Topic: Jesus Prepared Himself [Andrew Wommack Devotional 21 January 2019]
Luke 2:46, “And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.”
Text: Luke 2:41-51
This is the only scriptural record of Jesus’ childhood. Yet there is much that we can learn from this brief account.
At twelve years of age, Jesus’ wisdom astounded the men who had spent a lifetime studying the scriptures (v. 47). Remember that Jesus did not have full time access to a copy of the scriptures like we do today. He had to depend on His visits to the synagogue and the direct revelation knowledge from His heavenly Father.
He was also asking these scholars questions (v. 46). This is amazing when you realize that in Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge! (Col. 2:3) Although He was God, He inhabited a physical human body that needed to be educated.
He also had a clear understanding at this young age of who His real Father was and exactly why He had come to the world (v. 49). We can only speculate how this must have influenced His childhood.
So we see that Jesus knew His call and purpose even in His early childhood. However, there is no record of miracles or ministry on His part until after His baptism by John at the age of thirty. Preparing a body for God Almighty to manifest Himself through was no small task. Praise God for His great love that caused Him to sacrifice everything for us.
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).
Death is the most democratic experience in life for we all participate in it. We think of its happening only to other people. We don’t like to grow old and we don’t like to die. The Bible teaches that death is an enemy of man and God. But it also teaches that this enemy, death, will ultimately be destroyed forever; that in fact it has already been defeated at the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Death, for a Christian, brings permanent freedom from evil. It also means the believer will be like Jesus. We shall be like Christ in love. So much of self is involved in what we do here; but one day, in Christ, we will have perfect love. What a glorious time it will be when we get to heaven!
Prayer for the day: Jesus, Your victory over death comforts my heart and fills me with hope.
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: Refuse To Be Static [TREM Devotional 21 January 2019]
“The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon”. – Psalm 92:12 KJV
In whatever area you find yourself, it is not the will of God for you to be static. His desire is for you to continue to grow and make progress. One of the greatest enemies of progress is satisfaction. You get satisfied when you have what you wanted to achieve. But what happens next is that there are no more dreams or fresh ideas, and then you start dying. Watch all those who have been told to retire, when they retired they stopped doing anything and before you know it, they started ageing fast. Yes, an organization can have retirement age; it doesn’t mean you should retire from productivity. You can still do much more with your life.
You must continue to deliberately and consciously find out new ways. Polish and improve on your gift. Work on what God has given to you. Find out the best way you can do it better than you have been doing it. I am not just talking about a church situation. I am talking about your business, career and your family. Find out the new things you can do that can stir up the motivation. God is a progressive God and He tells us how best we can fit into the present-day situation. Don’t ever be satisfied. Don’t ever say, I have got it all together or that is how it must be done and nothing else changes. The only thing that is constant is change. If you don’t believe me, go and get your old picture and then look at yourself and see if nothing has changed.
So, I charge you today to go look at how you can improve on your productivity. Find out how you can improve on whatever you are doing. Improve on your job, your business, your academics and the way your family is run. I declare the blessing of God over all that you are involved in.
Further Reading: Proverbs 4:18, Job 8:7, Eccl 7:8
Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Exodus 1-3 / Evening- Matthew 14:1-21
Written by Dr. Mike Okonkwo; Is the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM); a versatile man of God with over 30 years of dedicated service unto the Lord.
MFM Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional 21 January 2019 By Dr. D.K Olukoya – The Bread of Life
TOPIC: The Bread of Life (Mountain Of Fire and Miracle Ministries, MFM Daily Devotional 21 January 2019)
FIRE SCRIPTURE: John 6:30-35
Bible In One Year: Exodus 4-6; Matthew 14:1-21
MEMORY VERSE: “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. – John 6:27
The MESSAGE:
Jesus is the Bread of Life which never goes stale. Job said, “I have loved thy word more than my necessary food (Job 23:12b). John 6:35 says, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” Bread is considered a staple food -i.e., a basic dietary item. Bread is such a basic food item that it becomes synonymous for food in general. To further show the importance of bread to man’s survival, Jesus prayed to the Father to give us (believers) our daily bread. In that context “bread” stands for our daily needs or provisions. Similarly, we even use the phrase “breaking bread together” to indicate the sharing of a meal with someone. Bread also plays an integral part of the Jewish Passover meal. The Jews were to eat unleavened bread during the Passover feast and then for seven days following as a celebration of the exodus from Egypt. Finally, when the Jews were wandering in the desert for 40 years, God rained down “bread from heaven” to sustain the nation (Exodus 16:4).
When Jesus used the term “bread of life” in John 6, He was passing an important message across to the crowds of people around Him, those who followed him after he had miraculously fed over five thousand people with five small loaves of bread and two pieces of fish and still had leftovers. Jesus knew why the crowd kept following Him after the miracle. He also knew that their motive was wrong and decided to correct that by teaching them a lesson. The crowd’s focus was on physical bread which is perishable, temporal and ephemeral. Jesus wanted them to focus on Him, the Bread of Life that never perishes nor get stale. In the same vein, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that He would give her the water that she would drink and never thirst again. That is why the Bible admonishes that we set our eyes on things above.
Jesus accused the crowd of ignoring His miraculous signs and only following Him for the “free meal”. Jesus tells them in John 6:27 “Do not labour for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal”. In other words, they were so enthralled with the food, they were missing out on the fact that their Messiah had come. So the Jews ask Jesus for a sign that He was sent from God (as if the miraculous feeding and the walking across the water weren’t enough). They tell Jesus that God gave them manna during the desert wandering. Jesus responds by telling them that they need to ask for the true bread from heaven that gives life. When they ask Jesus for this bread, Jesus startles them by saying, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
This is a phenomenal statement! First, by equalling Himself with bread, Jesus is saying He is essential for life. Second, the life Jesus is referring to is not physical life. Jesus is trying to get the Jews’ thinking off the physical realm and into the spiritual realm. He is contrasting what He brings as their Messiah with the bread He miraculously created the day before. That was physical bread that perishes. He is spiritual bread that brings eternal life.
Third, and very important, Jesus is making another claim to deity. This statement is the first of the “I AM” statements in John’s Gospel. The phrase “I AM” is the covenant name of God (Yahweh or YHWH), revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). The phrase speaks of self-sufficient existence, which is an attribute only God possesses.
MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE: YOU CANNOT SURVIVE SPIRITUALLY WITHOUT DAILY FELLOWSHIP WITH THE BREAD OF LIFE.
PROPHETIC WORD: Power to live an overcomer’s life is coming upon you now!
PRAYER POINTS:
MORNING
O Lord, help me to love Your word more than my necessary food, in the name of Jesus.
O God arise, rain down Your bread from heaven to sustain our nation, in the name of Jesus.
My Father, help me to set my eyes on things above, in the name of Jesus. EVENING
O God, arise, quench the thirst of my soul, in the name of Jesus.
I shall not walk in the counsel of the devil, in the name of Jesus.
Thou bread of heaven that gives life, fill me afresh, in the name of Jesus.
Powers assigned to monitor my life for destruction, you are a failure, die, 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: Always a Child of God [Our Daily Bread 21 January 2019 Devotional]
Bible in a Year: Exodus 4–6; Matthew 14:22–36
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. – Romans 8:14
Today’s Scripture & Insight: Romans 8:9-17
During a church service I attended with my parents, according to the usual practice we held hands while saying the Lord’s Prayer together. As I stood with one hand clasped to my mother’s and the other to my father’s, I was struck by the thought that I will always be their daughter. Although I’m firmly in my middle age, I can still be called “the child of Leo and Phyllis.” I reflected that not only am I their daughter, but I will also always be a child of God.
The apostle Paul wanted the people in the church at Rome to understand that their identity was based on being adopted members of God’s family (Romans 8:15). Because they had been born of the Spirit (v. 14), no longer did they need to be enslaved to things that didn’t really matter. Rather, through the gift of the Spirit, they were “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (v. 17).
To those who follow Christ, what difference does this make? Quite simply, everything! Our identity as children of God provides our foundation and shapes how we see ourselves and the world. For instance, knowing that we are part of God’s family helps us to step out of our comfort zone as we follow Him. We can also be free from seeking the approval of others.
Today, why not ponder what it means to be God’s child?
Today’s Reflection Lord God, help me to live out of my central identity as Your child. Release me to live by Your Spirit, that I might share Your love and hope.
2.Father, in anyway I have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus’ name.
3.Father, arise, and destroy, by the blood of Jesus, every spirit of eye service, hypocrisy, gossip, rebellion, confrontation and headiness, in Your church, in Jesus’ name.
4.Father, please, give me the grace, never to please men at the expense of my loyalty to You, in Jesus’ name.
5.Father, as Your servant, let Your grace continue to flow in my life, in Jesus’ name.
6.Father, I need Your grace more than ever before in my life, in Jesus’ name.
7.Father, give me the grace to make Heaven at last, in Jesus’ name.
8.Father, give me the grace to stand by You, never to deny or turn my back on You, come what may, in Jesus’ name.
9.Father, please, help me to live through today, without committing a single sin, in Jesus’ name.
10.Father, make Your son, Pastor E.A. Adeboye, wiser than all his enemies; and give him more grace and patience, to administer the flocks You have committed, into his hands, in Jesus’ name.
11.Father, bless Your son, that You have been using to prepare these prayer points, beyond measures; help him to overcome every challenge of getting these prayer points across to Your children timely, on daily basis, in Jesus’ name.
12.Your Personal petitions. (Philippians 4:6)
13.In Jesus name I pray. (John 14:13-14; 15:16)
14.Thank you Father for answered prayers. (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
These prayers have no expiry date! Please, pray them, irrespective of the time they get to you. Remain blessed, in Jesus name.
Kindly, purchase your own hard copy or online version of the Open Heavens devotional & buy for your friends too, as a potent evangelism tool. God bless you, as you sow, into Pastor E.A. Adeboye’s book Ministry, in Jesus name.
Open Heaven 21 January 2019 Prayer Points on Today – Qualified By Grace
Topic: Deadly Commitment To God [Seeds of Destiny 21 January 2019 Devotional]
Scripture: And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. Malachi 3:17-18.
Thought For The Day: A dedicated person does not turn back from following God no matter what seems not to be working in his life temporarily.
Dedication to God is very critical to the fulfilment of life and destiny. God showcases the dedicated to the world. This was what we saw in the lives of Joseph, Job, Daniel, Peter, Paul, etc. No one can be relevant in life without being dedicated to God. Therefore, it is very important to look at the subject of dedication.
Previously, we saw that dedication means being sold out to God, the willingness to go all the way with God and walking with God.
Now, another meaning of dedication is, deadly commitment to God. The question is, what is the implication of being deadly committed to God?
It is being dead to the pleasures of the world
To be deadly committed to God means to be dead to the pleasures of the world; it is to be committed to God even till death. It is likened to the way a marital vow is exchanged between intending couple on their wedding day. The couple normally confess that they would love each other in all situations until death do them part. This is how a dedicated person is ready to go all the way with God. A dedicated person does not turn back from following God no matter what seems not to be working in his life temporarily.
When you are deadly committed to God, you are dead to the world (Galatians 6:14); what the world holds important means nothing to you if it does not mean anything to God. To be deadly committed to God is to be dead to pleasure, the flesh and human opinion.
Remember this: A dedicated person does not turn back from following God no matter what seems not to be working in his life temporarily.
Assignments:
Make up your mind to serve God and Him alone if you are yet to do so.
Be dead to the pleasures of the world and alive in Christ Jesus.
Prayer: O Lord, I ask that You give me the grace to follow You at all cost; help me to be dead to the pleasures of the world but alive in You, Lord in Jesus’ Name.
FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: UNDERSTANDING DEDICATION (PART 2)
Daily Reading: Genesis 42:18 to 43:34, Matthew 13:47 to 14:12, Psalm 18:16 to 36, Proverbs 4:7 to 10
Today In History: 21/01/1853 – Dr Russell L. Hawes patented the envelop folding machine.
Amazing Fact: The human eye can see 500 shades of grey.
Quote: When your life is surrendered at the altar of prayer, then your steps can be ordered by God. Culled from PRINCIPLES AND POWER OF PRAYER by Dr Paul Enenche.
Don’t Forget To Attend: The Healing and deliverance service tomorrow by 9 am at the Glory Dome, the Lord’s Garden, Airport Road, Abuja. Come with your friends and loved ones
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.
Topic: Absolute Trust In God [DCLM Daily Manna 21 January 2019 Daily Devotional by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]
Text: Isaiah 36:1-10 (KJV)
Key Verse: “Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him” (Isaiah 36:6).
MESSAGE:
The foolishness of trusting in man becomes real and pronounced these days as many more people are being disappointed, betrayed and jilted especially in times of difficulty, trails and challenges of life. The Lord says, “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!” (Isaiah 31:1).
Sennacherib of Assyria was taunting Judah and Hezekiah for trusting in Egypt. Rabshakeh, the ambassador to the proud monarch came with a message of threat to further intimidate Hezekiah and the people of Judah for the step they had taken to ask help from Egypt.
None should think that his situation is so bad that there is no hope from God. Believers must pray in faith and expect miraculous intervention of God in every challenging situation of life instead of putting their trust in man. Trials, threats, hatred and persecution from seemingly higher power will fade away when God is trusted and allowed to take charge of the situation. Christians should not organise their lives around human promises, advice or support; instead, they should reflect on God’s unchanging promises.
Thought For The Day: They that trust in God will never be ashamed.
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.
Open Heaven 21 January 2019 Monday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Qualified By Grace
Topic: Qualified By Grace (Open Heaven 21 January 2019)
Memorise: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”- Ephesians 2:8
Read: Ephesians 2:8-10 (KJV)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Bible in One Year: Mark 12-13, Isaiah 19:16-20:6
Open Heaven 21 January 2019 Monday MESSAGE:
For you to truly appreciate what grace is, you need to see it as the love of God clouded in mystery. Throughout the Bible, those who encountered God’s grace were blessed and favoured, and they could hardly explain what justified the favour they received. One of those who enjoyed God’s grace declared in 1 Chronicles 17:16b:
“Who am I, O LORD God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?”
The good news is that God’s grace is made abundantly available to all those who desire to be saved and blessed today. Titus 2:11-12 says:
“11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;”
God’s grace is embodied in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. To access this grace, you must accept Christ as “God manifested in flesh”, and believe in the sufficiency of His finished work at Calvary to wash away your past and give you a bright new future. Doing so will open the door for you to escape the imminent judgement that will be poured out on this sinful world, just as Noah escaped the flood that brought God’s judgement on the people of his time. The secret to Noah’s salvation from the great deluge is revealed to us in Genesis 6:7-8 as God’s grace:
“7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”
God’s grace for salvation through Christ is such a difficult concept for religious people to comprehend. They fail to understand it because they think the basis of divine acceptance is their own personal efforts. The truth is simply this: salvation is by grace, and this grace is available only through Christ. Are you a religious person reading this devotional out of curiosity? You will be mightily and eternally blessed if you embrace the grace of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. Nevertheless, we must keep in mind that grace does not indulge the beneficiary in sin or lawlessness; rather, it gives spiritual power to help us live according to the acceptable standards of our holy God. You can only live acceptably before God through grace. Through this same grace, you will receive help to do God’s will, and when you close your eyes in death, you will safely arrive in the bliss of heaven. Are you a partaker of God’s grace?
Open Heaven 21 January 2019 Monday Action Point:
Stop struggling with your sins today. Hand them over to Jesus who will give you the grace to live above them.
Open Heaven 21 January 2019 Monday Hymn 6: Have You Been to Jesus for the Cleansing Pow’r
1 Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow’r?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Chorus:
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
2 Are you walking daily by the Saviour’s side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
3 When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white!
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for His presence bright,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?
4 Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb.
Open Heaven 21 January 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 21 January 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.
Since around 1558, sitting in both Houses starts with prayers, usually read by the Speaker’s chaplain (currently Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkins) in the House of Commons and by one of the Bishops in the House of Lords.
Attendance is voluntary but often MPs will often come in beforehand to place ‘prayer cards’ in front of a particular seat so they can secure it for a spot during a debate later in the day.
On Tuesday though, Conservative MP Crispin Blunt called for the practice of prayers to be abolished by putting down an Early Day Motion claiming that parliamentary prayers are “not compatible with a society which respects the principle of freedom of and from religion”.
On Thursday, the Labour MP for Leicester East, Keith Vaz made suggestions to Crispin Blunt’s motion and in doing so re-wrote it to say exactly the opposite.
The original motion read: “That this House recognises that religious worship should not play any part in the formal business of the House of Commons; believes that parliamentary meetings should be conducted in a manner equally welcoming to all attendees, irrespective of their personal beliefs; further believes that Parliamentary Prayers are not compatible with a society which respects the principle of freedom of and from religion; urges that prayers should not form part of the official business of Parliament; and calls on the Procedure Committee…
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