Billy Graham 27 September 2018 — The Holy Spirit

Topic: The Holy Spirit [Billy Graham Daily Devotional 27 September 2018]

Your body is the home of the Holy Spirit . . . — 1 Corinthians 6:19 (TLB)

Who is the Holy Spirit? He is God, just as God the Father and God the Son are also God. We speak of them as the Trinity. You ask me to explain the Trinity. Our minds can but dimly grasp these great spiritual facts, because we are finite and God is infinite.

It may help to remember that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have all existed from eternity. The work of creation was given to the Son and we are told that, “All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made.” But when you read the second verse of the first chapter of Genesis, you will find that the Holy Spirit was also there, moving upon the face of His creation. In time, the Son of God came into the world as a man, to redeem the world which He had created. After His death on the cross, and His resurrection, He went back to the Father in heaven.

During His earthly ministry His work and life were spent within a circumscribed area in Palestine. When He went back to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to exercise a worldwide ministry. Today the Holy Spirit illuminates the minds of people, makes us yearn for God, and takes spiritual truth and makes it understandable to us. All over the world the Holy Spirit is wooing men to Christ, and He lives in the hearts of believers and helps us each day. To be Spirit-filled Christians is to be the kind of Christians that God wants us to be.

Prayer for the day: The knowledge of Your Holy Spirit living in my heart gives me comfort and strength, Lord Jesus.

“If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read Billy Graham’s Daily Devotional HERE 

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.

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UK’s NHS Sued for Not Offering Fertility Treatments to Transgender Individuals Pre-Transition – Urban Christian News

The National Health Service in Britain is being sued for failing to offer trans-identified persons access to fertility treatments, as was threatened last month.

The equality watchdog in the British government, The Equality and Human Rights Commission, is taking the national health care system to court for not offering fertility treatments to trans-identified patients prior to undergoing hormone treatments and surgical transitions that render them sterile, the Guardian reported.

Some are choosing to transition at a younger age and thus do not have the resources to pay for fertility services, which include storing eggs and sperm. The EHRC argues that it is discriminatory to not offer these services as a standard procedure to trans-identified individuals, who may opt to have children later in life through surrogates.

The NHS says it is not responsible for ensuring fertility treatments for anyone, trans-identified or otherwise.

Rebecca Hilsenrath, chief executive of the EHRC, indicated the lawsuit would continue.

“We are proceeding with our judicial review claim and will remain in discussions with NHS England about the need to ensure the transgender community can access health services free from discrimination, and that individuals do not have to choose between treatment for gender dysphoria and the chance to start a family,” she said.

The watchdog group further argues that gender dysphoria falls within NHS England’s “specialized commissioning remit,” which guarantees appropriate treatment to those with complex conditions.

When the NHS received the letter from the EHRC…

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Senator Ted Cruz Bullied Out of D.C. Restaurant by Protesters

Senator Ted Cruz Bullied Out of D.C. Restaurant by Protesters



Protesters forced Sen. Ted Cruz out of a Washington restaurant Monday, questioning the senator on his vote for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.


Kavanaugh has been accused of sexual misconduct. One woman, Christine Blasey Ford, says he assaulted her in the 1980s when she and Kavanaugh were in high school. Another woman, Deborah Ramirez, says Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party during their freshman year at Yale.


Cruz had said earlier this year that he supported the nominee, saying that Kavanaugh “is one of the most respected federal judges in the country, and I look forward to supporting his nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States.”


Criticism of that support came Monday night when Cruz and his wife, Heidi, were walking to their table at Fiola, an Italian restaurant.


“There are now three people who have come forward and who have said that Brett Kavanaugh has attacked them,” a woman told the senator. “I know that you’re close friends with him. Did you talk to him about that? Did you talk to him about his position?”


Cruz was also told: “Senator, I have a right to know what your position is on Brett Kavanaugh.”


Cruz responded, “God bless you, ma’am.”


Protesters then gathered around the senator’s table, chanting, “We believe survivors,” until Cruz and his wife left. According to reports, the protesters cheered as…

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Court Denies Historic Preservation Grant to Church, Calls Basic Repairs Religious Activities

Court Denies Historic Preservation Grant to Church, Calls Basic Repairs Religious Activities



A county in New Jersey is appealing a court decision that says repairing furnaces or broken plumbing in historic churches is “religious” and grants cannot be used on the fixes.


Morris County is suing to use grant funds to pay for repairs and preservation projects at historic churches. Under the ruling, the grants cannot be used for historic churches.


The New Jersey state Supreme Court said in its ruling in April that the grants could not go to religious “activities,” and defined those activities as basic repairs.


“The churches are not being denied grant funds because they are religious institutions; they are being denied public funds because of what they plan to do — and in many cases have done: use public funds to repair church buildings so that religious worship services can be held there,” New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner wrote in the decision.


However, according to WND, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2017 said that churches could not be barred from programs that are available to the public because of religion.  The court decided that excluding churches would violate the First Amendment.


“Time does not discriminate,” said Diana Verm, a legal counsel at the Becket Fund, the firm representing the county. “It takes its toll on all our historic structures, secular and religious alike. The county should…

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Russia Increases Tension with Israel by Giving Missile Defense System to Syria

Russia Increases Tension with Israel by Giving Missile Defense System to Syria



International observers were alarmed Monday by Russia’s announcement that they would be sending their S-300 missile defense systems to Syria. The decision comes after Syrian air defenses shot down a Russian Il-20 spy plane, killing 15 Russian servicemen.


Russia said Israel is “solely” to blame for the downing of the plane. Israeli F-16s flew below the Il-20, in a move the Russians said used the plane for cover. The antiquated Syrian defenses likely aimed for the larger Il-20 rather than the smaller F-16s.


Russia claims they need to place the S-300 in Syria to protect their planes flying over Syrian airspace. The S-300 uses technology that distinguishes Russian planes from those belonging to other nations. Russia claims they initially proposed placing the S-300 batteries in Syria in 2013, but relented after Israel protested.


Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said last week’s incident changed Russia’s mind about using the S-300 in Syria. “In 2013, at the request of the Israeli side, we suspended the delivery of the S-300 complex to Syria which was prepared to receive delivery and for which Syrian military personnel were trained. Today the situation has changed. And it is not our fault.”


The presence of Russian air defense in Syria complicates Israel’s strategy for dealing with their war-torn neighbor. Israel frequently attacks Iranian…

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Bill Cosby Sentenced to 3-10 Years in Prison

Bill Cosby Sentenced to 3-10 Years in Prison



Comedian and television legend Bill Cosby was sentenced Tuesday to three to 10 years in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman more than a decade ago. Cosby, 81, soared to popularity in the 1980s with his hit TV show The Cosby Show, which aired from 1984 to 1992 and won three Golden Globes. In it, he played Heathcliff Huxtable, an endearing father and husband who made his living as a doctor. 


Upon sentencing, Cosby was led away in handcuffs. 


“This was a serious crime,” said Steven O’Neill, a judge in Montgomery County, Pa., according to CNN.com. “Mr. Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The day has come, the time has come.”


Dozens of women claimed Cosby had drugged and sexually assaulted them, but the case of Andrea Constand was the only one within the statute of limitations. The incident took place in 2004. The first trial ended in a hung jury last year, but this year a second trial resulted in him being found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault.


Cosby had no comment.


“Bill Cosby took my beautiful, healthy young spirit and crushed it. He robbed me of my health and vitality, my open nature and my trust in myself and others,” Constand wrote in a letter to the court. 


Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com.


Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Mark Makela/Stringer

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Christians Shouldn’t Attend Weddings of Christians Who Fornicate and Believe It’s OK: John Piper

(Photo: Facebook)John Piper.

Christians should not support the weddings of Christian couples who fornicate and believe it is permissible even though the Bible calls fornication sin, John Piper has suggested.

Responding to a question on whether a Christian should attend the wedding of a couple already living together, Piper, founder of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minnesota, gave a nuanced response addressing various relationship situations but drew a line in the sand for professing Christians who see fornication as permissible in committed relationships.

“If they are moving away from fornication because they are now persuaded it is sin, and they are marrying as a declaration of repentance and faith in Christ and a commitment to righteousness, then they are right with God. We should join them in the penitent and happy celebration,” Piper said.

“But it is possible that they are not at all persuaded that having sex together as an engaged couple is sin. Maybe they would do it all over again in the same way. Many in our day, tragically, are deluded about this because of how superficially they submit to Scripture. They don’t submit themselves to God’s authority in Scripture. They just do what they feel like doing, and assume God is okay…

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Open Heavens 27 September 2018 – Lessons from Mud

Open Heavens 27 September 2018 Thursday Daily Devotional by Pastor E A Adeboye – Lessons from Mud

Topic: Lessons from Mud (Open Heavens 27 September 2018)

Memorise: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”- Genesis 2:7

Read: Jeremiah 18:1-6 (KJV)

1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

2 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.

3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.

4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

Bible in One Year: Isaiah 10-12, Mark 14:10-31

Open Heavens 27 September 2018 Thursday MESSAGE:

It is amazing that something as precious as humanity could come out from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7). However, this could only happen because God worked on it. What a great lesson this is to the wise! Any person who allows God to work on him or her will become a vessel unto honor in God’s hands. The Holy Spirit confirms this truth in 2 Timothy 2:21, saying:

“If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”

Unfortunately, observing the history of mankind has taught us that the mud of the earth often seems to be wiser than majority of the people who ever lived. Why? When the Almighty God wanted to make something precious from the dust, it did not protest against God’s work. In contrast to this, what do we see in mankind? We see stiff resistance whenever God wants to glorify Himself through them. For this reason, many people do not fulfill their destinies on earth.

The Lord took Jeremiah to a potter’s house where the potter was working on a lump of clay. In the process, the clay was marred in the potter’s hands and he made it into another vessel that he liked, according to his pleasure. Not once did the clay protest the potter’s intentions. In Jeremiah 18:6, the Lord then asked this question:

“O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.”

Although man was made out of dust he was glorified after the Lord God had worked on him. Along the line however, he became marred through the machinations of the devil. To the glory of God, the Great Potter is working on us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Beloved, have you been worked upon by the Lord? Are you even allowing God to work on you? If not, today is the day of salvation. You must surrender your life to God through Christ and confess your sins to Him for forgiveness. Isaiah prayed a prayer on behalf of the nation of Israel, which should also be our prayer today. In Isaiah 64:8-9, he said:

“8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. 9 Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.”

Learn from the clay in today’s story. If you can pray this prayer today, the Lord will work on your marred life, business, family, job or studies and cause great restoration to take place in them.

Open Heavens 27 September 2018 Thursday ACTION POINT:

Pray the prayer in Isaiah 64:8-9, applying it to appropriate areas of your life.

Also Read: Open Heavens 26 September 2018 – It Shall Not Stand!

Open Heavens 27 September 2018 Thursday Hymn 4: 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 Heavens 27 September 2018 Thursday 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 Heavens 27 September 2018 Thursday Daily Devotional.

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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.

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Rapist Who Identifies as Woman Sent to Female Prison and Sexually Assaults More Women

Rapist Who Identifies as Woman Sent to Female Prison and Sexually Assaults More Women



British prison authorities are being criticized for placing a male individual who identifies as a woman into the female prison system, where the person — who had been accused of raping women — sexually assaulted female prisoners.


The shocking story began when Karen White, who was born Stephen Wood, was accused of raping a woman in 2016, The Telegraph reported.


Even though Wood had not completed sex reassignment surgery and remained biologically male, prison officials placed Wood into a female-only prison. Within days, Wood had sexually assaulted four female prisoners. 


Wood then was transferred to an all-male prison after authorities learned of the attacks. 


“We apologize sincerely for the mistakes which were made in this case,” a prison official said, according to the newspaper. “While we work to manage all prisoners, including those who are transgender, sensitively and in line with the law, we are clear that the safety of all prisoners must be our absolute priority.”


The 52-year-old Wood previously had been convicted of sexually assaulting a minor. It later was discovered Wood had raped a woman in 2003, too. 


Prison policy was not followed in the case, The Telegraph reported. When a transgender prisoner wishes to be housed in a prison that does not correspond to his or her birth gender, the case first must be reviewed by the…

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Indonesian Teen Stranded at Sea for 7 Weeks Survived Suicidal Thoughts With Bible Reading & Prayer – Urban Christian News

Surviving 49 days adrift on the open sea without a motor or a paddle is a tall task for anyone. Thankfully for one teen who was recently cast over 1,500 miles from home, he had a Bible, which he credits for stopping him from killing himself.

The Jakarta Post reported on the story of 18-year-old Aldi Novel Adilang.

Adilang worked as a lamp keeper on a floating fish trap (known in the region as a rompong) out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean about 80 miles from his homeland of Manado, Indonesia.

The job is a lonely one. His responsibility was to keep the lamps on the rompong lit at night so fish would be drawn to the trap. The fish would be collected by boat once per week and during this time, Adilang would be given a refill of supplies, food and drinking water.

But on July 14, Adilang’s rompong broke loose from its moorings due to heavy winds and Adilang and his floating wooden hut were cast hundreds of miles north toward the U.S. island territory of Guam over the next seven weeks.

Over the 49-day journey, at least 10 ships cruised past Adilang but he wasn’t spotted despite his desperate pleas for help.

Fortunately, he was eventually discovered by a vessel carrying Panama flags called the Arpeggio and he was rescued in Guam waters.

“Aldi said he had been scared and often cried while adrift,” Fajar Firdaus, a diplomate at the Indonesian consulate in Osaka, Japan, told Jakarta Post.

After the Arpeggio crew pulled the weakened Adilang onboard on Aug. 31, the ship was told by Guam’s coast guard to take Adilang to Tokuyama, Japan, Indonesian consul general Mirza Nurhidayat…

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