Topic: The Foundation of Love [Friday March 3, 2017]

See what [an incredible] quality of love the Father has given (shown, bestowed on) us, that we should [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! The reason that the world does not know (recognize, acknowledge) us is that it does not know (recognize, acknowledge) Him. — 1 John 3:1

Many people fail at marriage because they don’t love themselves, and therefore they have nothing to give in the relationship. They spend most of their time trying to get from their spouses what only God can give them, which is a sense of their own worth and value.

In my case, although I didn’t even know what love was, I married a boy of nineteen simply because I was afraid no one would ever want me. He had problems of his own and did not really know how to love me—so the pattern of pain in my life continued. I was repeatedly hurt in that relationship, which ended in divorce after five years.

Receiving the free gift of God’s unconditional love is the beginning of our healing, and the foundation for our new life in Christ. We cannot love ourselves unless we realize how much God loves us, and if we don’t love ourselves, we cannot love other people. We cannot maintain good, healthy relationships without this foundation of love in our lives.

Lord, I am amazed that You love me and desire me to be Your child. I receive Your love today and choose to love myself. Amen.

Topic: Different Responses to God [Friday 3, March 2017]

Memorise: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. – John 3:16

Read: John 3:16-17 (KJV)

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Bible in One Year: Genesis 30:31 and Isaiah 49:8-23

MESSAGE:

Our Heavenly Father expects us all to grow in our Christian faith (2 Peter 3:18). If you refuse to grow, you may end up keeping God in an endless state of waiting for you to grow. Unfortunately, while God waits for you to grow, you may end up losing certain crucial things to others who grow up faster. For how long will you remain a babe? How long do you expect God to wait for you? Keeping God waiting can definitely affect His original plan for the life of some of His children. The night is far spent, and the Lord’s return is around the corner; therefore we cannot afford to slow down the growth process.

Your level of maturity determines the level of relationship you have with God, and in turn, the level of your relationship determines the communication channels that are open to you from heaven (Numbers 12:6-8). It also determines your understanding of and response to God’s word. As a result of this, you can expect different responses to the same word from God by different children of God. Take for instance, if you tell three Christians at different maturity levels that God loves them, they will see it in different ways. When a baby Christian hears “God loves you” he will rejoice because this reminds him of his triumphant state. He will remember Romans 8:37 which says,

“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us”

When you tell an adult Christian “God loves you”, he will inquisitively ask why you are saying this to him, because this reminds him of responsibility: for whosoever the Father loves, he chastises (Hebrew 12:6). On the other hand, when you tell a bone-cracking Christian “God loves you”, he will be a lot more apprehensive. He will say “Amen; may God have mercy.” He is saying this because it reminds him of sacrifice: for whosoever the Father loves, He sacrifices (Genesis 22:2, Ephesians 5:2). God the Father was so pleased with Jesus that He sacrificed Him to redeem the world (John 3:16). When God wanted to prove to the world that there was no God above Him, what did He do? He sent His outstanding sons, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, into fire. When He wanted to show His supremacy over lions, what did He do? He allowed His loved Daniel to go into the lion’s den. How will you respond now when I say to you that God loves you? Can God trust you enough to send you to tough assignments that will bring honour and praise to His Name?

Action Point: God can be patient, but not to the detriment of His timetable. Wherever you need to say “yes” to God, do it now.

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.

Topic: The Manifestation of Wisdom [Friday March 3, 2017]

Scripture: Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed. Ecclesiastes 8:1

Thought For The Day: Supernatural wisdom is behind outstanding existence

From our anchor Scripture, we see that supernatural wisdom is behind outstanding existence. At the frequency of supernatural wisdom, Moses, David, Solomon, Daniel, Paul the Apostle, and Jesus Christ Who is Wisdom Personified, all lived outstanding lives.

Divine wisdom is not cleverness. We can see the manifestation of Divine wisdom in Solomon’s judgement in the case of the two prostitutes in 1 Kings 3:16-28.

Now, how do you know when a person is operating in wisdom?
1. Wisdom is manifested by human relationship skills. Wise people know how to relate with people in order to get the best out of them. One of the greatest secrets of a successful life is the understanding of people. Until you understand people, you cannot go anywhere in life.

2. A person’s value for information is a proof of his wisdom. Wise people have ears that are tuned to information. The reason a man and his wife may continue to quarrel forever is because one of them is not ready to listen to the other. They understand things in different ways. So, when her understanding collides with his understanding, it becomes a misunderstanding. That is a manifestation of wisdom bankruptcy.

Determine to exist in supernatural wisdom.

Remember this: Supernatural wisdom is behind outstanding existence.

Assignment (S)

1. Make demands for Divine wisdom upon your life.

2. Study the Word of God daily and meditatively in order to connect with the Wisdom of Christ.

3. Learn the act of listening; listen more and talk less.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: THE MANIFESTATION OF WISDOM (PART 5).

Prayer: O LORD, baptise me with the Spirit of Wisdom. Help me to take my life’s decisions on the frequency of Your wisdom, LORD, in Jesus’ Name.

Daily Reading: Leviticus 27: 14 to Numbers 1:54, Mark 11:1 to 26, Psalm 46:1 to 11, Proverbs 10:23.

Quote: Foolishness brings disgrace to God and limitation to destiny. Culled from BE WISE AND RISE! by Dr Paul Enenche.

Amazing Fact: Women’s hearts beat faster than men’s.

Today In History: 03/03/1910 – Rockefeller Foundation: John D. Rockefeller Jr. announced his retirement from managing his businesses so that he can devote all his time to philanthropy.

Dunamis International Gospel Centre (DIGC), is a powerfully anointed church, headquartered at Abuja, Nigeria, with Dr Paul and Dr 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.

Topic: Two Portraits [Friday March 3, 2017]

Read: John 16:19–24, Bible in a Year: Numbers 28–30; Mark 8:22–38

Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. John 16:22

Clutching two framed photographs, the proud grandmother showed them to friends in the church foyer. The first picture was of her daughter back in her homeland of Burundi. The second was of her grandson, born recently to that daughter. But the daughter wasn’t holding her newborn. She had died giving birth to him.

A friend approached and looked at the pictures. Reflexively, she reached up and held that dear grandmother’s face in her hands. All she could say through her own tears was, “I know. I know.”

And she did know. Two months earlier she had buried a son.

There’s something special about the comfort of others who have experienced our pain. They know. Just before Jesus’s arrest, He warned His disciples, “You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices.” But in the next breath He comforted them: “You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy” (John 16:20). In mere hours, the disciples would be devastated by Jesus’s arrest and crucifixion. But their crushing grief soon turned to a joy they could not have imagined when they saw Him alive again.

Isaiah prophesied of the Messiah, “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering” (Isa. 53:4). We have a Savior who doesn’t merely know about our pain; He lived it. He knows. He cares. One day our grief will be turned into joy.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for going to the cross for us. We certainly know trouble in this world, but You overcame the world and took our sin and pain for us. We look forward to the day when our sorrows will be turned into joy and we see You face to face.

When we put our cares into His hands, He puts His peace into our hearts.

Insight:

It was necessary for Jesus, who is fully God, to be made in every respect like us—fully human—so that He could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Only by becoming a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. While on earth, the Lord Jesus “walked in our shoes” and, therefore, He fully knows and understands us. We are now to walk in His “shoes” and imitate His example of compassion and care. “In your relationships with one another,” Paul tells us, “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). How can you bring comfort to others today by walking in Jesus’s shoes?

This message was written By Tim Gustafson [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: Called to Be Peculiar [Friday March 3, 2017]

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. – John 17:15-16

Being peculiar. That’s not something most of us work to achieve, is it? But, you know, we should.

God has called us to be peculiar—to stand out from the rest of the world as living proof of His power and His love (1 Peter 2:9).

He doesn’t, for example, want us to share the ailments of the world. He doesn’t want us to share their sickness and poverty and failure. He’s never wanted that for His people.

He gave us a physical illustration of that during the time the nation of Israel was held captive in Egypt. Pharaoh had refused to set the Israelites free, so God had allowed a thick darkness to cover the whole land. The darkness was so dreadful throughout Egypt that no one moved for three days.

“But,” says Exodus 10:23, “all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.”

What a thrilling example of how God wants us to live. We should be glorifying God by the miraculously victorious lives we lead. We should constantly have people telling us, “I’ve heard how God healed you,” or “I’ve heard how God prospered you and saved your children!”

So don’t hold back. Put the Word of God to work in your life and dare to receive the rich blessings that belong to those who believe. Start using the Word to draw boundaries around your life, to paint spiritual warning signs for the devil. Signs that say:

Off Limits! According to God’s Word, I don’t belong to you anymore. My family doesn’t belong to you. My health doesn’t belong to you. My money doesn’t belong to you. My ministry doesn’t belong to you. I belong to a different kingdom. Now, back off in Jesus’ Name!

Does that sound a little peculiar? Good. That’s exactly what God has called you to be!

Scripture Reading: Exodus 10:20-29

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: Learn From Mistakes [Friday March 3, 2017]

Text: Ezekiel 23:22-36

Key Verse: “Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side” (Ezekiel 23:22).

Many times, what get people into trouble are not big, but little things. They omit to do what is right. They indulge in little careless or reckless acts, including those they knew spelt disaster for other people. With the passage of time, they become self-confident in their ability to tackle issues their own way.

They dismiss pointers in their own lives, to things that caused misfortune for others, on the hollow belief that, ‘it cannot happen to me’. In the process, they seal their own misfortune. Aholibah or Judah in Israel, had witnessed judgment that came on Samaria (or Aholah) for turning away from God and embracing the nations that did not know the Lord. They were shipped into exile. Instead of learning from God’s retribution on evil nation, Judah became more sinful before God. They connived, formed alliance with heathen nations, exposed their treasure to them and served their idols.

God paid them in their coins: He turned their new friends against them who plundered their wealth and exposed them to shame, humiliation and disgrace. It is only reasonable to learn from the mistakes of other people and avoid things that brought them down. Where we find that the pursuit of power, wealth and pleasure took them away from God, we must flee from such. The lives of those around us who fell out with God should be a lesson to us to shun their ways.

Anything that will lull our minds in sinful enjoyment must be avoided. We must not wait to taste the judgment of God. Anything we must do to live right before God and avoid His rod of punishment, must be done now.

Thought for the day: Sin is deceptive and deadly, and those that toy with it have bitter tales to tell.

Bible Reading in one Year: 1 Samuel 10-11

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.

Topic: God Is the Life Giver [Friday March 3, 2017]

He made the world and everything there is. — Hebrews 1:2 (TLB)

There are many arguments we could marshal to give evidence of the existence of God. There is scientific evidence pointing to God’s existence. For example, whatever is in motion must be moved by another, for motion is the response of matter to power. In the world of matter there can be no power without life, and life pre-supposes a being from which emanates the power to move things, such as tides and the planets. Or there is the argument that says nothing can be the cause of itself. It would be prior to itself if it caused itself to be, and that is an absurdity.

Then there is the law of life. We see objects that have no intellect, such as stars and planets, moving in a consistent pattern, cooperating ingeniously with one another. Hence, it is evident that they achieve their movements not by accident but by design. Whatever lacks intelligence cannot move intelligently. An arrow would be useless without a bow and an archer. What gives direction and purpose and design to inanimate objects? It is God. He is the underlying, motivating force of life.

Prayer for the day: Lord, I know that without Your power my life would be useless. Prompt me, by Your Holy Spirit, to glorify You in everything I do.

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.