Most British Christians believe God does not have a human gender identity

The report found that 41% of all Christians think God does not have a human gender identity, followed closely by 36% thinking God is male, 19% don’t know, 3% say a different human gender identity and 1% of all Christians think God is female. 

The survey was prompted by Ariana Grande’s song ‘God is a Woman’, pictured. 

More Christian women than men think God is male – 41% and 30% respectively. 

The Sunday Telegraph report that the Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Rev Rachel Treweek, tries to avoid using male-gendered language, saying: “I don’t want young girls or young boys to hear us constantly refer to God as ‘He'”

She likened it to going to a website and seeing all-white people and said she prefers to just say ‘God’. 

The Rt Rev Rd Jo Bailey, the Bishop of Dorking, says she uses male and female imagery in prayers. 

The poll also assessed people’s beliefs on God’s gender along other categories, such as which way they voted in the EU referendum, whether they were Catholic or Protestant and age. 

Almost half of 18-24 years old believe God to be decidedly male, while older generations were more likely to think of God as without human gender. But with 2% of the youngest age group thinking God is female, they held the highest percentage on that issue than any other category. 

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Pray for Churches in the Carolinas

This week, Hurricane Florence made landfall in Southeastern North Carolina. As with any Hurricane, the strong winds have done a great deal of damage to cities on the coast. However, for the past few days Florence sat over the lowlands of the Carolinas dumping inches upon inches of rain. The rain has causes extreme flooding in the region and has displaced several thousand residents. The death toll—much of it from rising waters and flooding—currently stands at 11. Church buildings in North Carolina have also been affected. Many of them have taken on water as the flood waters have risen. Several churches also had structural damage to worship centers, educational spaces, and family life centers.

Please be in prayer for the churches, pastors, church members, and community residents affected by Hurricane Florence. Also Send Relief and the North Carolina Baptist Men are in preparation mode to move in once the storms and rain waters subside to aid in the recovery. Please pray for these volunteers as well as everyone who will be assisting in cleanup and recovery later this week. Storms like Florence may last only a week, but their impact is often felt for months, and sometimes years, to come. Please pray for the recovery and give to aid the causes in the Carolinas if you feel led to do so.

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Chaplain banned from HMP Brixton allowed to return

Volunteer chaplain, Pastor Paul Song was accused of calling a prisoner a ‘terrorist’ by a Muslim chaplain and told to leave.

A prison official told Pastor Song that the decision to remove him as a volunteer chaplain was “permanent and with immediate effect”.

But following an independent review, the decision has been overturned and Pastor Song has restarted his chaplaincy work at the prison.

HMP Brixton’s website says they provide a chaplaincy service, including a six week, full-time, Christian resettlement course for 30 men and a Christianity Explored course. They say: “The course is open to men of any faith and who are willing to explore resettlement issues from a Christian perspective.”

Pastor Song said the Muslim chaplain, appointed in 2015, had a problem with some of his Christian resources: “Imam Mohamed’s discriminatory agenda was clear from the outset. He began scrutinising the material for each of our courses, commenting that the material was ‘too radical’, and that the Christian views expressed were ‘extreme’.

“He paid scant regard to the fact that the courses are mainstream Christian courses, used by churches throughout the world. He also said he wanted to ‘change the Christian domination’ within HMP Brixton.”

A petition to reinstate him has been signed by over 40,000 people and his case brought up by Theresa Villiers MP with the Secretary…

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Russian Orthodox Church ‘cuts ties’ with Constantinople centre over Ukraine

Patriarch Bartholomew sent two bishops as representatives to a pro-Western church in Ukraine, a move which was seen as anti-Moscow as it effectively declared the Ukrainian church independent from the Russian branch.

Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church called together a Holy Synod in response on Friday and criticised Bartholomew.

Vladimir Legoida, a Russian Orthodox Church spokesman, said the Holy Synod had decided to suspend its participation in all structures chaired or co-chaired by representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Kirill will now no longer mention Bartholomew in his prayers and they will not conduct services together. Kirill takes a similar view to President Putin on Ukraine, that it should be part of greater Russia and that any separation would be negative to that aim. 

In Ukraine, there is a split between the pro-Russsia Moscow Patriarchate and the Kyiv Patriarchate, who split from Moscow in 1992 and consider them Kremlin-supporters. 

Bartholomew’s reach-out was towards the pro-Western, Kyiv branch of the Orthodox church, therefore it was seen as a threat to unity between Moscow and Istanbul, where the Archbishop of Constantinople (now Istanbul) is based. 

“Essentially this is a breakdown of relations. To take an example from secular life, the decision is roughly equivalent to cutting diplomatic ties,” the Russian…

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Teens Open Heaven 16 September 2018 – Limitless God

Topic: Limitless God [Teens Open Heaven 16 September 2018]

Memorise: Behold, God is great, and we know Him not, neither can the number of His years be searched out. Job 36:26

Read: Job 36:25-33 (KJV)

Bible In One Year: Proverbs 30-31, 2 Corinthians 8

Also Read: Open Heavens 16 September 2018 – Knowledge of Good or Evil?

MESSAGE:

Every man has limits. If you think you can achieve anything without God, you will be over stretching your limits. When you decide to take a car beyond its limits, something dangerous is likely to happen. On the other hand, God has no limits and can never be limited by whatever limits a man.

The good news is that when you make the Almighty God your God and trust Him absolutely, your capacity is absolutely extended. What cannot limit God will no longer limit you. This is because, as a child of God in true partnership with Him, you will operate from His unlimited level of total dominion

Key Point: How deep and strong is your connection to God?

Also Read: Teen Open Heaven Daily Devotional by Pastor Adeboye

Teens Open Heaven 16 September 2018 Hymn 8

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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 splendour of light hideth Thee.

5. 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.

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Joyce Meyer’s Daily 16 September 2018 Devotional — God’s Vision for You

Topic: God’s Vision for You [Joyce Meyer’s Devotional Sunday September 16, 2018]

Good sense and discretion make a man slow to anger, and it is his honor and glory to overlook a transgression or an offense [without seeking revenge and harboring resentment]. — Proverbs 19:11 (AMP)

God’s plan for the people of the nation of Israel was only for their good. Yet they wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years on what was actually an 11-day journey. Why? Was it their enemies, their circumstances, the trials along the way, or something entirely different that prevented them from arriving at their destination in a timely manner?

God called the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt to go to the land He had promised to give them as a perpetual inheritance—a land that flowed with milk and honey and every good thing they could imagine—a land in which there would be no shortage of anything they needed—a land of prosperity in every realm of their existence.

But the Israelites had no positive vision for their lives—no dreams. They knew where they came from, but they did not know where they were going. Everything was based on what they had seen in the past or what they could presently see. They did not know how to see with “the eye of faith.”

We really shouldn’t view the Israelites with astonishment because most of us do the same thing they did. We keep dealing with the same problems over and over again. The disappointing result is that it takes us years to experience victory over something that could have and should have been dealt with quickly.

I come from a background of abuse. My childhood was filled with fear and torment, and my personality was a mess! I built up walls of protection to keep people from hurting me, not realizing that while I was locking others out, I was also locking myself in. I was filled with fear and believed that the only way I could face life was to be in control so no one could hurt me.

As a young adult trying to live for Christ and follow the Christian lifestyle, I knew where I had come from, but I did not know where I was going. I felt that my future would always be marred by my past. I thought, How could anyone with a past like mine ever be all right? It’s impossible!

But Jesus had a different plan. He said, The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me . . . to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity] (Luke 4:18 AMPC).

Jesus came to open the prison doors and set the captives free—and that included me. However, I did not make any progress until I started to believe that I really could be set free. I had to get rid of my negative thinking and replace it with a positive vision for my life. I had to believe that neither my past nor my present could determine my future. Only then could Jesus free me from the bondage of my past—and free me, He did. What a marvelous miracle!

You may have had a miserable past; you may even be in current circumstances that are very negative and depressing. You may be facing situations that are so bad it seems you have no real reason to hope. But I say to you boldly: Your future is not determined by your past or your present!

Most of the generation the Lord called out of Egypt never entered into the Promised Land. Instead, they died in the wilderness. To me, this is one of the saddest things that can happen to a child of God—to have so much available and yet never be able to enjoy any of it.

Start believing that God’s Word is true. Mark 9:23 assures you that with God all things are possible. Because you serve a God who created everything you see out of the unseen realm (see Hebrews 11:3), you can give Him your nothingness and watch Him go to work on your behalf. All you have to do is have faith in Him and believe His Word—He will do the rest!

Prayer Starter: Dear Father, I thank You for loving me and having a vision—a good plan—for my life. I pray that You will help me overcome any negative thoughts of problems, past or present, that come against my mind, and make my life what You want it to be. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Joyce Meyer Daily Devotional HERE’’

From Joyce Meyer’s Ministries.

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Church of England mulls organising buyout of Wonga’s loan book, source says

A source close to the matter said it was highly unlikely the church would be directly involved in the purchase of Wonga’s estimated £400 million book.

Instead, it would work to bring a consortium of non-government organisations and philanthropists to organise a buyout, the source said, but that any plan was in a “very preliminary stage”.

The news comes a week after independent MP Frank Field called on Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby asking him to find “good people” to buy Wonga’s loan book.

Existing borrowers are thought to total around 200,000, and Mr Field said he feared they could be left at the mercy of money lenders and bailiffs who could purchase the debt at a knockdown price.

In a letter to the archbishop, he said: “Is there a possibility please of you asking the Church Commissioners quickly to assemble a consortium of good people with money who will attempt to buy those poor people’s loan books at a knockdown price?”

He said swift action by the church would stop a new lender “terrorising” the poor and would be “an example of the jubilee in setting slaves free of their debts”.

According to the Book of Leviticus, a jubilee year occurs every 50th year, during which slaves and prisoners are freed and debts forgiven.

Administrator Grant Thornton is running Wonga’s loan book while it looks for a buyer.

Mr Field said that such a purchase led by the Church of…

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MFM Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional 16 September 2018 – Divine Grace

TOPIC: Divine Grace (Mountain Of Fire and Miracle Ministries Sunday, 16 September 2018)

FIRE SCRIPTURE: Genesis 9:20-25

MEMORY VERSE: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” – Genesis 6:8

The MESSAGE:

Everyone faces a constant struggle against sin. Even the best of Christians cannot stand upright except they depend on grace. This is because the devil is constantly on a mission to bring believers down. The believer, therefore, cannot overcome the devil by his effort or righteousness. The believer needs the grace of God to overcome him. Noah was a righteous man who found favour in the eyes of the Lord in the midst of a generation defined by immorality, and he was not, therefore, immune to sin. In a moment of weakness, he became drunk and unclothed himself, thereby, opening himself to ridicule before his children. This shows that past devoutness or victory does not guarantee immunity from sin. We must consciously walk in total daily dependence on God. The drunkenness of Noah is an evidence of how imperfect and weak humans are. Age or maturity does not provide protection from temptation and sin.

As believers, we need God’s grace at every point in time, whether in prosperity or adversity. Quite often, we may be unaware that we are slipping away from God until the deed is done. We must constantly be on our guard because the devil’s mission is to detail us from the path God has planned for us. Do not attempt to walk the journey of life on your own. Always ask for divine grace from God so you can walk in the righteousness and obedience that please Him.

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE:
AGE OR MATURITY DOES NOT PROVIDE PROTECTION FROM TEMPTATION AND SIN.

PROPHETIC WORD:
Anointing to guard your life against any form of sin shall overshadow you.

PRAYER POINTS:
MORNING
1. Thou spirit of carelessness operating in my life, die, in the name of Jesus.
2. Every curse of “thou shall not prosper” targeted at my life, break by fire, in the name of Jesus.
3. You, my weakness, shall not destroy me, in the name of Jesus.

EVENING
4. Anointing of self-control over sin, fall upon my life, in the name of Jesus.
5. By the power of the Holy Ghost, I shall not slip away from the Lord, in the name of Jesus.
6. Anointing to remain steadfast in the Lord till the end, fall upon my life, in the name of Jesus.
7. My life, you shall not disgrace the name of my God, in the name of Jesus.

“If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read MFM Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional HERE

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.

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Watch Dunamis LIVE Service with Pastor Paul Enenche

Watch Dunamis LIVE Service with Pastor Paul Enenche IMPARTATION SERVICE -16-09-2018

Watch LIVE Service HERE from 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.

Dunamis International Gospel Centre is a destiny molding centre where lives are empowered to fulfill destiny. Dunamis is an end-time battle axe in the hands of God, with the mandate to restore human destinies and dignities, and no matter how battered, shattered, scattered, buffeted, ruptured, punctured and de-constructed lives and destinies are, they have been mended, gathered, sutured, and re-constructed by the power of God! Yours can be the next for the Master’s touch.

Watch Dunamis LIVE Service with Pastor Paul Enenche

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Unveiling Success Keys! By David Oyedepo

Unveiling Success Keys! By David Oyedepo

Topic: Unveiling Success Keys!

Welcome to another exciting week. I hope you were blessed by the teaching of last week. Today, we shall focus on: Unveiling Success Keys!

It is important to recognise that we are the offspring of God and the epitome of success. This is because at redemption, we were ordained men and women of outstanding and unusual feats. Thus, as no failure son is a pride to the father, we can never be a source of pride to God in our failure state. God rejoices over only His outstanding children like a natural father will do. He is the Most High; so, we cannot be the lowest and say we are His children? However, it is important to understand that the Kingdom of God operates on keys; without which we may not attain the height God has destined for us. Thus, we must discover these keys and use them.

What then, are Success Keys?

Purpose: Purpose is one of the four dimensional powers for outstanding success. Everyone born into this world is separated for something. Everyone is separated to a well defined purpose. As it is written: Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations (Jeremiah 1:5). God is a God of purpose. Purpose is a secret for success. Purpose is power! It is the key to realisation. Life without purpose equals pressures without reason. When life lacks purpose, it loses colour. Martin Luther King (Jnr.) is quoted as saying, ‘If a man has no purpose for living, he’s not fit to live.’ Nothing distinguishes as purpose. Thus, there are ways by which we can locate where we belong here on earth.

Locate the gift of God for our lives (Romans 11:29; Proverbs 18:16).

Have one goal (1 John 3:8; Matthew 6:22; Philippians 3:14).

Also Read: Unveiling the Prophetic Place of Success! By David Oyedepo

Pursuit: Purpose is of no value without pursuit. Pursuit is what gives purpose value. It is the relevant force that transforms our purpose into reality. In science, they say every object assumes a state of rest or uniform motion until a force is applied to it. Nothing works by itself; every working thing is made to work by some man. Likewise, when we don’t pursue our purpose, we cannot possess it. The Bible says: I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry (Habakkuk 2:1-3). This implies that the colour of every purpose is determined by the tenacity of the pursuit involved. Furthermore, only runners obtain the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24).

Persistence: The act of tireless pursuit is what I call persistence. It is keeping at the pursuit of our purpose with patience. Isaiah 66:7 says: Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child (Isaiah 66:7). But the very next verse asks: Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children (Isaiah 66:8). Hit and run people never make the race; it is the hit and stick that makes it. There is one major way to be persistent.

Run with patience (Hebrews 12:1-3, 10:35; Habakkuk 2:3).

Possession: Many are struggling and sweating in their pursuit but it is God’s hand on a thing that makes stars in the Kingdom. I have seen many workaholics, who are failures because of this missing key. What does it really take to take delivery of outstanding success? Having identified our purpose, pursued it persistently, how then can we take delivery of success? There are two major ways we can possess our possession.

Carry His presence (Psalm 127:1-2; 1 Corinthians 3:6).

We need joy (James 5:13; Habakkuk 3:17-19).

In conclusion, outstanding success is the heritage of thankful, praiseful and joyful saints because they are the ones who can provoke the hand of God to produce results. Just like a man cannot survive in the water, the same way it is choking for God to stay where there is no joy, praise and thanksgiving. Also, as long as our lifestyle is choking to God, we cannot carry His presence. Therefore, you must be born again before you can utilize the success keys.

Are you born again? If you are not, this is an opportunity to do so. Simply say the following prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Today, I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!”

For further reading, please get my books: Ruling your World, Exploring the Secrets of Success, Success Strategies and Success Systems. I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have five services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1:20 p.m. respectively. I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 01-4548070, 01-4548280; or E-mail: [email protected]; Face book: www.facebook.com/davidoyedepoministries/; Twitter: @DavidOyedepoMin

Please click to read other inspiring MESSAGES by Bishop David Oyedepo

David O. Oyedepo is a Nigerian Christian author, architect, preacher, and the founder and presiding bishop of the mega church, Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners’ Chapel

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