Topic: Be of Good Cheer [Wednesday April 19, 2017]

And now I exhort you to be of good cheer. – Acts 27:22

What do you do when you’re in a really perilous situation?

If you’re like I used to be, you cry out to God in desperation. One afternoon when I was squalling to God about something, He interrupted me and said, Kenneth, did you know I don’t hear the cry of My children when they cry out in desperation?

“What?” I said. “I thought You did.”

He said, No, I hear the desperation cry of a sinner because that’s all he can cry about. But once you get born again, son, you ought to be crying out of faith. I hear the faith cry.

What is a faith cry? It’s calling things that be not as though they were (Romans 4:17). It’s what the Bible means when it says, “…Let the weak say, I am strong” (Joel 3:10).

The Apostle Paul knew how to use the faith cry. That’s why, in Acts 27, he exhorted the men on that battered, sinking ship to “be of good cheer.” He was telling them to start acting by faith. Can’t you imagine what those sailors thought when he said that? Listen to that stupid preacher. We’re sinking and he says be of good cheer. We’ve thrown everything we have overboard and he says be of good cheer.

You may feel just like those sailors did, right now. You may feel like your ship’s going down. You may feel like crying out in desperation. But don’t do it. Instead, do what Paul said and be of good cheer!

Cry out to God in faith and say, “Lord, I’m not going to panic. I’m not going to despair. I’m going to be of good cheer because Your Word says You’ll deliver me from this situation” (Psalm 34:19).

Then start being cheerful. It may take more determination than anything you’ve ever done before, but God will give you the strength to do it. He’ll give you the power to be cheerful in the middle of the most ungodly darkness the devil can bring up.

Instead of crying out in desperation, take a faith stand. Sing and rejoice and praise God for your deliverance. Be of good cheer and you can be sure God will bring you through the storm just fine!

Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:4-9

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.

Topic: Depend on Him [Wednesday April 19, 2017]

I advise you to obey only the Holy Spirit’s instructions. He will tell you where to go and what to do, and then you won’t always be doing the wrong things your evil nature wants you to. — Galatians 5:16 (TLB)

To walk in the Spirit is a challenging and inspiring exercise, for it combines activity with relaxation. To walk means to place one foot in front of the other. If you stop doing this, you are no longer walking-you are standing still. Walking always implies movement, progress, and direction. Sin shall no longer rule or dominate you when you are allowing the Holy Spirit to live Christ’s life through you. It is living by faith, living by trust, living in dependence upon God.

If we look to our own resources, our own strength, or our own ability, as Peter did when he walked on the water, we will fail. You cannot live the Christian life by yourself. The Holy Spirit must live in you and express Himself through you. Living for Christ is a day-by-day experience. It is a continuous dependence upon the Spirit of God. It is believing in His faithfulness.

Prayer for the day: Lord, so often I have walked on my own instead of walking in Your Spirit. Guide my footsteps this day, I pray in Jesus’ name.

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: Your Heart, Your Part [Tuesday April 18, 2017]

…God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. – 1 Samuel 10:9

Man’s heart is the origin of his life.

Man’s heart is God’s passage to his life.

God can’t reach man without his heart.

Every man’s part and fortune is measured to him according to his heart.  Your heart determines your fortune.

What goes on in your heart determines what goes on around you.

The first and foremost miracle to be desired is that of change of heart. I Samuel 10:9.

The state of your heart determines your place on the earth.

Change on the earth is produced by change of heart.

Keep your heart right to take your life up. Acts 8:21.

Your heart determines your signs.

God weighs your heart to measure your blessings.

He assesses your heart to define your place on earth.

You don’t have a place among men unless God is given a place in your heart.

If you must possess the earth, let God possess your heart.

Give God your heart and you will take delivery of the earth.

Topic: Break Free from Other People’s Expectations [Tuesday April 18, 2017]

Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is [always] the same, yesterday, today, [yes] and forever (to the ages). —Hebrews 13:8

Studies show that 10 percent of people will never like you. This means we won’t have a perfect record with everyone and we should celebrate who we are. A person who knows how to do this does not allow the moods of other people to alter theirs.

A story is told of a Quaker man who knew how to live independently as the valued person God had created Him to be. One night as he was walking down the street with a friend he stopped at a newsstand to purchase an evening paper. The storekeeper was very sour, rude, and unfriendly. The Quaker man treated him with respect and was quite kind in his dealing with him. He paid for his paper, and he and his friend continued to walk down the street. The friend said to the Quaker, “How could you be so cordial to him with the terrible way he was treating you?” The Quaker man replied, “Oh, he is always that way; why should I let him determine how I am going to act?”

This is one of the amazing traits we see in Jesus. He was the same all the time. He changed people; they did not change Him.

When an unhappy person is unsuccessful in making you unhappy, they begin to respect and admire you. They see your Christianity is something real, and they may be interested in hearing what you have to say.

Even people who seek to control you will disrespect you if you allow them to do it. I encourage you to be your own person. Do what God expects you to do and don’t live under the tyranny of other people’s expectations.

Trust in Him: Don’t let others determine who you are or what you do. Don’t put your trust in the opinions of people. Stay confident in who God’s called you to be!

Topic: An Ignorant Prayer [Tuesday 18, April 2017]

Memorise: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. – James 4:7

Read: 1 Samuel 15:17-22 (KJV)

17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?

18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.

19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?

20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.

22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

Bible in One Year: Numbers 5-6, Jeremiah 15:10-21

MESSAGE:

I have always admonished believers never to pray that God should humble them; this is an ignorant prayer. The truth is that God has given everyone the capacity to choose whatever he or she wants to do, and He will not interfere with our choices. For this reason, every man is responsible for his or her actions. Why is this so? This is because man, unlike other creatures, was created as an agent of free will. The Bible in Deuteronomy 30:19 says:

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:”

The above passage of Scripture explains God’s attitude to man’s fall in the Garden of Eden. Although He had instructed Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, He did not try to stop them when they did eat it, even though He is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. His righteous nature would not allow Him to hold back the free will He had already given to them. However, they lived to bear the consequences of their choice to disobey God. In our Bible reading today, King Saul momentarily forgot the low estate he occupied before he was made the king of Israel. His forgetfulness caused him to think that he could flout the instructions given to him by the King of kings. He decided to listen to his human counsellors, and he began to rationalise the instructions God gave him. King Saul therefore became swollen-headed, and Prophet Samuel who anointed him as king became “old school” and “old fashioned” in his eyes. To him, there should be no ‘waste’; after all why destroy valuable fatted cows? Moreover, great kings would begin to pay tribute to him for sparing their lives. Contrast this attitude against his humble demeanour before he became king. He himself had once said in 1 Samuel 9:21:

“…Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?”

Remembering this, Prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 15:17 said:

“….When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?”

May the Lord deliver his children from pride in Jesus’ Name. Our approach to humility should be to heed the counsel of submission in today’s memory verse; the reason being that if we do not humble ourselves voluntarily and God has to do it, one could end up like King Saul, whom the Lord rejected from being king over His people (1 Samuel 15:26). May that not be your portion in Jesus’ Name.

Prayer Point: Father, I submit myself to Your Lordship. I will seek what You want, and what You hate, I will hate. Help me to stay truth to this commandment in Jesus Name.

Open Heavens 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.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

A Promise For You From Bible Promises:

Topic: He Is Sitted With God [18/04/2017]

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: Ephesians 2:6. Eph 1:19-23

Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world (that is, those that believe and will believe later in Him) is no longer on the cross, He is no longer in the tomb because he disgraced and defeated death. The grave couldn’t hold Him down, He triumphed over death mightily. He went to hell and took the keys of death and hell from the devil who has tormented men who through there lifetime subject themselves to death. Rev 1:18. Heb 2:14-15. Now Jesus is sitting with God in heavenly places which is far above principalities and powers interceding for us before the Father. Because He Himself passed through pains and weakness like you and I, He is the best man for the job of INTERCESSORY PRAYER for us. He knows that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. He knows that by strength no man shall prevail. 1 Sam 2:9.

The glory of it all is that, Jesus is not sitting alone with God, we that have accepted Him into our lives are also sitted with Him with God according to the above scripture. This means, we are above the crisis of the earth, sicknesses, poverty, shame, mockery, ridicule, mediocrity, lack and any form of evil. Glory Hallelujah! Jesus is Lord forever.

#BiblePromisesDelaration

* Because I sit with Jesus in heavenly places far above principalities, powers, dominion, and every name that is named, I am untouchable, unstoppable in my generation, what affects others cannot affect me In the name of Jesus.

Topic: The Secret of Honour in Marriage! (3)

Dear Reader,

Welcome back to another wonderful time in God’s presence. Last week, I shared with you one major secret of honour in marriage, which is leaving the marriage bed undefiled.

In continuation, however, the marriage bed can still be defiled by the married.  One thing that definitely pollutes the act of marriage is adultery.  The Bible defines it as lying with another man’s wife (Leviticus 20:10).  If either the man or the woman is married, and has sexual intercourse with anyone other than his or her spouse, he has committed adultery and has opened up for God’s judgment.

Conversely, marriage is founded upon a very delicate material called trust. One cannot afford to be caught in the webs of adultery because when trust is broken, suspicion sets in, which might eventually break up the marriage.

Another thing adultery does is that it shatters the respect your spouse has for you.  By committing adultery therefore, you literally take the honour God bestows upon you and cast it before swine. The Bible says: Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you (Matthew 7:6).

That means, when your honour is trampled upon, nothing remains of it.  When you are married, there is a hedge of protection around you, which is broken when you commit adultery, and anything negative can happen as a result.

Ecclesiastes 10:8 says: Whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.  The serpents of life are biting hard on many marriages and families today, because the hedge was broken by unfaithfulness. They lack honour and fulfilment because they have polluted the marriage bed.

Please be warned, God is not playing with words.  If you commit adultery, the serpents will strike at your home.

Keeping the marriage bed undefiled, even as married individuals, requires grace.  Grace is the heritage of those born again. If you are not yet born again, and would like to, then say this prayer of faith: “Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the living God. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.”

If you prayed this simple prayer, you are now a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).

Congratulations! You are now born again! All-round rest and peace are guaranteed you, in Jesus’ Name. Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through [email protected]; OR 07026385437 and 08141320204.

For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).

Topic: Improve On Your Approach [Monday April 17, 2017]

Level of results in any adventure of life is dependent on quality of approach.

Improved approach will naturally birth better result.

Praying for better result is a waste of energy.

Rather than praying for that we should keep praying and seeking for improvement in our approach.

Improved approach will terminate the worst reproach.

Just anything can work if you locate the right approach.

It is the way that you have located that will determine the kind of end you are to expect.

Topic: Help Hurting People [Monday April 17, 2017]

He who despises his neighbor sins [against God, his fellowman, and himself], but happy (blessed and fortunate) is he who is kind and merciful to the poor. — Proverbs 14:21

Helping the poor and those who are less fortunate than we are is not only a nice thing to do, but according to the Bible, it is our responsibility. God cares deeply for the poor and needy and seems to have a special place in His heart for the widow and the orphan because they are alone and unable to meet all their needs. God gives us hearts of compassion, but when needs arise we can’t close our hearts—we need to open our hearts and our hands wide to help the poor.

When we give to the poor, the Bible says that we lend to the Lord. Anything we give to help hurting people, God will always return many times over. Not only will He meet our needs, but our joy will increase as a result of giving in love. I urge you to share what you have with those who are less fortunate than you are.

Power Thought: I am always merciful and generous to the poor.

Topic: Ruled by Mammon? [Monday 17, April 2017]

Memorise: For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. – 1 Timothy 6:10

Read: 1 Timothy 6:6-11 (KJV)

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

Bible in One Year: Numbers 4, Jeremiah 15:1-9

MESSAGE:

A crafty and complex form of idolatry in our world today, which has been around for a long while, and yet seems to go unnoticed by most people, is the reverence and premium place given to the god of money (Mammon) in the hearts of mankind. Our Lord Jesus was very clear when He stated what the first and greatest commandment was in Matthew 22:37:

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”

When our love, which should be given to God exclusively, is diverted to money, we err from the faith and expose ourselves to dissatisfaction and many sorrows. The Bible in Ecclesiastes 5:10 say,

“He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.”

I am sometimes puzzled as to why people run after vanity. In some countries of the world, government officials embezzle billions from their sovereign wealth and cart their loot away to foreign lands. Some of these officials have become even “richer” than their country by this act. One wonders what they would do with all this stolen money. Nothing reasonable for sure! For such people, money has become their god, and so they worship it to the extent that the more they acquire, the more difficult it becomes for them to spend. Find out from some so-called rich people, they find it difficult to spend their millions. They eat like paupers because money is their god. In today’s Bible reading, the Holy Spirit offers us a way out of Mammon’s bondage. He said:

“6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” – 1 Timothy 6:6-8

Beloved and fellow pilgrims, our stay here on earth is too short for us to run after Mammon. Let us follow the Master intimately, because He is the only One that would always stand by us, even after we close our eyes in death. If you worship Mammon, once you breathe your last breath, Mammon would immediately change servants. Let us be wise and fellow after godliness.

Prayer Point: Father, please fill my heart with godliness and contentment. Grant me the grace to love You more than anything else in this world.

Open Heavens 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.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.