be guaranteed. Live in the fear of God always!
REMEMBER THIS: Times and people change; situations change, but God and His Word can never change.
ASSIGNMENTS:
Avoid living with a guilty conscience; ask God for mercy daily.
Consider the welfare of others as you take actions in life.
PRAYER: O Lord, I ask that You impart Your fear upon my life. I ask for mercy for anything I may have done to hurt the feelings of others. Cleanse me from any form of guilt or sin, Lord in Jesus’ Name.
FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: THE LORD OUR DELIVERER
QUOTE: What you fight will flee from you. What you hate you cannot have. What you attack you cannot attract. Culled from 21 FOOLISH THINGS PEOPLE DO by Dr Paul Enenche
DAILY READING: Joshua 11:1 to 12:24, Luke 17:11 to 37, Psalm 84:1 to 12, Proverbs 13:5 to 6.
AMAZING FACT: Apples float in water because they are 25% air
TODAY IN HISTORY: 15/04/1892 – The General Electric Company was formed.
Today’s devotional was written by Pastor Paul Enenche of the Dunamis International Gospel Centre (DIGC), headquartered at Abuja, Nigeria, with Pastor Paul and Becky Enenche, as the Senior Pastors. It is a power-packed arena where God’s Presence, Principles and Power are at work for the salvation, healing and restoration of human destinies and dignities
Flatimes Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:
Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.
If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.
Key Verse: “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master” (Luke 6:40).
MESSAGE:
Today’s passage pictures Christ speaking to His disciples after He had met the needs of the multitudes who came after Him seeking for miracles. He laid down the principles and ethics of the Kingdom to His disciples who were not merely after meat and drink but after heavenly treasures.
In the preceeding chapters, Christ had shown Himself as a Friend of all, humble and meek, One who hasn’t come to condemn sinners to damnation, a present Help in times of trouble. He proved Himself worthy of emulation at all times despite persecutions and denials. This model of life was what He was expecting his disciples to follow. A true follower of Christ is to be a branch of the true Vine. His fruit is not to betray the Tree that bore him. Obedience as well as followership is to make a believer rooted in Christ against all storms of life.
If we say we are Christians, we are expected to show forth Christlikeness. True love personified by Christ is expected of us, as believers do not judge nor condemn sinners. Forgiveness and transparency is to be a lifestyle. As a good tree brings forth good fruit, so are we to be. Any believer who is born of the Spirit is supposed to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. The components of the fruits (Galatians 5:22) are to be evident in our lives. More so, practice is the true test not mere utterances. We are to be obedient to the Master because it is what establishes the fact that we are loyal to Him. It is the only prerequisite for our ever abiding in Him as the solid Rock that anchors us through the storms of life. Christ admonishes all that would come to Him and be a part of Him to be a true branch (Luke 6:43).
Thought For The Day: It pays to be like Christ
The Bible In One Year: Acts 15-17
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
Flatimes’ Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:
Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.
If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.
Topic: When Weeping does not Work (Open Heaven 15 April 2019)
Memorise: “And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.”- Numbers 14:1
Read: 1 Samuel 30:1-6 (KJV)
1 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
2 And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.
3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.
4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
5 And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
Bible in One Year: Genesis 8-10, Jeremiah 18:1-18
Open Heaven 15 April 2019 Monday MESSAGE:
Weeping is an expression of deep emotions that move one to shed tears. It is a means of expressing sorrow, sadness, disappointment, misfortune or overwhelming joy. While it is not wrong to weep after experiencing an unpleasant situation, we should realize that such emotions can sometimes block our minds from seeing the door of opportunity that the Lord opens in every situation. There are some adverse circumstances the enemy orchestrates, where the Lord would want us to take action instead of allowing ourselves to be overrun by sorrow and weeping. In such situations, weeping will not do us any good. It might even rob us of the victory that God has prepared for us. If you continue weeping before God when He expects you to act, your weeping will not move Him to act on your behalf. We see an example of this in 1 Samuel 30:3-4, which says:
“3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. 4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.”
Is it not amazing that David and his men wept until they had no more strength to weep, and yet their situation remained as hopeless as ever? Their weeping did nothing to improve their situation. Things remained stagnant until David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. Only after doing this did things begin to brighten up for him and his people.
While weeping is a very good way of attracting the sympathy of others, it often presents us as weak and helpless, which we are not. We have the All-powerful God as our help and strength, and in His word, He repeatedly told people in distress to weep not (Luke 8:52). Like David, we must stop seeking sympathy and begin to apply rugged faith. If you will ever overcome adversity and achieve anything tangible in life, you need to apply faith that persistently holds on to God, believing that He can make impossibilities possible against all odds. Hold onto the assurance that there is no situation or circumstance beyond God’s control. Our miracle-working God is able to reverse every irreversible situation. He can bring hope to a person’s life irrespective of the presence of long-running problems. In John 5:1-8, we read the story of the man at the pool of Bethesda who was at the same spot for 38 years. He claimed that the reason he had not been made whole for so long was because he had no one to assist him, but by the time Jesus came on the scene, his problems ceased without the help of any man. No matter how seemingly difficult your problem is, God will terminate it today in Jesus’ Name.
Open Heaven 15 April 2019 Monday Key Point:
If you continue weeping before God when He expects you to act, your weeping will not move Him to act on your behalf.
Open Heaven 15 April 2019 Monday Hymn 3: Trust And Obey
1 When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Chorus:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
2 Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
3 Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.
4 But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
5 Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.
Open Heaven 15 April 2019 Monday Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC. Open Heaven 15 April 2019 Monday Daily Devotional.
Flatimes Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:
Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.
If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.
Gemma, a Christian who has also presented films for the alpha course and hosted events such as Big Church Day Out and Spring Harvest, will host the ‘pirate parties’ at Christ church in Worksop, and St Luke’s church in Shireoaks on Palm Sunday.
There will be pirate-themed games, songs inspired by the TV show Swashbuckle and an evangelistic kids talk.
The Revd Luiz Lima, the vicar of Christ Church and St Luke’s told Premier that Gemma Hunt had told them she is looking forward to it: “She is coming and she is going to be leading a service of celebration and we’re going to have a service themed according to her pirate show.
“She has been outstanding, she has been so engaging and so excited about this project.”
The churches have been working in parntership with local schools to invite as many children as possible to the pirate services.
Inviting Gemma Hunt came as part of a push to engage more with families and young children and Rev Luiz explained that they hoped this would kickstart their children’s work again: “Both churches are really pushing forward in the engagement with families.
“That’s an area that, up to two years ago, we didn’t have much of a ministry with and at my arrival we prayed about it and we thought: we need to really to engage in our ministry and our evangelism with families and children.
“That started with our connections with local schools…
When 2,042 British adults were asked ‘To what extent, if at all, do you agree or disagree that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected at Easter so that you can be forgiven for your sins?’, a quarter of those who said they were Christians said they neither agreed nor disagreed.
17% of Christians said they disagreed that Jesus died on the cross to forgive sins.
Among those categorised ‘Active Christians’ though, agreement with the doctrine rose to 82% and only 3% didn’t know.
The ComRes poll, comissioned by BBC Local radio, also asked wider questions about forgiveness to different groups, including: ‘To what extent, if at all, would you be able to forgive someone who committed any of the following?’ with the actions being murder, child abuse, sexual abuse, infidelity, verbal abuse, abuse on social media, lying, stealing, swearing, discrimination.
Among all respondents, child abuse was deemed the most unforgivable with 85% saying they would find it impossible to forgive it, followed by sexual abuse (including rape) with 79% and murder at 73%.
Swearing was the easiest to forgive, with 39% also saying it didn’t need forgiving.
In some categories ‘Active Christians’ were less likely to find something ‘impossible to forgive’ and more likely to find it ‘difficult’.
When it came to sexual abuse, 52% of Active Christians found it ‘impossible to forgive’ whereas the…
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